[dougnaie]

Activemom, do you mind saying what town you are in now?

[kristin1]

Activemom - If you don't mind sharing, I'm very curious as well. We will be relocating to the shoreline and really want a kid-friendly town.

Also keep in mind, sub-divisions aren't always what they are cracked up to be. I agree, being able to pop the kids in the stroller and take a walk to the park is great, but there are some drawbacks as well. My sister and I were just having a conversation about this. In the sub-division she lives in, there is the ever brewing "mommy wars" between SAHM and WOHMs. She refers to the SAHM as the "mommy mafia" and I'm sure they have similarly terrible nicknames for her own little clique. You could not pay me enough to live in this neighborhood.

Where I live, my neighbors are nice enough, but NOSEY! The houses are a little closer together than CT, but our neighbors know everything about everybody. We wouldn't mind moving into a subdivision, but that is actually a drawback for us. I think we are looking for a nice little county road, maybe with a Target around the corner

[JayCT]

Activemom - It sounds like you ended up in the wrong town. You should consider moving to a more developed suburb that is family oriented. You do not say which town on the shore you live in, but Madison and Guilford are popular with young families, though shopping there is limited. North Haven would be another consideration. Also maybe Wallingford. There are nice newer subdivisions around that may be what you are looking for. I know what you mean about the many over-55 subdivisions going up around the atyate. I think many towns veiw these as tax generators (meaning that there are no kids to add to the school systems) and it has gone a bit too far. Don't give up on CT yet, Jay

[activemom]

I live in Clinton.

[activemom]

Madison and guilford are nice, but I really dislike having to drive so far to everything. every place I want to go is at least a 20-25 minute drive. Most of the young families we've met live in Killingworth, Madison and Guiford. We chose Clinton due to being able to afford more house than on those other towns. (My house in the south was literally half the price and twice as big and much newer than what we can afford here). I have noticed people don't seem to mind driving all over to do errands. I've never had a bad neiborhood experience yet.

[JayCT]

Madison and Guilford do offer most of your basic needs (food, services, restaurants, etc.) but are lacking in the large scale stores like Target and Walmart or a shopping mall. If you are talking about this type of needs then you will need to move to a more developed area. Some of the towns mentioned (North Haven, Wallingford) are good choices. I would check them out.

As for the cost of housing, well it is what it is. There are locations down south that have higher home prices than you will find in greater New Haven. What concerns me is that you are looking back and thinking that a lot of things were better to you down south, but with that type of attitude, you may never be happy here. Please try to get involved in the community you end up in. It will help to get out and meet people your own age and that have the same interests. There should be some even in Clinton. Good luck, Jay

[activemom]

I drove around hamden and cheshire today and really liked some areas. Brookvale park and the canal path bike trail areas are great. It is really pretty and nice big ok
Lots yet not very far from shops and restaurants. Are the schools good in N. Hamden S.Cheshire ? Are the area around this park and trail safe?

Jay-I moved from Va Bch,Va, so yes it is different here. After seeing these two areas today,I think we just picked the wrong town for us to settle. This town is nice, just too far from stuff for what we are used to.

[activemom]

sorry for the typos....I'm using my phone to do this!

[Lizzie007]

The area that you drove around yesterday is great. We have lived in Northern Hamden near the trail for 10 years and really like it. As far as schools go, we've done plenty of research on our own and the elementary schools in that area are excellent in both Hamden in Cheshire. The difference is that when the kids get to middle school and high school, Cheshire schools will be superior. We have also been looking for a similar situation to you but have not found a newer 4 bedroom in that price range in Cheshire--that area is pretty pricey and most of the newer homes would be in the 600's. What kind of square footage are you looking for?

[kristin1]

activemom - Thanks for sharing your experience! We've been looking to move to that area for some time and had settled on Guilford, but have recently been talking about Killingworth and Clinton since you clearly get more bang for your buck there. It's hard not to be wowed by the nice neighborhoods and big houses. It's sounds like that might not be the best move, based on your experience.

Also, I could have sworn I saw a Walmart in Guilford and I think I saw a few grocery stores too. I know any type of shopping mall is far, as is a Borders or Barnes and Noble, but I thought the Guilford/Madison area had more shopping than most of the other areas where we were looking.

ETA: I imagine it must be a difficult transition moving from the South to the Northeast. We have taken many trips to visit friends down south and it is such a different lifestyle, people are incredibly open and friendly. Honestly, the first few times we visited we were taken aback by this. My friends love this aspect of Southern Living, but are contempleting a move back because they miss the seasons. Good Luck to you!