[bomgd3]

Hey folks! I lived in the Hartford West End from ~2010-2014 when I was in school and liked it a lot. Since then I've moved away, gotten married, and had two kids. I currently live in Ohio, in a streetcar suburb of Cleveland called Shaker Heights. It's a planned walkable community from the early 1900s with gorgeous old homes, sidewalks, shops, restaurants, etc. Now both me and my wife have found jobs at St. Francis Hospital and we are moving back later this year. We are hoping to replicate what we've had in Shaker Heights.

For reference, my parents live in Avon and we have no interest at all in that type of suburban living. We want walkability, ideally walkable or bikeable to the hospital, and tightly-knit neighborhoods with friendly neighbors.

I'm personally open to Hartford West End + private schools, versus West Hartford and sending our kids to public schools. I think the homes in Hartford are a lot more beautiful and also more suited to our family. The areas around West Hartford Center and Elizabeth Park have beautiful homes but they tend to be on the small side. Once you go outside of those two areas, it seems to quickly become car-dependent suburban sprawl with cookie cutter homes. It seems like a lot of West Hartford homes are 3 bedrooms and that just doesn't seem like enough for our family. We are hoping for closer to 2500-3000 square feet with at least 4 bedrooms.

Have any of you had this dilemma? I was wondering if you guys could shed some light on what factors we should take into consideration?

Also, since 2010-2014ish, has the West End improved?

Thanks!

[JayCT]

You do not mention budget. There are 4 bedroom homes out there but with todays low inventory they go fast. You need to be able to jump fast and aggressively when you find one. That’s especially true for well located, well maintained and updated properties.

Hartford’s West End has not changed since you left. Whether it with private schools or West Hartford is best for your family is something only you and your spouse can decide. Private school gets pricey but comparable homes in West Hartford get pricey. Again only you can decide. Good luck. Jay

[GeoffD]

Originally Posted by bomgd3

Now both me and my wife have found jobs at St. Francis Hospital and we are moving back later this year.

We want walkability, ideally walkable or bikeable to the hospital, and tightly-knit neighborhoods with friendly neighbors.

My wife had a regional director job for Trinity Health New England with an office at St Francis. That's generally not a neighborhood most women would feel comfortable walking around at night. The hospital has some safety issues. You could probably map out a bike route to the hospital where you wouldn't get run down like a dog but I personally would be riding on the sidewalks on Asylum and Woodland. The drivers are really aggressive and not at all bicycle-aware.


I'm not sure what you think you could walk to in the Hartford West End other than walking to the hospital. West Hartford Center is the high walk score place. There are 2,500 to 3,000 sf houses sprinkled among the smaller ones. It might be a long wait before one comes onto the market and it could be a vintage remodeling project. Park Road around Hall's Market is also high walk score but you're not going to find a lot of 2,500 to 3,000 sf houses.

[brownedbits]

Originally Posted by GeoffD

I'm not sure what you think you could walk to in the Hartford West End other than walking to the hospital.

I am not sure why you think the hospital is the only thing that constitutes the West End of Hartford. What about Farmington Ave, Prospect, near the Mark Twain House? Tisane, Half Door, etc. are all in Hartford near the WH border.

Source: I am a woman who walks plenty in Hartford's West End.

[MikefromCT]

There are plenty of spacious homes between 2,500 and 3,000 in both West Hartford and Hartford's west side, though it's still a really competitive real estate market out there. In the Elizabeth Park neighborhood are plenty of large homes in neighborhoods laid out in a street grid pattern. If you're really intent on walking or bicycling to work AND walkability to restaurants and shops, there are homes in the Park Road neighborhood in WH and this area has plenty of restaurants and pubs, coffee houses, tailors and cleaners, banks, etc. Houses are larger north of Boulevard on a number of the perpendicular streets (i.e., Whiting Lane, Arnoldale, Beverly and Lexington Roads, South Highland Street, etc). This area is beautiful and perfectly safe. Elsewhere, in the West Side are a number of streets with large homes, but this is north of Farmington Avenue (Kenyon Street, Girard Avenue, Tremont Street, Oxford Street, etc.) Here, you are within walking distance to Tisane, Moe's Midtown, Ichiban, Half Door, etc.) Your budget, personal preference, and of course, luck in beating out other buyers will determine where you end up.

[GeoffD]

Originally Posted by brownedbits

I am not sure why you think the hospital is the only thing that constitutes the West End of Hartford. What about Farmington Ave, Prospect, near the Mark Twain House? Tisane, Half Door, etc. are all in Hartford near the WH border.

Source: I am a woman who walks plenty in Hartford's West End.

Maybe I was unclear. The context is a couple who will both be working at St Francis walking to work. My wife worked there. She spoke of safety issues on the hospital grounds. Employees taking the van to the remote parking lots because there had been problems. I don’t think I implied the West End is unsafe. St Francis isn’t in the West End.

