[Jaexthree]

I am looking for honest opinions from the locals. Both my husband and I are born and raised in Brooklyn. However; we left and raised our kids in the Midwest. 3 kids 18,15,16. We are now looking to leave the midwest life behind and get a little more of the city life. My husband is Puerto Rican Dominican and I am Cuban. With that said I dont want to live in a crime ridden war zone (as I have read on other post) We currently live in a town of 80,000 that's ok, can go bigger, not smaller. We want more variety. My friend moved from Brooklyn to Bridgeport and loves it although she recommended New Haven or Hartford, my husband friend said New Haven was too much go to West Haven. I need help in deciding.

I want my kids to be able to travel around the town and be safe, good HS that they will be welcomed and public transportation would be nice. We need a pet friendly place and are looking to rent ONLY.

I work in the criminal justice field and my husband is finishing his MFA to possibly teach. We love outdoor concerts, wine tasting and theater. A good public library a must. Would be willing to answer questions if that would help.

Thanks in advance.

[Stylo]

New Haven is a good choice. Neighborhoods like East Rock, Westville, Wooster Square are pretty safe. Although the schools do have challenges, though the Westville/East Rock schools seem to be decent and there are opportunities for high performing students. I think that the NH schools get a worse rep here than they deserve - some are decent, but do have challenges that non-city schools don't have in smaller towns.

You could do a larger town/small city directly outside of Hartford/New Haven/Bridgeport. I'm thinking Fairfield (near Bridgeport), Milford (near New Haven & Bridgeport), West Hartford (near Hartford). They have walkable centers, good libraries, good schools, lots to do, etc. All 3 put you in striking distance of multiple colleges (the most being in the New Haven aera). Keep in mind even though they don't have high populations, they're fairly dense. Fairfield is the most expensive. Hamden (near New Haven) would be worth considering if on a smaller budget.

[JayCT]

The problem with many of Connecticut's larger cities and towns is the upper level schools have issues. To get away from that you need to move to a smaller town. Smaller towns however mean less access to public transportation. You might consider living in a close in suburb of a larger city. Towns like Hamden and Stratford and Wethersfield are close enough to a city (New Haven, Bridgeport, Hartford) to have transit options but still have schools that are safe. Jay

[Stylo]

The good thing about Stratford/Milford is the access to Metro North railroad.

[Jaexthree]

Thanks! I am going to keep taking the comments, and hopefully find something we will also be visiting. I am excited.