Thinking of moving to Southington

[UConnKev]

Currently reside in Rocky Hill but planning on moving in the next year or so.

Wife works at UConn Health in Farmington and I’m working in New Haven. I want my wife to be relatively close to her job and I don’t mind the commuting a longer distance.

I have a soon to be 3-year old and a baby due in December so we are hoping to get settled in before my oldest starts pre-school.

We drove around some parts of Southington and found some neighborhoods that we really liked but we don’t know too much about the area, school system, and the community as a whole. I know the town is big into sports which I do love but outside of that I don’t know much else.

Would love to hear some feedback, thanks!

 

[sma4uconn]

Yeah, @Mister Wonderful he’s the guy that you attempt to annoy every Labor Day weekend. I apologize in advance for his behavior @ScottBonz

 

[wheelerdog]

lake compounce concert mt rushmore

Poison
Slaughter
Steve Miller Band
NKOTB

Sting

 

[UConnMatt813]

Live off Mt. Vernon rd on the west side of town. Never hear anything from lake compounce except fireworks when they do them. It’s quiet, but everything is within 10 min. Moved here a year ago and never looked back. My wife and I absolutely love it.

 

[nadav]

lol a little league all star teammate of mine

So you aren’t actually old?! lol

 

[whaler11]

So you aren’t actually old?! lol

Carl Pavano + 2 is old.

 

[coachcap]

Have been a resident on Southington for basically my whole life. Currently live on Mount Vernon, half way between Mount Southington & Lake Compounce (Kelley School District). Prior to that was closer to Mount Southington (Plantsville School disrict). Grew up in Plantsville off of Marion Ave. Daughter & Family live near Southington Country Club (South End School district). Any of the schools in town are high quality. Youth Sports are abundant (football, baseball, softball, lacrosse. soccer all have dedicated fields & basketball in area schools). The middle schools have arts, drama & band programs.
As a matter of fact, there is a great arts initiative down town. The 3 Town parks are well maintained & the local Rotary Club is spearheading the construction of a new all access playground at Memorial Park (Cost $ 200,000.00) to replace the existing playground which fell into disrepair.
People in town are friendly. Southington is a great town to raise a famliy.
About the commute: Wife works in Hartford, generally a 15-20 minute drive (although at rush hour it can take much longer). I work in Hamden (off of Dixwell Ave.) That's a 25 minute ride (I-84 to I-691 to Wilber Cross Parkway. (If you prefer Route 10 it's 45 minutes with every traffic light under the Sun).
As for restaurants: There's every chain imaginable, BUT, there are some great local independents: New Mill, Tuscany, Cava, Close Harbor Seafood, Spartans, Groggy Frog(BEST Burgers in town), Kizl's, Grace's Diner, Dominic & Vinnie's Pizza, Sam the Clam's, various restaurants on Center St. Back Nine Restaurant (at Southington Country Club) & the patio restaurant at Hawk's Landing Country Club are some to explore for starters.
Shopping is abundant: The running joke in town is that the only store that Southington doesn't have is Christmas Tree shops. The town has 2 Home Depots, a Lowe's, & a great independent (Superior Products on Meriden-Waterbury Turnpike).
That's enough for now. Best of luck on the house hunting.

 

[TGW93]

It's a great place to grow up. And to reinforce an earlier post, I still regularly hang out with friends I met at South End School in the late 70s, John F. Kennedy Junior High School in the mid 80s and working at the Aqua Turf in the late 80s. In fact, I'll be tailgating with several of them next Thursday.

I also "met" my wife at our 5 year reunion and we still have immediate family in town.

I moved away in the mid-90 and Southington is now a little bigger and more crowded than I remember it being as a kid, but the descriptions of it in this thread are pretty spot on. BTW - during WWII the Department of Defense created a pamphlet called Southington, CT - Microcosm of America that this thread basically confirms.

