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Hello. I'm looking for some opinions on what it's like to live in Old Lyme Ct. We have two young children so schools and activities are of course important. Many of the threads and articles I've been reading make it seem almost like a retirement community. Any truth to this? What are the demographics like? Is this a good place for a young family, or is it a bit too quiet. Any insight into the pros and cons of daily life in this area would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance for your responses.
It does feel a little older in that area. Schools are great and it's a beautiful area. If you want a town with more young families that's similar, maybe try Madison. Where are you working?
Keep in mind that Old Lyme is a little town, maybe 7500 people. There is only going to be just so much going on. There is very much a mix of people living there.
Most people are familiar with the shoreline areas of Old Lyme, where the summer cottages are. However, there is a lot of very old money in Old Lyme, along with younger families. There is a mix of subdivisions of varying prices from the beachy areas to the Rogers lake area to the subdivisions along Mile Creek Rd. area There are other more expensive McMansion type subdivisions throughout the town and along with many more historic and thus pricey areas inland. Home prices are all over the place.
Schools are very good with lots going on. You can look up and read the town school website which will give you the info you want on activities.
It does seem very quiet there, as there is not much in the way of shopping. Thus, not as many people out and about in town itself.
This is the city-data Old Lyme info section. Scroll though it, it may answer some of your questions. It's not very updated, but not much has changed.
It's definitely got an old people vibe to it. But it is a beautiful town. My aunt has a beach house down there by Sound View Beach, which gets very busy during the summer.
Thanks so much for chiming in guys. Commuting would not be an issue for me. Regarding it being quiet, and having a senior-ish kind of vibe, do the surrounding areas make up for it in terms of offering a bit more of a lively scene? I don't mean tons of nightlife and clubs and things like that, but just more activity in general in terms of restaurants and shopping? Coming from Westchester NY, I'm very much used to making use of surrounding towns to make up for the shortcomings of my own town. What really attracts me to Old Lyme is the small school, and what I hope to be a less snobby, pretentious, superficial, and materialistic, atmosphere for my children to grow up in.
Thanks so much for chiming in guys. Commuting would not be an issue for me. Regarding it being quiet, and having a senior-ish kind of vibe, do the surrounding areas make up for it in terms of offering a bit more of a lively scene? I don't mean tons of nightlife and clubs and things like that, but just more activity in general in terms of restaurants and shopping? Coming from Westchester NY, I'm very much used to making use of surrounding towns to make up for the shortcomings of my own town. What really attracts me to Old Lyme is the small school, and what I hope to be a less snobby, pretentious, superficial, and materialistic, atmosphere for my children to grow up in.
Well, none of the towns surrounding Old Lyme, nor Old Lyme itself are superficial, pretentious, materialistic or snooty. The wealth there is more subdued and down to earth. Probably because that area is disconnected from NYC, so there's no NYC influence. You have nothing to worry about there.
As for shopping, you have quite a few options within a 15 minute drive. The Clinton Crossing Premium Outlets in Clinton, and the outlets in Westbrook. Also, the Crystal Mall area in Waterford. There is also some high-end shopping in the Mohegan Sun casino, as well.
The neighboring town of East Lyme (also with a section known as Niantic) probably feels more geared toward younger families than Old Lyme and is still a very nice town. I'm very familiar with the area, as I grew up there during the summers where my parents had a beach house in Niantic by Crescent Beach. There were lots of kids and young teens that I made friends with. East Lyme also seemed a little less "seasonal" than Old Lyme, as far as year round living goes.
The only annoying thing about living in that area of CT is that I-95 will be very congested during the summer months, because of lots of people traveling to their summer homes from NYC and other tourists. It's awful. To get from Westchester County to Old Lyme will take you about 3 hours on a Friday evening (mainly due to severe traffic congestion between Stamford and Norwalk, CT). Other than that, it's a lovely place to live, if you have a family.
Old Lyme is a very nice town, though it is a bit older. However, there are activities for children and the schools are very good. They have an arts college there, which also features activities for kids and some town beaches (Point O' Woods beach, for one)
For most of your shopping, you're going to go to Old Saybrook or nearby Waterford, as well as the Outlet Malls in Clinton and Westbrook. There is one big box grocery store in Old Lyme - Big Y, and one Rite Aid pharmacy. No CVS or Walgreens. (East Lyme, Niantic and Old Saybrook have CVS, while the nearest Walgreens are in Westbrook and New London)
If you like to go out to eat, you're most likely going to go to Old Saybrook, East Lyme or some of the other towns nearby. Old Saybrook has several good restaurants along both Post Rd and Main Street, East Lyme has Flanders Fish Market and a few others in Niantic, and you can get authentic Chinese at Taste of China in Clinton, Golden Palace in Uncasville or China Kitchen in Groton.
That said, when we moved down to the area a few years back, we really looked hard at Old Lyme, but ended up in East Lyme. The schools are bigger and offer more choices for kids (17 AP classes in the high school, vs 6 in Old Lyme), the high school pool is open to the public, they have the children's museum in Niantic and just more activities for families/kids overall. In recent years, the test scores for the schools have generally been slightly higher than Old Lyme as well. East Lyme is home to one of the bigger public beaches in the state in Rocky Neck, and they also have town beaches at McCook's Point and Hole in the Wall beach. You'll definitely have more blue collar families in East Lyme than Old Lyme, though many would consider that a good thing.
Last edited by NewJeffCT; 05-10-2014 at 02:20 PM..
Also, not too far up the road from Old Lyme are Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods casinos, which have a ton of good restaurants, some pretty high end/expensive, some shopping and also gambling and a lot of live entertainment.
Thanks so much for chiming in guys. Commuting would not be an issue for me. Regarding it being quiet, and having a senior-ish kind of vibe, do the surrounding areas make up for it in terms of offering a bit more of a lively scene? I don't mean tons of nightlife and clubs and things like that, but just more activity in general in terms of restaurants and shopping? Coming from Westchester NY, I'm very much used to making use of surrounding towns to make up for the shortcomings of my own town. What really attracts me to Old Lyme is the small school, and what I hope to be a less snobby, pretentious, superficial, and materialistic, atmosphere for my children to grow up in.
Again, look into Guilford and Madison. Branford also has plenty of shopping and dining. Far from snobby like parts of Westchester, but a bit more happening than points east. Still serene and beautiful (arguably more). Still relatively small schools. More young, well educated families. A short drive to New Haven for every amenity and activity you could ever want. New Haven is only growing, adding retailers and restaurants constantly. Exceptional schools and a great community feel with beaches and historic, walkable town centers.
The Lyme's are great but might be a bit of a shock coming from Westchester. Guilford and Madison offer the best of both worlds.
Wow! Thanks so much for the extremely detailed and thoughtful responses. I really appreciate it!
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