On the whole, Manchester is suburban. It has a very walkable downtown area with a nice mix of restaurants, and then a huge commercial area with a mall, lots of big-box stores, and chain restaurants & hotels. Some residential areas of it are more rural, some are typical suburban sprawl, and a few pockets are a little rough.

If I didn't live downtown (which I love and feel very safe in) I would live in the West End. Where are you moving here from?

I have lived in downtown Hartford since 2004. I am female. I walk around all the time, including in the evenings, and feel perfectly safe. As a general rule of thumb, you should not go walking in any park at night, and most parks are open from dawn to dusk for a reason (including Central Park in NYC). Lord knows Hartford is not perfect. (what city is?) and it has a reputation as a commuter-only town, but there are 120k people who actually live here, plenty of whom live downtown and walk around safely all the time. And if you are the type of person who does not wait for events to show up on their doorstep, and actually goes out and looks for things to do, signs up for newsletters/follows organizations on social media for information about things to do, you will find plenty to do here in Hartford. It is full of creative & talented people who enrich their own and others’ lives. We have live music, art shows, street festivals, farmers markets, independent theaters, etc. Go on hartford.com and look at the Events tab and sign up for their newsletter. Check out SoDo-Hartford.com for a things to do page. To me, anyone who says “there’s nothing to do in Hartford” either 1) is comparing Hartford to New York City and is expecting 24 hr Times Square on every corner and/or 2) hasn’t actually looked for things to do the way they would if they were visiting another city for the first time.

Feel free to DM me for more info.

Painting classes at Board and Brush are a lot of fun for a group. And there are studios all over the state.

Cook Shop Plus in W. Hartford Center does cooking classes. There’s a place in Plantsville called Foodology that also does cooking classes.

I have not been to cooking classes at either place so I cannot speak to how good they are, but I’m sure you could find reviews on yelp, etc.

The marble staircase inside City Hall is beautiful, but I am not sure if you need permission to photograph in there. Go on hartford.gov and contact the Office of Community Engagement, if they can’t answer that question for you they will send you to the correct department. They are very helpful. Mention that your husband is a resident of Frog Hollow.

An Uber to and from will be cheaper than parking in their lot ( $20). Enjoy the show!

CT abandoned the county system in 1959. So every town has its own municipal taxes and services (garbage, sewer, police, fire, etc.) We don’t have county taxes we have state income tax, state sales tax, and town property tax. We are taxed on real property (land, structures, vehicles), and businesses are taxed on real property and equipment.

Can you share more about what kind of social life you were looking for? Are you looking for lots of bars/breweries? Hiking groups & outdoor activities? More arts-related activities? Quirky markets and off-the-beaten-path activities?

I live downtown and can think of a dozen neighbors (both renters and condo owners) who moved during or just after the pandemic. Most of them had no children, but some did. Their reasons for moving were mostly for job or relationship, or their job changed to 100% permanent remote work and they moved to more of a vacation area. The ones in the first category are now in Boston, DC, Portland ME, New Orleans, and LA. The ones in the second category are in places like Vermont, Ogunquit, NorthHampton, Cape Cod, Old Saybrook.

I would say these parking lots are akin to parking your car at the mall. If you’re comfortable leaving your dash cam in your car at a mall parking lot then you should be fine here. Hartford isn’t Caracas.

If it’s mounted with a suction cup, then I would say take it off and put it in the glove box. If it’s hard mounted to the dash then I wouldn’t worry about it because if you can’t easily remove it, then it’s highly unlikely that a thief in a hurry could as well.

I live two blocks from the theater and the area is safe day and night. You will see many people walking up and down Capitol Avenue prior to the performance having come from two nearby. restaurants, Peppercorns and Republic. As others have said the state parking lots on Capitol Avenue across the street from The Bushnell are perfectly safe and decently lit. Just don’t leave anything visible in your car, i.e., don’t create a crime of opportunity by leaving a bag or some thing in your backseat just invites trouble. This is true for parking in any city at any time, anywhere.

Hartford needs teachers like you! I encourage you to reach out to the school system and an organization called CREC.

