My company is considering relocating me from SoCal to Hartford. It would be a career step for me, bu my wife and I are hesitant after enjoying living in SoCal for the past 10 years. The weather issue is obvious, but we are more concerned about finding a good community to raise our kids and also finding a good Christian (preferably Presbyterian) church. The cost of living isn%26#39;t much of an issue since we will be able to cash out of our overpriced SoCal home. It has been easy to make friends out here, but people in the Northeast seem a little less open to new friends. Any input would be appreciated.
Relocating to Hartford from Pasadena, CAThe Hartford suburbs have wonderful schools. If you%26#39;re picking a town, choosing one on the same side of downtown Hartford as your job location will make your commute much more enjoyable. School activities make it easy to make new friends with your kids parents. Plenty of churches. In West Hartord, great schools, more diverse than more distant suburbs, easy commute, and Westminister Presbyterian Church.
Relocating to Hartford from Pasadena, CAI posted this a few months ago to someone else moving out of CA. Hope it helps.....
Lived in many places in the US. From the snow and cold of Minneapolis, to southern Cal, to south Florida, Maine, and the beach towns of eastern Connecticut and Rhode Island. I majored in Geography in collage, so moving to different geographic areas was appealing to me (when I was young at least). I turned 40 this past May. Let me give you the low-down as I have experienced it…
REAL ESTATE…First, lets me say that if you are considering moving from California to Connecticut because of cheaper housing costs, think again! In general, Connecticut housing prices are high. The only difference in Connecticut is that there are more homes to be had in the middle than in CA. In CA, its either a bad crime area, old, affordable $200,000 house, or nice, upscale, modern looking $700,000 house, that will have you working night and day to pay for it. In Connecticut, If your willing to find a 1970’s dated ranch, or an old house from the 1920’s or 1930’s, and put some elbow grease into it -you can have a decent place to live.
AREAS %26amp; PEOPLE…People in Connecticut are really a reflection of people everywhere.
Southwest Connecticut is the fast lane - high salaries, high living costs, high real estate, suburban living, and somewhat plastic people (though not everyone).
The New Haven area is OK, with Yale at the center of many things. The New Haven area is a mix of nautical eastern Connecticut and urban and fast paced southwestern Connecticut. Theater, Art galleries, and restaurants are big in New Haven, the best in the State! The area is liberal in attudies and consumer tastes.
The Southeast coastal area (Madison to Rhode Island) is fishing villages, clam shacks, coves, marshes, the beaches in summer. A plus in southeastern Connecticut - is proximity to the great beaches in Rhode Island (30 min) with sugar white sand, warm waters, and huge waves. Most people in southeast Connecticut don’t think of themselves as New Englanders, more like Mid-Atlantic coastal people. Southeastern Connecticut/Coastal Rhode Island people are a pleasing mix of families, coastal dreamers, boat people, beach wanders, and relocated baby boomers from other areas.
The Hartford area is a little dull, and is a more New England than the New Haven and Southeast coastal areas. But there are more good paying jobs in the Hartford area than along the coast from New Haven to Rhode Island. They love snow up here. Go Huskies. But Hartford is no New Haven at night.
CLIMATE…I like hot and humid weather. When I first moved to Connecticut, I really didn’t know what to expect. Connecticut is too far south to have a real New England climate, but too far north to have the subtropical climate of North or South Carolina. Connecticut is not really known for any type of defining weather.
Despite all the banter about four seasons …south of Massachusetts, the Middle East Coast (Virginia to Rhode Island) really has only two seasons. The long warm season form late April to October, and, the shorter, cool to cold season, from November to late March. In short form, this is the season:
In April, after a cold (and at times dry) winter, the skies open-up, and like an Asian monsoon rain pours and pelts everything. In a speed beyond belief, the landscape goes from brown/gray to rainforest green. Unlike the slow onset of the warm season in more northley areas like Minnesota, Michigan or Maine - in Connecticut, it goes from 44 F winter to 77 F summer balm in 15 days. Early April is brown and leafless, late April is vivid green, humid and warm. From May until late September…the huge Bermuda High is in control…pumping the warm and humid air from the tropical south Atlantic across the whole East Coast. Its H-H-and H (Hazy, Hot, and Humid) time. The hot days, warm nights, and the frequent crash of thunderstorms and quick torrential downpours - can make southern Connecticut seem like Thailand in summer! Forget that Pasadena dry heat....this palce is like the Caribbean in the long, humid summer. The East Coast version of the monsoon is in full swing.
