[sionna]

I currently live in Manchester with almost middle school/high school age children. I like Manchester but I would like to find a town with a more rural character (wooded or coastal)with a smaller high school. It doesn't have to be the best school system in CT but I want somewhere that will prepare them for college and hopefully be welcoming to them as newcomers. Walkable downtown would be nice but is not essential. It would be nice to have access to some stores since I am spoiled that way now, but it's not essential.

I work in downtown Hartford (capitol region) and while I can somewhat set my hours to help with the commute, sometimes I have to work late and I would like to be 45 min or under if possible. I have read many posts here and I have come up with Granby, Suffield, Bolton, Salem, Columbia, Burlington, Canton, Lyme, New Hartford, Berlin, Middlefield, Plymouth etc. I have a lot more towns on my list but I'm having a hard time figuring out commuting times since visiting on the weekend is not comparable. Some towns I do not want are Glastonbury, Simsbury and Tolland. Does anyone have any thoughts? I am willing to go pretty much anywhere else within that radius.

I tend to gravitate toward older houses with character, I don't like subdivisions. I am probably looking in the 250-300k range which may be more of a stretch in some areas but I have found listings in all of the towns I've searched so far.

Thanks in advance for your help.

[NewJeffCT]

mileage-wise, Lyme is a long commute to Hartford, plus you need to get past the light on Route 9 in Middletown, which can slow you down a good 5-10 minutes or more every day. It's actually not a bad ride, but I often found it frustrating getting stopped at the lights on Route 9

Salem is not too bad - I would go through Salem and get into Glastonbury (right next to Hartford) in 20 minutes. Of course, Salem is fairly big area-wise, so you could tack on a good 10-12 minutes to get from one side of Salem to the Salem 4 Corners area is near the highway. If you're looking in Salem, Middlefield and Lyme, you might also want to consider Haddam and East Haddam - shorter commute than Lyme.

I wouldn't consider Berlin very rural. Nice suburban town, but not very rural.

Burlington could be a tough commute into Hartford - you'd need to make a long trek down Route 4 through Avon and Farmington before getting onto 84 to get into Hartford. During the school year, the traffic by the high school in Farmington is abysmal. Good schools and rural, though. It's certainly a do-able commute, though.

I like Canton quite a bit - the Collinsville section is pretty nifty, the schools are excellent, but a lot of the housing stock is newer. Commute could be similar to Burlington - going up Route 4 through Farmington, or 44 through Avon - but, also do-able.

[NewJeffCT]

Also, why not Glastonbury, Tolland or Simsbury? Glastonbury is a big town, but it does have some rural aspects once you get out of the downtown areas. Same with Simsbury, but Simsbury can be a tough ride into Hartford.

[Henry10]

Towns just South of you, and East of Glastonbury -- Hebron, Willimantic, Coventry, Marlborough are pretty rural, and commutable to Hartford.

Ellington and Somers north of you are nice too.

You have plenty of options for rural, 45 minutes rush hour to Hartford, and not-to-exceed $ 300k.

I like the first batch, as they are 30-45 minutes to the beaches (Rocky Neck for example) in the summer. They're also in lower elevations which means less snow in the winter.

[sionna]

Thank you for the posts, this is helpful information. Tolland is ideal in many ways but I know a couple of people who work in Tolland schools and who have told me things which make me reluctant to put my kids in their schools, despite it's overall good reputation. Nothing scandalous, just poor priorities. Glastonbury I think the high school is large, but I could be wrong. Glastonbury I also worry about the keeping up with the joneses mentality and maybe too affluent community. My niece went there and told me she was at a party where they gave cell phones as party favors. Berlin you're right is more faux rural, once you go beyond the tpke it does have some farms but I'm sure it's not the first one would think of when you say rural.

[Stylo]

Friends and family of mine live in Canton and Marlborough. Both seem like great options and pretty easy commutes.

[DrPizza]

Glastonbury...

I would try to stay east of the river to avoid traffic on I-84, which is a long stop & go ride.

[hvexpatinct]

I would look at Hebron, Marlborough, Andover (all same high school) and Granby. Burlington is tough on that budget. I gather from friends in Burlington and Canton that both towns are a little more like Avon and Simsbury than they used to be, so if Simsbury isn't a good fit, you may want to skip those too.

[MrGompers]

Your best commute would be from eastern towns as others have said such as, Glastonbury, Hebron, Marlborough, Andover.

IMO of the towns you've listed Suffield is a good choice. You could also consider Southwick, MA, Congomond, MA (Congomond lakes area)

From Suffield you could drive down RT 75 into Hartford at least part of the way to avoid I-91. Traffic starts to get bad as you approach Hartford/Windsor line on RT 75. There are at least 3 entrances to I-91 from RT 75. You could make a practice run to see if it's worth staying on RT 75 into Hartford. You would come out by Main St (one block south.)

You can also consider the towns surrounding the Barkhamsted reservoir too such as, Barkhamsted, Hartland, New Hartford. I think your commute from these towns would be 45 minutes though.

[pulpfiction]

Willimantic? You're kidding, right?

Originally Posted by Henry10

Towns just South of you, and East of Glastonbury -- Hebron, Willimantic, Coventry, Marlborough are pretty rural, and commutable to Hartford.

Ellington and Somers north of you are nice too.

You have plenty of options for rural, 45 minutes rush hour to Hartford, and not-to-exceed $ 300k.

I like the first batch, as they are 30-45 minutes to the beaches (Rocky Neck for example) in the summer. They're also in lower elevations which means less snow in the winter.