You don’t mention if you are coming for a full-time job at the medical center or if you are coming for your medical residency. If the latter, there are a bunch of medical residents who live in my condo building in downtown Hartford who are in their UConn medical residency, but they split their time between three hospitals: UConn Dempsey Hospital, Hospital of Central CT (New Britain ), and Hartford Hospital (downtown Hartford). They rent their condos from other former medical residents who wanted to be downtown because they could walk to Hartford Hospital and catch transit from downtown to the other two hospitals about 50% of the time (depending on shift vs. bus schedule). Not sure if this is your situation, but just thought I’d put that info out there.

^^^THIS. So good. Even non-vegetarians like it!

Thank you for including Hartford by the numbers. I can’t stand the constant comparisons to cities that are six and 20 times our size (Boston and New York). It’s apples and oranges.

I have been wondering this as well! He drives down Main Street every day around 5 PM. Windows open, cowbell banging in time with the tunes. I have observed him personally at street level, he is alone in the car (black SUV, Ford I think). Living his best cowbell dreams.

Check out Hartbeat Music Fest and reach out to them on IG to get on their email list. Submissions for the 2023 festival open soon.

ETA: u/trevor32390 - submissions opened today (Feb 1): https://riverfront.org/hartbeatartistapp/

Welcome to Hartford! What neighborhood are you in?

There is also grocery delivery. I see Instacart, Whole Foods/Amazon, and PeaPod (Stop & Shop) deliveries in my building almost daily.

You mentioned The Millenium building. While that is technically downtown, it is a bit isolated in that you won't walk out your door and be mere steps from other things to do, neighbors, etc. It is a converted hotel and faces a highway entrance ramp and road that get VERY busy on nights when there are baseball games or concerts at the amphitheater. Do a Google Street view "drive" to see what I mean in terms of being isolated from the rest of downtown.

If you are looking for a modern building check out The Pennant (right behind The Millenium but on Main Street so not as isolated), Hartford 21, or anything by Spectra. There are also some older buildings that have been converted to nice apartments: Capewell, 55 On The Park, The Metropolitan.

I have lived in the South Downtown neighborhood (north of Element 250, south of the Traveler's Insurance Tower) for 18 years and it is a great neighborhood with a number of historic condos and apartment buildings, great neighbors of all ages and walks of life, lots of dogs, and a good vibe. We just had our neighborhood holiday happy hour on Tuesday at a local restaurant and it was a great turnout!

If you are expecting the vibrancy of NYC you will be disappointed. We may not have the density of other cities but there are a lot of activities/parks/restaurants within a 1-mile walkable radius of downtown. I have never felt unsafe here, walking around at all times of the day or night. Just like any other city, be aware of your surroundings and be smart, don’t leave stuff visible in the back of your car enticing people to break in, etc.

I’ve lived in Hartford for close to 20 years and I have seen rats here and there, usually around dumpsters, or any time there’s been a big gathering of people where there is a lot of garbage that hasn’t been picked up yet. For example, after a parade or festival when the trash cans are overflowing.

Rats are a property management issue everywhere in the world. Rats go where people make it easy (through lack of maintenance/vigilance) to access shelter and food, are super smart, and are prolific breeders. Rats become more noticeable when their habitats are disturbed (such as during construction) and wherever there is a food source: any public trash can or restaurant dumpster, supermarket loading dock, farm feed bin. Some of the worst rat issues in any city (including Hartford) stem from absentee landlords not providing adequate trash receptacles for their tenants (residential and commercial) and not maintaining their property (reducing opportunities for rats to get in plus ongoing pest control treatment).

Between Yard Goats, UConn Hockey, and Hartford Athletic you can take your family to a lot of fun, close-by sports events for a lower ticket price and a higher fun quotient. And Welcome to Hartford! (Also check out Hartford.com and sign up for their newsletter for other, non-sports related fun.)

Winterfest in Bushnell Park starts on Friday, free ice skating & skate rental

I’ve lived downtown for years and I have never not felt safe living here, walking around at all times of the day or night. Just like any other city, including New York City, you just have to be aware of your surroundings and be smart. Don’t leave stuff visible in the back of your car enticing people to break in. Be open to meeting new people and actually doing some research to look for things to do. There is a lot to do here besides just going to restaurants: art shows, festivals, open markets, live music. Check out Hartford.com to get an idea.