 

[UConnKev]

So much great info and I see a lot of posters took a trip down memory lane with Lake Compounce and the great bands.

A whole lot to digest but I look forward to continuing to check out our potential new home.

Thanks everyone!

 

[CTBasketball]

Sometimes you see Mike Ditka roaming downtown. He’s usually hammered and smoking a cigar.

If you ask him about football he shoo’s you away.

 

[Deepster]

Have been a resident on Southington for basically my whole life. Currently live on Mount Vernon, half way between Mount Southington & Lake Compounce (Kelley School District). Prior to that was closer to Mount Southington (Plantsville School disrict). Grew up in Plantsville off of Marion Ave. Daughter & Family live near Southington Country Club (South End School district). Any of the schools in town are high quality. Youth Sports are abundant (football, baseball, softball, lacrosse. soccer all have dedicated fields & basketball in area schools). The middle schools have arts, drama & band programs.
As a matter of fact, there is a great arts initiative down town. The 3 Town parks are well maintained & the local Rotary Club is spearheading the construction of a new all access playground at Memorial Park (Cost $ 200,000.00) to replace the existing playground which fell into disrepair.
People in town are friendly. Southington is a great town to raise a famliy.
About the commute: Wife works in Hartford, generally a 15-20 minute drive (although at rush hour it can take much longer). I work in Hamden (off of Dixwell Ave.) That's a 25 minute ride (I-84 to I-691 to Wilber Cross Parkway. (If you prefer Route 10 it's 45 minutes with every traffic light under the Sun).
As for restaurants: There's every chain imaginable, BUT, there are some great local independents: New Mill, Tuscany, Cava, Close Harbor Seafood, Spartans, Groggy Frog(BEST Burgers in town), Kizl's, Grace's Diner, Dominic & Vinnie's Pizza, Sam the Clam's, various restaurants on Center St. Back Nine Restaurant (at Southington Country Club) & the patio restaurant at Hawk's Landing Country Club are some to explore for starters.
Shopping is abundant: The running joke in town is that the only store that Southington doesn't have is Christmas Tree shops. The town has 2 Home Depots, a Lowe's, & a great independent (Superior Products on Meriden-Waterbury Turnpike).
That's enough for now. Best of luck on the house hunting.

The only thing I’d say is that it is NOT a 15-20 minute ride into Hartford unless you are on 84 before 7:15-7:30. Any later and it can be up to 45-60 minutes. One road in. I did the Bristol to Hartford route for 4 years.

 

[superjohn]

Carl Pavano + 2 is old.

How nasty was Pavano in little league?

 

[superjohn]

Sometimes you see Mike Ditka roaming downtown. He’s usually hammered and smoking a cigar.

If you ask him about football he shoo’s you away.

I've got some good Ditka and '85 Bears stories. Guy I know (John Vincent) has been singing at Ditka's restaurant for many years and they basically have a father son relationship. Ditka is starting to lose it.

 

[Purple Stein]

I don't have much going for me, but I do have a career .333 OBP against Carl Pavano (HBP and 2 Ks, LOL).

 

[Chin Diesel]

Best skiing in the state.

 

[ScottBonz]

I thought you and papa @rich1122 hail from Ansonia?

Still on that? Man you guys gotta lay off the yard.

 

[ScottBonz]

Yeah, @Mister Wonderful he’s the guy that you attempt to annoy every Labor Day weekend. I apologize in advance for his behavior @ScottBonz

Exhibit #10 of these dumb chumps still hanging together.

 

[8893]

Best skiing in the state.

Granted that’s not a high bar, but I think Mohawk and Sundown are better.

For value and conditions I usually choose Catamount in NY/MA for mid-week day trips though

 

[Excalibur]

A few observations about Southington from someone living one town further south (who considered Southington when making his decision):

They have done a very good job resurrecting the downtown area. Plenty of good independent restaurants. I haven’t seen ideal tavern mentioned, but I’m a big fan.

