Planning On Visiting Connecticut Later This Fall (For Looking Into Moving Purposes) (New Haven: apartment complexes, insurance)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Hello, all. I have been in a quest to find out where I'm moving to (from Oklahoma) since I joined these forums. Things are a bit different now in my life than they were when I made the MA and NY topics. I'll explain what that means later.
If you'd like to skip all of this back context, just scroll on down to where I typed in bold "Now onto my questions".
First of all, I am a single woman in my mid 30s.
Ideally, I wanted a place that my parents would want to move to, too, (because I love them, and I don't want to leave them alone as they get older) and Connecticut is the state that we collectively agreed upon. I like the politics, human rights, climate, culture, close proximity to Boston and New York City along with other major metros further south, and UCONN. My parents like the politics, beaches and camping opportunities (alongside many other things - I'm not going to try to talk for them too much here).
(If it turns out that it isn't affordable for us to move in the end, that will complicate things. Michigan is the other state we would all move to. For me individually, Minnesota. My parents don't want to move to Minnesota, so that's only if everything else doesn't work out. I'm worried about Michigan flipping red, so that makes that state the last option in my mind. Other swing and any red states are not on the table here. Absolutely not. All of the other blue states [save for New Mexico and maybe Illinois] are all super expensive and I don't know why I'd be able to move to them if I can't move to CT, so that's why I'm focusing on CT altogether. I really don't want to move to NM. I hate the climate. Illinois could work, but my parents wouldn't want to move there either. So... CT or MI are the options for both of us, with CT being the safest option for my rights, as MI could always go south in just one election)
But, we've decided that I will initially move by myself while my parents get everything in order to sell the house.
When I said things have changed earlier... I'm not expecting people to have been a part of my past topics, but I know some have been and may remember. The big change is one that is quite beneficial for me - I will be able to drive, making the move much, much, much less complicated! So no longer do we have to worry so much about walkability, public transportation, and working out apartment location with jobs and stores and stuff like that.
The bad news is that I'm still career-less and my skills at this point are data entry. Without getting too much into unnecessary tangents, I'm in a strange place right now where I feel like I need to find out what I really want to do with my life. It's not ideal circumstances under which to make a move, but I don't know what I can do at this point. Moving is necessary. (based on responses I received in past topics, I'm just going to say, lets not question that. Just answer my questions, please )
Now onto my questions: We're planning to make a trip later this fall, whether that is in later October or November, I do not know. So I would like some advice on what to do and where to look on that trip.
I love the suburban life that I've lived in almost my entire life, but I'm willing to live in a city if I have to, to make ends meet. I've long gravitated toward the Hartford metro area versus the others. I know it's cheaper than New Haven. But I know that Hartford itself is notoriously dangerous. I've heard that "West End" is fine. But I hear mixed messages on every area of Hartford. Some say it's dangerous, some say it's fine. Some say specific roads/neighborhoods are safe, others say to completely avoid those same roads/neighborhoods. My research into this has been very confusing. I would like some maybe clearer answers on this to know where to look.
I know that West Hartford, Simsbury and Avon are highly-praised suburbs of Hartford, but also are very expensive. I've looked at other suburbs like Glastonbury, Manchester, etc., The Vernon, Rockville area North of Manchester looks pretty nice, but I'm unsure how easy it would be to find a place in these areas. Any other areas that I should check out? I know probably New Britain, it has a not-so-great reputation, but I have to keep options open, since I'm going to be lower class.
It doesn't HAVE to be Hartford metro in the end, but I don't want to live in rural areas. Technically, I'm open to MA or RI as well, but CT is the state that my parents and I have collectively decided upon, and they want me to test-run CT to see if I do like it, so it would be counter-productive to live in a different state, although I bet they're pretty similar (correct me if I'm wrong!).
When my parents come up, we hope to find a house and the town/city we find that in may be entirely different (and hopefully we'll collectively be more middle class), but right now I'm focused on finding an apartment for me (studio or one bedroom).
One big question: Realistically, how is commute to Boston or New York City? Is this something that can be achieved in reasonable time or is it something that will take forever with backed up traffic and everything?
I ask because I have a lot of doctors to find, and I know of one that I previously saw here in Oklahoma who now works in the Boston area and I'd like to know if that's a realistic commute to make or if I need to give up on that and find only doctors that are really close to where I end up living/working. (I prefer day jobs, and I'm currently working my first one, I've noticed how doctor's appointments always have to conflict with my shift to some degree and that's not optimal. Most people don't have as many doctors' appointments as I do. So, yeah, would a commute to Boston for a doctor's appointment without taking up an entire day shift of work even be possible?)
