[cdepa513]

Originally Posted by JayCT

If you are trying to avoid woods and want to be near things, you should eliminate Tolland, East Glastonbury, Hebron, Andover, Bolton, Columbia, Ellington and Stafford Springs. These are mostly wooded more rural areas. Some of these have the basics (supermarket, drug store, a basic restaurant or two, etc.) but offer little more. You would have to travel for things like major shopping, entertainment, better restaurants, etc. That said, Tolland is not far from Vernon; East Glastonbury is not far from Glastonbury Center; Hebron has some shops but not a lot; Stafford Springs has some shops too; and parts of Ellington are near Vernon. You really need to get out and check these towns out to see what suits you. Jay

I know if I want to avoid woods I should probably move to another state but I'm looking more for areas that are less woodsy; rural isn't bad ( not my preference but what choice do I have?). The areas I visited in Tolland had really pretty houses and are right near the big y shopping center there or near Vernon. That was what appealed to me. I realize it depends where in Tolland too. Same applies to some of the other areas. Since you mentioned to eliminate every option I've listed besides the two I said were last in my list I guess I'll just figure it out.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by cdepa513

I know if I want to avoid woods I should probably move to another state but I'm looking more for areas that are less woodsy; rural isn't bad ( not my preference but what choice do I have?). The areas I visited in Tolland had really pretty houses and are right near the big y shopping center there or near Vernon. That was what appealed to me. I realize it depends where in Tolland too. Same applies to some of the other areas. Since you mentioned to eliminate every option I've listed besides the two I said were last in my list I guess I'll just figure it out.

I did not mean for you to dismiss those towns but they are mostly semi-rural and wooded with limited amenities nearby. It all depends on what you want. If having just a supermarket and pharmacy nearby is enough and you are willing to travel a bit for more things, any of them would be fine. Again this is personal preference. I encourage you to visit each town a bit to see if they meet your needs. Jay

[adamz]

Originally Posted by cdepa513

You're lucky. The few times I visited the center I ran into students. Once at the cvs (no thank you), another at the eyebrow place, then the icing was in the liquor store. Prior to that I considered storrs center. :/

I guess I never minded running into students. It happens.

I live just on the edge of campus. For the most part, you'd never know there was a University- or anything else- near by. But I actually like living in the woods.

Good luck with your search. You've put together a set of fairly disparate requirements that I think you are going to have trouble satisfying.

[cdepa513]

Originally Posted by adamz

I guess I never minded running into students. It happens.

I live just on the edge of campus. For the most part, you'd never know there was a University- or anything else- near by. But I actually like living in the woods.

Good luck with your search. You've put together a set of fairly disparate requirements that I think you are going to have trouble satisfying.

Thank you, though I'm not really sure what is disparate. My first post listed what I was actually looking for or to find out about which were friendliness and types of people, ages, etc., costs, nothing too eastern, nothing smelling like cow poop, proximity to amenities (which I noted Tolland has in Vernon & Manchester, though it is rural) & most importantly safety. I actually didn't really get much feedback on those things since the thread ended up turning into me being asked for specifics on why I didn't like certain areas, which really isn't relevant since those areas had already been ruled out based on familiarity with them and I mentioned they weren't in the running. My preference to not live in the woods only was mentioned b/c of that (along with other reasons which seemed to be dismissed though they were the main reasons) and somehow became the only requirement, which obviously isn't accurate. As I think I stated, I'm aware that this part of CT is what it is but prefer the areas that are less stuck in the woods or farms, which certain areas I know have (ex. Tolland has both from what I've seen). I wasn't initially including that in my inquiry since I would obviously have to visit the towns myself, but was trying to get a feel for the areas in general based on the things I had mentioned. Anyway, I gather we have very different personal tastes but thank you for your feedback.
PS - I suspect we have very different jobs at the college. I work very closely with students from the minute the day starts with zero downtime usually and a couple of evenings each week. Obviously it's what I signed up and I love them to death lol but I definitely have my fill of them by the end of the day/week! I need some personal space that is just mine! :/