<p>Christian…another thing…CT isn’t very big. Worker at Pratt live all over the state. We live 25 miles northwest of Hartford and know a number of PW workers living in our area also. It takes them about 40 minutes to get to work.</p>
<p>Thank you all for all these really good information. Since we know nothing about CT and kind of concern about how DS will manage by himself, the more information the better. We are getting into high gear now with July less than three months away.</p>
<p>Any chance he can take a two day trip here and look at those places in Manchester? Or elsewhere? That way he could see for himself. I think the Manchester places are a good location…easy commute to most anywhere on the state.</p>
<p>We may take you up on your recommendation. Thank you again.</p>
<p>P.S. If he moves to or near Manchester, he will be able to furnish his apartment fairly easily and inexpensively. The Christmas Tree Shop has a ton of inexpensive small pieces of furniture (kitchen table/chairs/side tables etc), rugs, housewares, dishes, pots and pans, linens, etc. There are a couple of mattress places nearby (for a bed…Better Bedding and Sleepies). </p>
<p>Another thing to check is for offstree parking…that has no extra charge.</p>
<p>Yes, yes, yes to all Thumper says. Good for your son for moving to CT; most young people are moving away (including my kids).</p>
<p>And I’d vote no to Park Place Towers for someone moving into the Hartford area alone and from out-of-state. That tower in that neighborhood could prove to be fairly isolating.</p>
<p>I assume that your son will have a car? Public transportation isn’t exactly a priority in CT and he’ll need one to get to Pratt and also for shopping, entertainment, etc.</p>
<p>[Here’s</a> a furnished sublet](<a href=“http://hartford.craigslist.org/sub/2909292648.html]Here’s”>http://hartford.craigslist.org/sub/2909292648.html) for June & July in Manchester. Maybe a short-term rent will give him a chance to settle in and figure out where he’d like to live. When my son moved to SF after college he found a roommate on craigslist for his first year and now is moving in with a co-worker on a more permanent basis.</p>
<p>I’m going to chime in with Manchester, Glastonbury, maybe even Vernon, all east of the river. I would not want to live in the city of Hartford. West Hartford is a possibility, along with Wethersfield, Rocky Hill, and Newington which are all west of the river.</p>
<p>Glastonbury native here … now living in SW Connecticut.</p>
<p>Edited to add … the Lofts at the Mills look amazing. And they don’t get more convenient that that! Commuting to Pratt from there would be a breeze. Didn’t do the google maps thing – but it can’t be 10 miles … maybe 5?</p>
<p>In last week’s Sunday Courant, there were apts in Manchester starting at $595 a month.</p>
<p>We just came across this Apartment web site in Manchester. [Manchester</a> Apartments | Apartments in Manchester, CT | The South Adams](<a href=“apartments-in-ct.com - This website is for sale! - apartments in ct Resources and Information.”>http://www.apartments-in-ct.com/SouthAdams/Manchester-CT-apartments.asp) Do any of you have any opinion about this location? Thank you.</p>
<p>Any opinion? I like to get some feedback if possible. Thank you in advance.</p>
<p>I am not familiar with this specific complex, but from knowing the area, I think it’s pretty decent. The repurposed factory complexes in the area seem to be nice apartments. The location on the map looks reasonable for commuting and shopping. They would be on my list!</p>
<p>Thinking outside of the box, if he wants a college town, there’s Middletown, the home of Wesleyan–about a 20-25 minute commute. People from Middletown regularly commute to Hartford.</p>
<p>Posters here are correct that people in CT commute all over the state. My wife commuted from New Haven–we would live nowhere else in CT, but that’s just us, I guess–to East Hartford for a couple of years, and it wasn’t a horrible commute. </p>
<p>Note that East Hartford is the location of Rentschler Filed, where the UCONN Huskies play football upon Saturday afternoons. Depending on your son, this could be a positive, but it can make local traffic a pain.</p>
<p>To be even more precise … Rentschler Field football stadium is built on the former airport section of P&W… </p>
<p>I don’t think I’d recommend Middletown, even though Wesleyan is there.</p>
<p>^^
I agree that Middletown is not the greatest college town. It’s not Amherst or Ann Arbor, but my work takes me there and for a young person I’d rank it above East Hartford or Manchester. It has improved quite a bit in the last couple of decades. </p>
<p>You can find a balanced discussion here:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/wesleyan-university/1024642-middletown.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/wesleyan-university/1024642-middletown.html</a>
Or on other CC Wesleyan threads.</p>
<p>But, hey, I might have a distorted view. Many people think I’m crazy when I say I couldn’t imagine living anywhere else in CT but New Haven.</p>
<p>I grew up in the area and still have family “back there.” That area is fine.
Definitely very suburban. Near a larger shopping mall, your typical chain restaurants, etc. Much better than downtown Hartford. He will probably want to join a gym or church to find ways to meet people outside or work but an apartment in Manchester in terms of commute, price and safety will be fine.</p>
<p>Thank you all very much.</p>