UConn’s students and faculty members live alongside locals in Storrs
Storrs in north Mansfield is the vibrant home of the University of Connecticut’s main campus. Founded in 1881 as an agricultural college, the school has since become the state’s largest university, with around 30,000 students. “We’re a college town through and through,” says Lindsey Niarhakos, a lifelong Storrs resident and a Realtor with Re/Max. “The lives of students and locals are basically intertwined.” Full-time residents regularly go to Husky basketball games and visit on-campus cultural centers, like the William Benton Museum of Art. Aside from UConn, Storrs has acres of preserved forestland, highly rated public schools and a downtown district that hosts lively community events. “Most of our new residents come to work at the university,” Niarhakos says. “But we still get quite a few people who move here just because it’s slightly rural and a very family-friendly place to live.”
Most people in Storrs are renters
Nearly 70% of residents here are renters, with apartment complexes and rental houses scattered around town. Niarhakos says most students live close to UConn, but it’s not uncommon for them to rent off-campus. “You can live on a suburban street 5 miles from the university, and there’s still a group of college kids renting the house next door,” she says. Ranch-style houses, split-levels and New Traditional homes are all common here. Beech, oak and maple trees shade some houses, while properties on the community’s outskirts often sit on farmland. For buyers, the median single-family home price is about $415,000. Smaller fixer-uppers can start at $200,000, while larger homes with more land may reach $800,000. Storrs also has several townhouses, with the median price at around $226,000.
UConn has museums, green spaces and farms on campus
UConn offers over 115 undergraduate degree programs in fields like business, engineering and nursing. Contemporary and Neoclassical-style buildings cover the 4,000-acre campus, which is open to the public. “People who live nearby will go on jogs or walk their dogs on campus,” Niarhakos says. As locals walk around, they may pass the William Benton Museum of Art, home to around 6,500 permanent pieces, and the Great Lawn, a green space where students study and hang out. The school also owns and operates a few public forests and farms around town. “We’re all really big on outdoor activity here,” Niarhakos says. Trails for hiking, biking and cross-country skiing stretch through UConn Forest’s Fenton Tract on the north end of campus. Cattle graze rolling pastures at the neighboring Horsebarn Hill, an agricultural research center where locals can take horseback riding lessons and enjoy fresh ice cream from the dairy bar.
Husky basketball games are popular with students and locals alike
The UConn athletics department includes 21 NCAA Division I teams, like soccer, baseball and hockey. But with a collective 18 national championship titles, the men's and women's basketball teams are what the school is best known for. “I know a ton of locals who are season ticket holders for both teams,” Niarhakos says. “Some of them didn’t even go to UConn, but the games are so exciting that they still want to see them live.” Half of the school's basketball games are on campus at the Harry A. Gampel Pavilion, a dome-shaped arena with around 10,200 seats. The Huskies play their other games at Hartford’s PeoplesBank Arena, 27 miles west. Season passes are priced differently depending on the arena and the team.
Local public schools get A-minus ratings or higher
Kids can attend Mansfield Elementary and Mansfield Middle, both of which earn As from Niche and are in the Mansfield Public Schools district. Next, students switch to Regional School District No. 19 to attend A-minus-rated Edwin O. Smith High. Its early college program with UConn allows students to take college-level classes like Latin, microeconomics and biotechnology.
Downtown Storrs hosts several family-friendly events
Mixed-use, brick buildings make up downtown Storrs on the east side of campus. There’s a Price Chopper grocery store, a UConn Health Urgent Care and the university bookstore. Though Dog Lane Café is a popular place to study, and Huskies Restaurant & Bar is a bustling game-day spot, the downtown district isn’t completely geared toward students. “We don’t have a crazy bar scene here,” Niarhakos says. “Students mostly have house parties, so there’s actually a bunch of stuff for families to do downtown.” The Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry is a theater with exhibits on marionettes, glove puppets and stage materials. Musicians perform on the Betsy Paterson Square every Thursday night in June and July for a summer concert series. Food trucks, yard games and face painters fill the streets during the Celebrate Mansfield Festival, held on a Saturday in September.
There’s a community center in town, and a state park is nearby
Storrs’ other recreation spaces include the Mansfield Community Center, which has a workout facility, basketball courts and a lap-lane swimming pool. A castle-themed playground and a skate park with rails and ramps are outside. Hiking trails and kayak launches surround the Willimantic River at Eagleville Preserve in the western part of Storrs. Mansfield Hollow State Park, about 5 miles southeast, is situated along a 500-acre lake, where anglers often catch largemouth bass and bluegill from boats or the sandy shoreline.
Basketball games and move-in day may affect traffic
Though students often walk to class, Storrs is a car-dependent community, with UConn events occasionally affecting traffic. “If it's move-in day or there’s a basketball game, traffic is absolutely backed up around campus and on the highways,” Niarhakos says. State Route 195 connects with Interstate 84 to reach Hartford, about 27 miles west. The Connecticut capital is home to Bradley International Airport. U.S. Route 44 and U.S. Route 6 both lead to Providence, about 50 miles east. Several public transportation options are available, including HuskyGo, which offers free rides for students and nonstudents around campus.