Also, it's a good question as I get ready to look for jobs, as well. I don't think I'd look for a job as far away as Boston, but still jobs directly in Hartford, what is the commute like?
Lastly, as I am getting ready learn to drive, I will be a new driver and that makes me really nervous. I know that driving habits are sure to be drastically different up in New England versus Oklahoma. What should I know in advance? Thanks! (I've heard that I need to get snow tires!)
Last edited by WoodwindsRock; 09-30-2023 at 10:06 AM..
Just be aware that CT cities, at least the urban built up areas, aren't that big from a geographic sense (well, they aren't big by all accounts too, lol.) You will find yourself in suburban areas within the city limits of many or all of CT cities. They have suburban residential and commercial areas. This is compared to NYC, which also has suburbanish areas -though their suburbanish areas do seem denser than much of Stamford-, but once you enter the urbanish areas they seem to go on forever.
A good example is Stamford (which has an express train by Metro-North to Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan (the nice one seen in many movies.)) Despite Stamford is technically a city, most of the city is leafy suburban with several shopping areas/strips catering to these suburban areas. North Stamford takes the place more of exurban than suburban. There are many people that live in the suburban/exurban parts of Stamford and they basically don't venture much to the more urban areas of the city to the point that many depend on Google Maps and the likes to get around in that part. That's how unfamiliar they are to the more urban parts of the city. The same is true in vice versa and, of course, there are many people that constantly are in the urban/suburban and even exurban parts of Stamford (the types that don't need Google Maps and the likes to find their way anywhere in the municipality.) There is a UConn regional campus too (used to be up to where the Stamford Museum & Nature Center is located, but now is in downtown and it has been there for several decades, in fact the Parc Tower was just an empty corner and later with a small graden when the new regional campus open -itself where Bloomingdale used to be, the original bulding was modified for the new campus-.)
The two things that could make Stamford not for you is the cost (basically, it's the most expensive city in CT and the state is already quite expensive) and geographically it's closer to NYC than Boston. In fact, NYC is closer to Stamford than much of CT too.
What type of place are you actually looking for? Townhouse, single or multi family? Hartford is the actual city so if you can handle that, you should look into East Hartford in addition to Manchester. You could go even further east to be closer to Boston but you said you didn't want rural. Did you consider anything along the coastline for easy access to I95/395?
Okay, so roughly two hours is the standard commute. That seems like it might be reasonable for one doctor at least, as I know people who take off entire halves of a shift for doctor's appointments, so I could schedule after 2:30pm (at the very earliest, but doctor's appointments might be hard to get much later) and take the whole afternoon off and it should work out fine. But I should definitely try my hardest to get the other doctors more local.
It's good that the cities in CT are smaller, I suppose, and would maintain kinda a suburban feel. I've never lived in an urban area, so I don't know anything about them. I don't know how they really are.
I'm looking for an apartment. Either studio or one bedroom. Of course, the latter is preferable, but I'm not going to fuss much if I have to go with studio. The most important aspect (aside from being in a not-too-dangerous area) is one that allows for dogs. I have a dog right now, and I plan to always have one. Of course, it also needs air-conditioning in some form, even a window unit is fine (which I think is the most likely to find in the area). Otherwise I'm not picky.
Is East Hartford okay? That area seemed iffy, but IDK. Obviously I haven't been yet! Manchester has been an area that I have looked at and seems like a good fit but I want to make sure I avoid the dangerous areas. I also don't know how many apartment complexes the town has.
I don't know much of anything about the coastline areas. I figured they were super expensive and so I have stuck around Hartford. My parents would like towns closer to the coastline, though, because it would be quick access to the beach. I think the town they like the most is Madison, but the prices there seemed sky high.
If you still are searching for a career, but do have basic office skills/data entry, I think you should locate in a bigger town/city, that has quick access to office jobs/data entry. If I were you, I would locate in suburban Hartford or New Haven. That way you would have reasonable access to jobs. There are plenty of rents in the larger towns and cities, but like all cities there are desirable and undesirable areas (just as in OK). I would look around the area before you commit to a rent.
As far as travel to NYC and Boston (the closest large cities), driving into Boston is not that bad. Boston is about the size of Oklahoma City (500,000 – 700, 000) give or take. So, driving in and out is not really a big deal, I go up there once in a while and it’s not bad at all. In land area, Boston is actually a small city.
NYC (8 million people) is another matter. Most people who go to NYC take the train in (Metro-North) from New Haven (about 90 min – 2 hrs.). You really don’t want to drive into NYC if you can help it. Washington DC is about 5.5 hours by car. Driving in CT is no different than Oklahoma, except there the outlaying areas are not as vast.
