Hi! New to this forum and wanting to relocate, do you have...

Hello! I%26#39;m new to this forum... I%26#39;ve been lurking for a while now...

My husband and I are hoping to relocate to CT within the next 6 months or so. We are both in our early 30%26#39;s and we were born and raised in CA. We have grown tired of CA, and need a change; a new start. We want to sell our home, quit our jobs and move to hopefully where the grass is greener! =) Sorry for the aweful pun, couldn%26#39;t help it! =) We have no kids yet, and the only thing holding us back would be fear itself...

Anyway, we%26#39;ve been looking at different real estate sites and were wondering if anyone could offer up some great info about living in CT... nothing in particular (except what city you live in), just want to hear from the locals about their favorite part of living in CT!

I have also seen ';6th District'; on many of the home listings. I actually see it all over the place in home listings, maybe it just sticks out to me... in any case, what is so special about 6th district?

Just a little side note, we have already puchased airfare to visit CT the first week of March... we are really serious about this! Since we live in sunny So Cal, we wanted to see how cold it gets, and perhaps how ';ugly'; (gray snow) CT could be...

Just trying to compile a list of helpful advice before making our trip...

Thank you in advance for all of your responses and help!!! I truly appreciate it! ~ Pamela

Hi! New to this forum and wanting to relocate, do you have...

March is a hard time to judge the snow in CT - we have had Marches with awful snow, we have had Marches where it was 80 degrees!

I have lived in CT my whole life in a few different areas, but it would be easier to give you suggestions if you give more information about what you are looking for -

Hi! New to this forum and wanting to relocate, do you have...

You really need to narrow your preferences down. I suggest telling us a few things such as: Country or city life, coastline, mountains, rural, suburban, etc. Will the quality of schools be a consideration in the future, how much will you spend on a house (many places are very expensive)will you work from home or need a job, what industry, how long you are willing to commute, etc.

Ah yes, of course!

Thank you both for responding so quickly! I%26#39;m hoping to get a really good look at a Connecticut winter... it was suggested that to experience the winter, to go at the end of February or beginning of March... and that%26#39;s when we are able to sneak away for a few days... March 6th through the 9th. I%26#39;ve been to CT numerous times during the dead heat of summer, when grandparents used to live back there, and I%26#39;m familiar with how nasty the summers can be! =) I want to test out the cold for a few days...

OK, long story short, my husbands supervisor used to live in the New London area, and his brother still lives in Uncasville. Since we are California natives and not used to a TON of snow, they suggested we stay southeast, below the jet stream. We are thinking we%26#39;d like to be in the New London or New Haven areas... My husband is also an avid fisherman, so it would need to be somewhat coastal. He%26#39;d really like a lake in our backyard! =) As for me, I%26#39;d like a small town feel, in a bit of a larger city. I%26#39;m looking for a great community and wonderful neighbors.

Kids right now aren%26#39;t an issue for us, so I%26#39;m not placing too much emphasis on schools. That may change once we have been there for a year, as we may look into adoption.

Crime rate IS important to us, and the lower the better of course! I found city-data.com (I think I found it off of this forum...) and it%26#39;s been great in helping with the safety issue.

As for the price of the home... we are looking somewhere around 250-300K.

As for the commute, my husband is making a 45 minute commute now, so I know we really don%26#39;t want to go much more than that. I%26#39;m assuming that CT doesn%26#39;t have the same aweful gridlock commute that CA does, at least I%26#39;m hoping. I read elsewhere on this forum to stay away from the I-95. Why? Is it dangerous or a lengthy commute? My hubby will more than likely be commuting into Hartford. Again, the supervisor%26#39;s brother (who lives in Uncasville) works for the State, and said he might be able to pull a few strings for him. I%26#39;m hoping to work part-time locally.

I truly appreciate all of your help! I can%26#39;t say thanks enough!!!

If you want to live on the coast and your husband is going to be working in Hartford, he%26#39;s looking at a commute of at least an hour... if he%26#39;s lucky... I work in Hartford and had to leave at 2 in the afternoon to go rescue my son who was having car trouble in Groton/New London, and that%26#39;s how long it took me to get there -- at a time of day that was not the normal commuter hour, so traffic was relatively light.

I think the ';6th District'; reference is to Congressional Districts, we used to have 6 but have 5 now... I think district 6 encompassed a lot of Litchfield County, also known as ';the Northwest Hills';, much more rural part of the state, and about as far from the coast as you can get!

