[UrbanQuest]

Curious if Oxford has any kind of main st/downtown area

[sliver203]

Originally Posted by UrbanQuest

Curious if Oxford has any kind of main st/downtown area

Oxford is more of a residential town and doesn't have a Main Street. It's does have the small town green on Oxford Road (Route 67) but think more along the lines of red barns and white, clapboard homes (especially in Quaker Farms). Residents here mostly travel to Southbury or Seymour (10 minutes away) for their shopping needs.

Main Street in Southbury has Gap, Anne Taylor, Talbots, Jos A Bank, KMart, Starbucks and a few mom and pop shops, while Seymour mainly has antique shops with a few restaurants.

Oxford itself is a very nice town. Recently it's been growing a lot because of the privacy the town offers (1.5+ acre zoning) so prices shot up in the area. Many of the residents would like to keep Oxford on the rural side and turn their backs on big box stores and drive thrus. It's very family oriented and there is not the "keep up with the Joneses" feel thats prevalent in adjacent Fairfield County. The schools are good and they just constructed a state-of-the-art high school on Quaker Farms Road.

If you have any other questions, I'm very familiar with the area so feel free to ask.

[UrbanQuest]

Originally Posted by sliver203

Oxford is more of a residential town and doesn't have a Main Street. It's does have the small town green on Oxford Road (Route 67) but think more along the lines of red barns and white, clapboard homes (especially in Quaker Farms). Residents here mostly travel to Southbury or Seymour (10 minutes away) for their shopping needs.

Main Street in Southbury has Gap, Anne Taylor, Talbots, Jos A Bank, KMart, Starbucks and a few mom and pop shops, while Seymour mainly has antique shops with a few restaurants.

Oxford itself is a very nice town. Recently it's been growing a lot because of the privacy the town offers (1.5+ acre zoning) so prices shot up in the area. Many of the residents would like to keep Oxford on the rural side and turn their backs on big box stores and drive thrus. It's very family oriented and there is not the "keep up with the Joneses" feel thats prevalent in adjacent Fairfield County. The schools are good and they just constructed a state-of-the-art high school on Quaker Farms Road.

If you have any other questions, I'm very familiar with the area so feel free to ask.

Thanks for the info. Does the town green have any sort of small businesses around it?

[sliver203]

Originally Posted by UrbanQuest

Thanks for the info. Does the town green have any sort of small businesses around it?

There is only Oxford House Restaurant across the street, the Oxford police station, a white church and several nice old homes. It's very small - can't compare to many other town greens in the state and it's in the middle of a triangular intersection - not very walkable and doesn't have sidewalks.

Ridgefield has a beautiful downtown and sounds similar to what you're looking for. Very quaint, well-kept and has some nice stores and restaurants you can walk to. Just a thought.

[bhelming1]

Oxford is centered on Route 67 from its intersection with Route 8 to its connection to Interstate 84 up in Southbury. Its businesses are mostly located along that highway while its schools and residents reside in the neighborhoods on both sides of rte 67. It has access to the Housatonic river for residents. There is no Downtown per se. Mostly Freestanding businesses and the occasion strip mall.

[sliver203]

Originally Posted by bhelming1

Oxford is centered on Route 67 from its intersection with Route 8 to its connection to Interstate 84 up in Southbury. Its businesses are mostly located along that highway while its schools and residents reside in the neighborhoods on both sides of rte 67. It has access to the Housatonic river for residents. There is no Downtown per se. Mostly Freestanding businesses and the occasion strip mall.

Yes there are two 'strip-malls' in Oxford. One with a local pizza place, bar, hairdresser, etc - no chains. The other with a video store, tanning salon, liquor store, doctor's office and a Quiznos. Quiznos, Subway and Starbucks is about as commercial as you'll get in Oxford.

[hburns23]

Originally Posted by UrbanQuest

Curious if Oxford has any kind of main st/downtown area

Don't move to oxford.......here's why.

First the town is completely divided. you have the old duds who live in their 'circa 1850' homes and are completely isolated from the nearby world. they get their mail, sip their tea, tend to theor horses and have a very Stephen King way about them. Kinda creepy.

Then theres the yuppies. You have all of these new money noveau rich people moving in from new york and way downstate ct. they build big homes in desperate housewives style neighborhoods and throw up a Private Road sign to keep people out. How these low 30 year olds can afford their escalades and lexus SUVs on top of their $600k minimum mortgage shocks me.

there is no town in CT that would vote down having a friggen grocery store so many times like Oxford. Those 'circa' people actually don't mind driving a half hour to get groceries, it's like a day trip for them that they enjoy. What about the village in oxford? supposed to bring in upscale shops and restaurants. But nope, they say no again. Now as for the high school, it took over 20 years to get approved. Again, the 'circa' people are in their 60's and don't have kids in the district so why vote yes and pay extra? instead they pawn their kids off on Monroe and Seymour after turning down southbury's offer for a regionalization. Then Oxford has the right to accuse Seymour of offering subpar education and withdraws their kids from SHS and sends all of them to Masuk, which overwhelmed that school. Masuk couldn't handle it so Oxford sends out memos to Newtown, Woodbury, Trumbull, Redding (not very close to Oxford) and Amity to ask for their help in taking kids. After most districts responded saying they are at capacity, the fools in town finally realized they needed a school. They asked for reddings help, along with Amity when there were closer schools that had open seats, Ansonia, Derby, Shelton and Naugatuck. Why did they overlook these schools? sounds elitist to me.

