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Old 03-21-2017, 03:58 PM
fvs fvs started this thread
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by East of the River View Post
Commuting isn't awful but not great with no traffic it's a 10-15 minute ride on average the afternoon commute will be closer to 25-30. For some reason the morning is easier. Basically expect to sit for 10 minutes in stop and go traffic on the average day or 20 minutes on a bad day surface streets clog during rush hour too so usually there isn't any saving time there. Again not awful (I do the reverse commute going on 8 years now) just really annoying.
25-30 minutes is very doable for me. It'll be maddening to sit in traffic, but I'm used to commuting longer in Chicago, so I should be able to put up with it!

When you say 'reverse commute' - I presume from East to West? Just curious about traffic flows..
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Old 03-21-2017, 03:59 PM
 
Location: Woburn, MA / W. Hartford, CT
6,006 posts, read 4,987,806 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by fvs View Post
A mountain sounds great to someone from the midwest :-) I've read good things about West Hartford, so I certainly plan to check to out! I plan to visit the area in a couple weeks to check out places in both West Hartford and downtown, and probably a few other areas as well. It looks like there's plenty to do, many options for an active lifestyle, so I'm pretty pleased.. Thanks all, for your feedback!
Not to temper your enthusiasm...but it's really more part of the Metacomet ridge, not a mountain per se, although it's known as such around here. The views from the top are stunning...recommend a hike to the Heublein Tower once it gets warmer.
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Old 03-21-2017, 06:21 PM
 
Location: Connecticut
34,700 posts, read 56,496,602 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by fvs View Post
I was told that downtown was not a good place to live in, and that most people just drive by it and prefer not to stop there. Apparently there was an attempt to revive downtown ~10+ years but that but had failed.. However, I didn't know there were many restaurants downtown! It just goes to show - I need to check out the area in person before ruling it out completely! I like the idea of biking to work - sounds awesome, thanks for that idea :-)
Whoever told you that does not know what they are talking about. Over the past 10 years there have been several thousand apartments built downtown and most are fully occupied. You may actually have trouble finding a place since Hartford has one of the tightest rental markets in the country. Several hundred more apartments are planned because of demand. Also there are many great restaurants and bars. There is great theater at the wonderful Bushnell Center for the performing arts, Hartford Stage and Theaterworks, art at the country's oldest museum and music at Infinity Hall. UConn will be moving their West Hartford campus downtown this summer joining St. Joesph's College and professional baseball starts in April at the new Dunkin Donuts stadium. The XL Center and the Xfinity Meadows have concerts plus other events. And there are interesting exhibits at the Connecticut Science Center. Not far from downtown is the wonderful Mark Twain House along with its neighboring Harriet Beecher Stowe House. Hartford is also the state's largest employment center with more than 112,000 people working there.so you see, anyone just driving through Hartford is missing a lot. Jay
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Old 03-21-2017, 06:53 PM
 
Location: Woburn, MA / W. Hartford, CT
6,006 posts, read 4,987,806 times
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Originally Posted by JayCT View Post
Whoever told you that does not know what they are talking about. Over the past 10 years there have been several thousand apartments built downtown and most are fully occupied. You may actually have trouble finding a place since Hartford has one of the tightest rental markets in the country. Several hundred more apartments are planned because of demand. Also there are many great restaurants and bars. There is great theater at the wonderful Bushnell Center for the performing arts, Hartford Stage and Theaterworks, art at the country's oldest museum and music at Infinity Hall. UConn will be moving their West Hartford campus downtown this summer joining St. Joesph's College and professional baseball starts in April at the new Dunkin Donuts stadium. The XL Center and the Xfinity Meadows have concerts plus other events. And there are interesting exhibits at the Connecticut Science Center. Not far from downtown is the wonderful Mark Twain House along with its neighboring Harriet Beecher Stowe House. Hartford is also the state's largest employment center with more than 112,000 people working there.so you see, anyone just driving through Hartford is missing a lot. Jay
I would agree that downtown has improved a lot in the past few years. I would still say however, that you need a car because it's far from self-sufficient living. So factor in the cost of a garage space into the rent. There was a good article from last summer on this latest wave of residents:

