[Stylo]

Rowayton is gorgeous, but the surrounding parts of Norwalk leave a lot to be desired. I just find a lot of Norwalk dumpy, despite the nice parts. Darien is mostly manicured and gorgeous, but it's also on the high side as far as prices among these towns - and also known for perhaps being the least friendly. If you don't mind the commute, Westport and Southport are probably your best bet. They seem to be the closest to what you're looking for and prices are a wee bit lower. Taxes are low too. Also, you would NOT need to board for high school as they have excellent high schools.

If you want a quicker commute, Greenwich might be a good choice, specifically areas like Old Greenwich and Riverside (if you can afford it!).

[parentologist]

Traffic is the reason to choose CT. LI traffic is horrible.

[Capital Guy]

Originally Posted by parentologist

Traffic is the reason to choose CT. LI traffic is horrible.

HA! You don't know lower CT traffic at all.

[Stylo]

Originally Posted by Capital Guy

HA! You don't know lower CT traffic at all.

It's a step below LI traffic. Seriously.

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by Stylo

It's a step below LI traffic. Seriously.

I don't agree. I lived in Carle Place off the Northern State and routinely traveled on 495. The LIE gets bad at rush hour; that's about it. There are rarely 30 mile jams as you see on 95. It's more like 5 miles here, 9 miles there. Bad, absolutely. But not 95 between the Cross Bronx and New Haven bad.

Plus you have the option of taking the Northern State, Southern State or Ocean Pkwy if you live on the south shore. We don't have that option in CT.

[Wilton2ParkAve]

Originally Posted by kidyankee764

I don't agree. I lived in Carle Place off the Northern State and routinely traveled on 495. The LIE gets bad at rush hour; that's about it. There are rarely 30 mile jams as you see on 95. It's more like 5 miles here, 9 miles there. Bad, absolutely. But not 95 between the Cross Bronx and New Haven bad.

Plus you have the option of taking the Northern State, Southern State or Ocean Pkwy if you live on the south shore. We don't have that option in CT.

I'm going to dissent from you- we also have alternate routes- the Merritt, post road and back roads. Long island traffic ranks higher on the miserable scale since it isn't limited to rush hour. My wife and i cringe when we receive an invite to a summer gathering or wedding on LI. Always painful and travel time is measured in hours.

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by Wilton2ParkAve

I'm going to dissent from you- we also have alternate routes- the Merritt, post road and back roads. Long island traffic ranks higher on the miserable scale since it isn't limited to rush hour. My wife and i cringe when we receive an invite to a summer gathering or wedding on LI. Always painful and travel time is measured in hours.

The Merritt is two lanes and is just as bad (if not, worse some days). LI has four more lanes than CT does so not all are gridlocked. Route 1 as a commuter alternative? HA! The S. and N. States in LI are usually gridlock free. Yes, heavy, but moving. Not like the Merritt.

Where do you get your 'fact' that "LI ranks higher on the miserable scale"? If anything, that's just the opposite. Recently CT ranked as sixth worst in the nation (and was the only suburban area in the top ten).

Re: summer gatherings - that's probably because you're likely traveling during peak times. When I lived in LI, I never hit traffic on a Saturday or Sunday. In CT, 95 can be a nightmare on a warm Saturday afternoon.

It's really a wash, but to say CT traffic has nothing in LI traffic is utterly false. This coming from someone who has lived in both places.

[Wilton2ParkAve]

Originally Posted by kidyankee764

The Merritt is two lanes and is just as bad (if not, worse some days). LI has four more lanes than CT does so not all are gridlocked. Route 1 as a commuter alternative? HA! The S. and N. States in LI are usually gridlock free. Yes, heavy, but moving. Not like the Merritt.

Where do you get your 'fact' that "LI ranks higher on the miserable scale"? If anything, that's just the opposite. Recently CT ranked as sixth worst in the nation (and was the only suburban area in the top ten).

Re: summer gatherings - that's probably because you're likely traveling during peak times. When I lived in LI, I never hit traffic on a Saturday or Sunday. In CT, 95 can be a nightmare on a warm Saturday afternoon.

It's really a wash, but to say CT traffic has nothing in LI traffic is utterly false. This coming from someone who has lived in both places.

Pretty simple explanation as to why Long Island didn't rank on the worst traffic cities. Long Island isn't recognized as an MSA (Metro Statistical Area), while Bpt-Stamford-Norwalk is. Also, LI was actually ranked (and ranked #4 ahead of Bpt-Stamford-Norwalk) as part of NYC.

[Tin Knocker]

Originally Posted by Blazah1080

i always found it weird that the kids from the projects go to school with the kids from rowayton

Then there was that ONE day where the new canaan kids came and had a day in the norwalk public school system. Can I tell you how much I rolled my eyes when some blonde hair blue eyed new cannan girl (who didnt know what a lawn mower was or that people actually pump their own gas) told us all how great diversity was. I still remember thinking "oh you think going to school with kids from the projects is great? Why dont you spend more than 8 hours here you spoiled child"..

My advice? Avoid rowayton at all costs if you can afford to.

LOL, Rowayton is in South Norwalk, their kids should go to school with SONO kids, why shouldnt they? Whats more disturbing is taking kids from one district and moving them to another like we do by taking SONO kids & bussing them to Norwalk High. Or bussing kids from Bridgeport to Norwalk because we dont have enough lowlifes already.
Anyway, if the OP can afford Rowayton they can afford Darien & avoid the whole thing. For now, at some point the liberals will notice theres not enough bottom feeders in Darien, Westport etc & bring them in for everyones enjoyment.

But enough of that. IMHO theres not much similarities beyond appearances between NYS & CT, CT is better all around. Our taxes are lower (tho we are catching up) our govt is much less restricted and regulated and in general CT is more easy going than NYS in my limited experience. I'll likely leave CT to retire, but you couldnt pay me to move back to NY. My whole family saved their money & got out of NY as soon as they could. Some 40 years ago & some last year.

[Tin Knocker]

Originally Posted by ubx445

Thank you very much! No matter which town we choose, we would most likely consider boarding/private school for high schools, but use the public elementary and middle schools. I can imagine that middle schools in Rowayton might be underperforming, considering they are part of the Norwalk schools. I will look into Southport (it seems to be highly recommended!) and Greenwich. Thank you so much for all the input!

You need to remember that how a school rates has more to do with who gets sent there than how good the teachers/schools actually are. Norwalk schools turn out some very good people who go on to college & making something of themselves. But our scores are tainted by the inner city underachievers. the fact is if YOU raise a good kid he/she can & will get a top notch education in Norwalk or most any other school. If you want the school to raise the kid for you though you will have issues.

Southport is really nice too as is Greenwich.