Best balance near Shelton (New Haven, Stamford: home, employment, buyers)
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Sorry, tried to get back to edit that last post earlier but tied up. Not accurate for me to have said Madison is the closest we've seen because obviously Stratford, Milford, and areas like westville, spring glen and whitneyville all have aspects of it. Madison is just pretty quintessential, and also has a great schools reputation. Moot point, we can't live there, it just wanted to correct that.
Okay, here's a little negativity. Orange is a nice town, but it's not incredibly scenic nor is it at all quaint. The town has two not so attractive stretches: Route 1 and Route 34. It's a bit overpriced IMO for what it is, and the taxes have traditionally been pretty high in town. Also, lots of the roads serve as cut-throughs for people avoiding traffic along the main drags, so I've heard firsthand of people complaining about speeding through side streets - it's a major problem in town. I know the town pretty well and there are so many ranch homes that have had additions that look very ugly (long, half tall half short, awkward). I don't know, we looked at a lot of houses in Orange and nothing really appealed to us. The town didn't appeal to us. We especially didn't like that kids had to travel out of town for high school.
Branford to Shelton wouldn't be TOO bad (I know someone who does it and takes 95 to 15 to 8N and gets off at exit 12). But Branford is pretty much what Milford is, just on a smaller scale.
Could someone who knows Stratford well give me at least the rough outline of what counts as paradise green and where it end?
Ask 5 Stratford residents and you'll get 5 different answers.
I think everybody can agree on the portion of Main Street from Birch Place northward to Elmhurst Avenue, and the streets that lie east headed toward East Main Street as being "Paradise Green". On the western side of Main Street in that Birch to Elmhurst stretch, only a small stretch(like a block) of those streets would be considered as being part of the Green. I've seen realtors trying to pass off the streets west of Huntington Road as being the Green. Only a very, very tiny portion of Ulrich, Park, and Freeman could be considered as the "Green". I've known of people who consider Paradise Green to start at the portion of Main Street at Longbrook Avenue and end at Raven Terrace. I don't quite agree with that.
Okay, here's a little negativity. Orange is a nice town, but it's not incredibly scenic nor is it at all quaint. The town has two not so attractive stretches: Route 1 and Route 34. It's a bit overpriced IMO for what it is, and the taxes have traditionally been pretty high in town. Also, lots of the roads serve as cut-throughs for people avoiding traffic along the main drags, so I've heard firsthand of people complaining about speeding through side streets - it's a major problem in town. I know the town pretty well and there are so many ranch homes that have had additions that look very ugly (long, half tall half short, awkward). I don't know, we looked at a lot of houses in Orange and nothing really appealed to us. The town didn't appeal to us. We especially didn't like that kids had to travel out of town for high school.
Some of the north-south roads in Orange are pretty nice. Orange Center Road and Racebrook have some very nice sections. Not all of Route 34 is ugly. I think a lot of the taxes from businesses on Route 1 fund all 3 towns as far as the school system is concerned. That may be why Orange's taxes are a little on the higher side.
There are some really good restaurants in Orange, but I do agree Route 1 is not attractive. And for some reason, Orange has a high number of vacancies on Route 1.
Okay, here's a little negativity. Orange is a nice town, but it's not incredibly scenic nor is it at all quaint. The town has two not so attractive stretches: Route 1 and Route 34. It's a bit overpriced IMO for what it is, and the taxes have traditionally been pretty high in town. Also, lots of the roads serve as cut-throughs for people avoiding traffic along the main drags, so I've heard firsthand of people complaining about speeding through side streets - it's a major problem in town. I know the town pretty well and there are so many ranch homes that have had additions that look very ugly (long, half tall half short, awkward). I don't know, we looked at a lot of houses in Orange and nothing really appealed to us. The town didn't appeal to us. We especially didn't like that kids had to travel out of town for high school.
Branford to Shelton wouldn't be TOO bad (I know someone who does it and takes 95 to 15 to 8N and gets off at exit 12). But Branford is pretty much what Milford is, just on a smaller scale.
