HELP! Prospective teacher looking for new city (career, degree, county)

[Evlevo]

I will be completing a teaching degree and moving to the east coast soon (teacher pay waaay better than out west), and was looking for a good city to live in. These are my requirements....

1) Metro Population of at least 100,000.

2) Within 2.5 hours or less of either Boston or NYC

3) Decent neighborhoods that are not blighted

4) A reasonable crime rate. It doesn't have to be Maybury, but it cannot be South Central LA. I really just need a typical suburb

5) I have a bit of scratch saved up from previous career, so I could afford a place up to $350K. For that I would like a 2000+ sq ft place with a 10,000+ sq ft lot and a 2 car garage.

[Evlevo]

I will be completing a teaching degree and moving to the east coast soon (teacher pay waaay better than out west), and was looking for a good city to live in. These are my requirements....

1) Metro Population of at least 100,000.

2) Within 2.5 hours or less of either Boston or NYC

3) Decent neighborhoods that are not blighted

4) A reasonable crime rate. It doesn't have to be Maybury, but it cannot be South Central LA. I really just need a typical suburb

5) I have a bit of scratch saved up from previous career, so I could afford a place up to $350K. For that I would like a 2000+ sq ft place with a 10,000+ sq ft lot and a 2 car garage.

[westguy22]

Originally Posted by evlevo

I will be completing a teaching degree and moving to the east coast soon (teacher pay waaay better than out west), and was looking for a good city to live in. These are my requirements....

1) Metro Population of at least 100,000.

2) Within 2.5 hours or less of either Boston or NYC

3) Decent neighborhoods that are not blighted

4) A reasonable crime rate. It doesn't have to be Maybury, but it cannot be South Central LA. I really just need a typical suburb

5) I have a bit of scratch saved up from previous career, so I could afford a place up to $350K. For that I would like a 2000+ sq ft place with a 10,000+ sq ft lot and a 2 car garage.

Hi evlevo.

Your requirements for a neighborhood can include nearly anywhere in CT. Teacher's salaries are fairly high all over the state (among the highest in the US). You'd get paid more to teach in an urban district such as Bridgeport or Hartford, but the students might be a little tougher there. If I'm not mistaking, I believe Fairfield County pays teachers higher than any other county in the US (someone correct me if I'm wrong). This county is home to very wealthy people, and homes for $350 are hard to find (most small homes start around $4-500k, and the average home price for many of these communities is well over $1 million).

I would highly recommend the Danbury area for you. It's in northern Fairfield County and since it's a little further from NYC, real estate is much less. In Bethel, Brookfield and Danbury itself, you can find a decent home for $350k, but for 2,000 square feet, you might be looking at the 400s. Crime is very low in Danbury when comparing to other CT cities such as Hartford, New Haven, Bridgeport and Waterbury. The Danbury area as a whole was ranked among the safest areas to live in the US a few years ago for metro areas with a population over 100k. There's fine dining and shopping (home to a 200+ store mall). NYC is about an hour away, and Boston is about 2 and a half hours. You also have access to the city (NYC) via Metro North.

If you want more house for your money, the Hartford area is one of the most reasonable areas in terms of real estate (especially east of Hartford). I don't know much about that area, or eastern CT (Norwich/New London) but there are many on this thread who can help you out. I know West Hartford is a beautiful community.

If you don't want blighted neighborhoods, I'd stay away from Bridgeport, Waterbury, New Haven, Hartford and parts of Norwalk and Stamford.

Feel free to PM me if you have anymore questions.

[Evlevo]

When I said I did not want a place with blighted neighborhoods, I meant that I did not want to live in one, but a city that has them (just in a different area than the one I live in) is fine.

I should also add...

I don't mind living in a nice area than is 1-3 miles from a bad one. When I lived in Sacramento I was 1 mile from the ghetto (and a few blocks from 2-3 houses with bars on the windows) and I had no problems (and excellent neighbors!).

I am willing to commute 30-45 min from a nice small town to a bigger, job rich city.

Thanks for the replies!

[Apple Annie]

Sounds like many towns in New Hampshire, or on the Maine/NH border. You might find RI too densely populated unless you go closer to the ocean, in which case $350K won't buy much. Look at building costs of $200+ / sq. ft. and you're over $400K in RI suburbs. Just saying .....