The OP was also talking about walkability. To me, that’s walk score measuring how much of your life you can do without a car. The West End doesn’t have a high walk score. There isn’t much retail. In West Hartford Center, you can do most things on foot. Grocery store. Hardware store. Pharmacy. Dry cleaner. Tons of medical and dental. We had a neighbor with some dementia problems and didn’t drive. She got along just fine with a son somewhere nearby who kept an eye on things and managed her finances. Park Ave also has a good walk store. It would be great to live within 5 or 10 minutes walk of Hall’s Market. Bishop’s Corner is also pretty good.


There are plenty of places in metro Hartford where it’s pleasant to walk. That doesn’t mean they have a high walk score.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by GeoffD

Maybe I was unclear. The context is a couple who will both be working at St Francis walking to work. My wife worked there. She spoke of safety issues on the hospital grounds. Employees taking the van to the remote parking lots because there had been problems. I don’t think I implied the West End is unsafe. St Francis isn’t in the West End.

The OP was also talking about walkability. To me, that’s walk score measuring how much of your life you can do without a car. The West End doesn’t have a high walk score. There isn’t much retail. In West Hartford Center, you can do most things on foot. Grocery store. Hardware store. Pharmacy. Dry cleaner. Tons of medical and dental. We had a neighbor with some dementia problems and didn’t drive. She got along just fine with a son somewhere nearby who kept an eye on things and managed her finances. Park Ave also has a good walk store. It would be great to live within 5 or 10 minutes walk of Hall’s Market. Bishop’s Corner is also pretty good.


There are plenty of places in metro Hartford where it’s pleasant to walk. That doesn’t mean they have a high walk score.

You are right. St. Francis is considered Asylum Hill, not the West End. The West End is west of the Park River, St. Francis is east of the river. There’s a big difference.

I don’t care about the Walkability Score, there’s quite a bit to walk to in the West End including restaurants, pharmacies, parks and other services. It’s up to the OP if that’s sufficient. Since they have lived there, they know what is there. Jay

[GeoffD]

Originally Posted by JayCT

You are right. St. Francis is considered Asylum Hill, not the West End. The West End is west of the Park River, St. Francis is east of the river. There’s a big difference.

I don’t care about the Walkability Score, there’s quite a bit to walk to in the West End including restaurants, pharmacies, parks and other services. It’s up to the OP if that’s sufficient. Since they have lived there, they know what is there. Jay

Ok, but my main point remains. Cleveland Clinic-South Pointe Hospital is in a nice suburban area. Walking to work from Shaker Heights is like you walking your dog in Glastonbury assuming you have a dog. St Francis is not in that kind of neighborhood. Most women wouldn’t feel comfortable walking out the door onto the Woodland Street sidewalk at night. The hospital runs vans to the remote employee lots behind the High School even though it’s only a 5 minute walk. It’s city on the edge of a low income neighborhood.

[missionhill]

Originally Posted by bomgd3

streetcar suburb of Cleveland called Shaker Heights...

I'm just here to protest calling Shaker Heights a streetcar suburb. It's like the antithesis of a streetcar suburb-- upscale, exclusive, beautiful, master planned. Yes it has a rapid transit line into Cleveland but it was laid out with the automobile in mind. Most of Cleveland's neighborhoods probably qualify as streetcar suburbs--i.e., urban residential areas that grew up around the extension of streetcar lines, packed with houses on small lots, usually not very upscale. They were suburbs by late nineteenth century standards but usually seen today as urban rather than suburban. Many streetcar suburbs, though not all, are within city limits rather than being suburban towns. The historian who coined the term with the title of his 1962 book Streetcar Suburbs was writing about Roxbury, West Roxbury and Dorchester, all once independent towns that had been annexed by Boston by the time they developed into streetcar suburbs. Except for a few very posh streets, Hartford West End is a typical streetcar suburb type environment-- not really planned, developed in a piecemeal way, retail strips along the main avenues, small narrow urban lots, two and three family houses mixed in among the singles. West Hartford is more post-World War I suburb than streetcar suburb.

[CTlibrarian]

Besides your jobs at St. Francis, what sort of places do you want to be able to walk to? I'm assuming some of the outings would involve the kiddos? IMO, you are better off near WH Hartford center. Not sure of your budget, but there are some 4- and 5- bedrooms homes with the square footage you require off of Boulevard that are close to the center. Nice neighborhoods for bike riding and strolling, meeting friendly neighbors, etc. WH Center has a good variety of places to eat and shop, quite a few are good for kids (ice cream places, toy store, Barnes & Noble, etc.) Whole Foods supermarket. I must admit I'm not as familiar with what stuff is in the West End near St. Francis, but from what I know most of the stuff is along Farmington Ave, which I feel is a bit sketchy. I don't believe there is a supermarket in that vicinity. Good luck!