New Haven, New Britain, or Bridgeport???

xenogenetic · Nov 18, 2006

I know that in the New Britain area you can still buy a ranch style home for around 150-170K. You won't be able to touch that same type of house in the New Haven or Bridgeport areas (which are in Fairfield County...one of the most expensive counties in the the USA) for that price. I would say go with New Britain.

tanner523 · Nov 18, 2006

Hi!

Please contact a Realtor before you move and do some research. Bridgeport is not a safe place to live especially with a 2 year old and any surrounding town/cities are expensive as they are in Fairfield County. New Haven housing in itself is expensive, however you might be able to find a home or a condominium in Hamden, North Haven, West Haven's taxes are outrageous. Unfortunately, I know nothing about New Britain!

Should you have any questions please feel free to email, my address is in my profile.

xenogenetic · Nov 18, 2006

I can confirm that (I'm a licensed Real Estate Broker on the side...see my profile). New Britain is by far the less expensive place to live in out of the three.

kukukajoo, LPN · Nov 19, 2006

North Haven is very nice but VERY expensive and almost no rental or condo units- the entire town is single family housing except for two or three small and very fancy developments I can think of (really expensive, too). Plus taxes are high.

Hamden you have to watch the areas closely.

New Haven is a city and has its ups and downs. Not much affordable but has great culture and always something to do.

I dont really know about New Britain except I remember it being quaint.

One option is buying a two or three family and use the rental income to offset your mortgage payment. This can be very economical with the right property and good tenant screening as the want to do this.

CT has both city life and beautiful countryside and you are never far from either! Plus NYC is a short trainride away! I prefer to drive in to save money but many don't like the traffic.

May I ask why you chose CT?

raffreakale · Nov 20, 2006

i went to southern connecticut state university in new haven, and hated it... just my opinion though...

too many people, traffic stinks.... i would live in newtown or danbury and commute to bridgeport via rt. 25 to the merrit

kukukajoo, LPN · Nov 20, 2006

Are you looking into CRNA schools?

LPNEMSCT · Nov 20, 2006

Every city has it's bad parts, there is just as much crime in New Haven as there is in Bridgeport. I have lived in Bridgeport for 26 years and have never seen any crime first hand.

The cost of living is higher in Bridgeport than anywhere else. The cities are not that far apart, so even if you choose a school in Bridgeport, you can commute.

stevesf · Jan 13, 2007

New Britain would place you nearer to the center of the state, and would make commuting to clinical sites (Hospital of St. Raphael??) fairly easy. Do not believe the advice about living in Danbury (as one reply mentioned) and commuting down RT 25 - I can't tell you which is worse - morning or evening commute! I know, I make a living driving up and down the road, while going to nursing school.

I live in North Haven, and can tell you that even with a 30%+ increase in property taxes in recent years (we've lost most of our industrial tax base), the taxes are still fair and reasonable. New Britain is a hidden gem, and, while you won't mistake it for Columbus, you will have access to Hartford and New Haven for nightlife, dining, theater, etc. NYC and Boston are about 2 hours away, each.

Steve

kukukajoo, LPN · Jan 13, 2007

Steve- The new high school speaks for itself in North Haven, they spare no expense for education and the high school has some amazing course offerings! If you have children attending school, it may be an option you would want to look into as honestly the education is like a private privledged school and not a public school. My daughter had better class offerings in the HS than I did in community college! Plus you can take classes through Yale in HS in North Haven as well as other communities surrounding New Haven. Also, they have great clubs- even a shooting club- yep you can pose with a rifle in North Haven!

I have to say I have never seen a police force with Hummers before either! I had no clue taxes jumped that much but I am sure it is on par with the surrounding areas and values have jumped by more than that so there is a trade off.

North Haven is very beautiful and central as well, I don't think there is a bad area in that town at all. When I graduate I plan on moving back down there.

To the OP: The school is New Britain also is in conjunction with CCSU right in New Britain. Commuting in CT can be a nightmare and there are logjams for sure. There is also another CRNA school affiliated with CCSU but not sure which.

Bridgeport can be rough and literally one block can make a HUGE difference. Not sure about housing close to the campus, but even then where are the clinical sites as I would be nervous navigating in their traffic.

North Haven is much like a larger North Conway- has a lot of beauty and culture and somewhat of a 'rural' and private setting compared to other places but VERY close and easy commute to New Haven.

I lived in Ansona for a spell but my kids were in school and I was not impressed with the education they were getting. Since your little one won't be attending this may be an alternative- Ansonia, Derby, Shelton but really look into the area and make sure you feel safe.

Best of luck to you!

NaomieRN · Jan 14, 2007

I have been living in Bridgeport for 17 years and I am still alive. There are some nice areas in Bridgeport, but the taxes is higher than most areas in Connecticut. New Haven is similar to Bridgeport. New Britain is getting very populated with many hispanics. The cost of living in New Britain is less, so do your homework before you move to any place.

AuntieRN · Jan 14, 2007

Then there are little towns like Bristol and Southington which are right outside of New Britain and not far from New Haven either. I hated to commute anywheres when I lived in CT. Mom still lives there and I hate to drive there to visit her. It is awful. Good luck to you though.