[htfdcolt]

Originally Posted by orangepost-it

This all sounds wonderful -- thanks so much for supplying all the info! It's super useful in swaying my husband into the towns I want

I telecommute right now so I am crossing my fingers that they let me keep my job when we move. It'll help a lot of the logistics out and possibly allow us to be a one car family. Are they bike friendly? I had to upgrade my bike to a car when I moved to Florida because it was impossible down here.

And Vin100, congrats on finishing residency -- seems like such a long road still for us. I'm still trying to figure out how match all works -- all I know is that we can finally move out of Florida.

"Bike friendly"?--in a sense relative to Minneapolis, MN & Portland, OR, definitely not. However, lots of opportunities for recreational biking...maybe some of the best in the nation...with the Farmington River Valley Trail which goes right through Simsbury, Avon, Farmington. West Hartford is getting better but I still don't feel safe biking on the streets around here.

[orangepost-it]

We have two paid off cars so we will definitely be keeping them, I just dislike driving. If it's possible grocery shop and run small errands on a bike, I would consider that a huge advantage in where we purchase a home.

North Carolina and West Virginia are also high on our list for now -- were just looking for a coastal town that we can get a decent start in with seasons.

Thanks!

[NewJeffCT]

Originally Posted by orangepost-it

We have two paid off cars so we will definitely be keeping them, I just dislike driving. If it's possible grocery shop and run small errands on a bike, I would consider that a huge advantage in where we purchase a home.

North Carolina and West Virginia are also high on our list for now -- were just looking for a coastal town that we can get a decent start in with seasons.

Thanks!

Unless I'm mistaken, there isn't any coast in West Virginia? Nor is there in Farmington, though you do have the Farmington River for canoing/kayaking/tubing and some lakes/ponds in the area.

You do have a quick ride down Route 9 from Farmington to Rocky Neck in East Lyme, Ocean Beach in New London and a bit further out to Hammonasset in Madison. A little further up 95 brings you to Misquamicut in Rhode Island and the Atlantic Ocean.

If you're close to Route 9 in Farmington, it's about 45 minutes to Rocky Neck without traffic.

[orangepost-it]

Sorry, by coastal, I meant on the East coast, not on the coast itself . I'm averse to the Midwest due to flatness

[reed303]

Originally Posted by orangepost-it

We have two paid off cars so we will definitely be keeping them, I just dislike driving. If it's possible grocery shop and run small errands on a bike, I would consider that a huge advantage in where we purchase a home.

North Carolina and West Virginia are also high on our list for now -- were just looking for a coastal town that we can get a decent start in with seasons.

Thanks!

In Farmington, there is a neighborhood called the Highlands, with smaller homes on large lots, selling in the 200K-350K range. It would be about 1.5-2 miles biking to nearest commercial area with grocery, drugstore, banks, hardware, etc (Unionville)

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/41.7...b1!4m2!4m1!3e2

Highlands - Recently Sold Homes in 06032 - 14 Transactions | Zillow

[FunkOdyssey]

Originally Posted by orangepost-it

North Carolina and West Virginia are also high on our list for now -- were just looking for a coastal town that we can get a decent start in with seasons.

Forgive the tangent but I'm just curious how West Virginia ended up on the same short list as Farmington, CT. The two states are generally ranked lowest and highest respectively for quality of life and are about as dissimilar as any two places within the US can be.

[orangepost-it]

Thanks! Will look .

And I'm working with a list of programs from my husband (places that have big medical centers and a specific program). I know they're very different, but quality of life is what you make of it. We will visit all towns on the short list if possible in about six months, but the short list cannot be 20 cities long so I am looking and positives and negatives of each one and justifying which need a visit. Maybe I won't like West Virginia, but quality of life doesn't seem terrible there from what I've learned so far. It may be completely different when I visit, but so far, so good . My town currently has a so called "high quality of life", but I hate it here . Both Farmington and West Virginia have smaller town feels and nature in its backyard suitable for camping along with good school districts (family and education minded folk). Not that different

[Mr_250]

Originally Posted by orangepost-it

Thanks! Will look .

And I'm working with a list of programs from my husband (places that have big medical centers and a specific program). I know they're very different, but quality of life is what you make of it. We will visit all towns on the short list if possible in about six months, but the short list cannot be 20 cities long so I am looking and positives and negatives of each one and justifying which need a visit. Maybe I won't like West Virginia, but quality of life doesn't seem terrible there from what I've learned so far. It may be completely different when I visit, but so far, so good . My town currently has a so called "high quality of life", but I hate it here . Both Farmington and West Virginia have smaller town feels and nature in its backyard suitable for camping along with good school districts (family and education minded folk). Not that different

First time I've heard anyone compare Farmington and West Virginia and say they are similar.

do you mean west portion of Virginia or literally West Virginia?

[hvexpatinct]

I am guessing OP means Morgantown WV, which is actually more like an outpost of Pittsburgh than rural Appalachia. It is a college town with a decent cost of living.

[orangepost-it]

Yes, Morgantown -- which seems to be pretty populated. Not as big as Hartford, but still a decently sized city . We will visit all the ones and get a feel for it -- but yes, both are on the list as of now.