[brittalia]

Elephant:
Don't mean to butt in here but I wonder how long is the commute to NYC for your husband from Redding? What are the logistics - is it a car and train ride? (We also are relocating to CT and are drawn to the idea of a more rural location but have to get to work downtown NYC daily).

[LoveToHug]

One thing u can say about the "LYMES" - that nasty little tick that causes LYME disease.

Watch out for tall grasses, don't stay under trees. Don't go hiking.

The symptoms of Lyme Disease are similar to Arthritis, but sometimes doctors can misdiagnose it. If you get it, then doctors give you a huge round of antibiotics. You then get a 50/50 chance of recurrence.

[LoveToHug]

BRITT....Stamford has lots of new condo units going up, even TRUMP (cough) is building what's called TRUMP PARC.

you can get a general idea of decent house prices in CT at For Sale By Owner, homes for sale, houses, real estate, for sale

Stamford has claimed the largest trading floor in the USA with over 4000 ppl at UBS Warburg.

Did anyone here know that UBS Warburg helped the naz* basta*ds pilfer and process the precious metals from Jew*sh prisoners before and during WWII. Victims and family members have been trying for decades to get their belongings back plus restitution, without much success.

Lower Fairfield county traffic increases over the years...now rush hour on Friday starts at 330pm on most parts of I-95.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by elephant

Essex is a complete gem. Not to many places on the planet left like it. It is still the old waspy/preppy new england that you either hate or love. (we love and would be there in a heartbeat if my husband didn't have to commute to nyc) It is charming, charming, charming. Schools not that great however, but housing much more affordable.
Good luck!

I agree that Essex is a gem, but am not sure why you are questioning the schools there. Essex schools perform well above the State averages on the Connecticut Mastery Tests and have pretty small class sizes (less that 18 students per class). To me this means the schools are very good. Jay

[12buttons]

Originally Posted by JayCT

Easton and Redding??? These are both very affluent towns with a lot of status. Also Redding is not near any highway, unless you consider Route 7 through Wilton a highway. Schools are excellent though.

candreas - you indicate that your husband has to go into New York and Rhode Island, but do not say how often to each. If he has to go into New York often and RI occasionally, then you should move closer to New York (west of New Haven). If it is the other way around, then I would consider living east of New Haven.

If you are looking for an upscale "old money" town that is not too snobby, then I would consider Fairfield. It is one of the oldest towns in the state with a lot of beautiful older homes and history. It has excellent schools and great shopping, restaurants and entertainment options. It has wonderful parks and beaches (on Long Island Sound though, not open ocean) and there is a wide variety of housing options from starter apartments to stunning mansions. This gives the town a nice diverse population. Southport is one of the most charming villages in the country and Greenfield Hill is beautiful with its rolling hills and gentleman farms. There are neighborhoods of contemporary split levels, colonials, capes or ranches. Lot sizes range from small (50 by 100) to large (Greenfield Hill has minimum two acre zoning).

Fairfield has been named one the best communities to live in by Money Magazine and Ladies home Journal. There is great access to New York with two train stations. A third station is being constructed. It takes a little over an hour into Manhattan from Fairfield. I am sure you willl like it.

If you want to be closer to Rhode Isand but still have access to New York, Madison would be a good choice. It has great schools and a charming downtown. there is also a train station with commuter trains to New Haven where your husband can catch trains into New York. This can be kind of a long ride though so I would not want to do it every day. The drive to RI from Madison would be a breeze though. Good luck, Jay

lived in fairfield in the late 80's...went back recently - it's ruined. new money came in, traffic is deplorable, crummy capes go for 500k, overcrowded, overtaxed, overpeopled...never ask a native !

[12buttons]

Originally Posted by brittalia

Elephant:
Don't mean to butt in here but I wonder how long is the commute to NYC for your husband from Redding? What are the logistics - is it a car and train ride? (We also are relocating to CT and are drawn to the idea of a more rural location but have to get to work downtown NYC daily).

the commute into NYCfrom CT? metro north nightmare...expensive and looong..it's a killer...that's why CT is filled with wealthy widows..lol..Redding looks like old blue collar country..weston is good..just get a job in CT and forget the commute -

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by 12buttons

lived in fairfield in the late 80's...went back recently - it's ruined. new money came in, traffic is deplorable, crummy capes go for 500k, overcrowded, overtaxed, overpeopled...never ask a native !

I am a native. My family has lived in Fairfield for over 90 years and many still live there (father, sister, aunts, cousins). Fairfield has grown and changed but you make it sound like it is horrible. It is still a great town. You lived there in the 80's, well I know people then thought you were the newcomers and were "ruining" the town. When my grandparents moved there, Fairfield was a small farming town. The farmers did not like them because they were cutting up the farms into small lots and changing things. My point is no town stays the same. If they did, it would be depressing.

As for traffic, well it may be a little difficult to get through Black Rock Turnpike easily on a Saturday afternoon but it is nothing compared to other places. PLus the variety of shops and restaurants there is increditable. My current town of 32,000 does not have nearly the variety of shops throughout town that Black Rock Turnpike has in its short 2 mile stretch from Kuhn's Corner to Brookside Drive.

Then there is the Post Road. Also has a lot of shops and things to do, but the traffic isn't nearly as bad as other towns in Connecticut (Route 1 in Milford or Buckland Hills in Manchester for instance) and no where near other towns in the country (Jerico Turnpike or Sunrise Highway on Long Island or Route 4 and 17 in Paramus NJ). Sorry but everything looks so much better when you look back on it from a later time, but that is just not necessarily realistic. Jay

[kristiv]

On the commute to NYC from Redding .. assuming you aren't looking at driving you have a couple of Metro North possibilities. The easiest from Redding is to go out of the Branchville station. There is plenty of parking and there are trains during the typical commuter hours. If that train ride is longer than you want or not convenient time-wise you can drive to South Norwalk where there are more frequent trains on the New Haven line. The other possibility is to drive to Ridgefield and take the Katonah shuttle provided by Housatonic Area regional Transit. It leaves during commuter hours from the Jesse Lee Methodist church parking lot and connects with the Metro North train in Katonah. If you need to leave work in the middle of the day they have some kind of special deal where they pay for the cab to get you from Katonah to your car. You can check all of these options out on Metro North's website MTA Home Page To learn about the shuttle click on station information for Katonah.

Hope this helps

[Jondora]

Candreas:

I suggest either Trumbull (where I live) or Madison/Guilford. You will get more for your money out east of New Haven. Trumbull made the Money list of best places to live in America (#68). However, with it comes the taxes and high cost of living.

Best,

Jondora

[elephant]

Originally Posted by brittalia

Elephant:
Don't mean to butt in here but I wonder how long is the commute to NYC for your husband from Redding? What are the logistics - is it a car and train ride? (We also are relocating to CT and are drawn to the idea of a more rural location but have to get to work downtown NYC daily).

A good friend did the commute down to wall street daily from redding (on easton side) and took the train from westport. 20 minute ride to station, 1 hr. train ride, another 20-25 minute subway ride. Very long.

Luckily my husband works right on madison ave. a few blocks from grand central station. He drives to the cannondale station in wilton (8-10 minute drive) and then takes 85 minute train ride.
It is fine for him because he LOVES to read (great long train ride), but personally it would drive me nuts.
If you want rural you might also want to look up in northern westchester (slightly better commute) bedford, pound ridge, north & south salem, katonah or lewisboro.
Good luck!