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My husband, I and our 16 year old are relocating to CT this summer and are looking at the towns or Orange and Seymour. If anyone could please give us the Pro's and Con's of each I would so appreciate it. High schools, nice family atmosphere, welcoming community, housing ect... I realize that Seymour is a little more afforable but is it a nice town? My head is spinning.
My husband, I and our 16 year old are relocating to CT this summer and are looking at the towns or Orange and Seymour. If anyone could please give us the Pro's and Con's of each I would so appreciate it. High schools, nice family atmosphere, welcoming community, housing ect... I realize that Seymour is a little more afforable but is it a nice town? My head is spinning.
Seymour is a nice town with good schools, and Orange is a more upscale town with excellent schools (belongs to Amity Region 5 with Woodbridge and Bethany). Orange probably offers a little more in the way of shopping because of its proximity to the Post Road (Route 1) which has really any store you can think of.
Both are very welcoming communities and family oriented. Orange and the Amity schools have a very large Jewish population (among the largest percentage of Jews in all of New England), while Seymour is primarily Catholic. Seymour just renovated their high school and a middle school was built recently from scratch. Amity High School is currently going through renovations and a few wings are being added onto.
Seymour's downtown is going to be changed drastically in the coming years, as a proposed luxury apartment building is going in (I think 15 stories, 2 br each, starting at $800,000 each). For now, the downtown is getting old and consists mainly of the Metro North RR station, a few antique shops, Strand Theater, Post Office, pizza places and some mom & pop shops. I believe plans are in the works to revitalize the downtown area.
If you're looking for a town that's has more of a rural character, Oxford is a nice place. It's about as upscale as Orange without the commercialization of the Post Road. It's a bit further to the beaches and New Haven but definitely offers peaceful living. The town just built its first high school, set to open in September of this year.
It was mostly farms but they are all gone or not operating any more. Maybe one or two.
Many of the houses are high priced. Around $350,000 and up to close to if not a $1mil and are situated on an acre or more of land. I believe there is still only one multi family home and a small apartment building.
Boston Post Road (U.S. Route 1), near the I-95 highway and near Derby is highly commercialized areas.
School system:
Elementary school- I am not sure which one(s) are still being used.
The junior high is in Orange
The high school system is shared with Woodbridge and Bethany and is located in Woodbridge – Amity High School...
I see that the Naugatuck River runs through the town. Is there a more preferable side of the river to live on? (beauty, taxes ect.) Is it fairly easy to get from one side to the other? Is there alot of flooding because of the river? If there isn't much of a downtown is it fairly difficult for a 16 year old to find a job close to town? Sorry for all the questions but living in another state and trying to find a place to live is tough.
I see that the Naugatuck River runs through the town. Is there a more preferable side of the river to live on? (beauty, taxes ect.) Is it fairly easy to get from one side to the other? Is there alot of flooding because of the river? If there isn't much of a downtown is it fairly difficult for a 16 year old to find a job close to town? Sorry for all the questions but living in another state and trying to find a place to live is tough.
The Naugatuck river runs through Seymour only. Back in the 1950's, the river caused major flooding and since then, retaining walls have been put up and there hasn't been a flood since.
If at all possible, my suggestion would be to stay to the west of the river. The Great Hill area in Seymour is especially beautiful (though pricey), and if you're looking for a more middle class area, the Bungay Road, Kathy Drive and Fox Drive areas are nice. I'd stay away from the South Main Street area and the Washington Ave and Humphrey Street areas.
It's not hard for a 16 year old to find a job around here. There are many places that will hire him/her...just yesterday I was in Blockbuster in the Seymour area and a NOW HIRING sign was up. If your teen is picky regarding a place of work, there are numerous places in Orange on the Post Road that they can choose from, as well as a large mall in neighboring Milford.