October and November are nice, days in the 50’and 60’s, nights in the 40’s and then 30’s. The leaves change in southern Connecticut around late October, or early November, although they don’t have quite the vivid color of most of New England or the Upper Midwest. Fall is quite mild in southeast Connecticut, at times frost may not arrive until late November. Some people even grow hardy palms and bamboo along the immediate coast of Rhode Island and southeast Connecticut.
Winter type weather is confined to the true winter months of December, January, and February. Despite the New York media hype, the East Coast south of Boston is not really a snowy place. In southern Connecticut the big snowstorm is the exception, not the rule. The Northwestern hills of Connecticut get the most snow (about 60 inches at high elevations) and the southeast coast region the least (about 25 inches). Another thing to keep in mind if you hate snow (I do), the snow melts real fast in southeastern Connecticut because of the warm (relatively speaking) ocean influence. If you like to skate or ski, New London or Old Lyme are probably not the best choice (lol). By mid –March the snow season is all but over, and by late March those occasional 65 F days gets everyone in the gardening mood again.
A WORD OF WARNING HERE. THIS IS HURRICANE COUNTRY! Hurricanes have hit the Long Island/Connecticut/Rhode Island region in August and September. In 1938, Almost a thousand people died here in a terrible cyclone. So remember, although much more rare than a Florida of Gulf coast state - Hurricanes do hit Connecticut/Rhode Island with heavy rain, flooding and sometimes damage winds. I found this out in 1999, when Floyd only a tropical storm blew down several trees on my property.
Ill throw some town names at you and when you visit, you can drive to them or ask your agent about them. Depends on what you want for a commute, I have some towns that seem, to me, to be laid back, good investments, good towns to raise the kids, not a high crime rate, not too close to Hartford but not too far (half hour to one hour commute). My coworker lives in Ellington, she and her kids are very happy with the school system and they love their neighbors and neighborhood, they are very active in sports in school and are both doing well. Ellington is a bit east of Hartford, off of 84. Route 2 is a much better commute than the other highways. There is a bit of congestion past Glastonbury into Hartford..but not as much as the other highways and depends on your hours, too. Down route 2 you will find Glastonbury..an upper middle class town. Very nice. Farther down Route 2 (more of a commute but more rural) are Marlborough and Hebron, Colchester and then the area I live in--Waterford. If you like the shore, that area is for you, but the commute will be 1 hour, but the hour is straight fast driving..not stuck in traffic, bumper to bumper mostly like I hear about in So. Cal.
The weather certainly isn%26#39;t perfect, but it isn%26#39;t all that terrible either..the change in seasons is beautiful and we really don%26#39;t get extreme weather like other parts of the country, besides the cold issue (which means your kids can go skiing up north!), I wouldn%26#39;t worry too much. House prices won%26#39;t scare you coming from SoCal in the towns I mentioned. You will get much more of a house in Waterford or Ellington, than you will in Glastonbury, but if you can afford it, wonderful. Good luck!
Ok so a few things....
First of all welcome to the area. I have relatives who originally lived in the Hartford area and were relocated to San Diego for 7 years and then to New Jersey and just recently were relocated back to the area.
I am personally am a city person and thus would live in Hartford. But you did mention you are intrested in raising a family and there are some great Hartford suburbs that bring in a great sense of community, urban life (mixed use, smart growth) and great schools.
Glastonbury: Located southeast of Hartford off of Route 2 and Route 3 Glastonbury is across the Connecticut River from Hartford. Over the last twenty years as people starting branching farther out Glastonbury saw massive growth and today is filled with everything from historic homes to mid to 20th century homes to enourmas mansions on hills with views of the city.
Glastonbury features a lot of shopping and features the countries first lifestyle center called Somerset Square which opened in the late 1980%26#39;s. Today Somerset Square is still operating in the same way and features such stores as Gap, Jos A Bank, Talbots, Coldwater Creek, Kzen, Victorias Secret and Chico%26#39;s. About 2 minutes away is Main Street and if you head down Main Street towards the southern end of town you will see lots of shops, restaurants, offices, the town hall and library. A second mixed use projected is being constructed just off of Main Street and will become home to more botiques, restaurants and office space. A few minutes away will be the home of the areas second Whole Foods.
Heading outside of downtown Glastonbury it will become more rural with hills, farms, and homes of all ages (everything from huge mansions to nice colonials from the 1960s-1980s to condos to small homes.
