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My husband and I will begin the house hunting process soon. We plan to look in Avon, Farmington, Simsbury, Glastonbury and West Hartford. What are the pros and cons of these towns? We don't have any kids yet, but are planning on having them soon. The schools in these towns seem great on paper, but I don't know anyone who has personal experience with the schools. I'd appreciate any insight on these areas. Thank you.
All the towns you named above are fine choices. Glastonbury is the only one east of the Connecticut river and Hartford.
West Hartford will be the most 'developed' with a fine downtown, great shops, restaurants, and more. Schools are very good.
Avon is 'newer' then W. Hartford, and has some homes on large lots, and newer sub divisions. The commute into Hartford on US 44 and Avon Mountain can be stressful at times. Lots of shopping, restaurants- upscale 'existence'. Excellent schools.
Farmington is another 'newer' bedroom community' compared to West Hartford- even though it dates from the mid 1650s- it has become more developed in recent years. Many upscale areas-pleasant enough 'New England Main St.' Very good schools. Home of the famous girls private school 'Ms. Porters School' (Jackie Kennedy was an alumni)
Glastonbury- Very nice Main Street, some fine shops, many fantastic restaurants, some very upscale neighborhoods, excellent schools- richest town in the Hartford area east of the river.
Simsbury- very pleasant town- semi rural like Farmington and Avon. Dates from the late 1600's
Others here can fill in more regarding schools and local data etc.
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Last edited by skytrekker; 04-11-2007 at 05:42 PM..
I work as a teaching assistant in the Glastonbury school system. We live in a neighboring town so my children are in a different school district.
From everything I have seen I can highly recommend this school system. The teacher to student ratio is very good. Also, there are a fair amount of teaching assistants within this system offering help to the teachers and students. The University of Connecticut's Neag School of Education is one of the best in the country and Glastonbury is one of the districts where their students train. This is beneficial to not only the university's students but to the students in Glastonbury as they reap the benefits of having well trained and educated teaching students within the class rooms.
The curriculum is excellent, up to date and well thought out. The teachers I have met truly care about their students and are extremely creative and innovative.
There is no lack of supporting specialists such as physical therapists, speech and language therapists, occupational therapits, ESL teachers, psychologists, social workers, etc.
Most importantly and often forgotten is the parent involvement. The PTO within this district is strong and offers students many opportunities that other school systems could only dream of. Parent volunteers are welcomed with open arms and strongly encouraged.
Sports and the arts are plentiful. The district has wonderful art shows where the parents are invited in to view the "galleries" of artwork their children have created.
The only possible negative that I can come up with is that this school system is very competitive. The kids take their academics seriously and strive to be the best.
If I can be of any help to you please feel free to send me a message.
NY2CT - I am very familar with the towns that you are interested in and all are excellent. They are not only the best suburbs of Hartford, thye are among the best in the Country. Each has a somewhat different feel.
West Hartford is an older, more densely populated suburb directly west of Hartford. It is more urban in feeling with a lot of older homes (some multi-family) on smaller lots and apartments and condominiums, so there is a real mix of people here (rich, poor, different nationalities). They have one of the best central business districts in the State, if not the country. It has a LOT of upscale restaurants and shops and is a destination for many people in the region. There is a redevelopment project (called Blue Back Square) being built in West Hartford Center now that is being touted as the model for redevelopment everywhere! It will feature restaurants, upscale retail and offices and movie theaters designed to look like an older downtown area. It will be opening this fall. West Hartford is also home to the regions most upscale shopping mall, West Farms, which stradles the West Hartford Farmington town line. It features Macy's, Nordstroms, Lord & Taylor and J.C. Penney, plus a hundred or so other stores. I-84 passes directly through so there is easy access to everything.
To the west of West Hartford is a line of small mountains that separate the towns of the Farmington River valley from the rest of the region. Those towns include much of Farmington, Avon and Simsbury. Because of these mountains, there is a feeling of separation from the rest of the Hartford region that makes these communities seem "idealic". The mountains also make access very difficult. There are only a few heavily traveled roads that connect the valley to the rest of the region to the east, so if you want to get anywhere, it is not easy (at least by Connecticut standards). All three towns have great schools and there is a LOT of shopping, entertainment and restaurant options along Route 44 in Avon and Simsbury (and now neighboring Canton) so there is no real need to ever leave the valley.
Glastonbury is located southeast of Hartford and has great access to downtown (literally minutes via Route 2), I-91 (to travel north and south), I-84 (to travel east and west) and Route 2 (to travel southeast). The schools are great and there are a number of restaurants and shopping options, but not as many as West Hartford or the Farmington Valley. Nearby Manchester has a major regional mall (Buckland Hills) and ALL the major stores, so if you need something that is not available in town, it is a short trip away there. Glastonbury is suburban to rural in nature and there is a broad range of housing options. It has a small town feel with some farms.
