[NewJeffCT]

I'll looking into it later today, but East Hampton is a nice town - similar to Portland with above average schools. Not a bad commute to Hartford, but would be brutal to get to Springfield.

[marylandmom2011]

Hi Guatmom2,

It seems like from your posts that you have a wide area and many towns to choose from for your relocation. If you enter a town name in the search function for this forum you will get lots of good threads to read.

Think about what is important to you in a school system and check their websites. All towns have their own school systems with different curriculums and amenities.

Good luck!

[JayCT]

Guatmom2 - You seem to be circling Hartford in your search to find the right town. This is probably a good approach to be sure you find the best place. One thing I would consider is to look at where your husband will be commuting to. Try to avoid living on one side of Downtown Hartford and commuting to the other. Traffic through Hartford is not good during rush hour so anything you can do to avoid would be good.

Glastonbury is one of the most desirable suburbs in the greater Hartford area. Despite its obvious affluence it is surprisingly diverse and affordable. While there are $1 million homes there are really more affordable areas as well. The schools in Glastonbury are excellent but I will say the high school is a bit large with over 2,000 students. Still we are very pleased with the education our kids are receiving here. The town offers a lot of good shopping and restaurant options and is convenient to Hartford and most of greater Hartford with easy access onto Route 2, I-91, I-84 and I-291. Major shopping is done in Manchester at Buckland Hills but Westfarms and West Hartford are not far either. There are a lot of family activities offered here so it is a great place for a family to live.

Portland is also a nice town but access to it is a bit difficult. It is not near major shopping and there are no major highways nearby. You would either have to drive through East Hampton and Marlborough or through Glastonbury or cross the river to get to a major highway. Schools are good but not considered top notch. East Hampton is similar for access and schools. Both towns are smaller so there are less activities offered.

Cromwell is also a nice town. It is small and the schools are good but again not great. The town is convenient to Hartford with I-91 and Route 9 and there is a lot of shopping and restaurant options in town or nearby. Major shopping would be done at malls in West Hartford or Meriden which are not too far. Because it is a smaller town, there are less activities offered for families, though Cromwell is home to the TPC golf club and the Travelers Champonship every year. Jay

[NewJeffCT]

Originally Posted by JayCT

Guatmom2 - You seem to be circling Hartford in your search to find the right town. This is probably a good approach to be sure you find the best place. One thing I would consider is to look at where your husband will be commuting to. Try to avoid living on one side of Downtown Hartford and commuting to the other. Traffic through Hartford is not good during rush hour so anything you can do to avoid would be good.

Glastonbury is one of the most desirable suburbs in the greater Hartford area. Despite its obvious affluence it is surprisingly diverse and affordable. While there are $1 million homes there are really more affordable areas as well. The schools in Glastonbury are excellent but I will say the high school is a bit large with over 2,000 students. Still we are very pleased with the education our kids are receiving here. The town offers a lot of good shopping and restaurant options and is convenient to Hartford and most of greater Hartford with easy access onto Route 2, I-91, I-84 and I-291. Major shopping is done in Manchester at Buckland Hills but Westfarms and West Hartford are not far either. There are a lot of family activities offered here so it is a great place for a family to live.

Portland is also a nice town but access to it is a bit difficult. It is not near major shopping and there are no major highways nearby. You would either have to drive through East Hampton and Marlborough or through Glastonbury or cross the river to get to a major highway. Schools are good but not considered top notch. East Hampton is similar for access and schools. Both towns are smaller so there are less activities offered.

Cromwell is also a nice town. It is small and the schools are good but again not great. The town is convenient to Hartford with I-91 and Route 9 and there is a lot of shopping and restaurant options in town or nearby. Major shopping would be done at malls in West Hartford or Meriden which are not too far. Because it is a smaller town, there are less activities offered for families, though Cromwell is home to the TPC golf club and the Travelers Champonship every year. Jay

On convenience, I used to work off of Hebron Avenue in Glastonbury and I could go out at lunchtime and get to West Hartford or West Farms Mall in about 20 minutes or less, provided there was no construction on 84 in either direction. Heck, it took me about the same amount of time from Avon, even though it was a shorter trip mileage-wise from Avon. I'd go to A Dong (large Asian grocery store in West Hartford) or maybe to the mall or BJ's at lunchtime.

[Guatmom2]

Yes, we are circling Hartford, as that is where he will most likely be landing his new job, as that is where the majority of the insurance companies are located. Had hoped to try and be somewhere between Hartford and Springfield, but from what I can tell finding a house comparable to what we have withing the really good school districts, will be dry difficult. Owned a 1920's house when we were first married, do not really wish to do that again. Currently have a 4 bedroom, 2400 sq. ft. center hall colonial that was built in 1999. Plus, we need to look for a house with an in-law suite for parents, or at least the potential to add one on. So a smaller, older house would not work for us.

