Moving to Hartford

I am a 23 year old recent college graduate from Chicago who is moving to Hartford for a job. I have to be honest, I know very little about the entire Northeast area, espeically Hartford. I was looking for advice on places to live, rent.... mainly with people like myself and easy places to meet people because I really dont know anyone there. My office is right in the middle of downtown on the West side of the river and will be constantly communting to the airport. I will also have a car at my disposal. So any advice would be greatly helpful.

Moving to Hartford

If you were on the East side of the river you would be in East Hartford. I lived in Hartford, grew up outside of Hartford. I would suggest the West End of Hartford. They are building a lot of housing towntown, but downtown can still be rather dead at night. The West End has some nice old homes, some decent bars and has more of a neighborhood feel than downtown. Rent for a 1 bedroom, around $800 or so. You will also be near the highway, you can get to Bradley (the airport) in about 20 minutes.

I must say, though, Hartford isn%26#39;t Chicago. It%26#39;s a small city in a rather small state. On the plus side, Boston is less than 2 hours away, New York City a little over 2 hours away, the Rhode Island beaches are close, Cape Cod is close, Vermont and New Hampshire for skiing aren%26#39;t far away.

Moving to Hartford

Go to hartfordct.com and you can get an idea of things to do and it gives you an insight of where you want to move. I agree with the last post...Farmington Avenue is a great location to move to. It has some great coffee houses, next to West Hartford Center, The Mark Twain House, Harriett Beecher. Wood and Tap (a local restaurant) might be your cup of tea (great hangout for people your age) Tisane%26#39;s is a popular coffee/tea house that migrates with lots of college students and locals. Hartford is only 25 minutes away from Bradley International Airport. You will be two hours away from New York, two hrs away from Boston. Four houses from Provincetown, MA and about 1 1/2 from Rhode Island. While Hartford is small...it has it%26#39;s hidden beauties. WELCOME to CT!

The West End of Hartford is a fine choice and the University of Connecticut Law School is right there so there are a lot of younger people around but it%26#39;s still not the best neighborhood safety wise, small stuff like car break-ins etc, but it%26#39;s not rampant or anything. Downtown Hartford is really coming along, they%26#39;re building a lot of new luxury apartments that are very nice but kind of on the expensive side. I know several people living in some of those buildings but downtown is still not the best at night either.

I recommend West Hartford, not to be confused with the ';West End'; of Hartford, although it is right next store. Very nice town with a vibrant downtown that is actually in the midst, really the tail end, of a massive development project that should basically double the size of the previous downtown area. Try looking on Loomis Dr. or other apartment areas that are in walking distance to West Hartford Center. The Loomis Drive area has a lot of younger people, many work for ESPN and the insurance companies. It%26#39;s like a 10-15 minute drive to downtown Hartford. Also, there are a lot of multifamily homes that rent out as apartments in the area that are also quite nice so try to look in places where they might be advertised too.

We have the Hartford Guides and other new sources that go around Hartford at night to keep their eyes open on any kind of crime. So it is safe at night. And as for the West End of Hartford...THAT is the safest side of Hartford. Break ins in cars....it happens anywhere. YES..they are building new apartments in Downtown Hartford and it can be expensive but name me ONE major city that rent is NOT expensive in their downtown? Try Boston or New York and Hartford will be the cheapest. YES..I am NOT really comparing Hartford to those two mecca cities..but my point is...that rent can be expensive in any major city. You can also try Farmington, CT. It is only about 15-20 minutes away from Hartford for renting or even Windsor/Enfield.

Go somewhere outside of Hartford. Hartford is kind of gross. I go to school there and I%26#39;m not too fond of it. Yuck.

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