Best place to live in CT?

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GLA45
i need somewhere to live in ct for next year that there is actually something to do. i'd like it so i live somewhere that i can either walk or take a taxi out to a bar/club and back so nobody has to be designated driver or drive drunk. it also has to be within commuting distance of hartford, a bus or train taking me there would be nice too. i was thinking hartford or south/southwest of hartford somewhere. anyone have suggestions? does such a place exist?
 
Humm... you want to walk to a bar/club? And it's got to be within commuting distance of Hartford? I think you have your answer, Hartford!

But if you're willing to scratch off that walking to a bar thing you can look at Manchester, which has stuff around.
 
I have driven through manchester many times and there are some nice places there jared
 
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i've looked at hartford, but there's nothing there. it's a crappy city. i know they have plans to put shops and a whole ton of rennovations in the next few years, but still, being ranked the 7th most dangerous city in the country isn't going to help anything, neither will being near manchester and west farms. is there taxi service in manchester? i dont mind paying for a taxi if it means i can go out, have a good time and nobody has to drive drunk. i looked at the prices and manchester isn't bad, neither is hartford. only bad thing is that i grew up in tolland and was hoping to move out of the northeast
 
Protege52003 said:
I have driven through manchester many times and there are some nice places there jared
me too :) that's where i go to the mall, and i have some friends from school that live there :) some of the new apartments that they built in the last few years weren't bad as far as pricing goes and are pretty nice too. we'll see
 
yep, she's sittin in the back yard at home now :) i started it this past weekend, but it wasn't on insurance so i just drove it to the front yard and then back
 
jred321 said:
yep, she's sittin in the back yard at home now :) i started it this past weekend, but it wasn't on insurance so i just drove it to the front yard and then back
i'd be doing donuts if i were you, ripping up the yard.....
 
Jared, you're from Tolland? I know he's older, but do you know Brian Martineau or his sister Gillian? Or Stephanie Tomachevsky?

Anyway, that area is tough. Or it sucks and is pricey like West Hartford, or ghetto like East Hartford, or there is not much to do, unless you're around that Manchester/Vernon area. I never heard of any taxi service and my friend who lives there hasn't either. I guess you'll have to just have to deal with the designated driver... or just have the hard drinking parties at someone's place and have everyone crash there
 
i've heard of brian and gillian and i went to school with stephanie's brother i think, but i haven't met any of them. i think i've heard of them through my brother who is 23, probably closer to their age

is there anything good say around the berlin turnpike? i was thinking maybe down there or maybe a little more south? i just don't know that area of the state or what's around there
 
Brian is my brother in law, that's why I asked. I think Stephanie's brother's name is Boris.

Anyway, I don't really know the Berlin tpk area too well. Where are all the CT peeps?!
 
hmm, i was thinking of mark tomachevsky, maybe they're cousins or something, i don't think there's too many people with that last name around :)
 
well im from the extreme of ct...greenwich so i really cant say ive visited a few towns up there...bristol blah waterbury blah hartford...agree new haven = ghetto so im sorry im not much of help since im not super close to the area
 
hahaha well greenwich is soooooooo over priced and im living with my parents so yeah....but greenwich is actually boring..only retaurants and a bad mall 15 mins away in the next town over gotta drive to do stuff but thats all of ct...and nyc isnt to far which is always fun...and FYI not all of greenwich is rich...we do have projects which is really unknown by many
 
well......i have moved twice in the past 6 months so i might be able to be of some assistance....

first I was going to be working in Shelton so i had to move out this way. being from the sticks and having heard the stereotype over the years i threw out the stretch between new haven and bridgeport immediatly and wound up getting a place in an awesome renovated mill in Beacon Falls (south of waterbury). I work in an IT facility that until last spring was located in downtown new haven (Connecticut Financial Center) so while living there on a 6 month lease I spoke with a lot of co-workers who had spent the past several years living in and around new haven. They love the city. Of course it has its bad areas but they think it is by far the best city in CT as far as having things to do and a decent night life.

If you live in or near NH then you could take the train to NYC and while you could probably also take it to hartford I dont know how often that line runs (I think it is amtrak from new haven up) so it might not be a viable commuting option. Now since my lease was expiring and I had done some looking into the topic, I decided rather than throw 1k a month in rent into the proverbial garbage, I decided to try to buy a place. Given that i baaaaarely had enough for 3% down, taking into account my monthly expenses and keeping in mind the kind of place I was interested in, it quickly became apparent that I could not afford anything near shelton. I did not want to live east of New Haven because the Q bridge is supposed to be impossible. Downtown new haven or west haven were considered but I didnt want to live anywhere with rough roads as I would be beating the crap out of my car, not to mention i would have had to deal with 95 or 91 for the commute and given some of the neighborhoods I probably wouldnt have too much luck getting to work in the mornings anyways what with my car being up on cinder blocks and all....

Hamden Derby Ansonia NorthHaven and Orange were all really pricey for what I was looking for as was the whole valley along route 8 (seymour, naugatuck, beacon falls, bethany). Waterbury was dirt cheap but the mill rate is 58 and they can barely afford to keep the city operational let alone pay their fire departments, fix the roads, or plow them in the winters from what I have heard so it wouldnt be a hot place ot rent either.

yadda yadda yadda, I wound up looking, finding, and buying in Meriden. At the time I was really in a crunch (had to find a property withni a window of about 2 weeks in order to close on time) so when I stumbled upon this one and it looked good i jumped on it. I just moved last week and this weekend and I must say I think its one heck of a spot, I like it more and more each day. Its about half way between New Haven and Hartford I think. Its closer to northeast Ct for when I want to go home during the summer or on weekends to hang out with friends - not to mention its closer for them to come down and hang out...

Its right at the intersection of 691, 91, 15 (and 66) so you can get pretty much anywhere fairly quickly. It is about a mile from the pike itself, but about 5-10 minutes I would say from where the stores start (the very south end of the pike is empty). I only moved a few days ago and quite frankly i dont know anyone in the area yet so I havent been out to bars or clubs at all but I do hear a club in meriden advertising on hot93.7 on a regular basis and the DJs apparently spend friday nights or something at the club so that sounds promising. I dont think there is a taxi service and there is a train station but like I said I dont know how well it is suited for commuting.

Hartford itself it pretty bad IMO. Not much to do there except for get shot. Manchester would be my only other reccomendation I guess. Cost of living is cheaper there than here in meriden (well at least real estate is) but I dont think they have any noteworthy clubs or a trainstation, not to mention your places to go for nearby entertainment would likely be back to UConn or up 291 to springfield since hartford doesnt seem too happening

btw, I happen to have a room that could be for rent :D
 
thanks for the insight :) i wouldn't be able to rent anything until summer, so maybe if it's still available then :)
 
slug leaves no stone unturned :D
good write up on the area. I concur. I have a friend who just bought a place in rocky hill. Also a nice area, but a little farther from things.
 
cbcbd said:
slug leaves no stone unturned :D
good write up on the area. I concur. I have a friend who just bought a place in rocky hill. Also a nice area, but a little farther from things.
thanks, ill submit it to fodor's
 
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