moving to Windsor, CT with family. (Hartford, West Hartford: rentals, how much, homes)
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There's a chance my husband will get a job offer in the Windsor area. We have a 6 yr old, and a 2 yr old. Any suggestions or feedback would greatly be appreciated on towns to live in with kids that has kid friendly stuff to do, we will probably rent for the first couple of years. A good school district? So far I heard Enfield and Grand by were good places. Any suggestions would be great!
I'd look into South Windsor which is a really nice town with good schools. Granby is also good as are Suffield, & Simsbury. I'd consider Enfield a notch down from any of those school wise. But that's just my personal opinion. Although you may find more rentals in Enfield than the other towns.
Welcome to Connecticut, and congrats on your husband's job offer. From where will you be moving? I worked on Lamberton Rd in Windsor for a while, commuting from Avon.
There are a lot of towns around Windsor that are nice. Granby and East Granby are both very nice small towns that offer homes with large yards and good quality school systems. Enfield is a larger town (pop 45,000) that offers a lot more amenities than Granby and East Granby, but it should be cheaper than Granby (pop 11,000) and East Granby (pop 5,000). The downside is that the schools are more average, at best.
Nearby is Simsbury, which is a more upscale suburb that offers excellent schools and has many amenities in town. However, it's more expensive than Granby or East Granby.
Suffield is a nice town on the Mass border. It's about as big population wise as Granby & East Granby together, so should have more amenities. The schools are not rated quite as highly as Granby and East Granby, but they're still very good.
On the other side of Enfield is the rural town of Somers - a nice "New England" town with farms and many nice homes, as well as solid schools.
Bloomfield is more urban/suburban and is next to Windsor. The schools rate out pretty poorly, so I would not recommend it.
Across the I-91 divide are also East Windsor and South Windsor. South Windsor is a large suburb of 25,000 known for its good schools and has a ton of shopping in South Windsor, and Manchester next door. East Windsor is smaller, but does have some amenities, but the school are rated below average, if I recall.
I'd look into South Windsor which is a really nice town with good schools. Granby is also good as are Suffield, & Simsbury. I'd consider Enfield a notch down from any of those school wise. But that's just my personal opinion. Although you may find more rentals in Enfield than the other towns.
Agreed - you'll find more rentals in Enfield, but South Windsor & Simsbury could have a decent amount as well, depending on budget.
I think we would need more information to help you further. How far from Windsor are you willing to go? What type of town do you want to live in (urban, suburban, rural)? What would your budget be? How important are the schools to you?
Windsor is located just north of Hartford. While a nice town, the schools there do struggle. Bloomfield is located immediately west of Windsor and its schools are among the worst performing in the state. You would not know it looking at these towns since they appear to be nice suburban communities.
If schools are important to you (meaning you want to be in the best school district possible), I would recommend looking at West Hartford, Simsbury or Avon. These are nice upscale towns though West Hartford has a wide range of housing options. Avon is very affluent and pricey. Simsbury is more middle class. Another option would be South Windsor. It has good schools and many nice neighborhoods but the commute to Windsor would require crossing the Connecticut River which at times can be a bit difficult.
Granby is a very nice town with good schools but it is a bit rural and kind of far from major shopping. Enfield is a more diverse town with good shopping but the schools do nto perform as well as others. Suffield is a beautiful town but is close to Bradley Airport so there may be some noise issues. Again give us a little more information so we can help you narrow your choices down. Jay
All of this has been very helpful. Here's more information.
Commute to work: 30-40 minutes the most
Suburban area, close by grocery, Target, Kohls? 20 mins most
Budget on renting, highest $2,000?? Not sure on how much a good place rent usually runs. 2 bdrms, town home, apt. Safe for kids.
Schools: important
Take a look at the website greatschools.org. It will give you ratings for schools and districts, and demographic information. South Windsor, Granby, Suffield, Simsbury, West Hartford, Farmington, Avon, Glastonbury - YES. NOT Manchester, Windsor, East Windsor, Bloomfield, Enfield, East Hartford, Hartford.
Having lived in Avon and commuted to Windsor for a while, I'd warn that a good part of Avon is 40+ minutes away from Windsor. My office at the time was on Lamberton Rd in Windsor. If you live in western Avon, you either have to take back roads through Simsbury & Bloomfield to get there, or else you have to trudge up Route 4 (good luck getting past Farmington HS during the morning rush) and onto 84 East into Hartford, then take 91 North. Several times, some of the roads up that way were flooded, so I'd have to reroute myself as well in transit.
I usually left late at night, so never hit traffic on the way home, and would go 91 South to 84 West and go up Route 4 in 30-35 minutes. No worries about school traffic late at night.
If you lived in eastern Avon, the commute is much quicker, as you can avoid most of Route 4, or just go up 202 into Simsbury and Bloomfield.
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