Considering Southington ....how is it compared to avon, farmington, glastonbury, canton (Westport: homes, prices)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I think Southington is a nice town with a lot to offer. I think it's snubbed because it's not in the ring of towns right around Hartford like the others. And, other than Glastonbury, West Hartford, Avon, Simsbury, Farmington and Canton are all one contiguous area, so you can kind of group them all as one. And, other than Cheshire, the towns around Southington are not quite as nice: Bristol, Meriden, Plainville.
(Actually, Canton gets left out by most here as well, though their test scores in recent years are better than West Hartford, Farmington and Glastonbury most of the time)
I would agree that Meriden is undesirable looking overall, but Bristol isn't a dump, IMHO. Wolcott(another "overlooked" town) isn't a dump either.
I would agree that Meriden is undesirable looking overall, but Bristol isn't a dump, IMHO. Wolcott(another "overlooked" town) isn't a dump either.
wasn't there just a thread on here recently that Bristol was a wretched hive of scum & villainy because Aaron Hernandez came from there? I remember defending Bristol and saying his turn to the dark side could have happened at the University of Florida... but, some people do have that impression of the town.
And, other than Cheshire, the towns around Southington are not quite as nice: Bristol, Meriden, Plainville.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Stratford, Ct. Resident
I would agree that Meriden is undesirable looking overall, but Bristol isn't a dump, IMHO. Wolcott(another "overlooked" town) isn't a dump either.
Quote:
Originally Posted by NewJeffCT
wasn't there just a thread on here recently that Bristol was a wretched hive of scum & villainy because Aaron Hernandez came from there? I remember defending Bristol and saying his turn to the dark side could have happened at the University of Florida... but, some people do have that impression of the town.
Right. And stating "not as nice", with Meriden in the mix, may lead someone to incorrectly believe that Bristol is similar to Meriden. IMHO, of course.
Right. And stating "not as nice", with Meriden in the mix, may lead someone to incorrectly believe that Bristol is similar to Meriden. IMHO, of course.
well, as I said, I certainly don't think that about Bristol, or Plainville either for that matter. Not as nice meant that the towns around Southington are not considered as nice as the towns around, for example, Avon (Farmington, Burlington, Canton, Simsbury and West Hartford)
That said, West Hartford shares a border with Hartford, which is not as nice as Meriden, Bristol or Plainville.
I'm sure the OP is long gone by now, but wanted to add my $.02. I've been away from this forum for a while, and it's too bad that the same posters keep singing the same "Glastonbury, Farmington, Avon, Canton, West Hartford" song to anyone who asks about the greater Hartord area.
My husband and I have lived in New Britain for 16+ years and are in the market to move to a different school district. I work in West Hartford and he works in Farmington. Southington is our top choice. Here are some of our reasons (in no particular order):
1) Convenience. Close to I-84, I-684, and Rte. 9. Most areas of Farmington, Avon, Canton, etc. involve at least a 20 minute drive to get to a major highway. Many areas of those town also involve a 20 minute drive to get to major shopping areas or big box store shopping. We don't want to be on the other side of the river (e.g., Glastonbury) and have to commute through downtown Hartford.
2) Weather. There are a lot of instances where it will be raining in New Britain, but it is sleet or freezing rain in Farmington, and other towns north of I-84. 84 is a real dividing line when it comes to bad weather.
3) Schools. The school test scores are well above average for the state; The Southington school district is in or around the top 50 (out of 164.) Yes, there is only one high school so the student population is very large. But with large comes "something for everyone" in terms of clubs, teams, AP classes, etc.
4) Socio-Economic/Demographics. We don't make a ton of money; our price point is ideally less than $300,000 for a single family home. Our money will go further in Southington. In Southington we will be neighbors with more people like us in terms of income. I'm not sure I want my child going to school with kids who have au pairs, super expensive sneakers, and get BMWs for their birthdays. Sure, there are medium income folks in Farmington and Avon, and there are high income folks in Southington, but overall Southington is definitely more middle/working class which appeals to me and my husband.
5) Density. While not as rural as Farmington, Avon, or Canton, and therefore (in some posters' estimation) not as aesthetically pleasing, Southington does have some lovely neighborhoods with a country charm feel. Most homes are on at least 1/2 acre lots. West Hartford is not one of our top choices because of the density. It is a nice town, but definitely is more urban in nature; older houses on smaller lots. One of our top priorities in a home is an attached 2-car garage; not easy to find in West Hartford!
Newington and Wethersfield have many similarities to Southington, but we feel that Southington is a better choice for us.
I do not think anyone here snubbed Southington but the OP was comparing it to more upscale towns like Farmington, Glastonbury and Canton. Southington is a very nice middle class town with a lot to offer. In comparison to say West Hartford though it would be a longer commute into Hartford. The schools are good but the high school is large. Then again Glastonbury High School is also large. All said the OP and you would likely like living in Southington. I see no reason to question that. Jay
I'm sure the OP is long gone by now, but wanted to add my $.02. I've been away from this forum for a while, and it's too bad that the same posters keep singing the same "Glastonbury, Farmington, Avon, Canton, West Hartford" song to anyone who asks about the greater Hartord area.
