[GleeCA]

My husband and I are moving from Santa Cruz, CA to Connecticut next month for a new job of his in Shelton. We both really love living by the water, and don't know much about CT. We have been out there once to Milford and found it quite charming, however, we are having a hard time finding houses to rent there. There seem to be lots of apartments listed, but very few houses, esp. that allow dogs. We don't have kids so we don't care about the schools, but we would like an area that is somewhat walkable and somewhat safe. Any thoughts on a good town or neighborhood, or why house rentals are so hard to find? Specifically, does anyone have opinions about Milford vs. West Haven vs. other nearby towns? We'd like to stay withing a 30 min. commute to Shelton. Thanks!

[KH02]

Rentals are probably hard to find now because of the housing market. All the people foreclosing etc on their homes now need to rent. It is ALSO always harder to find a landlord who will allow dogs in his home. So, good luck.
Check Realtor.com for rentals.

[Rich Lee]

I found 78 rentals on the CT MLS for Milford or Orange. Of those, most indicated "N" for Pets. However, the field was left blank for some, "Y" for others, and "additional security deposit" for the remainder.

What range are you considering for monthly rental amount?

[JayCT]

You might also check the Lordship section of Stratford. It is right on the water and is a beautiful neighborhood. There may be something there as well. Jay

[GleeCA]

We are looking for something under $2000/month, and would really prefer a house, not an apartment or condo. So, I know that with the dog issue as well, it's a tall order. That's why I was asking about surrounding areas and what they are like. We drove through Lordship, actually and thought it was cute, but then I read something on the internet about the beach being a superfund site.... does anyone know the story on that? When we drove through short beach it looked almost like there was an old landfill on one side as we were coming in.

[Stratford, Ct. Resident]

Originally Posted by GleeCA

We are looking for something under $2000/month, and would really prefer a house, not an apartment or condo. So, I know that with the dog issue as well, it's a tall order. That's why I was asking about surrounding areas and what they are like. We drove through Lordship, actually and thought it was cute, but then I read something on the internet about the beach being a superfund site.... does anyone know the story on that? When we drove through short beach it looked almost like there was an old landfill on one side as we were coming in.

It was a landfill years ago, and has been remediated/capped. I apologize if this link doesn't open up, i'm having difficulties with it.
http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/HAC/PHA/raymark/ray_p1.html

[barb123]

My husband and I lived in Orange for 22 yrs, our kids grew up there, and then he got transferred to AZ. We lived there for 10 yrs and finally were able to come back east! We were so excited to go back to the Orange area, but experienced the exact same thing.We could not find a house to rent that would allow our little dogs anywhere in the surrounding area.We wound up living on Long Island,NY and we're still hoping to find something in CT around the $2200/mo range. Our kids are grown..it's just us and the dogs...upsetting. As far as your desire to live by the water, West Haven has a boardwalk which is easily accessible from the Orange,Milford area, but I think it will be hard to find a house in that price catagory that's decent. Good luck!

[peanut24]

if your not in contact with a realtor I would suggest it...I am going through the same thing right now with a move to Stamford in the next few months with pets. almost all of the MLS listings say no pets, but when my realtor calls they almost always say its ok, or you just need some extra deposit money for them, its worth a call! good luck!

[GleeCA]

We have a realtor that is on it, but honestly she is having trouble finding something. We could go up in price a bit, but we don't need a big house, we just want a bit of a yard and the ability to play our stereo without angering the neighbors. It seems like going up in price just gets us bigger houses that are out in the country. Considering that we have no kids, would it make sense to look in New Haven, or is that market totally slammed too, because of Yale?

[peanut24]

Originally Posted by GleeCA

We have a realtor that is on it, but honestly she is having trouble finding something. We could go up in price a bit, but we don't need a big house, we just want a bit of a yard and the ability to play our stereo without angering the neighbors. It seems like going up in price just gets us bigger houses that are out in the country. Considering that we have no kids, would it make sense to look in New Haven, or is that market totally slammed too, because of Yale?

Well I just did a quick search in the MLS for any house in New Haven, West Haven, North Haven....I got 2 houses! It seems like the inventory is very low in New Haven County...I think you will have more options if you try to stay on the coast in Fairfield County...or have you looked by Candlewood lake for being by the water there instead of the coast? it seems like its a little over 30 minutes away from Shelton.

I also wanted to add, I am not in Connecticut, YET, but I am going through the same thing right now, searching, and more searching....don't forget about Craigslist either!! I have also found some listings on the MLS that say no pets and then find the same house posted on Craigslist saying it will allow pets. again good luck~