Connecticut's Best Places To Live: West Hartford CT

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The upscale suburb of Connecticut's capital and largest metropolitan area, West Hartford has won a variety of top national magazines recognition as one of Connecticut's best places for your home and family.

Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine named it one of the nation's "10 Great Cities for Raising Families" - as well awarding it a top ranking on its "One of the 10 Best Cities for the Next Decade" list. CNN Money ranked West Hartford as the 55th best small city in America.

Online magazine travelandleisure.com named West Hartford as one of America's "Top 10 Coolest" suburbs. The West Hartford Reservoir off Farmington Avenue was described as "West Hartford's version of Central Park." The magazine also noted the town's "Vacation-worthy hot spots, with great shopping, plenty of parking and cutting-edge restaurants."

The city is a large community spanning over twenty two square miles, and is one of the main retail centers of Hartford County. The downtown area called West Hartford Center is centered around Main Street and Farmington Avenue.

This historic downtown area has been the community's hub since the late 17th century. As a way of recapturing West Hartford's ties to its past, signs and plaques have been installed marking the most historic sites that dot the old town center.

The Downtown Center is a shopper's delight with over 140 shops, many restaurants with outdoor seating, art galleries and unique boutiques. Part of the renovated downtown is Blue Back Square, which includes an art cinema, upscale shops, restaurants and luxury condominiums. A portion of the expansive Westfarms Mall extends from Farmington into the town.

A number of West Hartford neighborhoods feature charming colonials, stately houses and impressive contemporaries. There are also a variety of condominium communities, apartment complexes and pleasant multi-family homes.

The west side of West Hartford is flanked by the Metacomet Ridge, a mountainous traprock ridgeline that stretches from Long Island Sound most of the way to the Vermont border. Notable features of the Metacomet Ridge in West Hartford include Talcott Mountain and a number of highland water reservoirs belonging to the Metropolitan District, which maintains watershed as well as the many recreational resources on the property. The 51-mile (82 km) Metacomet Trail traverses the ridge offering hikers expansive views of the Connecticut countryside.

West Hartford is adjacent to and west of Hartford, the state capital, and neighbors the cities of Bloomfield, Newington, Farmington, and Avon. The town is accessible from many major roads. Major thoroughfare Interstate 84 passes through the southern portion of the town. The northern section of town is traversed by CT Route 218. U.S. Route 44 passes through Hartford over Talcott Mountain.

Union Station is approximately ten minutes from the center of town and provides rail transit by Amtrak. Several bus routes traverse the town provided by Connecticut Transit Hartford. West Hartford is approximately 100 miles (160 km) southwest of Boston, Massachusetts and 100 miles northeast of New York City.

West Hartford is the 10th most educated town in the United States measured by the percentage of residents who hold graduate or professional degrees. Money Magazine has ranked the town as the 10th most educated town in the America, as measured by the percentage of town residents holding graduate or professional degrees.

Modern facilities and state-of-the-art equipment in the public school system help to provide a strong academic curriculum. Connecticut Magazine rankings put the Public School education in the top three among all the cities and towns in Connecticut. Adults may participate in a wide array of extensive continuing education programs.

The town is home to two public high schools, Conard High School and Hall High School. In addition, there are eleven elementary schools and three middle schools. After middle school students continue onto high school with their same student body.

Institutions of higher education include University of Hartford, the UCONN Greater Hartford Campus and Saint Joseph College.

The West Hartford Community Theater was incorporated in the fall of 2007 with an eye toward providing the highest quality live musical theater experience for town residents and the greater Hartford community. The brain child of Conard High School graduates, WHCT draws upon the unique and richly diverse pool of talent that exists in town and the surrounding area.

Few cities in America have been distinguished by so many top media awards as West Hartford. The richness of the quality of life in one of the highest educated communities in the country makes West Hartford one of Connecticut's best cities for your home and family.

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