[Green Puppet]

Me and my family are moving to Fairfield County, and an issue we have is racism in the schools. Me and my family are African American and Cuban, and would not like our kids to experiance any troubles with their skin color in schools.

We have family in Redding, and they have had no problems in the schools and they say there is some diversity to a certain degree, so that is a possibility. We're looking for a town in that area, but with atleast some diversity as so our kids aren't the "only ones".

Do you have any recomendations? also our price range for houses is $500,000-$950,000.

[Green Puppet]

So you know, we're not talking Bridgeport or New Haven or even Norwalk. Preferably a town on the smaller side.

[jdhall1]

Have you considered Danbury? It is about 15 minutes north of Redding and a vibrant, diverse city of about 80,000. Danbury High School is one of the most diverse in the state, with students speaking over 50 different languages. In the price range, you will be able to get a LOT more for your money than Redding and the taxes in Danbury are very low (24.86 mill rate 2004-2005 year).

Feel free to PM me for more information.

[Green Puppet]

How is the crime rate in Danbury?

[jdhall1]

Very safe. A couple of years ago it was ranked as one of top 10 safest places in the country. The violent crime rate is about 70% less than the national average and property crimes is about 50% less than the national average based on the final 2004 FBI crime reports. I have lived here all of my life (except when I was in college) and I never had a problem. To make you feel even safer, the police department is building a brand new station that should be completed late next year and a new fire house is being built to better serve the needs of people living on the westside of town.

[Green Puppet]

Thank you very much, we will highly consider this. Any other recamendations just in case?

[jdhall1]

I would also recommend Ridgefield in your situation, although Danbury does meet almost all of your needs. Ridgefield is west of Redding where you have family and is southwest of Danbury. There is almost no crime at all in the town of about 24,000 in it's 30 square miles of which almost 25% is protected from devolpment. It is by no means as diverse as Danbury but their schools do get a better reputation than Danbury's, although the high school does not offer as many classes to choose from. In additon to that, the annual property taxes are higher and homes that would sell for about $500,000 in Danbury would run about $595,000 in Ridgefield.

[gomet]

I do not think you would have any problems. We are hispanic and live in Brookfield, Ct. and have not experienced any form of racism. Connecticut is a very liberal state. When talking about diversity, with the exception of Danbury, all the other towns in the upper south-west corner of fairfield county are predominantely white. But this should not hold you back into living in this area. If you can afford, go for it. Redding and Ridgefield are quite expensive. New Fairfield, Newtown and Brookfield are not as expensive as the above two towns. All of these five towns are very good, with very good schools as well. If you need anything else, let me know.

[kenfried]

Stamford is a great city and very diverse, you might also consider Fairfield.
Both safe.

[jdhall1]

Originally Posted by kenfried

Stamford is a great city and very diverse, you might also consider Fairfield.
Both safe.

But both of those cities are considerably more expensive than Danbury and the traffic is very very bad down there.