Friendliness in oxford? No way. The town is a mixure of stiffs and snotty. People don't really say hi to each other, modern life in oxford means you must keep up with the jonses or you'll be the talk of your street. Sorry to go on the rant, I just find oxford to be a not so nice place to live. Also the people here are too republican. It really sucks and i wouldn't wanna raise my two boys there. it's a cespool of immorality and a ****hole and for the same price you can live in a nice town in the hartford area with friendlier people like west hartford

[notjustamom]

Oxford is very nice, it reminds me of a small Easton without the price tag. Both towns are very rural, which is their appeal. It makes them so much more beautiful and quiet without the stores. A short drive to a nearby town for shopping is not a hardship, it adds to the rural appeal of the towns. I wish there were more towns in Fairfield County like Oxford and Easton.

I have found residents of both towns to be very friendly and outgoing. My kids at Masuk high school in Monroe have made a lot of friends with the Oxford kids attending Masuk. If one approachs people with a friendly, non-judgemental attitude, one would be amazed at how friendly in return they can be.

You will find "yuppies", and "all of these new money noveau rich people moving in from new york and way downstate ct. they build big homes in desperate housewives style neighborhoods" moving into all of the towns in Fairfield Country, not just Oxford.

If someone prefers a city with the amenities one would find in a city, then Oxford would not be a good fit for them. Oxford is for those seeking a quiet, peaceful town in natural surroundings.

I guess some people are just harder to please.

[sliver203]

Originally Posted by notjustamom

Oxford is very nice, it reminds me of a small Easton without the price tag. Both towns are very rural, which is their appeal. It makes them so much more beautiful and quiet without the stores. A short drive to a nearby town for shopping is not a hardship, it adds to the rural appeal of the towns. I wish there were more towns in Fairfield County like Oxford and Easton.

I have found residents of both towns to be very friendly and outgoing. My kids at Masuk high school in Monroe have made a lot of friends with the Oxford kids attending Masuk. If one approachs people with a friendly, non-judgemental attitude, one would be amazed at how friendly in return they can be.

You will find "yuppies", and "all of these new money noveau rich people moving in from new york and way downstate ct. they build big homes in desperate housewives style neighborhoods" moving into all of the towns in Fairfield Country, not just Oxford.

If someone prefers a city with the amenities one would find in a city, then Oxford would not be a good fit for them. Oxford is for those seeking a quiet, peaceful town in natural surroundings.

I guess some people are just harder to please.

I couldn't have said it better myself.

Oxford is a fine town and that's the reason it's among the fastest growing towns in the state (actually THE fastest growing for two very recent years in a row I believe). Friends of mine who ended up purchasing in Oxford also seriously considered Easton - they had it narrowed down to the two and loved the fact that both towns have very little commercial development. Oxford does have a few plazas but they generally house barber shops, the town's post office, non-drive thru Dunkin Donuts, Starbucks and Quiznos. They chose Oxford simply because of the simplicity of life there - not flashy, very rustic, friendly people and cheaper than 'down the line' in lower Fairfield.

What was posted about there being two Oxford's - this is actually very true. The old Oxford is clashing with new Oxford but the First Selectman of town worked very hard to bring the two together. Old Oxford being those who live in historic homes or on large horse farms and new Oxford being the upscale young professionals seeking solitude and a nice area to raise a family.

As for the high school - Oxford turned down the offer to regionalize with Southbury only because Southbury's agreement was that both towns would pay 50% of costs, which is asinine because 70% of students at Pomperaug High were from Southbury, and 30% from Oxford. They currently are having issues with Middlebury because of this. And no, it's not elitist that Oxford overlooked communities such as Ansonia and Derby because the test scores are very very low and the superintendent felt Oxford students should be sent to a public school in a town similar to Oxford's socioeconomic status - which is about on par with Monroe, Southbury, Newtown, Shelton, Bethany and Orange. Monroe has been a good neighbor to Oxford for the past 10 years - they have generously opened up their doors during a time when so many schools were having a space crunch. Still, with the added students, Monroe found a way to maintain their high quality of education.

Yes Oxford is more expensive than towns in eastern CT but you do get what you pay for. 20 minutes to Danbury, Waterbury, New Haven and Bridgeport. 40 minutes to lower Fairfield, and only about 10 minutes to grocery stores in Seymour, Southbury and about 15 to Big Y in Monroe. You're a little over an hours drive to NY city limits and metro north stations are plentiful and easily accessible from Oxford.

For folks who hate Oxford - well to each their own - but there is a reason the town is growing so rapidly. The elected officials have embraced change and are dealing with it very well with the addition of multiple 55+ communities to help with taxes and they have welcomed big companies in the town's industrial park such as Omega Engineering. Oxford Airport is expanding and is quickly becoming a regularly used airport for many corporate jets and private planes.

Actually, regarding the 'town center' proposed for Oxford, the town actually passed it with the thought there would be only small upscale retailers, bagel shops and fine dining. Instead, after it was passed, the developer showed plans to put in a Barnes and Noble and another big box retailer. Oxford quickly said goodbye. I, for one, am glad that there are still towns out there like Oxford. It shows that people care for the pastoral natural environment which, IMO, brings up the quality of life.

You are right, notjustamom, many people are very hard to please.

[reason180]

Originally Posted by sliver203

I couldn't have said it better myself.


Yes Oxford is more expensive than towns in eastern CT but you do get what you pay for. 20 minutes to Danbury, Waterbury, New Haven and Bridgeport. 40 minutes to lower Fairfield, and only about 10 minutes to grocery stores in Seymour, Southbury and about 15 to Big Y in Monroe. You're a little over an hours drive to NY city limits and metro north stations are plentiful and easily accessible from Oxford.

That is something that I like about towns like Oxford, Monroe, and Newtown. You can enjoy the relative quiet of Connecticut but NYC is still within easy reach.