Manchester has good areas and less good areas. Just look around before you buy. I'm less familiar with East Hartford but it's probably the same. Glastonbury and West Hartford are on par with each other as far as the WASP-y definition of "nice" goes. I'd check out Windsor, Newington, Berlin, Middletown, South Windsor.

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Traffic-wise, 84 East and West tend to jam up much more frequently than 91 North and South... for that reason if it were me, I'd stick to a town on 91.

A lot of the price difference will be due to school districts, so if you aren't planning on kids, check out Manchester.

West Hartford is great. More expensive than East Hartford and Manchester, but you do get what you pay for. Manchester is a solid value though.

Newington and Rocky Hill are worth looking at for a higher value area.

If you don’t mind a bit of a commute, Middletown is great with a nice downtown, good restaurants, not far from shoreline, and very good value for money.

I’d also consider Southington, which has an up and coming vibe.

With the budget you stated above and not planning on having a family, you could definitely buy within walking distance of West Hartford center and take advantage of its culinary diversity and activities.

Schools in Manchester are not great. If you don't have children you can find a real bargain in Manchester.

If you have the budget, would fully rec WH. That being said, if you’re working in Gbury the commute will be atrocious in the morning but you should be fine in the evening. If you want to stay East of the river, Gbury/SWindsor are nice but you’re correct in that there aren’t many smaller size homes. If building is an option I’ve seen decent prices on lots in those areas as well.

Look south of Glastonbury. Search in Portland, East Hampton, Hebron. All of these towns would have an easy commute to Glastonbury. If you’re going to need to drive to a Glastonbury office then you should eliminate the 84x91 traffic commute. Just my .02.

If you enjoy just walking (as opposed to only hikes) then Glastonbury downtown has a wonderful sidewalk system that you can easily walk 5+ miles daily without dodging cars. There are also walkable restaurants from the center. Glastonbury is a wonderful town but you’ll probably pay more in taxes to fund a school system you might not take advantage of.

What’s your budget? Do you have any particular hobbies or activities that you enjoy?

I think certain parts of East Hartford are fine (Manchester line towards MCC and close to Glastonbury). But as someone who lived in EH for the majority of their life, I wouldn’t do it again. I know you don’t want kids, but the school system sucks. I lived really close to Burnside Ave. If you didn’t hear car backfire going off at 3am, it was ambulances all the time. The drivers suck. I deliver for DoorDash currently too. East Hartford residents have single handedly tried to report lost/stolen food the most out of any town (and ironically the second is Manchester). I’m one for going out late at night, and I’ve never really believed in “Nothing good happens after midnight.” But EH is one of the places that that saying holds true. Manchester on the other hand is interesting. I personally wouldn’t rent from, but I’d buy a house there. The houses up towards Glastonbury and even towards South Windsor are really nice (I don’t plan on buying anytime soon, but I’ll acknowledge some parts are nice like EH). However, the traffic in Manchester is HORRIBLE. I do enjoy buckland, but I find evergreen walk boring. The food options are fantastic. But personally it’s not worth the traffic. As someone who drives basically 10 hours a day, Vernon would be my #1 choice for an apartment, East Granby and Windsor come in a close second.

If you need a realtor please let me know!!