[Picsou0612]

Hello everyone, how are you?

I'm moving to the Connecticut School of Law located in Hartford for the fall semester as an international student. I'm very excited to move here.

Hence, i've spotted some appartments near the Law School ( Owen street, farmington street). Basically they are all located in West End, 10mn walking from the uni.

However, I would like to know if there is anything to do in this neighborhood? It's always fun to watch a game in a pub, going to the theater and even go to a party/club/bar or so. I'm not american and therefore i'd like to enjoy my stay as much as possible and not being locked home after my classes ( I swear, i'll do my homeworks).

Am I far from the downtown as well?

I won't have a car and I know in the USA this can be a real struggle too.

Thanks a lot for your help,

Have a good weekend

[NewJeffCT]

First off, welcome to America and welcome to Connecticut.

It would be a long walk to get to downtown from the UConn law school. I used to walk on my lunch hour from 273 Farmington Avenue to CityPlace in downtown. It would be close to an hour round trip, and your walk would be maybe twice that to get to downtown - so, maybe one hour on foot, and some of the roads are busy.

Somebody else may be able to help you more about what sort of bus line the school is on, too.

[BPt111]

http://www.cttransit.com/Uploads_RTM...ap%2812%29.pdf
http://www.cttransit.com/Uploads_Sch...ed%2812%29.pdf


//www.city-data.com/forum/conne...y-st-10-a.html

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractio...nnecticut.html

[wma152]

Be careful walking on Farmington and Laurel, Marshall and Gillett streets. Drug Dealers standing around looking for buyers.

[AmyBergquist]

Welcome to the area. I live in the West End neighborhood in Hartford, near the Law School. There is a good, frequently running bus line on Farmington Avenue. It easily takes you east to Downtown Hartford and west to West Hartford center. Both areas have nightlife. If you're going out at night with friends I would imagine one of them could drive you, as the buses run less frequently in the evenings. The West End neighborhood itself is very walkable, there are some nice restaurants and there is a small neighborhood grocery store.

[Picsou0612]

Hello,

Thanks everyone for your answers, I appreciate.

@Amy : Do you know how long it takes to get downtown via the bus?

Also, do you guys know where all the law students live? I imagine they live in West end too right? Or perhaps they have a car and live somewhere else in the town. I just don't want to live away from everywhere and miss a wonderful opportunity to make some friends during my stay just because i'm far away from everything. Do you think it is a good choice to live in this area or should I go downtown ?

@wma : I don't smoke pot . However, is west end a safe place ? I don't exactly work out as much as I should

@BPT111 : Thanks for your message, i read the other topic and it seems that owen street and west end in general seems to be a safe place. However is west end the same than west hartford?

Thanks again because as you can imagine, it is hard to get a proper picture of Hartford when you live in europe!

[wma152]

Originally Posted by Picsou0612

Hello,

Thanks everyone for your answers, I appreciate.

@Amy : Do you know how long it takes to get downtown via the bus?

Also, do you guys know where all the law students live? I imagine they live in West end too right? Or perhaps they have a car and live somewhere else in the town. I just don't want to live away from everywhere and miss a wonderful opportunity to make some friends during my stay just because i'm far away from everything. Do you think it is a good choice to live in this area or should I go downtown ?

@wma : I don't smoke pot . However, is west end a safe place ? I don't exactly work out as much as I should

@BPT111 : Thanks for your message, i read the other topic and it seems that owen street and west end in general seems to be a safe place. However is west end the same than west hartford?

Thanks again because as you can imagine, it is hard to get a proper picture of Hartford when you live in europe!

Yes, alot of the students live within a few blocks of the Law School, so they can walk to class. That's the main reason they live there. Samething with people living in the west end, mostly people working in hartford and close by.

The general consensus is that the West end is safe, but still very close to the bad areas so you still might see shady characters or cars in your neighborhood.

I brought up the drug dealers on Gillette, Marshall and Laurel street is for your own safety. I know some people don't want to wait for the bus in downtown area so they walk down farmington ave to the west end or law school area and they have to hit these streets.

If you know the drug trade, dealers usually end up shot or in jail. The scenario I'm talking about is you walking near one of those streets and walk past a dealer and someone does a drive by on him for payback, you might be at the wrong place at the wrong time. just giving you some insights.

[AmyBergquist]

It's about a 15 minute ride from the West End to Downtown on the bus. Just depends on the hour and how many stops they need to make on the run. Downtown is 2 miles from the West End, so it's a very short distance.

Many law school students live in the West End. You'll have no problem interacting with students and making friends with folks in the neighborhood. Most students do have cars, but many of them still try to remain close to the school.

I have owned a home in the West End for 10 years and we have been very happy here.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by Picsou0612

Hello,

Thanks everyone for your answers, I appreciate.

@Amy : Do you know how long it takes to get downtown via the bus?

Also, do you guys know where all the law students live? I imagine they live in West end too right? Or perhaps they have a car and live somewhere else in the town. I just don't want to live away from everywhere and miss a wonderful opportunity to make some friends during my stay just because i'm far away from everything. Do you think it is a good choice to live in this area or should I go downtown ?

@wma : I don't smoke pot . However, is west end a safe place ? I don't exactly work out as much as I should

@BPT111 : Thanks for your message, i read the other topic and it seems that owen street and west end in general seems to be a safe place. However is west end the same than west hartford?

Thanks again because as you can imagine, it is hard to get a proper picture of Hartford when you live in europe!

The West End of Hartford is safe. It is not the drug infested nest some people are painting here. Like any city though, Hartford has its good and bad areas and there are all types of people walking around. As long as you understand this, you will be fine. West Hartford is different than the West End. West Hartford is a separate town that is a suburb of Hartford and as the name implies, it is west of Hartford so it abuts the West End. Jay

[Mike 75]

Stay north of Farmington Ave. and you should be fine. The law school maintains a list of landlords in the area - its helpful to check out if only as a starting point. Also, avoid Clemens Place like the plague.

I think you'll find that most law students don't venture downtown much, and tend to frequent the bars and restaurants in the West End and West Hartford.