Your opinions on Southington, please. (Hartford, Essex: rent, home, transfer)
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From NewJeffCT:
Main Street Niantic is nice with a lot of small shops & restaurants.
From JayCT:
Southington has a ski area and is very close to the country’s oldest continuously operated amusement park, Lake Componce which is on the Bristol town line.
From The_Quiet_One:
I find the center to be very walkable and quaint. Full of good restaurants. They have the Apple Harvest Festival there yearly. Southington also has a second, smaller center, known as Plantsville. Check that out, too. Both are connected by a rail trail.
From Stylo:
Maybe consider Milford, Wallingford, Branford too if you’re oriented to eastern shoreline...
From RoundTableKnight:
There are two downtowns. Downtown Southington and then there's downtown Plantsville. Both walkable and have coffee shops and restaurants. Plantsville is along the Farmington Canal Trail that runs through most of the town. The downtown Southington green is smaller but big enough to hold summer concerts. It has a New England feel to it. It runs along Center St which is filled with restaurants and bars. Prior to the pandemic Thursday, Friday and Saturdays nights were popping. Center St attracts both locals and people from surrounding towns.
These are exactly the kinds of things I'm looking for and so appreciate all of your suggestions! Niantic was on my list last visit but I ran out of time, so I'll have to make that happen. The ski area & amusement park in Southington would be great when younger relatives visit. Will check out Plantsville for sure. I fell in love with Milford and that's still on the list. And the popping downtown is something to look forward to after the past 20 months of zilch. Thank you all again, for taking the time to comment!
Main Street in Niantic is also next to Long Island Sound & you can walk along the boardwalk there as well.
I live in Southington and love it. Other posters have already provided a lot of the basics about location, downtown, schools, etc. so I won't repeat that information. The town is very friendly and comes together to support local causes... there is a great sense of community. In terms of housing, there are a lot more condos than apartment complexes so I think it should be fairly easy for you to find a condo to rent. Also some areas with multi-family homes - many close to the downtown area. Access to highways is excellent and the central location in the state makes it convenient to get to NY or northern New England. For sure, Southington does not have the coastal vibe that some of your other contenders have. One negative I see about the southern part of the state is the traffic. I-95 is very congested all the time; even if traffic is moving it is always heavy. On the other hand, there is typically less snow and ice along the coast if that is a concern.
If you have any specific questions about Southington, I'd be happy to answer as best I can. Good luck and have fun with your search!
I-95 is very congested all the time; even if traffic is moving it is always heavy.
95 east of New Haven is pretty light, outside of Friday's/Sunday's in summer. No different than 84 really, maybe even a bit lighter during the week and off-season.
...Access to highways is excellent and the central location in the state makes it convenient to get to NY or northern New England. For sure, Southington does not have the coastal vibe that some of your other contenders have. .... If you have any specific questions about Southington, I'd be happy to answer as best I can. Good luck and have fun with your search!
Thank you! Even though Southington doesn't have the coastal vibe, it's close enough IMO. I love the countryside and the Litchfield hills area too. And the small town charm seems to be everywhere in CT. On one of my earlier trips, I checked out Ridgefield on the advice of a friend. Out of my budget and way too busy - the traffic was non-stop. But it was a lovely town, and I noticed every town I crossed into had its own flavor so different from the one before it. I'm psyched to check it out and really start narrowing down the list!
I won't reiterate all the positives that have already been posted.
A couple (subjective) cons for consideration
- tends to be frequent accidents on I84 through the Southington exits
- traffic on Queen St (Rt 10) can be really bad during the AM, Lunch, and PM commute times
- there has been a lot of continued residential development by two local developers
- continued commercial development of West St
A couple (subjective) cons for consideration
- tends to be frequent accidents on I84 through the Southington exits
- traffic on Queen St (Rt 10) can be really bad during the AM, Lunch, and PM commute times
- there has been a lot of continued residential development by two local developers
- continued commercial development of West St
As a former resident and someone whos still in Southington once or twice a week, I think you hit the nail on the head with thes cons. Of course, no town is perfect.
But OP I assure you, the pros of Southington significantly outweigh the cons. It's a wonderful town.
I grew up and lived in Southington for 19 years. I loved living there. However, I haven't lived there since 2007. Going back there as an adult, it seems like it's lost it's small town feel which is unfortunate. Southington will always hold a special place in my heart.
Going back there as an adult, it seems like it's lost it's small town feel which is unfortunate.
You have the developer Mark Lovely to blame for that. He's bought up many vacant lots. He knocks all the trees down and turns them into character-less mcmansion style neighborhoods. 1 negative that the town can't really do much about except buy up all the vacant land for sale. They'll by some, but can't afford it all. He started working his way into Cheshire now too.
You have the developer Mark Lovely to blame for that. He's bought up many vacant lots. He knocks all the trees down and turns them into character-less mcmansion style neighborhoods. 1 negative that the town can't really do much about except buy up all the vacant land for sale. They'll by some, but can't afford it all. He started working his way into Cheshire now too.
Yes, that guy develops the ugliest and most character-less neighborhoods. Not cool.
You have the developer Mark Lovely to blame for that. He's bought up many vacant lots. He knocks all the trees down and turns them into character-less mcmansion style neighborhoods. 1 negative that the town can't really do much about except buy up all the vacant land for sale. They'll by some, but can't afford it all. He started working his way into Cheshire now too.
We moved 2 years ago because we were sandwiched between Denoria's 72 home development on Loper St and the continued attempts to further develop Laning St. But, we did enjoy all the activities the town did offer along with the downtown(s).
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