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CTRealtorCarl t1_j8djchj wrote

Hey there,

So first thing to keep in mind when setting a budget for CT is that it will vary a lot from town to town (people are probably tired of me saying this). With highly variable property tax a 300k house in one town might have the same monthly payment as a 400k house in another town.

I'll also be upfront regarding the historic home part, in that price range a lot of the historic/old homes are going to need A LOT of work. I'm not saying this will always be the case but more often than not.

All in all, you have many options all over the state as someone mentioned Killingworth works as well as Durham which is nearby.

Canton is a town that doesn't get enough love and seriously checks all of your boxes if you are ok with a commute for work.

Wallingford and North Branford are options too but finding a 4+ bedroom in that price range won't be easy.

Definitely more options too but these are some that come to mind! Happy to talk more about it.

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AfterMoonSet t1_j8ep65u wrote

"I'll also be upfront regarding the historic home part, in that price
range a lot of the historic/old homes are going to need A LOT of work.
I'm not saying this will always be the case but more often than not."

Be easy on them, I'm guessing OP being from FL, and not CT (or any of the original 13 colonies), I think they (and many) don't know what a "historic" home is. As in one with a is usually protected, has a plaque, etc. They could just mean an older colonial house, which there are tons here but don't qualify as being "historic".

Also, you raise a good point about what town. I think what a lot of people from outside of New England don't really understand is our town government and how it differs from the rest of the country's country government. The opposite is true when people like us move out of state to like PA. I remember on one of the West Hartford Facebook pages a poster moving to West Hartford from somewhere in the south ask about a recommendation for private schools because she read that Hartford schools rank low, unaware that West Hartford had its own school system, and believing Hartford schools covered the whole Hartford county, not the city.

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caimseeker OP t1_j8f5kix wrote

You’re right, I should have probably been more clear about what I meant by historic. I don’t mean the kind of home with a plaque and strict rules. Down here it doesn’t necessarily mean all that.

And yes, the school system sounds like it works very differently. Which is attractive, given the hot mess that is Florida and schools right now.

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KaladinsDad t1_j8hy3ct wrote

Kids often have the choice of their regular high school, plus a few others for magnet programs, plus the state run Vocational Technical schools. The CTECS school system is selective and does reject middle schoolers applying. But at the end they have a high school diploma plus apprenticeship completed in a trade and they usually work part time senior year in their field.

Kids in my town have a choice of 11 high schools. Pretty good deal. Spending per student is also pretty decent in comparison to FL education budget.

All homes are "historic" compared to Florida (which really didnt start building in mass until after the invention of air conditioning.) But you know 1950's homes don't have anything special about them.

Really the question is Bigger City or more Country. Eastern CT is surprisingly rural, and I didn't realize that until I moved up here. You also may be limited by reasonable commute to jobs, and that may narrow things down. Southeastern CT's main employers are Pfizer, Electric Boat (and the Subbase), and the Mohegan and Foxwoods Casinos plus two hospitals. There is also a Dupont plant in there as well. But NE CT is much more sparse on major employers. Western CT has its own deal. And SW CT is basically NY to me, a non-native CT person who has lived here a little bit.

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tempertempest t1_j8g3sl6 wrote

Seconding Canton. Worth checking out based on OPs description. Collinsville is delightful, proximity to Avon & Torrington for bigger stores, not too far from Hartford, easy airport access.

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CTRealtorCarl t1_j8g3xac wrote

Yep this exactly. It even has a nice shopping plaza itself.

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