[dazzleman]

Originally Posted by kidyankee764

You do make some good points and I agree with you. But is the OP looking for an Italian neighborhood (I'm assuming you mean Cos Cob), a neighborhood primarily Hispanic-dominated, or an apartment in a more urban section of town? If not, and they're looking for a more 'middle of the road' neighborhood for Greenwich, like Riverside or Old Greenwich, then they will certainly be surrounded by preps.

I disagree though that backcountry Greenwich is the best part. It's certainly the wealthiest and houses some of the most elite folks in the world, but it's not a great area for a family IMO. Rosie O'Donnell sold her backcountry estate there and moved to Rockland County. Why? "People here have too much money." She didn't find her part of Greenwich to be very family-friendly.

Modern day Fairfield County is very pretentious.

As is Westchester.

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by dazzleman

As is Westchester.

Agreed. The only difference between people in Westchester and people in Fairfield is that there are a lot of JAPs in lower NY State, while there are a lot of WASPs in FFC.

[dazzleman]

Originally Posted by kidyankee764

Agreed. The only difference between people in Westchester and people in Fairfield is that there are a lot of JAPs in lower NY State, while there are a lot of WASPs in FFC.

True, and that does produce a cultural difference. But the substance is similar.

[Ohio248]

Originally Posted by roxyrn

Moved from New Canaan to Katonah and regretted it. Higher taxes in New York were killers and the schools did not compare. New Canaan has the best public school district (compared to the three states I have lived in and private schools).

Katonah does not have top schools in Westchester. So you moved from arguably the best school district in Fairfield to an average one in Westchester.

If you moved to Rye, Scarsdale, or Chappaqua, I think you would have been very happy with the school quality.

[Ohio248]

Originally Posted by kidyankee764

Agreed. The only difference between people in Westchester and people in Fairfield is that there are a lot of JAPs in lower NY State, while there are a lot of WASPs in FFC.

This is true, but there are many exceptions.

Bronxville, NY, for example, is very WASP

Greenwich, CT is very Jewish in parts

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by Ohio248

This is true, but there are many exceptions.

Bronxville, NY, for example, is very WASP

Greenwich, CT is very Jewish in parts

There are exceptions to everything. I'm talking about the majority, not the minority.

[jjinla]

We are actually already in Mamaroneck and love Larchmont, but hate the thought of paying $20K+ property taxes for 4 more layers of government than is necessary. If there is a measurable difference between schools, I'd gladly pay it, but I don't sense that there is. We are focusing on Old Greenwich and Riverside currently. Just driving through Cos Cob left me feeling a bit out of place.

I guess we are WASPs, but we love the beach and as such are really not into the whole country club scene and preppy thing. We are advertising execs, not Wall Street people, so the transition from being around mostly creative money (LA) to old money or financial sector money has been very difficult. In CA, the joke is that the richest person in the room is often the one that looks homeless.

And as much as we value education, we would never send our kids to school in Scarsdale. There is a big difference between instilling a lifelong love of learning, and pushing them to the breaking point. As much as that district is coveted, I've never heard one positive thing about it from teachers.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by jjinla

In CA, the joke is that the richest person in the room is often the one that looks homeless.

Actually this is true here in Connecticut too. My aunt worked for one of the wealthiest woman in the country who lived in Greenwich and she drove an old Volvo station wagon and wore comfortable old clothes (though they definitely were not bought at Walmart). You would often find her in my aunts kitchen talking with whoever happened to stop by (there were always people coming and going). No one ever knew her other car was a chauffer driven Rolls and she lived in a 25 room mansion.

Honestly though, from your description it sounds like you would like Westport much better. There is a wonderful arts community there and it is an excellent place to raise children. It is further from Manhattan but it may be better suited for you. The train takes about an hour. Jay

[7 Wishes]

Originally Posted by Ohio248

This is true, but there are many exceptions.

Bronxville, NY, for example, is very WASP

Greenwich, CT is very Jewish in parts

Scarsdale is very much both WASP and Jewish (Bronxville has a famous history as being the one town of affluence in the Westchester area that still has many anti-Semitic (if not a lot of anti "anything not WASP") undercurrents and to this day Jews will not touch it with a 10 foot pole.....ironically Bronxville directly borders places like Yonkers and Mt. Vernon that are urban and heavily minority).

And the northern "rich" part of Stamford is very Jewish too. As is Westport and Ridgefield to some extent

My take is a lot of WASP AND Jewish in both Westchester and Fairfield, just the ratios of one to the other are reversed (i.e. more Jewish in Westchester, more WASP in Fairfield, but healthy numbers of both in each).

I personally don't think Fairfield and Westchester are that different "culturally" anyway, at least not in the last 2-3 decades. I do think given that Fairfield borders the rest of New England and Westchester borders NYC there are some differences as well as some legal things that make for differences (i.e. Westchester has unusually strong county government, Fairfield has none), but they're really minor. For example, in both Westchester and Fairfield school districts are mostly small and "local" whereas in much of the rest of the country they are not.

[Stratford, Ct. Resident]

Originally Posted by jjinla

"Have you looked into New Canaan or Darien?"

No, our realtor told us that if we were concerned about the preppy factor, we would be much more comfortable in Greenwich. True?

Let's take a field trip....

On a Saturday morning/afternoon, take a walk around the business district of New Canaan(i.e.: Elm/Main St.'s) and observe how they're dressed. Preppy????? Haha. No.

Now, go to the business district of Greenwich(i.e.: Greenwich/Putnam Ave.'s) and do the same observation.

After you complete your field trip, it will be obvious to you that your realtor doesn't know what he/she is talking about.