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My wife, children and I are exploring the communities of medical schools I am looking to apply to. We both are turning 30 and have a 9 and a 2 year old boys. We're looking at finding a school that fits my goals, but also allows my wife to teach middle/high school and a place where we can raise our kids. We're both from Nevada and are generally home bodies. Nevada is well on its way to becoming one big chain store. I don't enjoy that fact, but do like the convenience. That said, I think my wife and i both are longing for a slower time when communities were small and knew eachother and where towns had a special charm. Carson City, NV used to be that way, as I rode my bike all over that town when I was 8 and never worried about it. I wouldn't let my kids do anything like that now.
What we want to know is how does the Farmington (University) area compare. Is it safe, is it quaint. Is there affordable (210kish) within a short commute of the university and the Hospital it supports as I don't want to leave my family so far away while I'm attending classes. The convenience of box stores doesn't matter to me as UPS travels everywhere.
Famrington is an affluent suburb of Hartford and is considered to be one of the nicest towns to live in in the area. It is the home of the UConn Medical Center, which is the facility I believe you are talking about. The town has two small central business districts (Farmington Center and Unionville). Farmingotn Center has a few small convenience stores but is not ver walkable. Unionville is a small former mill village that the town is trying to redevelop into the walkable village it once was.
From your description it sounds like you would be more interested in West Hartford. West Hartford is also a nice affluent suburb of Hartford (one of the tops as well) and has a great walkable downtown area with lots of stores and restaurants. The town has great schools and a lot of activities for kids and families. There is a wide range of housing options in West Hartford, everything from apartments to mansions, but it is pricier than many other communities (less though than suburbs of major cities like New York or Boston). A lot of UConn people live in West Hartford because of the range of housing options and its convenient location (UConn Medical is located near the West Hartford town line). There are some homes in the $200k price range you indicated but they would be small and older and may not be located in the best part of town. As for teaching opportunities, there are a lot of school systems looking for teachers in the area. Good luck, Jay
Farmington borders several cities and towns. Bristol, New Britain, Plainville, West Hartford, Canton.
Both Bristol and New Britain are cities. Bristol is larger in area but smaller in population. But overall it has a higher socio-economic composition than New Britain does, and less of an ethnic influence. It also has a smaller hospital. But it's a very decent town to live in with lots of commercial activity stretched along U.S. Route 6, all located just several miles from UConn. It's home to ESPN, has a golf course, a large hunting-fishing club, and has many beautiful housing developments and fairly decent schools. It's not an over developed city, and there are still open spaces and hunting woodlots in some areas of town.
New Britain has a much higher population density with a larger hospital and a State University. There are many more non-English speaking immigrants, ethnic churches of nearly every faith, and housing mixes of every conceivable price and style, literally from slums to mansions. The schools are a mixed bag, with some excellent programs for gifted students and for those with special needs too. There is definitely a higher percentage of poverty in New Britain, yet there are still some relatively safe neighborhoods, a private country club and a public golf course too.
Plainville is relatively small in land area, and can be characterized as a busy town. There's a mix of mostly single family homes there, some are older & smaller, some are newer and more upscale, and some are in between. But their overall numbers are less. It's has become more of a shopping destination of late with movie theaters and a new shopping center, and is known for having some of the better, moderately priced, area restaurants. It's certainly offers some convenient housing options, and the schools are decent too. One will be undergoing a major renovation.
Canton is a smaller suburban town that has more expensive housing, $$$$.
On the other side of Plainville & Bristol is Southington, which is an area commercial shopping "hub" and bedroom community with a wide variety and sizable number of single family houses and condos. It's fair to classify it as an emerging city with it's own hospital and large school system which is favorably rated. It has good highway access with a short commute time to UConn, about 15 + minutes.
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