One issue involved in choosing a place to live in Connecticut (I am not a native) is that if you work in a major city (like Hartford), there can be few to no limited-access highways that will get you there! There are some absolutely gorgeous places to live, but the commutes can be awful!

For the money you want to spend, and for the distance of a commute to hartford, I would look in Milford. It is on the coastline, easy access to I-95 and the Merrritt pkwy (rt 15). The Merrit takes you right to I-91 which goes right into Hartford. A commute from Milford would be about 1 hr. Any further southeast means longer commute and more expensive real estate.

Another option might be somewhere off of I-84 which stretches east west across central ct. There are a bunch of smaller towns outside Hartford that are nice with reasonably priced houses. Try Simsbury, Avon, Canton, or even Bristol, Southington et al. Of course, you are nowhere near the coastline, but there are always lakes and rivers!

I would also look into New Haven County, especially around North Haven, Hamden, New Haven. Close to the water and also close to I-91.

I wouldn%26#39;t advise Milford - it is a nice area, but too far of a commute to Hartford. I would search anywhere North of New Haven along 91 - The area around Middletown is nice, and you are on the river, so there is fishing and lakes nearby. I have a friend that lives in Moodus and works in Hartford - she loves it there, because she has country living, but is a 45 minute ride from the major cities. There are alot of nice little towns in the Middletown area like Moodus, plus the area is beautiful with historical homes and antique stores -

Thanks again for your feedback!

I guess I%26#39;ll stay away from the ';6th'; as it sounds like it may have more snow than I%26#39;m ready for... What districts would the New London and New Haven areas be located in?

I think I jumped the gun in saying that my hubby may work in Hartford... Employed by the State doesn%26#39;t neccesarily mean that he%26#39;ll be located IN Hartford... and who knows, he may not even end up working for the State!=)

Cindyjo: Thanks for the advice on the limited-access highways... I live in a concrete jungle, and the thought never even crossed my mind!

Biggriff and Suz: Do you think both Milford and Middleton would be below that ';jet stream'; we%26#39;ve been advise to stay under? I%26#39;ll be the only person in CT that won%26#39;t know how to put on snow chains! You%26#39;ll recognize me... please come save me! lol =)And so, for that reason, I%26#39;m really trying to stay out of areas that will snow us in. Middleton looks like it might be too far up and Milford might be too far west on my map... but maybe my map is off! =) I%26#39;ve been looking at homes in both of those places. Very nice!

Again, can anyone tell me why we should stay away from the I-95. Is it dangerous or does it just make for a lengthy commute?

I think you would be fine in the Middletown area - Same with Milford - Snow in CT is strange - inland areas, such as Litchfield, Danbury, etc... almost always have alot of snow - areas towards the coast, not as much - I have lived here my whole life, and never put snow chains on!

People are telling you to stay away from 95 because of the commute - it all depends on where your husband ends up working - but on 95, especially between Bridgeport and Stamford, you can spend up to an hour and a half or more to go 20 miles. Plus, for the price you are looking to spend, you need to look in southeastern CT or New Haven County - you aren%26#39;t going to find those prices in Fairfield County - I just saw a survey that STamford, CT was rated the second most expensive area to live in the US.

I wouldn%26#39;t worry so much about the snow. The only vehicles that I ever see with chains on are police cruisers and school buses. I have lived in CT my whole life, never had a 4WD, and have only gotten stuck anywhere 2x (and both of those times were in blizzards) Plus you could always buy a 4wd vehicle if you encountered many snow-related problems.

Like Suz said, the coastline gets less snow than central and northern CT. However, it is less expensive to live in most of those areas so there you go. It%26#39;s series of tradeoffs no matter what you decide.

I%26#39;m not sure what you mean by ';below the jet stream.'; The jet stream, as in the airflow from the pole, moves up and down the country depending on prevailing air pressure areas. Typically, SW CT gets less snow, but not always. Typically, the shoreline areas get less snow but not always. Shoreline areas do tend to get more sleet/freezing rain/mixed snow and rain; generally cold and nasty. Bottom line is, no matter where you are you may or may not have lots of snow and cold.

Re: home prices. SW CT is generally VERY expensive. A decent 2BR condo in Norwalk runs about $300K+. Houses tend more towards $400-500K. Things used to get cheaper as one went east up the coast, but mostly not anymore.

Hartford is more or less in the middle of the state; anything coastal is going to be a pretty good commute, and traffic could be pretty horrible going into Hartford.

If you%26#39;re sure the job will be in Hartford, Branford is probably the most practical shoreline area but could be pretty expensive.

My advice would be to figure out, if possible, where you will need to be near for the job, then look into where you might live.