[karelise]

Are there areas of West Hartford that are considered unsafe? Would that be as simple as those nearest to Hartford? We are low-budget but looking for dafe, family friendly and good schools. Thanks for any opnions of good and bad neighborhoods in West Hartford.

Also, as a whole, I can't get a feel for what West Hartford is like. Any thoughts, good or bad that describe the city?

Also, any suggestions for other nice, safe CT. towns with a housing budget under $250k? Probably needs to be within commuting distance of a Trader Joe's or Whole Foods..

thanks so much

[18watt]

for affordable, check out the elmwood section. don't know crime stats but the new park av, lower prospect av seems a tad shady.

[Jessica Beganski]

Karelise -

Having lived in two parts of West Hartford - near the center and off Park Road - I can tell you I always felt safe even living there as a single woman. I actually really like the area between South Quaker and Oakwood Av for affordability, walkability, sense of community and convenience.

There are a lot of houses in your price range right now - +/- 70 homes unser $250k.

Drive around, see what areas appeal to you. Then, don't take my or anyone else's word for it - talk to the local police department. Be sure to ask them to distinguish resident crime vs. business crime. Statistics can be skewed if you live off a busy road with commercial property because those have a lot more crime than a residential neighborhood.

For school info, I have a post on my blog with a link to WH's school map (http://ctrealestateunleashed.com/2008/03/10/schools-matter-in-real-estate-searching-for-your-home-in-connecticut-by-school-district/ - broken link).

[AmyBergquist]

You might also want to look at Newington. Convenient for commuting to work, median house price is $236K, and you'll find the property taxes are lower than West Hartford. You'd also still be close enough to West Hartford to get to Trader Joes and Whole Foods, although Stew Leonards in Newington is pretty nice for grocery shopping.

[goldenband]

Originally Posted by karelise

Are there areas of West Hartford that are considered unsafe? Would that be as simple as those nearest to Hartford?

No parts of WH are genuinely unsafe or dangerous, but the few that are very mildly sketchy are indeed the bits closest to Hartford, and I think 18watt pretty much nailed which ones those are. In particular, the area near the Gold Roc Diner isn't that great -- at one time, a handful of registered sex offenders were living in that vicinity -- nor is the easternmost part of Elmwood especially appealing.

Having said that, I think the western parts of Elmwood are probably your best bet. Inexpensive, generally quite safe, good sense of community, and a convenient location -- a very short hop to Trader Joe's, plus it's one of the better places in WH from which to catch a bus or hop on 84. It's also diverse in the non-euphemistic sense of the word -- it seems like a genuinely multiethnic community of working-class folks. As you go west and a bit north, it gets a little fancier.

The area between Farmington and Park (N-S), Main and Prospect (W-E) is where a lot of grad students and young professionals live. Good area to rent, might be tough to buy. Looking south a bit, most everything west of Oakwood Ave is fine, but I find the avenue itself to be a little dingy.

[MikefromCT]

Originally Posted by goldenband

No parts of WH are genuinely unsafe or dangerous, but the few that are very mildly sketchy are indeed the bits closest to Hartford, and I think 18watt pretty much nailed which ones those are. In particular, the area near the Gold Roc Diner isn't that great -- at one time, a handful of registered sex offenders were living in that vicinity -- nor is the easternmost part of Elmwood especially appealing.

Having said that, I think the western parts of Elmwood are probably your best bet. Inexpensive, generally quite safe, good sense of community, and a convenient location -- a very short hop to Trader Joe's, plus it's one of the better places in WH from which to catch a bus or hop on 84. It's also diverse in the non-euphemistic sense of the word -- it seems like a genuinely multiethnic community of working-class folks. As you go west and a bit north, it gets a little fancier.

The area between Farmington and Park (N-S), Main and Prospect (W-E) is where a lot of grad students and young professionals live. Good area to rent, might be tough to buy. Looking south a bit, most everything west of Oakwood Ave is fine, but I find the avenue itself to be a little dingy.

Ditto to that. Most of Elmwood is fine. It's a bit more of a working-class area, mostly postwar cape houses, bungalows and split levels. Honestly, I can't imagine you having any problems here. A friend of mine used to live on Hillcrest Ave, about three blocks from the Hartford city line. Not the best area but not dangerous. Let's just say it's not what comes to mind when most people think of WH.
There have been a few improvements even here, though. They finally opened a grocery store where the old Caldoor's (sp?) used to be. That was empty for the longest time. New Park Ave is also getting an ALDI supermarket soon, so even this area is picking up a bit.
In a nutshell, the aforementioned area isn't the most attractive, but you shouldn't be scared to travel through here at any time. Nothing in WH is that bad!

[JayCT]

My niece lived in the southeast corner of West Hartford for a while and found the area to be sketchy. This area is generally east of the railroad tracks, so I would avoid it. I agree that Newington would be a great option. Jay

[karelise]

thanks everyone, you've all given such helpful information. I'm not local yet so that's why I cant drive around myself.

Is anyone able to describe what West Hartford feels like? We've read the chamber of commerce/relocation packets but I'm still left with very little sense of what the area is like. I've been scourign the internet for pictures but havnt come up with a lot.

Thanks again for everyone's great information and repsonses!

[Uconn97]

I would describe WH as a little bit of everything. Diverse, you get all sorts of income ranges in town too. Housing is all over the place, style wise, price wise. The WH center and blueback areas are nice for shopping and wandering. We like the reservior for walking, biking. You are close to pretty much everything, close to hartford, depending on where you are in town you can be right near highways. Does that help you at all?

[goldenband]

Have you tried using Street View at Google Maps? Most of Elmwood is covered, as are some other parts of West Hartford.