My husband and I have lived in New Britain for 16+ years and are in the market to move to a different school district. I work in West Hartford and he works in Farmington. Southington is our top choice. Here are some of our reasons (in no particular order):
1) Convenience. Close to I-84, I-684, and Rte. 9. Most areas of Farmington, Avon, Canton, etc. involve at least a 20 minute drive to get to a major highway. Many areas of those town also involve a 20 minute drive to get to major shopping areas or big box store shopping. We don't want to be on the other side of the river (e.g., Glastonbury) and have to commute through downtown Hartford.
2) Weather. There are a lot of instances where it will be raining in New Britain, but it is sleet or freezing rain in Farmington, and other towns north of I-84. 84 is a real dividing line when it comes to bad weather.
3) Schools. The school test scores are well above average for the state; The Southington school district is in or around the top 50 (out of 164.) Yes, there is only one high school so the student population is very large. But with large comes "something for everyone" in terms of clubs, teams, AP classes, etc.
4) Socio-Economic/Demographics. We don't make a ton of money; our price point is ideally less than $300,000 for a single family home. Our money will go further in Southington. In Southington we will be neighbors with more people like us in terms of income. I'm not sure I want my child going to school with kids who have au pairs, super expensive sneakers, and get BMWs for their birthdays. Sure, there are medium income folks in Farmington and Avon, and there are high income folks in Southington, but overall Southington is definitely more middle/working class which appeals to me and my husband.
5) Density. While not as rural as Farmington, Avon, or Canton, and therefore (in some posters' estimation) not as aesthetically pleasing, Southington does have some lovely neighborhoods with a country charm feel. Most homes are on at least 1/2 acre lots. West Hartford is not one of our top choices because of the density. It is a nice town, but definitely is more urban in nature; older houses on smaller lots. One of our top priorities in a home is an attached 2-car garage; not easy to find in West Hartford!
Newington and Wethersfield have many similarities to Southington, but we feel that Southington is a better choice for us.
I agree that Southington is a nice town - however, most of Farmington, Avon and Canton is not 20 minutes from shopping. You can get to any "big box" store but Target within 10 minutes from Farmington, Avon or Canton, and even from Western Avon, you can get to Target in Torrington in 12-15 minutes or so. (from eastern Avon, you're 10 minutes from Home Depot, Best Buy, etc in West Hartford) And, most of Farmington has easy access to big box stores in Bristol, Plainville or West Hartford.
Agreed on the schools - involved parents can get just about anything for their child in Southington because you have access to the clubs, AP classes, etc.
However, in comparing Southington to Simsbury, Southington HS had 11 AP classes available in the school, while Simsbury had 18 and Farmington has 20. So, if your kid is at the top of his class, he or she might run out of classes to take in Southington. (That happened to some kids I knew - they went through their town's AP classes in math by the end of their junior year, and had no option their senior year other than to take classes at a local college in math at night.) In Southington, it is 3.1 students per computer, and in Simsbury, it is 2.0 students/computer. So, if your child needs computer access at school, he or she will be competing against 2 other kids, vs only 1 in Simsbury.
Last edited by NewJeffCT; 03-11-2014 at 10:39 AM..
I guess we can just keep arguing over this. $100,000 at current interest rates of 4.5% for 30 years is more like $510 per month not $600. And the tax differences I see online between a $500,000 home in Southington and a $600,000 home in Avon appears to be anywhere from a few hundred dollars to $2,100. Still this is a lot less than the $12,000 to $25,000 originally claimed. And again the median price is not a reasonable comparison since Avon has a lot more higher end homes which raises the median price of homes in that town. Jay
The "median" does not actually change based on the value above or below it. That's why its more accurate and most often used. Your confusing it with "mean" or "average"in which case, yes, extremes will alter the resulting value. The median simply tells you "50% of houses cost less and 50% of houses cost more".
Example with two different 10 number sets changing only one value
ex a: {1 1 1 1 2 3 3 4 5 6} median =2.5
average= 2.7
Ex b: {1 1 1 1 2 3 3 4 5 873,489} Median = 2.5
average = 87,351
You can see the median is the same in both sets, but the average is absurdly skewed in set "b"
The "median" does not actually change based on the value above or below it. That's why its more accurate and most often used. Your confusing it with "mean" or "average"in which case, yes, extremes will alter the resulting value. The median simply tells you "50% of houses cost less and 50% of houses cost more".
Example with two different 10 number sets changing only one value
ex a: {1 1 1 1 2 3 3 4 5 6} median =2.5
average= 2.7
Ex b: {1 1 1 1 2 3 3 4 5 873,489} Median = 2.5
average = 87,351
You can see the median is the same in both sets, but the average is absurdly skewed in set "b"
See my example from above:
5 homes sold with prices of $100,000; $200,000; $300,000; $400,000; $500,000. Median home price is $300,000
5 homes sold with prices of $100,000; $200,000; $1,000,000; $2,000,000; $3,000,000. Median home price is $1,000,000
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
