First, take a deep breath. You did not ruin your future. Trust me, a lot of us have screwed up a semester or two and have gone on to be successful at life.

Now the thing about having a mediocre / bad semester or two is that you have to perform consistently well afterward to make up for the dip. Luckily this is your first semester, and you’re not failing, so you’re in decent shape.

Contact academic support if you haven’t yet. Besides the depression, do you need help improving study skills? Time management? Make a plan to address these issues.

Have you signed up for therapy yet? If not, do this ASAP. College is stressful and most everyone needs some kind of support network to succeed. Start building that system by getting a therapist. What other things support your mental health? Incorporate that stuff into your routine, be it regular social time, hobbies, exercise, whatever. Prioritize sleep!

Have you spoken to your professors about possibility for extra credit? Be honest, polite, and sincere, say you’ve been struggling with depression and you haven’t done as well as hoped, but don’t use it as an excuse.

For next semester, focus on easy classes. Get into a routine, reach out to your support network, and ask for help if you find yourself struggling again. You got this.

Edgerton Park has a cool greenhouse.

Grinders are a southern and western New England thing. CT, RI, Western MA, VT, mostly.

The following apps might be useful:

MTA TrainTime- schedules and tickets

MYmta - commuter rail, NYC subway and bus schedules and real time tracking

Transit - covers local buses and all local commuter rail (MetroNorth, hartford line, shoreline east). Can be used in NYC too.

https://www.cttransit.com/services/union-station-shuttle-new-haven

Approx every 20 min Monday - Sunday 6:05am - 12:55am.

No, it’s a separate town. I wouldn’t call it rural. There’s a busy shopping area and the main road through town (Rt 44) is busy. But it doesn’t feel like suburbia, there aren’t a lot of large subdivisions, most people have pretty large lots, woodsy, good amount of protected space. There are a couple small farms, mostly veggies, eggs, honey. I think most of the dairy farmers that were around when I was a kid are gone. But it’s not an agricultural area, at least not anymore. It’s a small town, more rural than Farmington and Avon but less rural than New Hartford. There is a lot of wildlife, especially bears, but also deer, eagles, hawks, fox, etc. Collinsville is the former factory area (old ax and machete factory) with a cute Main Street, dining, a few shops, events like a popular weekly farmer’s market and annual Halloween parade. It’s along the Farmington River, with a neat rail trail and opportunities for canoeing and tubing.

New Hartford is definitely more rural. Lots of state parks and reservoir land. The further west you go on Rt 44, the more woodsy it gets. One of the few regional school districts (CT is very town-oriented, not a lot of regionalization or county government). Most of the schools in CT are good, outside of the cities.

On your list, I’d say some towns are more suburban in feel than Canton / New Hartford, like Cromwell, Berlin, Wallingford, Plainville. Haddam is more rural. Cheshire is similar to Canton. Glastonbury and Wethersfield were agricultural, now similar to Canton. Middlefield is more agricultural, with a major fruit orchard (Durham is another option down that way). West Hartford is more built up, not exactly urban but definitely a larger town with less overall open space. They’re all kinda similar, in that each is a small town with some woods and small farms and a shopping area. But vary in terms of density, proximity to highway, vibe.

Property taxes are high in CT in general but a lot of towns just had their assessments done. Property tax assessments are done every 5 years in CT, I believe.

That commute can be tough but if she’s working outside of normal working hours then it shouldn’t be as bad. Farmington is a decent choice because you’re close to the highway, but that part of RT 84 gets very backed up. Avon is 15-20 min from highway but those small side roads get pretty congested during the morning and after school / evening commute which can really increase your commute time. Rocky Hill or Wethersfield would be ideal for a commute to Glastonbury. Haddam might be a little far depending how on where you are in relation to highway.

Of the towns listed, I’d probably concentrate on Westhersfield and Rocky Hill. Glastonbury is another good choice. Cheshire is nice. Cromwell, Berlin, Wallingford, Newington, Southington, Plainville are ok, very suburban, but I think there are better options. Haddam is nice but more rural.

Despite everything I said about commute, I grew up in the Farmington River Valley (Farmington, Avon, Simsbury, Canton) and think it’s ideal fit raising a family. Good mix of community, excellent schools, stuff to do, with open space but not too far from civilization. If you look into that area, don’t sleep on Canton, the village of Collinsville is really cute.

