[yourfriendmikem]

My wife and I have lived in west hartford for ten years now, 7 in our current house. We are expecting and we won’t have enough bedrooms once the new baby is old enough for their own room. We’ve talked endlessly about renovating vs moving so I’m looking for some outside perspective.

She has found a decent community here and enjoys living in and knowing the town. She’s a stay at home mom so no commute to worry about. I commute about 35 min to north haven, which is just on the edge of being too much for me. It would be nice to be closer.

We like west hartford but our yard is tiny, which isn’t really a comfortable fit for us. We’re starting to wonder if we’d be more happy with less ice cream and restaurants and more nature. That being said, having stuff to do and good town services is good.

In my ideal world we’d be looking at Madison, guilford, orange and maybe Branford but I don’t want to pull my wife from the relationships she’s worked to build. She has said that she’d be fine with Avon, Simsbury, Glastonbury and possibly canton, but then I’d be even further from work.

I can’t seem to find a place that fits. Where you can have a nice house and some space, in a good district with nice people for 450ish, but is closeish to west hartford and north haven. Does this place exist?

[Reilly1017]

Cheshire

[kidyankee764]

Wethersfield seems about right.

[JayCT]

We faced the same dilemma several years ago. I always swore that I’d never do a major remodel/expansion especially after I saw the hell our friends went through. We looked for a new home for years but never found one that we liked enough to move. We finally got serious when it became evident we really needed a large kitchen, we ultimately decided to expand the kitchen, add a mudroom and add a laundry room/pantry. It was months of hell but worth it. We got a stunning kitchen and a much more functional updated house that is near our friends, within a short walking distance to a park and pool and close to town and highways. Would I do it again? I suppose.

That said, if your wife has connections to West Hartford, I’d look for a new home there or maybe Farmington. Going further into the Farmington River Valley to Avon, Simsbury, Burlington or Canton will just add to your commute. Remember the saying “Happy wife, happy life”.

I will say when I read of what you were looking for I thought of Glastonbury. It has a nice balance between suburbia and rural character. Your price range is very popular right now so you won’t find a lot of inventory. You likely could find a house with more property for your price but it would be modest and/or need work. Glastonbury has a nice town center with great shops and restaurants and it has the fabulous Robb’s Farm for the best ice cream in the state as well as Carvel, Baskin Robbins, Ben & Jerry’s and a new Dairy Queen. Glastonbury is about 35 miles from North Haven so your commute would remain about the same depending where you live and where you work. Whether Glastonbury is the better choice for you, only you and your wife can decide. Good luck, Jay

[Stylo]

Highly personal choice.

Cheshire and Southington could fit bill and a bit closer to North Haven.

Middlefield, East Hampton, East Haddam, and Durham in the Middletown would give you the big properties and nature. And you could get your downtown fix in Middletown/Chester.

Otherwise agree maybe Glastonbury, Farmington, or Wethersfield closer to WH.

[Johnho771]

Have you considered Bloomfield? Right next to West Hartford, but might be more opportunity for a greater property at the 450k range. Relatively easy highway access too.

[nico7]

Do you have any kids in school already? Once you do, there is a good chance your group of friends will gravitate towards parents whose kids are in similar activities, etc. I can appreciate that your wife would want to keep her current friendships, but any close friends would still be a reasonable car ride away if you were to move.

Cheshire is a good fit geographically. Nice town, good schools, safe.

North Guilford has everything you are looking for and is about a 20-min commute to North Haven on Rt 80 --> Rt 22. If you want to be near the center of Guilford, then you are closer to 30+ min.

Branford is a great place to live, but schools are not on par with the other towns you are talking about. Don't get me wrong though, they would still get a solid education there. You might not get as much land as in North Guilford, though.

Madison seems like it would be stretching your commute, but it could work if you were near Rt 80.

[MrGompers]

Originally Posted by Johnho771

Have you considered Bloomfield? Right next to West Hartford, but might be more opportunity for a greater property at the 450k range. Relatively easy highway access too.

Unfortunately, Bloomfield has poor public schools.

[ProudFairfielder]

Originally Posted by Johnho771

Have you considered Bloomfield? Right next to West Hartford, but might be more opportunity for a greater property at the 450k range. Relatively easy highway access too.

Bloomfield is even further from North Haven

[Stepfordct]

I'd renovate the house if possible. Losing $$ on commission, etc new mortgage all over. Depends of course what style house you have and how conducive it lends itself. Most of the towns others mentioned in the middle have less desirable schools.

Orange, Madison are great but your wife would be far from friends...