Living In Downtown Hartford: Meet The New Neighbors - Hartford Courant
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Old 03-21-2017, 07:13 PM
 
Location: Connecticut
34,700 posts, read 56,496,602 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by htfdcolt View Post
I would agree that downtown has improved a lot in the past few years. I would still say however, that you need a car because it's far from self-sufficient living. So factor in the cost of a garage space into the rent. There was a good article from last summer on this latest wave of residents:

Living In Downtown Hartford: Meet The New Neighbors - Hartford Courant
Well not really. Downtown is the hub for a very extensive bus system that can get you to all the major shopping areas. And with Uber and Zipcars there is really not a need to have cars. But I agree it makes life a lot easier. Jay
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Old 03-21-2017, 08:19 PM
 
2,971 posts, read 3,155,749 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by htfdcolt View Post
There was a good article from last summer on this latest wave of residents:

Living In Downtown Hartford: Meet The New Neighbors - Hartford Courant
Look into it OP.
Looks like those Hartford dwellers know how to have fun - out wining and dining and having a good time instead of cowering in the woods. My kind of people. I'd check it out myself if I weren't so far away. We have about 7 or 8 downtown West Hartfords around here. Dime a dozen.
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Old 03-21-2017, 08:27 PM
 
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Since you plan to leave ho.e at 7-7:15 am, you won't have bad traffic. West Hartford has a very active social scene in the town center. It's got two big reservoirs with hiking and biking. It's safe. No reason not to look there.
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Old 03-21-2017, 10:26 PM
 
24,521 posts, read 18,032,893 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by parentologist View Post
Since you plan to leave ho.e at 7-7:15 am, you won't have bad traffic. West Hartford has a very active social scene in the town center. It's got two big reservoirs with hiking and biking. It's safe. No reason not to look there.
At 7:30am from West Hartford, is most of the bad traffic inbound to downtown Hartford or is it challenging to go the opposite direction, too?

For example:
Once you get east of Hartford, is I-84 eastbound up to the Mass Pike pretty open?
Once you get north of Hartford, is I-91 northbound to Springfield pretty open until near the Mass line?
Can you get from West Hartford to Waterbury on I-84 westbound?
Is Route 9 south to Berlin a do-able daily commute from West Hartford?

I used to reverse commute from Winchester Ma just north of Boston up I-93 to southern New Hampshire. It was pretty painless. I'm wondering what reverse commuting from West Hartford would be like.
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Old 03-22-2017, 06:35 AM
 
1,984 posts, read 1,438,987 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by fvs View Post
25-30 minutes is very doable for me. It'll be maddening to sit in traffic, but I'm used to commuting longer in Chicago, so I should be able to put up with it!

When you say 'reverse commute' - I presume from East to West? Just curious about traffic flows..
Yeah I travel from East of the river to West of Hartford(Manchester to Southington).
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Old 03-22-2017, 06:42 AM
 
1,984 posts, read 1,438,987 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by GeoffD View Post
At 7:30am from West Hartford, is most of the bad traffic inbound to downtown Hartford or is it challenging to go the opposite direction, too?

For example:
Once you get east of Hartford, is I-84 eastbound up to the Mass Pike pretty open?
Once you get north of Hartford, is I-91 northbound to Springfield pretty open until near the Mass line?
Can you get from West Hartford to Waterbury on I-84 westbound?
Is Route 9 south to Berlin a do-able daily commute from West Hartford?

I used to reverse commute from Winchester Ma just north of Boston up I-93 to southern New Hampshire. It was pretty painless. I'm wondering what reverse commuting from West Hartford would be like.
Hartford is the big bottle neck.

Hartford to the mass pike will be largely OK in the morning.
91 North is a little more confused (slow) thanks to commuters headed to Dayhill rd area of Windsor and Bloomfield but still much better then thru Hartford
Hartford to Waterbury, you will hit some traffic exiting Hartford into WH then it mostly clears until it slows down again near Waterbury.
RT9 usually is OK you will get slow downs and some stop and go around the 72/9 merge and some other slow down area as the lanes shift.
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