The Glastonbury School system is very good and features 5 elementary schools, one schools for 5-6th grade and a high school which has been completly renovated and added onto.
Additional shopping is availible either at the Buckand Hills area in Manchester/South Windsor which is one of the largest concentrations of retail space in the northeast and is most notably home to the Shoppes at Buckland Hills and Evergreen Walk. The Shoppes at Buckland Hills include about 150 stores and include Macys, JC Penny, Sears, Dicks Sporting Goods, Barnes %26amp; Noble, Hollister, American Eagle, Aeropostale, Abercrombie %26amp; Fitch, Bed Bath Body Works, Express, Pac Sun and Limited Too. About 5 minutes away from the mall is the Shops at Evergeen Walk which is a lifestyle center that is home to Banana Republic, Brookstone, Brooks Brothers, Eddie Baeur, Gap, J Crew, LL Bean, Old Navy, Williams Sonoma and Jos A Bank.
Some helpful Glastonbury websites...
Town of Glastonbury Web Site- …virtualtownhall.net/Public_Documents/index
Glastonbury Public Schools -
http://www.glastonburyus.org/
The Shops at Somerset Square (Glastonbury)
http://theshopsatsomersetsquare.com/
The Shops at Evergreen Walk (South Windsor) -http://www.theshopsatevergreenwalk.com/
The Shoppes at Buckland Hills (Manchester)- theshoppesatbucklandhills.com/html/Index2.asp
West Hartford is located just west of Hartford and is a community of about 60,000. West Hartford is home to West Hartford Center which is a classical New England Village that also serves as the towns center. There are more then 150 shops, restaurants, offices, bookstores, coffee houses, etc. Almost every business in West Hartford Center is locally owned and operated with the exception of Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts. Located adjacent to West Hartford Center is Blue Back Square which will add onto West Hartford Center. Blue Back Square will bring in condos, retail space, a movie theater, office space, a Whole Foods (already open) and a renovation to the town hall and library.
For additional shopping there is Westfarms Mall on the West Hartford/Farmington/Newington border which is one of two large malls anchoring greater Hartford. Westfarms features 170+ stores including Nordstroms, Macys, JC Penny, Lord %26amp; Taylor, Gap, Abercrombie %26amp; Fitch, Express, American Eagle, Bed Bath %26amp; Body Works, Ann Taylor, Banana Republic, Oocah, Disney, Express, J Crew and Pottery Barn. Also in West Hartford is Bishops Corner, New Park Avenue and Elmwood for shopping and dining.
West Hartford features 11 elementary schools, 3 middle schools (one is pretty much brand new) and 2 high schools. In addition to public schools the private co-educational day schools of Kingswod Oxford School and Renbrook School are in West Hartford and the Watkinson School is just over the border in Hartford. For higher education the University of Hartford is on the West Hartford/Hartford liline, St Josephs College is town and the UCONN Greater Hartford ccampus.
The West Hartford housing stock is much differant then that of Glastonbury because West Hartford features a lot more older homes but many of them are well kept. There are some newer homes but they tend to be in the very expensive 1million dollar plus range.
Some useful West Hartford websites...
Town of West Hartford -
http://www.west-hartford.com/
West Hartford Public Schools -
http://www.whps.org/
West Hartford Chamber of Commerce -
whchamber.com/westhartfordcenter/index.htm
Westfarms Mall -
http://www.shopwestfarms.com/
West Hartford is a great choice. It is a suburb of Hartford with very easy access to both Interstate 84 and 91. If you are working in downtown Hartford you can get there by never getting on the highway if you choose. There is a wonderful town center with great shopping and restaurants. Always busy. There are 11 elementary schools--each with it%26#39;s own flavor 3 middle schools and 2 high schools. Over 90% of the graduates go on to further education of some type. The public education is highly thought of and there is an excellent arts program in the schools--visual, theater and music are all strong and award winning. The population is diverse which adds great flavor to the community--people work hard to live here and are proud of it.
If you are going to mention private school is West Hartford, Northwest Catholic is there. It has students from all over the Hartford area, kids will have friends from other towns, other situations, by a longshot not every kid is Catholic, and is considered one of the best Catholic schools in the country. 99% go on to college.
I did forget about Northwest Catholic High School off of North Main Street near West Hartford Center.
For a Glastonbury family there is East Catholic (no relation) in Manchester, CT.
Other private schools outside of West Hartford include Loomis Chaffee, Avon Old Farms School, Miss Porters, Ethel Walker, The Masters School and the Westminster School.
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