Moving to the area next month - good rental possibility in West Haven but have been warned. Any advice?

Submitted by BoulderFalcon t3_ytnxyf in newhaven

Hi all,

I just received an offer at Yale and will be moving to the area next month. I'm now in a mad dash to get a place sometime in the next month.

I am married and have a 1 year old, so safety is of course a huge concern.

I'm working wiith a realtor to help me look for rentals, and found I place I really like in West Haven. For reference, it is between US-1 and i-95, near Bull Hill Ln. From a street view search, the area seems fine. But I've searched about West Haven on Reddit and it seems everyone has horror stories. My future coworkers all say they're not super familiar with this particular area but generally would not recommend West Haven. Should I stay away from this area?

Thanks so much for your help ahead of time.

edit: This sub is actually awesome, thank you all for your quick and helpful comments! Super excited to be a part of the area.

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amhsusyed t1_iw5kg4o wrote

I moved to West Haven 4 months ago. i have liked it and it feels safe.

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perfectpencil t1_iw605z7 wrote

Like every town, there is always a bad spot. Where OP is talking about seems pretty fine, busy but fine.

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ihgordonk t1_iw5fqd5 wrote

the area used to have a reputation back in the 80s and 90s. not sure what its like now. grew up in west haven but spent adult life in new haven. not sure what is considered a horror story after living in new haven. not saying new haven was bad, i actually had a great time however scary stuff happens.

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deusrex_ t1_iw5qx3v wrote

West Haven is fine

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FxTree-CR2 t1_iw63x30 wrote

Yeah, West Haven is fine, but I agree with other commenters — you can totally find a place in New Haven under $2500 for 3/2.

In west haven… Sus out your landlord though. Rich kids are buying houses there in the last few years to be “real estate investors” playing landlord… Predictably, they’re terrible landlords.

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mizzzmilo t1_iw5xw28 wrote

west haven is fine I lived there for almost three years. I have lived in new haven for 4 years total and I never felt any safer there lol

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oliviahope1992 t1_iw6zz9r wrote

I love west haven! I'm by the ocean, near stowed and it's lovely here.

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littleA1xo t1_iw8lobp wrote

just do not rent from mandy management

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grilledtomatos t1_iw7jl0o wrote

I'm surprised you found horror stories about West Haven. I've lived in West Haven for 7 years, both east side and west side... It's one of the safest places I've lived ever (from Oregon to Indiana to California to Alabama), and definitely feels safer day to day than New Haven.

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6th__extinction t1_iw8705u wrote

That’s a pretty working class area, my buddy lives about 0.5 mile away and his area is pretty lively and very safe. Lots of families outside and neighbors working on their cars etc.

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mozzking t1_iw5pzha wrote

Used to work at that GNC right there at bull hill/Rt 1. Much worse areas in west haven but it’s still west haven. Is there nothing open in New Haven? New Haven has some amazing neighborhoods. The city has really transformed itself from the 90s/2000’s

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BoulderFalcon OP t1_iw5qcxk wrote

I have a pretty hard limit of $2500/mo and everything I'm seeing in New Haven is either twice that for a 3 bedroom 1.5+ bathroom or has some other oddity to it.

I think part of my issue is that I'm looking at non peak time of year so my options are quite limited.

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curbthemeplays t1_iw6523w wrote

For that budget you could get a decent place in Milford. West Haven is fine, but I’d move when it comes time for public schools.

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mozzking t1_iw5xkof wrote

Hm still seems like 2500 can get you a lot in NHV but yea maybe just a bad market right now

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CaptainKangaroo33 t1_iw7a9e5 wrote

You have a lot of options. West Haven has the most availability, and it is the cheapest. But not the safest. There are a lot of rough spots in West Haven.

Safer options are:

East Haven, a lot of cops live here. Good mix of blue collar, white collar, and academics. East Haven is the type of place where you will see someone ride a quad right past the police station. Or you might see someone driving down the road on their lawn mower with a beer in their hand. It is a surprisingly small town for being right down the street from New Haven.

Hamden, this town is overrun with Academics, because it is just centered in the middle of so many Universities. And it is locally known as a whole town of University Professors and Researchers.

Branford is a well known place for Yale professors, researchers, and staff. Mostly white collar and academics.

And even North Haven is pretty nice and quiet. Convenient shopping.

If you do go to West Haven, make sure you are on the water.

Best of luck!

And don't be afraid to ask questions!

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Shellsbells821 t1_iw8r7gx wrote

Lol! I live in east haven. I've never seen someone drive a lawn mower with beer in hand! Your description made me chuckle.

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CaptainKangaroo33 t1_iw93evq wrote

We live in the High Ridge area. And regularly ride bikes around the neighborhood If we ride around 10 am on a Sunday, we will usually pass one of them. If we ride in the afternoon at around 3 - 4. Then they are all parked in front of this one house.

It is hysterical!

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Shellsbells821 t1_iwbnvd2 wrote

I'll be watching out for them!

