[GeoffD]

Originally Posted by parentologist

North Canton is too far, in my opinion.

Home prices drop off significantly compared to Simsbury and Avon. If you're looking for semi-rural on a budget, you commute farther. Not what I'd pick but it's an option.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by parentologist

I second Simsbury. Prices are a bit lower, although taxes are just as high. Has areas with a definite "exurban" feel. The schools are excellent - there will be high academic expectations, but it's not the kind of town that is filled with kids who ONLY do schoolwork. And yes, as driving goes, 185 is not as steep as 44. If she can flex her schedule, and drive in early and leave early, she won't have to deal with as much traffic. Or she could take a commuter bus.

North Canton is too far, in my opinion.

I agree. My inlaws live in Simsbury and took Route 185 to commute to jobs in West Hartford and Hartford. It is probably the best mountain crossing. Still a lot of traffic but not as crazy as Route 44 or Route 4. That said they did change from driving to using the commuter bus from Route 10 in Simsbury. They loved it. Much easier than driving and then trying to find parking.

Commuting from Glastonbury is not that horrible either. Route 2 which takes you right into downtown by Constitution Plaza does get backed up in the vicinity of Route 3 and Main Street in East Hartford and then as it approaches I-84 but the lanes to the Founders Bridge do move. It might be an option to consider. Jay

[MrGompers]

Originally Posted by zmoson

Hi,

Our family is relocating to this area from midwest, we’re looking for housing in surrounding area.

. Budget 300-400k.
. Good public school is must. Want MODERATE hard working environment for kids.
. Wife need to commute near XL center, can’t work from home even in bad weather days.
Deep snow doesn’t bother us, used to live in upper midwest with half year of snow. However, hilly road with thin ice does bother us, didn’t have much experience with that.
We prefer low traffic backroad over freeway for commute, if it does not add too much time.
. Perfer quiet, rural area. Distance from shopping does not matter, we used to live in a town 1 hour away from nearest mall. Though it’ll be nice to have a grocery store within 30 minuets.

1. We heard about rt 44 is rough in winter, would rt 185 be better? How about old farm road - farmington ave?
2. How is the road from 185 to north Canton in winter? We found a house we really like there.
3. We heard about albarny ave, would homestead ave - walnut st be safer? Wife need to drive by herself to downtown daily.
4. Is crossing the river a problem? How heavy is the traffic on rt 2?
5. How’s the culture difference between the towns. I read from this fourm that Avon is too much about chasing luxury materials, is it real? If it is, to what degree?

Appreciate any advice.

To the bolded part - There are no "low traffic backroads" in or out of City of Hartford especially during rush hour.



If you need to commute to downtown Hartford towns south or east of Hartford are easier / have less traffic.


South - Wethersfield, Rocky Hill, Berlin, Cromwell, Newington
East - Glastonbury, Portland, Hebron, Marlborough

[Newtohartfordct]

Originally Posted by zmoson

Hi,

Our family is relocating to this area from midwest, we’re looking for housing in surrounding area.

. Budget 300-400k.
. Good public school is must. Want MODERATE hard working environment for kids.
. Wife need to commute near XL center, can’t work from home even in bad weather days.
Deep snow doesn’t bother us, used to live in upper midwest with half year of snow. However, hilly road with thin ice does bother us, didn’t have much experience with that.
We prefer low traffic backroad over freeway for commute, if it does not add too much time.
. Perfer quiet, rural area. Distance from shopping does not matter, we used to live in a town 1 hour away from nearest mall. Though it’ll be nice to have a grocery store within 30 minuets.

1. We heard about rt 44 is rough in winter, would rt 185 be better? How about old farm road - farmington ave?
2. How is the road from 185 to north Canton in winter? We found a house we really like there.
3. We heard about albarny ave, would homestead ave - walnut st be safer? Wife need to drive by herself to downtown daily.
4. Is crossing the river a problem? How heavy is the traffic on rt 2?
5. How’s the culture difference between the towns. I read from this fourm that Avon is too much about chasing luxury materials, is it real? If it is, to what degree?

Appreciate any advice.

Why not Rocky Hill?

Middle class, safe and most importantly GROWTH! We just had a new school built, because of the population growth. Schools are well funded and perform well.

My husband commutes to East Hartford for work and it takes him 20 minutes. I think you could get a larger more updated home with your budget. We had the same budget and saw many lovely homes in Glastonbury and Farmington. They were older, but kept up well and good bones. Many had been remodeled. The majority did not have central air though. If you look there, be prepared to put money aside to add it.

We ended up staying in Rocky Hill since my kids were in school here already. We found a newer home with everything we needed and central air.

[htfdcolt]

Originally Posted by Newtohartfordct

Why not Rocky Hill?

Middle class, safe and most importantly GROWTH! We just had a new school built, because of the population growth. Schools are well funded and perform well.

My husband commutes to East Hartford for work and it takes him 20 minutes. I think you could get a larger more updated home with your budget. We had the same budget and saw many lovely homes in Glastonbury and Farmington. They were older, but kept up well and good bones. Many had been remodeled. The majority did not have central air though. If you look there, be prepared to put money aside to add it.

