Winnie Wong and Rahul Barua with Momo in central Connecticut, where they looked to buy a home after leaving Los Angeles. Their budget ranged up to about $700,000. Christopher Capozziello for The New York Times

After they met in early 2021, it didn’t take long for Rahul Barua and Winnie Wong to decide that they were in it for the long haul. By mid-year, they were already looking for a place to live.

“We met later in life and we just knew we were going to be a thing,” said Mr. Barua, 40, director of climate finance innovation at Salesforce. “After only like three or four months of being together, we started.”

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The couple, based in Los Angeles, initially looked for a home in Southern California. But when a wildfire ravaged an area where they’d recently been camping, doubts began to creep in. That summer, they visited the East Coast on a road trip through the Hudson Valley, Vermont and Connecticut. It was Ms. Wong’s first time in Connecticut, but Mr. Barua had grown up in West Hartford, Conn., where his parents still owned a rental property.

The house was in rough shape, so Mr. Barua and Ms. Wong tackled the project themselves, living in the house while refurbishing it.

“For three to four months, we spent every single night, every single weekend renovating while we worked our full-time remote jobs,” said Ms. Wong, 41, a former freelance film producer and now the marketing and communications director for a nonprofit that supports contemporary artists.

When the work was complete, Mr. Barua’s parents gave them the house to manage. It wasn’t big enough for them to live in permanently, but it did give them a sense of what central Connecticut had to offer — bucolic surroundings, homes they could afford, and plenty of shops and restaurants to enjoy.

“We thought we’d be here for three months,” Mr. Barua said. “We’d renovate, get a tenant in, and move back to L.A. And then, during that time, we’re like, ‘You know what? This is great.’”

The couple began looking for a house with a light-filled, intentional design and plenty of space for guests — as well as for their German shepherd-husky rescue dog, Momo — on a substantial piece of land in a natural setting. They started with a wide budget range of about $400,000 to $700,000 and asked Michael Truong, a Realtor with eXp Realty, to help them match a number with their priorities. They also had the luxury of time — they searched for the better part of three years.

“Once I got a better feel for what they actually are looking for, then I could advise them better,” Mr. Truong said.

Among their options:

No. 1

Modernist Design in Bloomfield

Christopher Capozziello for The New York Times

Designed by the Korean-American architect Tai Soo Kim, this 3,200-square-foot, three-bedroom, 2.5-bathroom modernist home on about an acre was appealing because the leafy Bloomfield neighborhood “generally has lower property taxes and is right next to a huge farm that lets dogs run off leash,” Ms. Wong said. It had a partially open floor plan with hardwood floors, floor-to-ceiling windows and several decks and patios. There were stylish original details like tongue-and-groove ceilings, custom built-ins and floating staircases — but also dated ones, like the kitchen and bathrooms. The $425,000 asking price left room for a renovation budget. Annual property taxes were around $6,800, and there was a $350 annual HOA fee.

Century 21 AllPoints Realty

No. 2

Warm and Woodsy in West Hartford

Christopher Capozziello for The New York Times

This three-bedroom, three-bathroom, midcentury modern home was designed by Robert Carroll May, an apprentice of Frank Lloyd Wright, and built into a hillside in West Hartford. It was listed at 1,832 square feet, but that didn’t include the basement level, which was small and had a mismatched all-white design, but did offer a family-room space and an extra en suite bedroom. Upstairs, the glassy facade, open floor plan, vaulted ceilings and large covered porch gave the house an expansive feel, while wood paneling, stone and other natural materials connected it to the outdoors. The 1.16-acre lot featured a sloped driveway that could be perilous in the winter. The price was $699,000, with annual property taxes of around $14,350.

Coldwell Banker Realty

No. 3

Prefab House in South Glastonbury

Christopher Capozziello for The New York Times

This four-bedroom, three-bathroom house on 2.5 acres in the village of South Glastonbury was being offered for sale by the owner, and the photos were so blurry that the couple assumed there was something wrong with it. It turned out to be an Acorn Deck House — a prefabricated design made by a Massachusetts-based company in 1988 — with a huge wall of windows and a wood-burning fireplace in the open living and dining area. The kitchen was a bit dated, but had custom oak cabinetry and glass doors out to a large deck. The primary bedroom, with a walk-in closet and deck access, was on the main level. The finished lower level had sliders to the backyard, a wood-burning stove, two bedrooms and bonus space. The price was $699,000, with annual property taxes of around $10,750.

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