[Tetto]

Originally Posted by JayCT

Manchester is a very nice small city or town. It is somewhat diverse and pretty quiet overall and has some of the best shopping in the state if not the region. I have never heard it called "Clanchester" either. I have friends that live there and like it a lot. Also I am not sure that the taxes are all that high in comparison to other towns its size. They certainly have a large tax base to offset it. Jay

Jay- you dont think $6000 for a 1350 sq ft house on .23 of an acre is a little out of line??

[Lowerdeck]

Never considered Manchester to be an awful place or crawling with racists.

If anything, you'd more likely find the racists crawling in the poor, small towns in other parts of the state. And there are places out there with pretty subpar rates of race relations out there, that you probably aren't aware of. Such as a black kid getting jumped by white kids (Plainfield) or the rather bizarre feud between Thompson and New London.

[JViello]

Originally Posted by skel1977

I have seen it listed in the worst towns thread. I have seen people here say it is gang infsted and drug insted. I have heard people call it clanchester as in KKK. I dont understand where the bad rep came from. My parents live in manchester and its a really nice town.

Have there been gangs in manchester in the past, yes. They were fake thugs and law enforcement took quick care of them. Are there some gang members still there? Name a town where there arent some hiding out. Is it drug free, no. Name a town that has never had drugs in it. You cant.

For the most part the town is clean, has a reasonable income and has reasonable housing for middle class. Its got boatloads of shopping. IN fact I would say its the shopping center of Connecticut.

Stop with all the hate. I love manchester and Im not even a manchester resident.

Brother, I totally agree. I just don't get it sometimes. Is it paradise? No. Is it a decent working class town with a lot to offer along with saftey, things to do, restaurants etc? Yes, absolutely.

Gangs? OMG. All I can say is - ROLMAO

Crime? Lower than the national average. We live with our doors and cars unlocked.

Etc Etc.

Originally Posted by B-ham 34

It's said thoughout the state as Clanchester!!! Sorry, sad but true!!!It comes from the judicial side of the city,unnecessary traffic pullovers and police harassments!!!

!!!

The only people *I* know that call it clanchester are the drug dealers and gang members who were face down on Main Street with their Escalade/Lexus on 24" chrome wheels getting towed.

We had a brief period where a lot of trash from Hartford tried to come to town and get "set up". Our fine police force put an end to that REAL quick. I FULLY support our police actions and the way they stomped out the "trash" from getting in. I have a long time friend who is a detective here and he confirmed the above was indeed targeted. Good.

I have lived here for almost 10 years and was pulled over once...for not having my bluetooth head piece on. It WAS a ticket, but the cop told me how to get it tossed.

My black and Latino friends here (yes I have them) are decent hard working people and have never, ever had a problem. If you want to be "hood" etc and come here to cause trouble...expect resistance. Good.

Originally Posted by CTGirlNoMore

For homeowners, car taxes, or is it all the same?

(never owned a home so don't know if one's bad, it all is, or what)

It less then Meriden and almost what they pay in Glastonbury.

It's high, but not OMG high like Meriden, New Britain, Waterbury etc.

How much is your car worth? I'll be more than happy to tell you your tax bill.

Originally Posted by JayCT

Also I am not sure that the taxes are all that high in comparison to other towns its size. They certainly have a large tax base to offset it. Jay

That's because Glastonbury is almost as high as Mchester. lol J/K

[Rich Lee]

Originally Posted by Tetto

Jay - you don't think $6000 for a 1350-sq ft house on .23 of an acre is a little out of line??

I did, so I decided to check the MLS. There are 25 single-family properties currently listed between 1300 and 1399 square feet. The taxes range from a low of $3498 to a high of $5015. The majority, 23 of the 25, are under $4300.

Granted, this is a small sampling. But I didn't find ANY at $6000 for said square footage.

[CTGirlNoMore]

JV - I don't know offhand how much my car is worth right now. But I'm glad it wouldn't like Meriden. When I was reading high taxes, I was thinking like Meriden. LOL

[Rich Lee]

Originally Posted by CTGirlNoMore

JV - I don't know offhand how much my car is worth right now. But I'm glad it wouldn't like Meriden. When I was reading high taxes, I was thinking like Meriden. LOL

They'll be virtually identical. From what I can gather, Manchester's mill rate is 30.32 compared to Meriden's mill rates of 28.85 and 30.59. NOTE: Meriden does have two separate rates. The higher one exists for the "downtown city" portion.

[JViello]

Originally Posted by Rich Lee

They'll be virtually identical. From what I can gather, Manchester's mill rate is 30.32 compared to Meriden's mill rates of 28.85 and 30.59. NOTE: Meriden does have two separate rates. The higher one exists for the "downtown city" portion.

FWIW, I had to get into several "revaluations and appeals" in Meriden because they simply over valued the cars I owned.

An old Jeep Cherokee worth at best $1600.00 on the used market, valued at $6000?

That was my experience in Meriden...then there was (as best as memory can remember) something about "your tax rate WOULD have been .2X BUT because we didn't receive Y state funding, this is your tax bill."

Manchester is not "low tax" by any means, but relatively speaking, I don't see it in the same light at New Britain, Waterbury etc.

P.S. Thanks for the MLS info. For reference my 1600+ SF home at the top of it's market value (By comps) is about $5300.00

[Rich Lee]

Originally Posted by JViello

That was my experience in Meriden...then there was (as best as memory can remember) something about "your tax rate WOULD have been .2X BUT because we didn't receive Y state funding, this is your tax bill."

Cheshire's tax bills have that same comment.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by Rich Lee

I did, so I decided to check the MLS. There are 25 single-family properties currently listed between 1300 and 1399 square feet. The taxes range from a low of $3498 to a high of $5015. The majority, 23 of the 25, are under $4300.

Granted, this is a small sampling. But I didn't find ANY at $6000 for said square footage.

Thanks Rich, I thought that sounded wrong. Jay

[Lincolnian]

As with any working class town, Manchester has a much wider representation of lower and lower-middle income levels than nearby communities that are more skewed toward upper middle and higher income levels. With lower income levels, especially those in poverty, you have more problems and needs. The most obvious place where this manifests is in the schools.

I taught in Manchester and can attest that they have a strong curriculum, many excellent teachers, and numerous opportunities for those children interested in taking advantage of the available opportunities. However, there are more distractions than higher performing districts due to the problems associated with a much larger numbers of students who do not see education as important. This is due, in large part, to the lack of role models in their lives, difficult family environments where education is not a priority, and frequent moves from one rental property to another among many other low income/poverty-related problems.

As a result of the above-mentioned problems, many middle class families have opted to move out of Manchester and choose towns like Tolland, Bolton, Hebron, or Glastonbury to live instead. Many of my friends started out in Manchester but once their kids reached Kindergarten age they sold their homes and moved. Friends of mine who planned on sending their children to Catholic school or home schooled their children remained as all agree that Manchester is a convenient place to live, offers many amenities, and is very affordable.

If education is a high priority for the parents then most will not risk sending their child to an environment with too many negative environmental factors. The idealist will say that children will learn to face adversity and realize the value of making good decisions, but it is quite another thing when parents actually have to make the decision for their own child. Parents worry whether their child will make the wrong choice and end up running with the wrong crowd and/or not reach their potential. Some stay for awhile during elementary school but the minute that they recognize that negative influences are affecting or may affect their child they move.