I would also add West Hartford to your list.

Eta: as far as old homes, yes we have a lot of them here. I live in a century home myself, and honestly the construction is super solid and I haven’t had any major issues. Get a good housing inspector, look for someone with experience with old homes (shouldn’t be hard to find). If the home has been maintained and updated, it should be ok. Definitely make sure the septic tank is in good shape if you’re not hooked up to town sewer. I’d also be wary of additions that haven’t been done correctly, and foundation issues.

Edit #2: you might want to post this in the main Connecticut sub if you haven’t already.

Yeah, like most neighborhoods in New Haven, Beaver Hills borders higher crime areas. All of the highly recommended neighborhoods border high crime areas, so there’s bound to be a little spillover.

Most of Beaver Hills is absolutely fine. It’s a desirable neighborhood, mostly large architecturally beautiful SFH houses with decent sized lots, lots of long term residents. Mostly middle class, also working and upper class, nice mix of people, very diverse and community-minded. Between Goffee and Crescent is very nice. I would avoid areas right near SCSU (loud college students and increased crime) and living on Whalley itself, and would be cautious about the areas between Whalley and Goffee, especially Winthrop (between Goffee and Crescent is fine however).

Westville usually has tons of kids trick-ortreating, and lots of decorated houses. Try to avoid driving around there, a lot of people walking around and it’s not super well-lit. Maybe park on the edge or in one of the parking lots in the center of westville and walk in. Alden is usually a good place to start.

Usually lots of trick-or-treaters in East Rock too. More compact and dense than Westville.

Wooster Square has historically had lots of decorations. I think there was a dog costume parade held there last week. I don’t know if there are a lot of trick-or-treaters.

Have you checked out any of the places in New Haven yet?

It’s fine by the river. Front Street is safe. I’ve known several people who’ve lived down that way with no issues. Nice old historic homes, beautiful views, good community vibe. Events like weekly farmer’s market and Quinnipiac River festival. New restaurants. Local groups to get involved with like Chatham Square Neighborhood Association and Q River cleanups. The surrounding areas have some crime but are also pretty vibrant, heart of the city’s Latino population, lots of restaurants and small businesses.

Definitely get the hotels booked ASAP. I think that might be the biggest challenge. There’s just not a lot of lodging here. You could always rent some sort of transportation if people have to book out of town.

Avoid the hotels right off Rt 15 in Amity.

Technically yes, you need to deal with the tax assessor, even short term with out of state plates. In the past, the city has been aggressive about catching people who live here but keep their cars registered elsewhere. I have no idea if they have the manpower to strictly enforce this rule now. If you park on a street that’s heavily enforced, I’d imagine they’d eventually become suspicious. Nosy neighbors can also tip them off (less likely to happen someplace with a lot of temporary residents like East Rock imho). But the city doesn’t have a huge staff and resources are tight, so hard to say. As for the visitor pass, a quick search isn’t coming up with rules about how often or for how long a visitor can use a pass. Indefinitely? Maybe! The details are unclear.

I’ve used Uber for rides to JFK, I have friends who’ve used it as well. You can schedule a ride ahead of time to make sure the driver is ok with driving that far.

Keep an eye out for library sales in nearby towns. Branford public library has a great one every September. Some libraries also have small “bookstores”. This website is difficult to use but has listings of upcoming and ongoing sales:

https://www.booksalefinder.com/CT.html

Bar used fo have slices available after 10pm. They were huge slices, definitely not a dollar but I remember it being a good bargain. No idea if they still do this, though

Try Salon Lulu in Wooster Square. It’s one guy and a receptionist. I went to him a few times last year and he was great about masking. I have an older, covid cautious friend who still goes there so I’m guessing he’s still taking precautions, but not sure. Definitely worth a shot.

I also know a stylist in North Haven who will cut hair outside in warm weather, but she’s booked solid for the next few months, and the salon itself is more lax in their precautions.

William St. is safe. I know lots of people who’ve lived on that street through the years, and I looked at buying a house there about 10 years ago. Typical crime is property theft - stolen bikes, packages, occasionally cars. In other words, same types of crime that occurs in most of the recommended neighborhoods. It’s near the train tracks, not sure how often the train goes by.

You can sign up for emails from the Downtown / Wooster Square Community Management Team to keep up with local issues and crime stats.