I agree that Orange does not have a lot of charm. It was a small farming community that boomed after World War 2 so there are a lot of homes from the 50's and 60's there. Still the schools are excellent and honestly the fact that the high school is not within the town borders is not really an issue since it is not that far. I know some larger towns that the high school is located so that it is an evne longer trip than it would be to Amity. That said I agree it may not be a good town for everyone. Jay
So what about Trumbull? Is it the same thing as what you describe with orange? We drive down certain streets that we like very much (seems like especially in nichols) and think it would be a great place for our daughter, but then we'll drive a half mile down the road and end up on a street that is completely torn up, houses need work, yards are unkempt, and just generally doesn't seem to fit with a town where most of the houses are at least a half million bucks and the property taxes are among the highest in the nation. No apparent pride of ownership. I just don't get it. We took a friend from Glastonbury through Trumbull the other day to see some of the houses we like and to check out several neighborhoods. We dont know Glastonbury at all, and maybe he's just really proud of his town. But he said while he liked some of the houses we showed him he didn't think Trumbull held a candle to Glastonbury for charm, and he was shocked by some of the asking prices given the continued tough economy.
So what about Trumbull? Is it the same thing as what you describe with orange? We drive down certain streets that we like very much (seems like especially in nichols) and think it would be a great place for our daughter, but then we'll drive a half mile down the road and end up on a street that is completely torn up, houses need work, yards are unkempt, and just generally doesn't seem to fit with a town where most of the houses are at least a half million bucks and the property taxes are among the highest in the nation. No apparent pride of ownership. I just don't get it. We took a friend from Glastonbury through Trumbull the other day to see some of the houses we like and to check out several neighborhoods. We dont know Glastonbury at all, and maybe he's just really proud of his town. But he said while he liked some of the houses we showed him he didn't think Trumbull held a candle to Glastonbury for charm, and he was shocked by some of the asking prices given the continued tough economy.
I agree with your friend. Glastonbury prides itself on image. One could drive through the town and never know you can get a decent house for $250k. I recently went out to dinner in Glastonbury with a friend from Manhattan - they were shocked to find out that not every house starts at $600k in such a beautiful town.
Trumbull has a lot of inflated egos IMO - a false sense that their town is better than the rest. They feel the need to equate themselves with Easton and Fairfield and look down on Shelton, Milford and Stratford. Almost everyone I know from Trumbull is an Italian or Irish old-timer (or the offspring of one) who started off blue collar in Bridgeport. They now think their sh*t doesn't stink.
It's not much different than Orange with regards to mediocrity at a high price. The town doesn't offer much and is pretty charm-less. Sure, schools are good and it's near the Merritt Parkway, but other than that, it's nothing special. We looked there too and were very unimpressed with the neighborhoods. IMO the northern fringes of Stratford are far nicer, though Stratford has a bad reputation simply due to a few dicey neighborhoods.
Like Orange, Trumbull was a farm community before World War 2. Both towns developed in a similar manner meaning they were designed around the automoblle with most homes from the 50's and 60's. I have driven around Trumbull a lot and I have not seen any of the rundown areas you mention. I know there is a somewhat questionable area south of the Merritt Parkway, east of Frenchtown Road but even there the homes appear to be somewhat well kept. Every town has a few homes that are not up to the others even here in Glastonbury. I have family in Fairfield in one of the friendliest neighborhoods I know of and there is one house that is just a plain mess. I am not sure where you are looking in Turmbull but I just have not seen it. Jay
I would agree with Jay; I'm not sure where you saw homes that were a mess. Trumbull isn't my idea of suburban perfection but I don't see many unkempt homes. Maybe you crossed over into Bridgeport without realizing it...?
There is no denying that many in Trumbull have a superior attitude, I have to grit my teeth around most of the residents. I knew a Trumbull family that enrolled their son in a neighboring town sport's team just to get away from the elitism in Trumbull, and another family moved away altogether. I've heard so many horror stories about Trumbull over the years, and witnessed first-hand the attitudes. I'm continually amazed. Then again some people don't mind it, and aside from that it's a nice town. But I think part of the high cost of homes is due to location and proximity to NYC.
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