Hartford Apartments and Rentals

Hartford, CT, is known as the Insurance Capital of the World and while that moniker doesn't exactly sound exciting, those who go to the area will find a vibrant city that is a great place to live and work.

Those seeking Hartford apartments for rent will find that the city is just a short drive or train ride to New York City and Boston, but they will also notice that there is much to do in the city and the surrounding area.

The first European settlers to visit the area we now call Hartford were Dutch traders in the early 1600s. However, the region wasn't properly settled until Rev. Thomas Hooker and his followers broke off from the Massachusetts Bay Colony and set themselves up along the Connecticut River.

Over years the city grew to become the capital of Connecticut and one of the largest metropolitan areas in New England.

Those looking for Hartford apartments have a variety of interesting neighborhoods from which to choose. Downtown Hartford is the area's primary business district but also includes many historic sites as well as Bushnell Park and the state capitol building. The West End area is one of the "newer" parts of the city. It is less developed than other areas, providing residents with more open space. In addition, it is the home of the University of Connecticut School of Law and the Hartford Seminary.

Hartford didn't earn its insurance capital nickname by accident. The city is the world headquarters of The Hartford, Aetna and the Travelers Companies, the latter of which is the largest insurer in the U.S. by market value. These companies are some of the largest employers in the city but there are a number of other big firms as well.

According to The Hartford Courant, the largest employer in Hartford - and in Connecticut - is United Technologies Corp., a building system and aerospace firm, which has more than 26,000 people on its payrolls. Hartford Hospital and Bank of America are also large employers in the region.

Hartford is also home to a number of fine institutions of higher education. Trinity College is a small liberal arts school and has about 2,200 students. The University of Hartford has more than 7,000 students in both undergraduate and graduate programs. Also, as previously mentioned, Hartford is the home to UConn's law school.

There are a number of apartments for rent in Hartford, Connecticut so finding that perfect location shouldn't be a problem for people looking in and around the city and its surrounding areas. The median gross rental price from 2008 to 2010 was $824, according to statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Hartford hasn't been home to a professional sports team since the mid-1990s when the Whalers left, but the area's enthusiasm for athletics remains, most notably in its support for the UConn men's and women's basketball teams. While UConn is located in Storrs, Connecticut, the basketball teams, which are among the best in the country, play many home games in Hartford's XL Center.

The city also takes great pride in having been the residence of Mark Twain from 1874 to 1891, a period that saw the famed author pen some of his most well-known works such as Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and (not surprisingly)  A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court. The memory of Twain's time in Connecticut is preserved at the The Mark Twain House & Museum, which is a National Historic Landmark.

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