Would move from NYC area, which area is best, CT or MA? (Boston: real estate)

[Barbarita C]

Hubby has a job prospect in Bloomfield , CT (Hartford area). Our one child is already in college, so school system is no longer a consideration for us, Thank God ! Looking for best overall area, LOVE Boston, but obviously too far away to commute, but we love water - love the ocean -- too bad. Thankfully, Boston would only be 2 1/2 hours away, so weekend get-away visits would be feasible.

I love New England, love the rural scene, but hubby prefers an urban area, always wants good restaurants, shops, etc. Can't be more than @ 45 minute commute to job, I should think. Just web-searching, I was looking at Long Meadow, MA. (No offense to anyone), I would like to get a decent distance from Hartford proper, to a more scenic area. I am not working now, and my hubby will no doubt be at work a great deal. So, basically I am looking for a semi-rural type area that is commutable to decent restaurants, shops, etc. so that we can both be happy.

I love to be near the water, so was looking by the CT River, but those old mill towns are sooo depressing, & run down, their better days were like 100 years ago, I'm afraid. I am going to be a woman alone a great deal, so don't want to worry about safety in an urban-renewal type area. Want to be able to take my (future) dog for a run by a lake, pond, park, whatever & be fairly safe. Can't be too isolated a place. (OK, so I watched Unsolved Mysteries too much).


Is there a town commutable to Hartford area that would please us both ? Which state would be more bang for the buck, so to speak, real estate wise? If he takes the job, we will probably rent in Hartford until we find a new home, but need suggestions about towns or areas for me to check out. I dream of downsizing to a little house with a yard for a few chickens, where dog can run, you get the idea. My husband is the opposite, would be OK in a NYC type high rise apt.

RI would be too far to be feasible & too expensive, I think, although I LOVE Newport. Can those in the know about this area please advise me ? I never cared for CT, myself, except for on the coast, like Mystic, but that would be too far from his job. And taxes in MA are lower than CT, correct ? Cost of living would be high in CT ? We are spoiled, restaurant & shop wise, - we live in Bergen County, NJ, 10 minutes from the Geo. Washington bridge. So, we have plenty of bar/restaurants, options here in NJ & just a short hop into NYC.

Not important for me, but I can't keep hubby down on the farm forever. Given above, where would YOU look ? Thanks for any help !

[missionhill]

Funny. My impression is it's more often the woman who prefers the city life and the man who wants to get the heck out. You don't have to look far from Hartford for the scenic towns; they're all over. West Hartford isn't exactly scenic; it's a more built-up suburban town like many in Bergen County with a lively, walkable downtown. Farmington is a famously bucolic and affluent suburb just west of West Hartford. Avon is posh, rural-residential, and right next to Bloomfield. Also consider Suffield. You go a bit farther and it gets rural quite fast, where no one would mind your keeping a few chickens. Longmeadow, Mass, is a very nice, older, built-up suburb of Springfield, not unlike West Hartford but without the lively downtown. Not much point in living there if you're not working in or around Springfield. I think the nicest areas of Massachusetts that aren't all that far from Hartford are north of Springfield--Northampton, Amherst, and all around there; but it's really a long way down 91 every day to work in Bloomfield. In your situation I'd stick with Conn.

[kingeorge]

CT coast is nice too. Why pay more taxes than you need to. I like Madison CT.

[SeanR87]

[SIZE=3]Hi. I moved from New York City to Western Massachusetts in 2005. We are currently seeking to leave, and go down to Connecticut. Being from New York City you may not like a lot of the attitudes in this area. Should that job not work out for your husband, Western Massachusetts isn't the greatest for jobs. Longmeadow is fine but East Longmeadow would be cheaper. You'd be in between Hartford, MA and Springfield, MA either way, but much closer to Springfield. Both cities are not really livable and can be dangerous for a woman. Yes they have their nice areas, but every time you go out to go eat or do shopping, there’s a lot of scum from the scummy parts of town. I wouldn’t live in either. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]Try Enfield, Connecticut. If you’re going to work in Connecticut why not live there too? And you'd be only 30 - 40 minutes away from great New England Towns like Easthampton, Northampton , Hadley (Hampshire Mall) Amherst (Umass) usually collectively referred to (sometimes without Easthampton) as the five college town area. They are great small towns and are fun to walk around in for restaurant or shopping purposes. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=3] [/SIZE][SIZE=3]Your post seems a little broad. You mention many, many areas spread out over a huge square mile range. But I think you should check out Enfield you are right over the Border to Massachusetts, and Living in Enfield would pretty much leave you in the middle of Bloomfield, CT and Easthampton, MA which I think is a good location. You’d get it all. [/SIZE]