We ended up staying in Rocky Hill since my kids were in school here already. We found a newer home with everything we needed and central air.

Rocky Hill is a solid town but the OP indicated a preference for "quiet & rural".

[zmoson]

Thanks everyone for the valuable information, after driving around all day today, We figured we’d pick simbury and avon, whichever has a suitable house.

And here’s some findings, may be useful for future readers of this post:
1. Road in north Canton is really hilly and winding, not easy to handle even in sunny days.
2. Simbury has more dense vegetations than Avon, larger trees.
3. West Hartford has more classic old downton feel.
4. Route 44 has very steep slopes, will not be easy in winter, 185 is way much better, 4 is almost flat, though driving through West Hartford in Farmington ave needs some time.
5. Glasstonbury is more feel like a midwest big city, mostly flat with some small hilly areas, Highway goes through, more sunny than valley towns.
6. People on the westside drive more gently, Farmington and Avon drivers more gentle than Simbury.(This may be heavily inaccurate, for I only drove one day, not statistically significant.)
7. Italian and Chinese are the two major international cuisines here, and sushi is also common.
8. Homestead Ave has a lot of not well maintained buildings, looks like a rough place.
9. Granby has the most rural feeling among all town I visited today. However, can hear the airport from there.

Haven’t thought about south side, may check it out tomorrow. I guess it’s more feel like Glasstonbury for it’s more flat and open space?

[in_newengland]

Originally Posted by zmoson

Thanks everyone for the valuable information, after driving around all day today, We figured we’d pick simbury and avon, whichever has a suitable house.

And here’s some findings, may be useful for future readers of this post:
1. Road in north Canton is really hilly and winding, not easy to handle even in sunny days.
2. Simbury has more dense vegetations than Avon, larger trees.
3. West Hartford has more classic old downton feel.
4. Route 44 has very steep slopes, will not be easy in winter, 185 is way much better, 4 is almost flat, though driving through West Hartford in Farmington ave needs some time.
5. Glasstonbury is more feel like a midwest big city, mostly flat with some small hilly areas, Highway goes through, more sunny than valley towns.
6. People on the westside drive more gently, Farmington and Avon drivers more gentle than Simbury.(This may be heavily inaccurate, for I only drove one day, not statistically significant.)
7. Italian and Chinese are the two major international cuisines here, and sushi is also common.
8. Homestead Ave has a lot of not well maintained buildings, looks like a rough place.
9. Granby has the most rural feeling among all town I visited today. However, can hear the airport from there.

Haven’t thought about south side, may check it out tomorrow. I guess it’s more feel like Glasstonbury for it’s more flat and open space?

Interesting! I love Canton but it's too far away for your purposes.

I'd go for either Simsbury or Glastonbury. Funny what you said about the cuisines around here--Italian and Chinese is just about it! We truly could use some Indian, a few genuine family style pubs with decent food and drink, and some more healthy options. Good luck.

[GeoffD]

I noted the OP’s comment about Homestead Ave. The transition from the affluent leafy suburbs to the downtrodden non-downtown northern part of Hartford is pretty shocking the first time you experience it.

[MrGompers]

Originally Posted by zmoson

Thanks everyone for the valuable information, after driving around all day today, We figured we’d pick simbury and avon, whichever has a suitable house.

And here’s some findings, may be useful for future readers of this post:
1. Road in north Canton is really hilly and winding, not easy to handle even in sunny days.
2. Simbury has more dense vegetations than Avon, larger trees.
3. West Hartford has more classic old downton feel.
4. Route 44 has very steep slopes, will not be easy in winter, 185 is way much better, 4 is almost flat, though driving through West Hartford in Farmington ave needs some time.
5. Glasstonbury is more feel like a midwest big city, mostly flat with some small hilly areas, Highway goes through, more sunny than valley towns.
6. People on the westside drive more gently, Farmington and Avon drivers more gentle than Simbury.(This may be heavily inaccurate, for I only drove one day, not statistically significant.)
7. Italian and Chinese are the two major international cuisines here, and sushi is also common.
8. Homestead Ave has a lot of not well maintained buildings, looks like a rough place.
9. Granby has the most rural feeling among all town I visited today. However, can hear the airport from there.

Haven’t thought about south side, may check it out tomorrow. I guess it’s more feel like Glasstonbury for it’s more flat and open space?

Maybe someone else here can verify, but I think that the airport (BDL) is closed at / around midnight. The tower is always staffed in case of emergencies, but those are few and far between.
IMO its more important to have quiet at night vs day time.

[GeoffD]

Originally Posted by MrGompers

Maybe someone else here can verify, but I think that the airport (BDL) is closed at / around midnight. The tower is always staffed in case of emergencies, but those are few and far between.
IMO its more important to have quiet at night vs day time.

Nothing is scheduled to land after midnight but scheduled flights running late land after midnight from time to time. I've come in a bit after midnight on Denver flights a couple of times. The United Denver flight is scheduled to land at 11:30pm. The airport is deserted.


I have some mid-1990s experience in Suffield. There's no way I'd want to live in the northern part of Enfield, Suffield or East Granby. 24 is the active runway most of the time.