May be moving to CT! Any advice on nicer areas to live.
 

My husband may be taking a position with a company in East Hartford. What are the best areas to live in within a 20-30 minute commute?<BR>Looking for Green lawns, big backyards, kids, the whole white-picket fence thing. Good school system of course. Price ranges of homes would be helpful.<BR><BR>Yes, I have researched this, I just want local input.<BR><BR>Thanks all.<BR>Andrea

Andrea - If you are looking for a great school system West Hartford is one of the best in the Hartford area. Price range of homes can be quite high. I suggest you log on to realtor.com and check it out. West Hartford also has great restaurants and shops in the center of town. W. Htfd. really has the white-picket fence thing going on. The only drawback may be that most of the homes are not on big lots. However, if you are willing to pay the price you can find what you're looking for. Glastonbury is also a great town with a very good school system. More houses available with bigger lots (which will make it very $$$) and the commute from Glastonbury to East Hartford would be a bit more convenient than West Hartford. Good luck.

If you wouldn't mind maxing to the 30-min commute, you could check out my dream town - Suffield. Great school system, every lot I've seen is 2+ acres, choice of old or brand new homes, great central location if you're not looking to be right "in" the city - 10 min from Springfield, MA., 6 flags N.E. is next town over but you'd never know it, commute to Hartford is 20-25 min (with steady traffic add about 10 min), very country-like almost as beautiful as Longmeadow, MA (also an option on MA-CT line). If you're looking for a safer, more private location, check it out :)

I agree with Glastonbury, it's a nice town, great schools and you'll probably find good value there. Avon & Simsbury are lovely towns, #1 schools, gorgeous homes (although pricey). Could be a little longer commute but still worth a look. There are quaint towns off of RT 9, Chester, Essex (one of my favorites) & the shoreline. You might also check out Killingworth - this town is more rural but very desirable to young families. Unfortunately house prices in CT are very high right now, otherwise CT is a great place to live and raise kids. Best of luck.

Check out Farmington as well. I grew up there, and my father commuted to East Hartford easily. Is the job for Pratt & Whitney or UTC by any chance?<BR><BR>Anyway, Farmington is conveniently just west of West Hartford (and Hartford), has larger lots, very nice homes, outstanding schools, very safe, and a rich history (over 350 years)...add in the Farmington River, too. I would highly reccommend Simsbury and Avon as well...anywhere in the Farmington Valley, really. I would say avoid East Hartford and New Britain. West Hartford has a great downtown for shopping and restaurants, but the lots are small and the prices are high. Feels kind of crowded.