The town is sports obsessed, but at the youth level I’ve never seen such an obnoxious group of parents anywhere else in the state. Not just my opinion either . . .

It’s nice to have a lot of retail in the area, but Queen St can be a nightmare.

The elementary school districts vary greatly in quality. Learn which ones are better and focus there.

 

[Excalibur]

Granted that’s not a high bar, but I think Mohawk and Sundown are better.

For value and conditions I usually choose Catamount in NY/MA for mid-week day trips though

Sundown is better but far enough away to make it worthwhile to just go further North.

From a value and conditions standpoint, taking into account convenience, you can’t beat Berkshire East.

 

[8893]

Sundown is better but far enough away to make it worthwhile to just go further North.

From a value and conditions standpoint, taking into account convenience, you can’t beat Berkshire East.

I haven’t been there since high school but keep meaning to get back to compare. Iirc they had better terrain but not as much snowmaking. I believe they just bought Catamount. My buddy lives a little closer to Catamount and they have $20 lift passes midweek so that’s made it a no-brainer more often than not. We’ve skied fresh powder for $1 per run; the only times I’ve been able to top that have been a few St. Patrick’s Day $17 tickets at Mt. Snow.

 

[PogoSticks]

Southington’s school system is a good district overall. Like other posters have said the elementary schools are all similar but some are in dire need of renovation, Kelley and Flanders. Derynoski school is also in need of an update and is also by far the largest elementary school in town, it was the old high school. I have lived halfway between Lake Compounce and the Ski Area my entire life and there is no noise that you hear from those locations. Sports in this town are very animated and the parents will sometimes become too invested but on the whole the kids who play really enjoy their experience. The town’s restaurants have been slowly drifting away from the chains but still has a long way to go. The only areas of town I would avoid buying a house would be in any area near Darling St, slowly starting to improve but has a long way to go, and some areas over by Rec park, the sewage treatment plant is there and from some surrounding neighborhoods in the summertime you get an unwanted whiff. On the whole southington is a great town and truly is close to many things in CT. Good luck with your house hunting and if you would like any more information bout the school system I would be more than willingly to help.

 

[nadav]

I know Van Morrison also played there but I didn’t go. My brother did and it is widely regarded as the worst Van show ever. Apparently he was in a terrible mood and only played for 45 minutes before walking off the stage.

Typical Van show!

 

[Greathusky]

Currently reside in Rocky Hill but planning on moving in the next year or so.

Wife works at UConn Health in Farmington and I’m working in New Haven. I want my wife to be relatively close to her job and I don’t mind the commuting a longer distance.

I have a soon to be 3-year old and a baby due in December so we are hoping to get settled in before my oldest starts pre-school.

We drove around some parts of Southington and found some neighborhoods that we really liked but we don’t know too much about the area, school system, and the community as a whole. I know the town is big into sports which I do love but outside of that I don’t know much else.

Would love to hear some feedback, thanks!

I lived here for 31 years. Great access to highways on I-84 and I-691.

Diversity is not our strong point with an overall minority percentage around 3% if that is important to you.

Very strong youth sports program supported by a great YMCA program including a summer camp at Camp Sloper.

A lot of open space to explore but in combination with a strong business presence moving in. This results in a low mill rate around 27.

Both my kids now in their 20s went through the public school. They are now successful adults with great jobs so however you want judge a school system by, they did get a great education.

The East Coast Greenway runs through town and is a great place for joggers, bikers and walkers,

I take the bus to Hartford for the UConn basketball and football games.

Sliders wings in town!

Negatives :

No local bus system in place but plans are in place.
Congested main thoroughfares as more businesses move to Queen St. and West St.

Ask away with any specific questions.

 

[whaler11]

How nasty was Pavano in little league?

well he was two years younger than everyone else on the all star team...

 

[8893]

Typical Van show!

I’ve seen him more than a dozen times and that has never been my experience. Maybe two sub-par shows, but nothing like that.