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My fiance and I are moving to CT this fall. He'll work in Farmington as a physician and I will be studying in Providence. My schedule will be more flexible than his so we are trying to figure out a place to live in the middle where his commute will be 30-45 and mine will be around an hour. So far Willimantic and Norwich are the forerunners.
Some background- we're both 28 years old and originally from Virginia. Our ideal living situation would be a renting a small house walkable to a main street area (even if limited). We currently live in a small town outside of Philly where we can walk to an Irish bar, craft beer shop, a bakery, and a coffee shop and it's heavenly. As far as possible, I would like to avoid strip malls and a car-focused area (from what I've heard this will be difficult/impossible) but we would rather live in a depressed area with community than an impersonable suburb. We plan on living in the area for six months to a year before deciding to purchase a home. In our free time, we usually try to get outdoors and camp at least once a month (when its not snowing!). Museums are pretty great but we're happy to trek out to NYC or Boston. A night out is usually a couple beers at a local pub and dinner parties with friends.
We're both social justice minded and plan to actively serve the community we move to. I would like to volunteer, engage in local events, and in general, we would like to feel part of the place we live. That being said, safety is a concern. After a year living in North Philadelphia, I understand that constant vigilance takes its toll and the dangers are real. As my fiance will often work nights and weekends, I want to be cautious about living somewhere that safety is a major concern.
Questions:
1) Willimantic or Norwich- opinions of the city for a young couple with no children and a strong interest in community?
2) If not Willimantic or Norwhich, what towns would you recommend as a halfway point in between Providence and Hartford (favoring Hartford)?
Thank you again. I'm excited about this next step and look forward to learning more about your state!
Farmington to Providence is a long distance. The most direct route between those 2 places is route 6, but that road is very slow and it's also very rural. So there really isn't a large selection of desirable places to live along that route. Willimantic or Norwich could work, but both of those places are generally small, old working class cities. As long as you're not looking for any exciting night life either of those places should be fine.
I travel from West Hartford to Providence a LOT (almost every week for the past 1 yr+). In terms of your criteria, I would suggest something along Rt 2...Colchester, Marlborough, or Glastonbury (in that order). Can't say that these aren't car-focused areas, but would be worth checking out.
You would have the more predictable commuting time...Rt 2 to I-395 to Rt 6. While I am often able to work my situation into an overnight stay (business expense), there are plenty of times I've gone back & forth the same day (including yesterday), and personally it would get old real fast. However, it sounds like this would be a temporary situation for you.
Hi OP: I am going to answer your questions and then suggest a third option which I think will actually fit what you are looking for - Putnam CT.
First of all, Farmington and Providence are about 80 miles and just under 2 hours apart, so unfortunately you will be looking closer to an hour commute for each if you are right in the middle.
To answer your specific question of Norwich vs Willimantic, it is Norwich hands down. Willimantic is a very depressed area and known as the "heroin capitol of the world" and definitely has a higher crime rate as well. Not much going on there.
To answer more broadly, I love Norwich and have recommended it in the past, but in this situation I am not going to. To give you perspective, I would compare Norwich to a smaller version of Bethlehem, PA but with a more depressed downtown. Your statement of "we would rather live in a depressed area with community than an impersonable suburb", means it might actually be a decent fit but you will not receive the amenities you listed in your desired Main Street. However, there is definitely an active civic community in Norwich that you would have the opportunity to become involved in. Another positive is that it is almost dead in the middle of Farmington and Providence. As for "main street," downtown Norwich is unfortunately very dead - there is 1 Irish bar (Harp & Dragon) which is a nice place. There is also Billy Wilson's which is a bit divey but a favorite of locals. That's really the only bars in downtown and there is not much else downtown other than the court house and law firms.
As for camping /outdoorsiness - you will have tons of choices for camping and hiking throughout Eastern CT, Western CT, Mass, RI and beyond. There are also tons of museums throughout CT, RI, and Boston is less than 2 hours away.
To meet your needs I would check out Putnam CT. Putnam CT is also right in the middle of Farmington and Providence (slightly closer to Providence) and has a small downtown area that is known for its antique shops. I also think it is safe to say Main Street in Putnam has more going on than downtown Norwich and has more food/bar options (I count 7 bars/restaurants on a very short Main Street via googlemaps). Putnam is much smaller than Norwich though, which might be a positive or negative based on your preference. I think of it being a bit more of a "creative" town as well. IMO this is the choice for you!
Last edited by EasternCTBias; 01-27-2015 at 12:32 PM..
I'd recommend Niantic - easy to get to Route 9 and you have a straight ride up to Farmington. It takes me 50 minutes or so to get to West Farms Mall from East Lyme. It's also about an hour from Providence, maybe a bit less without traffic.
Niantic also has a nice downtown area on Main Street - some good restaurants & shops and a small movie theater and Main Street is across from the beach. Plus, the town is safe overall.
Last edited by NewJeffCT; 01-27-2015 at 12:42 PM..
I'd recommend Niantic - easy to get to Route 9 and you have a straight ride up to Farmington. It takes me 50 minutes or so to get to West Farms Mall from East Lyme. It's also about an hour from Providence, maybe a bit less without traffic.
Niantic also has a nice downtown area on Main Street - some good restaurants & shops and a small movie theater and Main Street is across from the beach. Plus, the town is safe overall.
I did not even think of using Rt. 9 but that is great advice as well. Niantic is a very nice village by the water. By that metric, Old Saybrook, Essex, and Chester also become options when using Rt. 9 depending on whether you want to be closer to Farmington or Providence.
If you have not visited the state, I suggest you do so and check out the town along Rt. 9, Rt. 2, as well as Norwich and Putnam. All provide good options and ultimately rest with your preference. But what you are looking for is definitely attainable in CT! Good luck and hope you like it!
Thank you for all the great advice- we'll be visiting in this spring to actually test drive some of the distances and see what works.
Willimantic or Norwich still (according to google maps/traffic) seems like the best deal commute-wise but we will definitely check out Putnam and Niantic.
I don't think you will be able to find what you are looking for. As was noted, Providence and Farmington are too far apart to be within the commute times you want. One of you need to commute longer. Another problem is that eastern Connecticut is a pretty rural area. It is mostly small rural type towns or old mill towns. Norwich and Willimantic are those types of towns and I doubt you would like to live there. The only town I can think of that you may like is Colchester. It is a nice quaint small town with a couple of nice restaurants and shops. He problem is that you both will have longer drives than you want.
I am however wondering why you want to go to school in Providence. There are many good schools in Connecticut. Have you considered going to school here instead? Jay
I just checked the commute times from Colchester to Farmington and Providence and found that the commute to Farmington would be about 40 minutes while the commute to Providence would be about an hour 10 minutes. You may be able to move a little closer to Farmington by looking in East Hampton but that would mean you would have a slightly longer trip to Providence.
Glastonbury might be another option to consider. It has a very nice downtown with good shops and restaurants and there are apartments there you might like.
I also checked the commute times for Niantic and it appears to be about an hour to both Farmington and Providence. That might be a good option too. Good luck, Jay
I typically can get from East Lyme (same town as Niantic) to West Farms Mall in about 50 minutes going 65-70mph on Route 9.
If they can afford it, I might look into getting two modest apartments, one near Farmington & one near Providence. Then, they can get together on the weekends in one place or the other and not have to deal with the stress of both of them driving an hour to work each day.
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