[FortRyan]

Hey CT forum.

We are moving to Connecticut in October. Work will be at home for one of us, and in Waterbury for the other, right off of I-84 Exit 18. We would like a 4br house for $400-425 in a*nice town with good schools (schools are very important). I have done some searching and read previous posts. We have started to look at real estate in Beacon Falls and Oxford. It seems like you get more house for your money in Beacon Falls. How are their schools? We also hear a lot about bad CT traffic and we would like to keep the commute under 40 minutes door to door.. How is this area for traffic?

Thank you!

[Stylo]

Oxford schools will be better, but the Beacon Falls district is not terrible. Other towns I'd recommend are Cheshire, Southbury, Southington, and Woodbury.

Lastly, I'd throw Bethany into the mix as a strong contender. It belongs to one of the top performing districts in the state and is a very nice town, though rural. It's a backroad commute, and definitely under 40 minutes. You'd have a mostly traffic-less commute.

[Mike 75]

Originally Posted by Stylo

Oxford schools will be better, but the Beacon Falls district is not terrible. Other towns I'd recommend are Cheshire, Southbury, Southington, and Woodbury.

Lastly, I'd throw Bethany into the mix as a strong contender. It belongs to one of the top performing districts in the state and is a very nice town, though rural. It's a backroad commute, and definitely under 40 minutes. You'd have a mostly traffic-less commute.

Ditto. With your budget, there isn't much reason to consider Beacon Falls if schools are a priority.

[FortRyan]

Thanks Stylo.

I read a little on Bethany before I posted and eliminated it because the junior and senior high schools are located out of town. We really don't like that idea. How rural is rural when you describe Bethany?

Seems like you can also get more for your money in Southington. Their HS and class sizes seem large. Does another town attend that school?

Sorry for being picky.

[kidyankee764]

Going solely by test scores and local reputation, the top districts around Waterbury will be Region 15 (Southbury, Middlebury), Oxford, Cheshire, Region 14 (Woodbury, Bethlehem), and Region 5 (Bethany, Woodbridge, Orange). Average or slightly above districts would be Region 16 (Beacon Falls, Prospect), Seymour, Wolcott, Southington, Watertown, Thomaston and Plymouth. Schools you should avoid are Waterbury, Naugatuck and Meriden.

If you're working off of exit 18, I think you should focus on the towns southwest of Waterbury (Southbury, Oxford, Middlebury, Woodbury). Towns like Cheshire and Southington require you to pass through downtown Waterbury at the "mixmaster" - the interchange with Route 8 - and that can get pretty bad during rush hour. From the four towns mentioned above, you won't hit any of that so your commute should be well below 30 minutes on an average day.

Woodbury is mostly rural, but beautiful. Their school is vo-ag so the kids are required to take an agricultural course. Southbury/Middlebury have a fantastic reputation and a solid school district. These towns would be easiest for commuting. Oxford has great schools and a beautiful new high school. This town is loaded with culdesacs with newer colonials and young affluent families.

I would search these four towns and find a house (you can get a decent house for your budget) that fits your needs over a specific town. You really can't go wrong.

[Stylo]

Originally Posted by FortRyan

Thanks Stylo.

I read a little on Bethany before I posted and eliminated it because the junior and senior high schools are located out of town. We really don't like that idea. How rural is rural when you describe Bethany?

Seems like you can also get more for your money in Southington. Their HS and class sizes seem large. Does another town attend that school?

Sorry for being picky.

The town itself is very rural without any real commercial presence. That said, it's not far from several towns/cities that have a lot more going on.

As far as the high school, yes it is located out of town, but keep in mind our town land sizes are pretty small. That particular high school is ranked among the top 5 in the state fairly consistently, however, any of the towns mentioned previously will be more than adequate.

[JayCT]

I agree with Kidyankee's recommendations. For information on schools here in Connecticut, use the website below. Look for schools that perform above the state averages on the Connecticut Mastery and Connecticut Academic Performance Tests and have reasonable class sizes (under 23 or so). Jay

State Department of Education - CEDaR

[FortRyan]

So how bad is the traffic coming from Cheshire to exit 18 in Waterbury? Worth not considering Cheshire over?

[basehead617]

Since you weren't super specific about what you want, I'd say Southbury/Middlebury for sure. Depending on location the commute to Exit 18 which is almost on the Middlebury border on the west edge of Waterbury, your commute could be about 5-10 minutes let alone 40. You get off the interstate right before where traffic usually gets bad (you definitely don't want to be coming the other direction.) Schools are excellent, especially after elementary school, and nice colonial homes in the $400s are what these towns have more than anything else so they seem to match what you want pretty closely. A few years go most of the available nice homes were more like $600-900 but as you know things have come way down!

As long as you're okay with a quiet lifestyle, that would be very stress-free living and commuting. Both towns as well as Oxford are also close enough to New Haven to go into the city for more activity and the best dining in the state.

Should be an easy decision for you..

[FortRyan]

Thanks everyone. I'm excited to get out there and look. Can anyone recommend some good restaurants in the area near Heritage Inn?