[njnomore]

which have public transportation.

Does this exist that would enable me to get to work providing I can get a job within any public transportation means? Is this doable?
-OR-
Would I be better off in Fairfield county for the same I asked above?

Thanks!

[Dragondog]

'Walkable safe towns' that are 'safe' in the Hartford area?

Try West Hartford, Wethersfield, Avon, Farmington, Canton, Glastonbury, Rocky Hill, Cromwell, Suffield, Bolton.....to name a few.

[njguy]

I'm curious of what the OP was inquiring about in Fairfield county myself.

[Syd02]

Originally Posted by Dragondog

'Walkable safe towns' that are 'safe' in the Hartford area?

Try West Hartford, Wethersfield, Avon, Farmington, Canton, Glastonbury, Rocky Hill, Cromwell, Suffield, Bolton.....to name a few.

Sorry, no. I'm familiar with almost all of those communities, and while walking is possible (and enjoyable, if you enjoy the sound of cars whizzing by and the smell of exhaust fumes) it is not common.

The list at the bottom of this page (http://www.walkable.org/article6.htm - broken link) is fairly exclusive, and for good reason. It's all too easy to claim that a community is "walkable." Anyone who has spent much time living and/or walking in the communities on that list knows the difference.

Truly walkable communities make you want to walk for anything and everything, from getting groceries to returning library books, and for the luckiest people...going to work. When I lived in center city Philadelphia, my car would sit on the street for so long (unmoved) that it got towed twice as an abandoned vehicle.

There's a good reason why you don't find any CT communities on that list. We don't get it here. Our city planners seem perfectly happy with sprawl. Good luck, OP.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by Syd02

Sorry, no. I'm familiar with almost all of those communities, and while walking is possible (and enjoyable, if you enjoy the sound of cars whizzing by and the smell of exhaust fumes) it is not common.

The list at the bottom of this page (http://www.walkable.org/article6.htm - broken link) is fairly exclusive, and for good reason. It's all too easy to claim that a community is "walkable." Anyone who has spent much time living and/or walking in the communities on that list knows the difference.

Truly walkable communities make you want to walk for anything and everything, from getting groceries to returning library books, and for the luckiest people...going to work. When I lived in center city Philadelphia, my car would sit on the street for so long (unmoved) that it got towed twice as an abandoned vehicle.

There's a good reason why you don't find any CT communities on that list. We don't get it here. Our city planners seem perfectly happy with sprawl. Good luck, OP.

Princeton is on this list but not West Hartford? Come on now. What about Fairfield, Westport, Darien, Stratford, Greenwich, New Haven? These areas are definitely walkabel. I would love to know the criteria used for determining this. It is obvious that cities like Boston and Cambridge are on the list but Littleton, New Hampshire? Why? Does not make sense to me.

I would say the most walkable area in greater Hartford is West Hartford. Great downtown area (West Hartford Center). There is also Old Wethersfield. Not sure if Glastonbury would apply since there are only a few homes near the center of town.

Fairfield County does have more towns that are walkable but it is a lot more pricey than Hartford. Check out West Hartford. Jay

[patt with two t's]

i live in wethersfield and have walked along the river in the wethersfield meadows every day for 25 years now. i watch the corn grow and the snow fall and the leaves change and the first wild flowers bloom in spring. when i was without a car for an extended period of time i took the bus into hartford and other towns on the hartford county busroute to get to multiple companies - i had access to hundreds of companies for employment. i temped for over 20 years - changing companies constantly as we went thru recessions and back and always on the bus line. there were times i parked the car to save the parking fees and took the bus to stop right outside the travelers or the gold building. wethersfield itself is safe, peaceful and quiet. the wethersfield green is THE place to stroll, walk and rollerblade. i vary my routes down old main street to the wethersfield cove which has a perfect sunset every night. the streets are lined with colonials and victorians and everything in between. as close as i am to work - i am a million miles away from the sounds of traffic and commerce. my daughter recently lost her license and attempted to live "on the bus line" on farmington avenue in new britain. the reality was that it was not all that safe and not on a direct bus line like wethersfield is, so she would have to make 3 connections just to get to work in hartford. after 3 months of that she moved to wethersfield. she had four job offers; one in middletown, one in east hartford, one in glastonbury and one in hartford; and the public transit has direct lines to all these places from the silas deane highway in wethersfield.

[westender]

West Hartford is absolutely walkable. So is Hartford, but not all neighborhoods in Hartford meet the safe criteria in the OP. However, Hartford's West End plus the Golf Club District of West Hartford and the West Hartford Center area as well as Elmwood in West Hartford are all safe and walkable. Markets, shops, restaurants, and parks are all within a 10 minute walk in these neighborhoods.

[missionhill]

patt with two t's-- I hope you develop your walking memoirs beyond the rather practically minded audience in this forum. that piece on Wethersfield walks makes me want to head right up there and set out on the long brown path!

[Brent Bell, CRS]

Plug 85 Memorial Road, West Hartford, CT into Walkscore and you will see a result of 97 on a scale of 100!!! They call that score 'Walkers Paradise." My street, which I consider very walkable only scores a 43... Either way, there are very walkable parts of many towns, if you are willing to live near the town centers. Small parts of Glastonbury and Simsbury, plus much larger areas of West Hartford would work well for walkers.

Greater Hartford does have bus service into Hartford and out to the Malls. The bus schedule is much better for M-F day time commuters, runs are much less frequent on Sundays. CT transit authority should have schedules and routes.

[watchoverme]

West Hartford is an amazing town- my favorite one in all of CT. People get confusd if they're not from CT and don't realize it is its own town- not part of Hartford. People are very nice, it's beautiful and offers a lot to do, and isn't as crazy expensive as Fairfield County. I would choose W. Hartford over the pretentious Fairfield County towns any day personally. Definitely check it out.