[SyZ]

So, one day, I'm thinking I'd love to move out here, not sure where

I'm a single white, 30 year old male, and lived in CA my entire life. I'm pretty sure I've never seen snow. I've lived in LA 27 years, SF 3 years

I'm paying off my loans and investing in my 401k and Roth IRA, and not really enjoying the prospects of a 3 bedroom 2 bathroom 1,500 square foot home costing 650k in any area even remotely decent

I work in the insurance industry, and Hartford is pretty big .. what is that area like? How would it compare to someplace like Livermore/Pleasanton/Dublin? Are there any areas within 20 miles that are blue and green and not freezing 10 months out of the year?

Just another 30 something bored of CA and looking for something better elsewhere

Thanks

[FutureTown]

Livermore? Pleasanton? Dublin? Man, are you sure you're coming from NorCal and not UK+Ireland?

Lol! Jokes aside! I'll answer mostly in the perspective of SoCal since that is where I'm originally from. Correct. Hartford is big when it comes to insurance. California house prices are quite....off for what they really should be considering the state's economy. It's a bubble, in my opinion, and I imagine it'll pop one of the years. It's ridiculous how little you get for how much you pay. And I just don't see the justification of it, really. Especially SoCal. NorCal might have an argument with Silicon Valley.

In Hartford County, you have a plethora of choices. If you're looking for a place to rent for a little while, I suggest the town of Manchester; especially if you want to run economical and save up money for a year or two. Renting here is generally cheaper. You can find something for around ~$1,000. Commute is generous since you are traveling from East of Hartford where the population starts to dwindle. Others may know better when it comes to prices for apartments. If you are looking for a more vibrant and single friendly life, I suggest West Hartford. More expensive, the commute is slightly uglier, but, gorgeous place. Very hip compared to rest of Connecticut.

If you're looking to buy a house, that opens up a whole load of suburbs to pick from. However, CT's suburbs are geared more towards (young) families. As someone who is single, I'm not sure you'll find it fitting. Unless, you are looking for something quiet and peaceful.

In terms of weather, coming from NorCal, it won't be too big of a shock. I believe temps drop about as low as 40s and that was the weather I've had the past few days. It does get cold, no doubt. Not for 10 months. More like, 5. The Spring and Fall weather here is absolutely beautiful. I don't think anything in California rivals it. We don't have crazy fog like I've heard the Bay Area does. Our Summers can get humid, but, this past Summer was quite pleasant. 2013's in comparison, was quite humid with temps hitting 90s.

Lemme know if you want any other anecdotal pieces!

[NewJeffCT]

Hartford the city is small in terms of both area and population (120,000). However, the Hartford metro area is pretty big overall and fairly densely populated (1.2 million). While the big companies all have a presence downtown - Aetna, The Hartford, Prudential, Travelers, United Health, etc, a decent amount of insurance jobs are in the suburban areas as well - Farmington, Rocky Hill, Windsor and Bloomfield among them (many of them small to mid size companies). Not to mention MassMutual in Enfield and just over the border in Springfield.

For a young-ish single guy, I'd recommend West Hartford, Middletown, Glastonbury or Manchester. Though, as futuretown says above, much of the suburban areas in CT are geared towards families with strong schools and a lot of activities for children. Middletown might be an option - an easy commute to the Hartford area, but also gives you access to New Haven for more nightlife... Middletown also has some trendy restaurants and pubs as well.

If you don't mind a longer commute, S/E Connecticut offers a milder climate and easy access to beaches (not as good as anything in California) and the two big casinos. I live in S/E CT and we've only had one dusting of snow so far this winter, and that was gone and melted by 10am the next day. (Our friends in Avon outside of Hartford had several inches of snow the day before Thanksgiving...while we had rain.) Of course, last winter was tough throughout the northeast, including S/E CT.