[sgfludd]

If you guys pack fast we could carpool there! We move in a month - from the Encino area. My husband works at Brentwood School - so we lived right next door to Santa Monica for a couple of years. The Greenwich public schools are so fabulous - that we're sending our daughter there instead of the private school where he will be working. I think the Greenwich snobbery will have nothing on the LA aloofness and "me first" run you off the freeway attitude. I am very much looking forward to this refreshing change.

[sgfludd]

Okay - that didn't sound right once I read it back - what I meant was - if you can deal with the LA attitude - you can deal with anything. And just like everywhere else - there will be idiots whose mama's didn't raise them right - but I'm sure they're not the majority.

[Ithaca04]

Thanks for the posts all.

We are from the east coast, New Jersey and New York, and spent several years living in the city. We spent one day in Greenwich on a recent trip back and thought is was a very nice place. However, one day is not enough to get a great sense of a place. The people seemed friendly although the botox was flowing in some cases. We passed one family leaving church and the wife said to the husband - "We will meet you at the club". However, I think that you will find in LA as well. Just concerned.

The only thing I am really concerned about is the shopping and dining in Greenwich. In Santa Monica or NYC you can find both fine and not so fine dining for whatever mood you are in. I didn't seem to see that so much save the diner on Putnam Ave and maybe one or two low key places on Greenwich Ave towards the train. Are there other places or just leave Greenwich?

[JayCT]

There are places that the "down-to-earth" locals go. I have been to a couple of them and they are nice. I do not remember names or locations so I can't help you other than to say they are there. If you have trouble with the places in Greenwich, check out Stamford. It is a larger more diverse city and is right next to Greenwich so it is not that far. Jay

[mels]

This is a small place but great food. It is called the Firehouse Deli and is located in the Byram section. It is a typical small nowhere to sit deli but you will get the best "wedges" there (a wedge in that area is aka a sub, hoagie, hero, etc. sandwich). It is definitely an average Joe kind of joint. I know it is probably not the sit-down type place you are looking for, but keep it in mind because it is really good.

Edited to add: I have been racking my brain but can't think of many casual/middle of the road priced dining that I find worthy of a mention in Greenwich, though Stamford has many options. Hopefully someone else can help out. However, there is plenty of pricier dining, even if not in a formal environment...of course there are plenty of upscale formal places as well. I always loved Elm St. Oyster House, however you are probably looking at $30 a plate for dinner main course alone.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by Ithaca04

Hello all,

1. This is a great site.
2. My wife and I are moving to Connecticut, maybe Greenwich, from Santa Monica, CA. We like the idea of a walkable town, hence Santa Monica and Greenwich seems to have the same appeal. However, we are a bit concerned with the perceived snobbery of Greenwich. Can you all shed some light on that side of Greenwich? Are their down to earth people living there? Are all the shops and restaurants high end and expensive? Or does it have something for everyone?
3. We are considering purchasing a small condo at the top of Greenwich ave but are concerned with the timing? Does anyone have a sense for the real estate market in Greenwich.

Thanks for the help,

Paul

Have you considered Stamford? A little more urban but a great city with a lot to offer. Downtown has a lot going on and some beautiful new condos going up.

Where will you be working? If New York City, I would consider other towns like Norwalk, Westport or Fairfield. Westport and Fairfield are similar to Greenwich without the prices (though still pricey by most standards) and Norwalk has a lot of redevelopment and new construction in South Norwalk. Just a thought. Jay

[jjbradleynyc]

As JayCt stated, consider Stamford. I live in Stamford and am about 1 mile from the Greenwich border. The northwestern edge of Stamford bordering Greenwich is absolutely a "storybook" area. Winding, tree-lined roads, gated estates, winding creeks and beautifully manicured forest-type landscaped lawns. Homes are not as expensive as the heart of Greenwich, but still somewhat pricey--in the range of 800k to 3 million +. However other parts of Stamford are still very middle-class--although changing rapidly. You can purchase a condo in Stamford (2 bedroom) for about $250-$300k. Cape Cod-style houses in decent areas can be found for around $475-$500!! Believe it or not...the Long Island sound is close, Grand Central is a 44 min train ride away, and Stamford has a large and growing corporate presence and the mall downtown is expanding. Take some time to research Stamford.

[CT Bound]

My family is also relocating from Santa Monica to Fairfield County this summer - small world!

[krdpm]

I grew up in Greenwich and went through the public schools. I'm now 42, so it was clearly awhile ago, but some things haven't changed. What a lot of people don't realize is that Greenwich has a large population, and a fair portion of that is solidly middle class and even working class. There are 2 housing projects in town. My parents were both elementary school teachers and we lived (they still do) in Glenville, one of the areas of town which has huge back country estates as well as classic middle class suburban neighborhoods. Growing up in a town with that kind of wealth is eye-opening in many ways. I saw from the inside how incredibly screwed up and really just sad a lot of the crazy wealthy kids were. Not everyone, but a lot. As far as the "snob" factor, I think there are people in town with so much influence and wealth that it almost rises above that--why even bother. At least when I was growing up there it was considered tacky to focus on money, either from the flaunting it side or the envy side. My feeling is that if you want to avoid that whole snob thing you'd probably be better off in a big, diverse town like Greenwich rather than one of the smaller, more homogeneous towns up the line. One HUGE thing I've noticed, though, over the past 10-15 years, is the increase in treaffic, congestion, etc. It's a lot worse than it used to be. Even if I won the lottery (unlikely, but you never know!) I wouldn't move back there, and the main reason would be the congestion. Oh-The Avenue. used to be a lot of small independent stores. We would get dropped of there on Saturdays when I was around 13 and spend the day, then get picked up at Woolworths. Of course that's changed dramatically, but that's not unique to greenwich. The chain store moving in on the avenue is Tiffanys, not WalMArt, but it's the same thing. Oh, and crazy low taxes. Good luck. It really is a great twon and has lot more substance and character than it's image would suggest.

[JiminCT]

Greenwich like much of Fairfield County would hardly be considered New England.
While it is within the boundaries of Connecticut, its much more of a NY mindset. Coming from Santa Monica...you may or may not want that. I would not call Greenwich a quaint little New England town.

If you want something similar, but with a lot more laid back...Litchfield.