It should be a nice change for you, going from a location deep in the interior of the country, to the coastal region. The area from Boston to Miami has a lot to see and do.
Okay, so roughly two hours is the standard commute. That seems like it might be reasonable for one doctor at least, as I know people who take off entire halves of a shift for doctor's appointments, so I could schedule after 2:30pm (at the very earliest, but doctor's appointments might be hard to get much later) and take the whole afternoon off and it should work out fine. But I should definitely try my hardest to get the other doctors more local.
It's good that the cities in CT are smaller, I suppose, and would maintain kinda a suburban feel. I've never lived in an urban area, so I don't know anything about them. I don't know how they really are.
I'm looking for an apartment. Either studio or one bedroom. Of course, the latter is preferable, but I'm not going to fuss much if I have to go with studio. The most important aspect (aside from being in a not-too-dangerous area) is one that allows for dogs. I have a dog right now, and I plan to always have one. Of course, it also needs air-conditioning in some form, even a window unit is fine (which I think is the most likely to find in the area). Otherwise I'm not picky.
Is East Hartford okay? That area seemed iffy, but IDK. Obviously I haven't been yet! Manchester has been an area that I have looked at and seems like a good fit but I want to make sure I avoid the dangerous areas. I also don't know how many apartment complexes the town has.
I don't know much of anything about the coastline areas. I figured they were super expensive and so I have stuck around Hartford. My parents would like towns closer to the coastline, though, because it would be quick access to the beach. I think the town they like the most is Madison, but the prices there seemed sky high.
I figured if you were looking at Hartford, then East Hartford would seem like Glastonbury with slightly cheaper houses It has good and bad areas like most places. I would stay away from the center, Burnside Ave area. Housing is less than Glastonbury but taxes may be more depending on the house. Most of the coastline is probably more expensive than Hartford county but you never know what will pop up.
Unless your poor, on state aid or welfare and immobile the dangerous parts of Hartford have no impact. Nobody takes wrong turns and gets lost anymore, those days are over.
You do realize that you are considering moving from one of the most inexpensive states to one of the most expensive states. As long as you are aware of that, then you should be fine.
You say you only have experience with data entry. Hartford is home to many major insurance companies and data entry is one of the key employment opportunities offered. I can’t speak to how well they are paid but I do know one person who makes a decent living with this.
You say you’d be willing to drive to Boston for medical care. Please note that you do not have to go that far to find top rated care. Yale New Haven Hospital is considered one of the top hospitals in the country. It is nationally ranked in eight specialties and ranked High Performing in 4 specialties and 17 procedures/conditions. It has appeared on US News & World Reports Top 20 Hospitals.
You say you like suburban areas so I would not recommend Hartford itself. You have to understand that here in the northeast, cities tend to be small in area and be the dense urban core of larger metropolitan areas. Hartford is just 17 square miles and it is surrounded by a number of independent towns that are its suburbs. There are many very nice more affordable suburbs to consider. Wethersfield, Newington and Rocky Hill are great middle class communities that are close to Hartford.
Another town I would consider is Middletown. It is home to Wesleyan University and has a great downtown with wonderful stores (R.J. Julia/Wesleyan Bookstore, D’Amato’s Toy Store, etc.) and restaurants. Being in the middle of the state, it is not far from Hartford or New Haven. There are a lot of beautiful neighborhoods and apartments to consider. I think you and your parents would like it. Jay
Not sure where you heard Hartford metro is cheaper than New Haven metro. They're similar. They're both cheaper than the Stamford/Norwalk issue.
Harford metro is great, and you have some good suggestions here.
I'd also check out the New Haven metro when you're there. New Haven is CT's cultural/food capital, so it's nice to live near and the suburbs are great. Sounds like you're concerned about doctors, and Yale New Haven is a very highly regarded hospital system. The area in general has a lot of good medical resources. Also, if concerned about traffic into NYC and Boston (it's generally much worse going into NYC), you have train access to both from New Haven.
Towns to check out: Branford, North Haven, Milford, Orange, Wallingford, Guilford, Madison.
Branford and Milford are very solidly suburban without feeling rural. Very well rounded towns.
You could also get A LOT of bang for your buck in the Naugatuck Valley towns. Even Derby, which sometimes gets a bad rap, has some really nice neighborhoods near Orange or near Seymour/Oxford. Same with Ansonia near Woodbridge. Seymour is a steal too. These towns are generally very cheap despite being in a good locations. Schools can be so so, but sounds like that's not a concern.
As mentioned, Middletown is pretty nice and central between New Haven and Hartford. The surrounding area is a little rural feeling, but Middletown itself has plenty of shopping and a nice downtown.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
)
I would like some maybe clearer answers on this to know where to look.