I'm in Foxon. Almost north Branford.

I do see the golf carts along the ⛱ Beach!

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CaptainKangaroo33 t1_iwc9zws wrote

Yeah, so you are right around the corner.

I see one of them on Rock Rd pretty regularly in spring, summer, early fall.

Then I think the meeting place is on Wildwood Dr.

In CT, there still are laws on the books that allow you to drive farm equipment on the roads. He may have had his orange triangle on the back.

And it may not have been a beer in hand. I don't want to make any accusations about a citizen doing something completely legal. It might have been an energy drink. The cans look similar.

I want to be fair, and not call anyone out, or come to any conclusions about something I may know nothing about.

Did you know that the corn field on North High St is owned by the town?

What do they do with that corn every year?

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Shellsbells821 t1_iwcrm59 wrote

I didn't know that about the corn field. We drive by it all the time! I do know if you own property and farm it, you get major tax breaks. I thought it was weird to farm it with the same crop year after year. Probably cow corn. Maybe the rent it out? Interesting

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Old-Bedroom8464 t1_iw7h3t1 wrote

I live in the West Shore area, walking distance to the beach, and near Woodmont. We are in a condo complex and it's 100% safe. I know some of the condos sometimes are up for rent.

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tmaher17 t1_iw5smot wrote

West haven was voted nice city in ct 4 years in a row

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FeloniousDiffusion t1_iw7aixk wrote

Avoid Mandy Management anything and you’ll be fine.

Hamden is notably more safe than west haven and equal distance to new haven. No beaches though.

West haven is kinda run down and has a lot of drug use, but so does every town. I lived in west haven for years and did just fine I do much prefer Hamden though.

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Ecofre-33919 t1_iw7r3wc wrote

The area you picked looks fine. If you’ll be there longer than a year you’ll be able to use that time to explore. Hamden and new haven are fine as people say, but don’t leave out north haven, branford and north branford.

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CatSusk t1_iw7kv7b wrote

Hi, I lived in Denver for 12 years and now I live in Milford, not far from West Haven. I think the area you’re looking at is fine. Like all cities there are good parts and bad parts.

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wrzosvicious t1_iw7t7jl wrote

Hamden has many areas with Yale affiliated families with young children. There are often houses for rent too, although I don’t know how many are available after the housing boom of the pandemic.

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TheWolfof91 t1_iw599n2 wrote

Is it an apartment complex? Right off the highway?

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BoulderFalcon OP t1_iw5bdf0 wrote

It's a residential home in a neighborhood smack between the two of them.

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TheWolfof91 t1_iw5ca72 wrote

Oh okay. Yeah that’s a fine area! There’s a Walmart nearby and it’s busy over there. There’s some questionable people over there by the Walmart sometimes, but isn’t that all Walmarts? I’ve lived in the area my whole life and I’ve never had any trouble over there or heard of any crime. West haven it’s a great city, in my opinion.

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perfectpencil t1_iw60bzh wrote

I have a theory that these giant stores all start out as a Target, but when enough weirdos show up they are contractually obligated to change the name to Walmart.

(kidding)

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Soad_lady t1_iw87dv9 wrote

Every town has its places you stay away from, and areas that are annoying to drive through. West haven is not the worst place you can find yourself tho. Theres a ton of other places here in ct I would tell you not to go before I said dont go to west haven. Lol Ido agree with the other person that said to get out before school age if your kid will be doing public school.

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Shellsbells821 t1_iw8qvpc wrote

I lived in West Haven for 13 years. I loved it.

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ihgordonk t1_iw93269 wrote

for 2500 you can get something decent in new haven, timing is key. dont let olive & wooster, 360, and audobon apartment prices scare you away. i suggest pmc properties specifically 78 olive. they may have a 3 bedroom but most are 1 and 2 bedroom. 2 bedrooms are a good size. theres a guy who owns several houses and buildings, ex football player. his places are typically good price. sorry cant think of his name but these 2 sisters show his properties.

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HartfordResident t1_iwio0zr wrote

Move somewhere within walking or easy transit distance of Yale if you want to maximize your safety and quality of life. Your biggest risk of injury, by far, will be driving around, especially a place like West Haven that has a lot of high speed traffic. Crashes have gotten worse in recent years maybe because people are driving around while high.

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bramblefalcon t1_iwsq0nx wrote

I moved to West Haven a month ago and have been completely floored by how nice, quiet, peaceful it is here. Fwiw

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mysideofthemountain_ t1_iw71adg wrote

Pretty much any neighborhood you Google here that's affordable to live in is going to be unsafe to someone or have bad stories. New Haven is really small so even if you live in a "good safe" neighborhood, things still happen there all the time. Honestly, your best bet is talking to coworkers and your realtor and accepting that it's the nature of where you chose to move to (New Haven CT). It'll be fine, but lower your expectations and be prepared for great people, pretty seasons, gunshots, car jackings, and weirdly expensive housing.

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