[Rose+Jim]

[SIZE=3]My husband has just accepted a job where he will be working in Providence for two days and NYC for two days per week so we are moving down to CT; somewhere in a sort of square of torrington, storrs, east lyme and milford. We have been living in Amherst, Ma which I love. I really like the college town feel. We are in our mid 20s and have two young children, 15 months and 7 weeks so we are looking for somewhere there might be a park to take the kids and the opportunity to make friends.
We are looking for a town which has a sense of community. I would like an area that has a fair amount of green space and not too far from open countryside. I don't really want to be in a very suburban area. But I also want to be less than 30 mins from a big enough town that has shopping and gym. We want to relatively close to bars, restaurants and cinemas for the occasional night out. After living in a college town, I would quite like to find another, as I love the atmosphere here.
We are looking to buy and have about $450,000 to spend on a 4 bed home with a decent garden. It is pretty important to me that I am living in somewhere fairly safe, especially since my husband will be working late for part of the week.
We are heading down to ct over the weekend and have a few areas to look at; we are going to see Middletown/Portland because I quite liked it when I visited friends at college and litchfield because I have a friend there.
Any suggestions for a good places to check out?
Thanks
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[CTGirlNoMore]

I've heard Milford is nice. I like Manchester myself, too. West Hartford is nice too, esp. if you are near the center. Newington is nice and has a cute little center of town, plus some nice parks.

[JayCT]

That is a big area. To commute to Providence and New York I would look along the shore east of New Haven. branford, guilford and Madison are beautiful towns with all that you are looking for. They have trains to New Haven and on to New York City and I-95 will take you up to Providence without too much trouble. Looking further inland is a problem since the are no highways connecting Hartford to Providence. Jay

[cantgettheyafromheya]

TOLLAND

Tolland is bisected by I-84 for NYC access, and Rte 44 is nearby for Providence access. Its a pretty, classic New England town with 14,000 people and plenty of houses around $450,000 with 1 acre +. Schools are just fine, very good preschool programs also.

UConn is 2 towns to the east. While Storrs is not a "College Town" per se, its pretty and throws off a passable academic vibe. It is a party school.

Gardens are aplenty - be mindful that Tolland is a Zone 5 cold microclimate, lying between 600-1000 feet elevation, whereas much of CT is Zone 6.

It has been named twice on the Money magazine Best Small Towns list, at #29 in 2005 and #27 in 2009.

Vernon, Manchester and South Windsor are nearby for shopping and restaurants of every stripe.


Good Luck!

[nep321]

I would definitely go somewhere near New Haven, to be halfway between Providence and NYC. I don't know any college towns near there, though. Yale is pretty big in New Haven, but I wouldn't raise a family in New Haven. The crime stats were just released two days ago, and they aren't pretty. 906 robberies in 2009 alone.

[nep321]

Someone mentioned Tolland. That's a very good suggestion. It does have somewhat of a college feel and is nicer than Mansfield IMO. I always see college kids at the Big Y there, out and about. The actual college (UConn) is in Mansfield, though, which borders Tolland. It's very far from NYC though.

[nep321]

Oh, and here is a list of the top 10 college towns in the country, just released. Nothing in CT though.
Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitor sites is not allowed

[kidyankee764]

Sorry but I think Tolland is a very bad suggestion. It's in northern CT far from the center of both places of employment. For the same distance to Providence, but closer to NYC and mass transit that will take you into NYC, check out Branford, Guilford and Madison. Here, you're about 90 minutes from each point.

[Silli]

I suspect your distaste of "suburban" is throwing us off since Amherst is a suburb and you like it there.
You should check out Branford and Guilford. They might have the vibe you're looking for and your husband could catch the train easily to NYC.

[Stratford, Ct. Resident]

As others have already said, Guilford and Branford should be at the top of your list.