Pearce Real Estate is great (I am biased because I’m married to one though). My husband works with a lot of new Yale students and staff. If you reach out to Pearce they’ll connect you someone who can arrange tours and make sure you find the best spot

Was going to give the same advice! They need to talk to a lender to understand what their pre-approval amount would be for a mortgage. Also reaching out to a realtor to help understand what’s on the market.

It’s definitely a colder temperature range than I’d prefer but hate paying SCG more than I hate being cold lol.

Lack of insulation and the temperature you keep your house at is probably contributing. We keep our house, which is same size as yours, at between 60-64 degrees and our bill was $115 last month.

I’d recommend turning your thermostat down when you aren’t home and are sleeping to save money. If these don’t have an effect than there might be a problem with your meter - but I suspect the high temperature is the primary contributer to your costs.

Vintanthro Modern and Westville General Store (both in Westville!) both have cute postcards I believe.

Definitely see if you qualify for any first time homebuyer programs. Some banks have their own but also look into CHFA first-time homebuyer products!

If the Trader Joe’s/Whole Foods aspect is super important to you then I’d look in the Orange/Milford area as CT doesn’t have that many of those particular chains but they do have them in that area!

If it’s less important then I’d recommend Guilford. My husband grew up there and they have a great school system, very safe, and there’s a train station in town. Only about 30 minute drive to Yale.

We currently live in Hamden now in the Spring Glen/Whitneyville area. We love it for now, however, I’ve heard the high school is just okay and we’ll likely move when we have kids.

My husband happens to be a realtor who works with a lot of incoming Yale staff. Yale often will connect people moving to the area with possible realtors who are very knowledgeable and can help you look at the best spots. My husband takes people of tours of towns all the time which I think helps give a good feel for the area. May be worth connecting to the hiring team to see if they might offer that to your wife!

The doob wings are so good!!

Valentino’s for sure! Just opened their new spot in New Haven and it’s a beautiful location

Ion is sooo good. Their southern friend tofu is on another level

Same here! Dr. Mags is great. Really appreciate how you talks you through options and gets on your pets level to calm them down before exams

I'd check with your insurance - sometimes they have preferred places for you to go. We used the glass coverage with Geico and they told us a shop to use.

The thing with Mandy is that it isn't just a management company - they also own the buildings which are mostly in disrepair.