Only once did my husband ever be lucky enough to have a 15 minute commute. For the last 13 years he has has had at least a 45 min. - 1 hr commute via back roads/major expressways. He has had experience trying to traverse cities, did so with Albany NY, (when we lived up there) and more recently Wilmington, DE.

I'd love to cut down his commute, but we both agree that is not a high a priority as finding a house we like, in a good school district. If we didn't have the girls, it would be far easier, but there education is a priority.

Marylandmom2011 good suggestion thank you,

Keep the good information coming, it is very helpful!!

[NewJeffCT]

I think MassMutual is the only major insurance company in Springfield, and they also have a good sized office in Enfield. It also depends on which office of MM he would work at, if that is the company. The investment office is a high rise right off of I-91 in Springfield and is very accessible from points south. However, the corporate office on State Street is not quite so easily reached - you either need to loop around Springfield on the highways or take backroads through Springfield itself.

If he's in Hartford, you'll find a lot of good choices with good schools - Avon, Simsbury, Glastonbury, Farmington, West Hartford and South Windsor are all good and offer some diversity. Canton, Granby and East Granby also have good schools, but not quite as much diversity. Farmington also offers low property taxes compared to other towns because they have an excellent corporate base there (United Technologies - overlord of Carrier, Otis and Sikorsky - has major offices in Farmington, plus they have the UConn Health Center and the under construction Jackson Lab), but could also mean you can afford a bit more house for your money.

I'm not associated with any realtors in Farmington, but this is an example of a new home in Farmington on half an acre:
2 Valerie Lane, Farmington CT - Trulia

and, here is another home on 1.89 acres that's 50 years old, but completely renovated:
http://www.trulia.com/property/10775...ngton-CT-06032

Most homes in CT will also have basements that you can finish to add extra room - if they're not already finished. (Our home in East Lyme has a finished walk-out basement with a separate bedroom & bathroom that can be used as an in-law or au pair apartment, if needed)

[parentologist]

The farther away from each other the houses, it seems the less socially connected the area. West Hartford does have areas where the houses are on larger lots (west of Mountain Rd), but many of the lots are 1/4 to 1/3 acre or even less. However, there is a tremendous sense of community here. Lots of people are connected to each other through churches, synagogues, children's schools, activities and sports, community theater, singing groups, just so many different ways here to meet people. There are two high schools - the southern one is Conard, maybe a bit more diverse, fewer Jewish kids. A very good high school, but Hall is considered to be more competitive academically. I think that if you're looking for a place for your Guatemalan daughter to fit in, West Hartford might be the best choice, since there are families from many different countries here. Simsbury has excellent schools, is a very homogenous bedroom community, very white. The commute to Hartford from West Hartford is very easy. From Simsbury, one must go over a "mountain" (really just a ridge) that can be a challenge in snow. Also, parts of Simsbury are pretty far from Hartford, commuting wise. In fact, parts of Simsbury are far from any major road.

[Guatmom2]

Yes it is me again, I am still sifting through the various communities to pinpoint which ones we should investigate when the time comes to chose a new home. I'd love to learn to hear from those of you who live in or know about East Hampton. What is the community like, is there racial diversity? how about the schools, are they considered good? How big is the H.S.? Let me know the good and the bad.
Thanks,

[Stylo]

You now have 5 threads on a similar topic. I am going to merge them. Please post inquiries in that thread.

[willow wind]

East Hampton is a small town with a little over 13,000 people. It's off the beaten path as there is no highway access in that town. It's not really convenient to anything.

There is little diversity in the population-it's mostly lily white. There is a major grocery store in town, the usual run of pharmacies and a few other stores and a few restaurants. Basically you'd have to get in a car and travel to other towns to do any major shopping, activities, etc.

It's a perfectly decent, typical suburban town with a variety of home prices. However, if you were working in Hartford you can find other towns just as nice but much more convenient for commuting.

Much of the information you are seeking about the various towns can be found on city-data. Just go to Google- type in city-data followed by the name of the town. Up will come a huge amount of information from population breakdowns ( your " diversity"), income levels, types of jobs people have, all sorts of local statistics. Also make use of the search function at the top of the page in this forum. There are extensive threads with lots of replies about all the towns in which you are interested.

For someone looking for diversity, really good schools, activities and easy commute to Hartford, your best bets are Glastonbury & West Hartford, IMO, depending where in Hartford your hubby might get a job.