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16 Doing Business in Connecticut | 2014 Connecticut's the kind of place where the living's easy By Carol Latter A sk almost anyone who lives here, and they'll tell you that Connecti- cut offers a high quality of life, from its unspoiled forests, lakes and rivers, and its quaint New England towns, to an abundance of cultural activities. Put simply, Connecticut is a great place to call home. Whether you prefer country, city or small town living, the housing market — which offers a mix of styles, settings and price points — will undoubtedly have something to suit. Over the last 10 years, the City of Hart- ford has undergone a housing renaissance, with new apartments and condos springing up downtown, and more to come. Matt Fleury, president and CEO of the Connecticut Science Center, and his wife, local TV anchor Irene O'Connor, lived downtown — in a condo on Capital Avenue — before their twin boys, now five, were born. ese days, the Fluery/O'Connor family lives in the West End of Hartford. Fleury considers Hartford the ideal place to live. "Contrary to some perceptions, we have a neighborhood grocer. We have wonderful, diverse restaurants that are great for our family, or for us if we go out with our friends. My boys enjoy the science center, Family Art Days at the Wadsworth Museum and the carousel, and we aspire to go skating at Winterfest in the not too distant future," he said. While urban environments are drawing people back into Connecticut cities, there's a lot to be said for the state's suburbs. It didn't come as too much of a surprise when Simsbury, a bucolic town founded in 1670, was named one of the "Best Places to Live" in the country by Money magazine in 2013. e upscale Farmington Valley town had also received that same honor in 2011. Kathleen Shippee, a real estate profes- sional in the Farmington Valley for the past 15 years and a resident of Simsbury since 1995, calls it "a perfect New England town." Taina Olsson and her husband Jo- nas moved here from Sweden in 2007. e couple both worked for a large global manufacturing firm and had the chance to move to Connecticut. On the initial visit, they explored the valley, and "we just fell in love with Simsbury, for many reasons," Taina Olsson said. While Simsbury is near the heart of the state, there are plenty of great places to live in the four corners of the state. One of those corners — the Northwest- ern Corner or Litchfield County — is home to Goshen, which offers a quiet serenity and unspoiled beauty. People come from all over to live in Goshen, according to Karen Newton and Stephen Drezen, associate brokers for Sotheby's International Realty Litchfield County office. In addition to serving as a weekend and summer escape for people from Manhattan, New Jersey and Boston, the town is home to a lot of people who live there year-round and commute to Hartford or New Haven. "ey don't mind driving to work. It's a beautiful place, we have much lower taxes, and our schools are in the top five percent in the state," said Newton. ❑ ›Quality of life Eno Memorial Hall is one of the many historic buildings in Simsbury, a town that was named one of the best places to live in the United States by Money magazine in 2013. Source: 2014 Connecticut Economic Review Connecticut lifestyle indicators TOP REASONS › PHOTO/DOUg KERR CT's Rank Lifestyle Indicator 1 Highest per capita income 1 Healthiest residents 3 Highest median family income 3 Most people with advanced degrees 4 Lowest percentage of adult smokers 5 Lowest obesity rate 5 Lowest poverty rate 6 Most doctors per capita 6 Lowest rate of property crime 7 Lowest infant mortality rate 7 Most residents with health insurance