All this said, we chose Glastonbury because of the easy access and excellent schools. I can tell you that we have been very pleased with the elementary schools because they have a small class size (around 21 students per class)and offer a lot of opportunities for students. We are a bit concerned that the middle school and high school are so large (1,100 and 2,200 students respectively), but from everything we hear from friends and neighbors, it shouldn't be a problem. The town just redid all of the elementary schools a couple of years ago. There is a new elementary school under construction in South Glastonbury. There is one school for all of the 6th graders that was also just remodelled. The middle school is new and beautiful with all the latest technologies. And the high school is just finishing an expansion and complete remodel. The library in town is excellent and there are a lot of nices parks and recreation options for kids and families including a new community center.
As for choosing which town, I think it depends on where you and your husband will be working (I like to live near where I work because I hate commuting). If you will be working downtown or west of Hartford and like a more urban atmosphere, then choose West Hartford. If you work west of Hartford but want a more quiet suburban area and don't need easy access to highways, then go for one of the Farmington Valley towns. If you are working in Hartford or east or south of it, then Glastonbury would be your best choice. If you have any other questions, please let me know. Good luck. Jay
Thank you very much for the information. I should clarify that in terms of restaurants and shopping, I'm very familiar with the West Hartford area and somewhat familiar with Avon and Simsbury. However, I don't know much about the school systems or commuting. Within each town, I don't know whether there are more desirable parts to live. I'm also interested in the atmosphere in the town (i.e. family friendly, keeping up with the Jones', etc.).
My husband works in downtown Hartford, and I work on the Hartford/West Hartford border. Right now, we live in Ellington. It's about a 25 minute commute each way. I'd rather not have much more than a 30 minute commute to Hartford, especially since I also travel all over the state a few nights a week for work.
I'd appreciate any further help in these areas. Thank you.
Since your job is based west of Hartford, then you should try to find a home west of Hartford, so you don't have to commute through downtown. I like living close to work because once you have kids who wants to waste time driving back and forth to work. I live 1.5 miles from my office and the kids school. It is wonderful to be able to duck out of the office to see something going on at the kids school or to be nearby if they get sick. JMHO
The schools in the towns you mentioned all have an excellent reputations. That is why houses there sell for more than other towns. I would not worry about which school within each district is better than the other. Most school districts have a uniform curriculum that must be followed so if the district is well rated, any of the schools should be good. The differences relate more to the socio-ecomonics of the area rather than the quality of the education. The elementary school my kids go to has the lowest test scores in town but that is because the school serves a part of town that is more blue-collar than the rest of town. The education my kids have gotten is just as good as the one they would have received on the other end of town, but they also learned that not everyone has a mommy and daddy that earn six figures and can give them the best of everything and the problems associated with that type of enviroment.
West Hartford is very nice if you like or want more urban type living. Almost all of West Hartford is nice, but there are areas where there is multi-family housing and issues associated with them. This mostly toward Hartford and in the Elmwood section of town. Just drive around the neighborhoods and look. A real estate agent should be able to guide you to areas that are better than others.
All of Avon and Simsbury are nice. The schools are excellent. You can't go wrong with either town. You just need to be aware if the home you are looking is near something undesireable. This is true with any house though. If the house backs up to Route 44, you are going to hear a lot of noise from traffic. If the house backs up to a large wooded area, be aware that it could be the site of the next new housing development. The point is do some research. Don't trust the real estate agent either. Go to Town Hall and talk to the Planning Department about the neighborhood you are interested in. They will tell you if there are problems nearby or not. Good luck, Jay
Just curious why you are leaving Ellington so soon? Any particular reason?
JayCT: Excellent post, I agree totally.
We consider Ellington a temporary home until we are ready to buy a house. We had been living in Fairfield County. We found jobs in Hartford, and commuted up here for a short while until our lease was up. We weren't quite ready to buy a house, but we didn't want to continue commuting such a long distance to work. We decided to rent for a year and then buy. We found a place we really liked in Ellington. Although it's a nice area, we never had plans to stay in Ellington. While you can get more for your money there, I'd like to be a little closer to Hartford and in a better school district. I don't think Ellington is a bad school district, but in my opinion, the other towns where we're looking have better schools.
JayCt, how are the mountain roads in winter? I understand there's a really steep slope in Avon where a truck wreaked deadly havoc after losing its brakes. Same concern about a steep decline in Southington (off topic, I know) heading towards I-84E. The Southington slope was pretty scary even in the summer.
JayCt, how are the mountain roads in winter? I understand there's a really steep slope in Avon where a truck wreaked deadly havoc after losing its brakes. Same concern about a steep decline in Southington (off topic, I know) heading towards I-84E. The Southington slope was pretty scary even in the summer.
I drive RT44 over the mountain every day now for the last few months and it's very similar to Southington. I think close to the same grade % actually. The difference is Avon has *sharp turns* on their "slope".
There are alternatives to going over the mountain though.
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Glastonbury School System
