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Thinking of moving to Southington

UConnKev

UConnKev

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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!
 
Chin Diesel said:
Best skiing in the state.
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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
 
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.
 
8893 said:
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
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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.
 
Excalibur said:
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.
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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.
 
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.
 
.-.
8893 said:
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.
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Typical Van show!
 
UConnKev said:
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!
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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.
 
nadav said:
Typical Van show!
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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.
 
My only experience with Southington is I used to have to take my daughter to a dance studio off a couple of times a week at 6:00. On some Fridays it was almost impossible to do as it would take 20 minutes to move a few hundred feet. My suggestion before moving anywhere is to drive it during the rush hour or the time you would be commuting. My guess it is an hour commute if you are leaving at seven in the morning and coming home 5/6ish.

Same could be said for anyone thinking of moving to Farmington and has to commute via route 4, drive that once and you will change your mind.
 
.-.
beerfan said:
My only experience with Southington is I used to have to take my daughter to a dance studio off a couple of times a week at 6:00. On some Fridays it was almost impossible to do as it would take 20 minutes to move a few hundred feet. My suggestion before moving anywhere is to drive it during the rush hour or the time you would be commuting. My guess it is an hour commute if you are leaving at seven in the morning and coming home 5/6ish.

Same could be said for anyone thinking of moving to Farmington and has to commute via route 4, drive that once and you will change your mind.
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Route 6 in Bristol has been under construction since 2011 and will be until 3011. That is currently the worst road in the area
 
Greathusky said:
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.
Expand ...
Hopefully that bus system doesn’t go in. It’ll end up like Plainville. Bring back trolleys!
 
I have friends who live in Southington. It is like a lot of the nicer towns along 84 W from Hartford. Schools are solid, there is stuff to do in town, good rec activities, public pools and parks, reasonably priced.

Two things that stick out as different from other towns:

1) It is a lot easier to get around the state from Southington than most other towns. It is convenient to New Haven, Hartford and Fairfield County because 84 runs right through the middle of town North to South, then Intersects with 691 which runs along the south edge of town. Route 8 is 10 miles to the west, and Route 9 is 5 miles to the east. UConn, Mystic and Greenwich are how far you need to go from Southington for it to be more than an hour drive.

2) Youth sports are crazy, and very political. I think part of that is because it is a big town, so there is less of a competitive cost for settling scores through the youth sports. There are always another 5 kids that are pretty good that can take the place of the kid that was cut because someone in charge didn't like the parents.
 
The Diner South of 84 on Queen St was our breakfast spot for 12PM UConn games at the old HCC.
great. Days ,great guys great. Memories.
The Big Guy 6’6” 275 would order 4 eggs over easy . Double orders of home fries and Toast.
Washed down with a large OJ and of course coffee. Things like that you don’t forget.
 
AZHuskiePop said:
The Diner South of 84 on Queen St was our breakfast spot for 12PM UConn games at the old HCC.
great. Days ,great guys great. Memories.
The Big Guy 6’6” 275 would order 4 eggs over easy . Double orders of home fries and Toast.
Washed down with a large OJ and of course coffee. Things like that you don’t forget.
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That's a nice base!;)
 
ScottBonz said:
Thalberg.....it all kind of makes sense now. Flanders all the way baby.

Lived there from 2-26 in the same house on Pilgrim Lane. It’s alright town, nothing special but nothing terrible. A solid place to raise a family.

One thing I would point out is that I am still friend with a bunch from Southington. It’s weird, if I go to Southington person wedding the person had a ton of people from Southington. Core groups of friends seem to stay together long after unlike other towns. Probably just anecdotal.
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Grew up on thistle
 
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In Elizabeth, NJ yesterday - a contrast any town would like. LOL Good luck on the house hunting.
 
The one complaint I hear is that the high school is huge. 500 kids per class is too big.
 
I have coached at the HS for 22 yrs....the school community and the town itself are very supportive of its sports programs. ( and demanding as well. But it's all I've ever known and wouldn't ever trade an ounce of that for more apathy). Park dept is run by a great guy.

The school has a freshman wing, a freshman cafeteria etc. the size of the school also allows it to offer a lot of unique classes that would not be viable in a school with 125 kids in the class .
 
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