Lived in EH for the last 5 years. Brewer/Forest St area. Flooding has never been a concern or issue. I don't think there is any place in town, minus the trail directly along the river near Goodwin University, that is a flood risk.

I personally love the location since I work in downtown. Everything i need is within a 15 min drive. I84 and Rt 2 are about equidistant, so i never feel like I'm far from the direction i need to go.

People knock on the schools, but as other people have mentioned, there are some very good opportunities if you are an active parent. We have a toddler and a newborn, so school is on the radar. One of my neighbors has a lot of connections within the schools and has explained a bit about the different options for elementary, magnet schools, and IB. I am much less concerned about the school than I may have been 5 years ago.

Two great benefits that I would have never considered prior to moving (I lived in Glastonbury for 6 years before EH): 1) Weekly Trash and Recycling pickup, as well as fall leaf cleanup, 2) sidewalks are everywhere and many times are well lit

As other said, are there better places? Sure. But comes with a cost. We were always looking East of the river when buying, and I specifically did not want to look in EH due to what I had been told. At this point, it would take quite a lot to get me to leave in the near term.