Jeremey, thanks so much for the info. The Great Hill area, do you mean the area that intersects Oxford Rd. Would you say that we should pretty much just concentrate on the area surrounded by Cemetery Rd, Bungay Rd, Holbrook Rd and Oxford Rd. Why no to S Main, Washington and Humphrey is it more run down or what? And as far as my 16 yr old she babysits quite a bit (because she loves money ) but now we won't know any families right away. Also I have noticed that there are so many more homes for sale on the east side of the river than on the west. Should we defiantly stay away from the east and why? I really appreciate your patience with me. Sorry for all the questions.
Jeremey, thanks so much for the info. The Great Hill area, do you mean the area that intersects Oxford Rd. Would you say that we should pretty much just concentrate on the area surrounded by Cemetery Rd, Bungay Rd, Holbrook Rd and Oxford Rd. Why no to S Main, Washington and Humphrey is it more run down or what? And as far as my 16 yr old she babysits quite a bit (because she loves money ) but now we won't know any families right away. Also I have noticed that there are so many more homes for sale on the east side of the river than on the west. Should we defiantly stay away from the east and why? I really appreciate your patience with me. Sorry for all the questions.
Not a problem at all. I enjoy helping people out -- that's why I'm here.
By the Great Hill area, I mean the area of Country Club Road, Chucta Road and Ajellos Farm Road along Route 334 to Fountain Lake Road. This is a rather upscale area where most homes sell in the $400k and up range. It is a very nice area though. Also, neighborhoods around Seymour High are also very nice off of Mountain Road.
The Great Hill Road you mentioned that intersects with Oxford Road is actually in Oxford, close to the Seymour line. A mile or two up and you're in Seymour. There are a few well-established middle class neighborhoods in this area as well (Fairfield Road, Middlefield Road), but the prices are probably a wee bit higher and you would be sending your kids to Oxford schools (which is a very good school district).
The S. Main Street area has many fine neighborhoods, but the closer to Ansonia you get, the more rundown it gets with lower income housing (note the lowER, not low -- crime isn't a big problem in Seymour) and the like. There are actually some nice "all American" neighborhoods in the Maple Street area off of S. Main, as well as the Colony Street area off of S Main. I probably shouldn't have said stay away from the S. Main area, but I wouldn't recommend moving to a home directly on S Main as it's a busy road and has many multi-family homes.
I just read one of your previous posts from a few months ago, and you said you were looking for a town with New England charm. I wouldn't consider Seymour very New Englandy and quaint, rather established and suburban. If you're looking for a quaint town, Oxford would be the best way to go. They also run an excellent summer camp program that your kids can work at to earn a little bit of money (being camp counselors, almost like babysitting!!!) I think they enroll about 300 kids each summer.
I can help you out a little more if you specify your price range, what kind of home you'd like on how much land.
As for babysitting, your daughter shouldn't have a problem. There are many young families in the Seymour, Orange, Oxford, Woodbridge area and I don't think you'll have a problem making friends here. I've always thought of this area of CT to have the friendliest people.
Just out of curiosity, where are you moving from? Also, have you visited the area? I'd strongly suggest taking a day or two to just drive around the towns to get a feel of what it's like.
Last edited by jeremeyk482; 06-11-2007 at 11:28 AM..
We are coming from Illinois. We were mainly looking in the Cheshire, Wallingford, North Haven area's so our driving was limited to there, but have since switched gears to get closer to my husbands work (Trumbull) thats why I need all the info I can get. We are looking at anywhere from 0 to 370,000. As far as type of home and land, I was being picky in the beginning but it is getting to the point of "beggars can't be choosers" I really appreciate all your help. Also is there a rust problem with the well water and can you drink it or do you need a filter on the water?
For $370k I do not think you can get much in Orange. It is an upscale suburb with upscale prices. You would be able to do more in Seymour or other nearby towns. If you have found a home in Orange that you like for this price, then go for it. You might also consider Oxford or even Milford. Good towns with good schools. JMHO Jay
Here is hit and miss with Radon. So you might considering getting that tested as well (using USEPA standards).
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) but now we won't know any families right away. Also I have noticed that there are so many more homes for sale on the east side of the river than on the west. Should we defiantly stay away from the east and why? I really appreciate your patience with me. Sorry for all the questions.
