[Yodelady]

Toyota4ever
You're funny.
I also grew up in Meridump and don't want to go back there.
But, after 22 years in California, I'm heading back to Conn. You can't beat it for beauty and - I think - for values.
The taxes are outrageous in Ct. but the home prices are ridiculous in CA.
I'm thinking THomaston seems nice.
Cheshire is beautiful, but expensive.

[KathleenW2]

We lived in Weston and Wilton for a total of 14 years. They are nice places to bring up kids, send them to school and foster a sense of community. However they are also VERY expensive. Fairfield County really isn't Connecticut, it's more like a NYC suburb. If you separate it from the remainder of the state, you have lovely towns like Madison, Essex, Avon, Simsbury and Southbury. In Fairfield County, the 'undesirable' towns are: Norwalk, Stamford, Danbury and Bridgeport. Parts of those towns are lovely and the houses are less expensive but by no means cheap. People are so, so, so wealthy in the other towns that it feels like a different world.

[sevdie]

What would help me out a great deal is to know the reasons for the best and worst choices. We are all relocating for different reasons.

[sevdie]

Originally Posted by mcwsage

There are so many great things about these towns I could write a book!

Michele

Please do. I would love to read what you have to say.

[ExNewYork]

Sevdie, when you buy a house in Fairfield County you aren't really buying a house. You're buying a school district. Many resales depend on the quality of the school district. Property owners will tax themselves to pay for a quality school system because not only will it benefit their kids but is a good investment. Think of it as house maintenance.

The towns known as being 'good' will all have super, duper schools. Towns like Norwalk, Stamford, Danbury have less wealthy residents and more diverse populations. Schools have to spend money on things like ESL and maybe drop that extra math class from the curriculum to balance the budget. Wealthy towns tend not to have those needs and will have that extra math class. Simple as that.

Special needs kids have many entitlements in the state of CT. It can cost 30k a year for a private aide for each kid, I kid you not. The state doesn't compensate for those costs. A town in a wealthy community will complain but pay. Less-wealthy towns will pay (no choice) but have to compromise in other areas of the curriculum.

So a big house in Norwalk with all the bells and whistles will cost considerably less than that same house in Darien or New Canaan.

Hope that helps!

[sevdie]

Yes it does help. Thank you for that info. I don't have any children though, so my priority when chosing a town would be safety instead of school district. How is the crime rate for what you consider the best town in CT?

[BENZBOY15]

I've only been to southwestern CT and I have to say Darien/Greenwich is a dream come true. You can't beat it in beauty, schools, the houses (my favorite!) and the community. What I like about visiting my grandma in Darien is that it seems like you've gone into a different world. It feels so isolated from the problems of the rest of the U.S like the homeless issue, crime and abject poverty. It truly is a different world.....which is my favorite aspect of Fairfield county. The homes are stunning to say the least. There really is nothing like sitting on the sound at Tokeneke on the fourth of July and watching the fireworks...it's truly special. It's also stunningly beautiful, yet it's only a 50 min train ride to NYC and all that it has to offer. If I could choose to live anywhere in the United States, this would be it.

However, it is extremely expensive but worth it. If you can afford it, move there. You can't beat it....anywhere.

[mcwsage]

Originally Posted by sevdie

Please do. I would love to read what you have to say.

Sure! What's wonderful about the Farmington Valley is the close proximity all of the towns are to each other. There is literally an intersection where Simsbury, Avon, and Canton all meet. So you have the luxury of literally driving down the street and being in the next town - so you can take advantage of all of the great things in every town! I can't touch on school systems (as mentioned, I am in real estate) so go to www.greatschools.net for that info, but what I can tell you about is some of the individual great things each town has to offer:

Avon - tons of shopping and dining (Luke's Donut's anyone?); Simsbury - GREAT festivals!!!!, movie theatre, small town shopping on Rt. 10, great exercise facilities, some great dining (Little City Pizza, and don't forget to try Brookside Bagles for some awesome breakfast sandwiches, lunch sandwiches, etc. YUM); Canton - the up and coming town with both remote and non remote housing, some great (new) shopping facilities, cheaper real estate, historic Collinsville section with amazing views of the Farmington River (oh and LaSalle market & deli - a MUST eat at small town) place), and the best utilization of the Farmington River with tubing, cayaking, etc.; Farmington - you can pick either the OLD Farmington which is very expensive or the section called Unionville where there tends to be more affordable housing, RT 4. has some great places to eat (Apricots for more formal dining, or Wood'n Tap for great bar food); and where Farmington and West Hartford meet, there is the West Farms Mall and of course every place you can image on "the strip" for shopping and food; which brings me to West Hartford - I used to live in W. Hartford and my husband would drive into Hartford during rush hour and make it there in 13 minutes. Major highways are only minutes away, and then you have the amazing West Hartford Center (don't plan on dinner without a reservation on Friday/Saturday!). So what's great about this area of the state is you can take advantage of all of the great things each town has to offer since they are right on top of each other!!!

Also, there are a couple of great surrounding towns that are 10 minutes from the Valley and worth the trip for great dining, hiking, swimming/jet skiing (large lake nearby).

Lastly, I've read some comments about the commute into Hartford. No commute into any city during rush hour is going to be fun, but there are options - (1) leave EARLY and not on the hour (don't leave at 7:00 or 8:00 - leave on off times), and (2) if the weather is bad, take the bus - the Walmart in Avon is a pickup/dropoff place, and (3) if you are coming from Simsbury, you have the luxury of taking Rt 185 and getting into Hartford by the Univ. of Hartford (and take a right on Homestead instead of driving all the way down Albany Avenue). No commute is going to be great, and I'm surprised how many people I come across that are willing to add an extra 10 minutes onto a commute to live in a particular area. It's all about personal choice!!!

If you are curious where all the towns in CT are in relation to one another, I suggest going to www.google.com and typing in, for example, "Avon, CT" and zoom out so you can view all of the towns nearby, and then zoom out again to view more towns around the state.

I hope this helps!! Best of Luck to you!!!

Michele P.

[HomeSweetHome123r4]

Where would Stamford fit in to this list and why? Would it even make any list? While I'm at it why don't I ask about Wallingford as well. Don't know much about CT, but am curious.

[ASCHAEDLER]

I am so surprised that Bridgeport was overlooked for one of the worst in CT.
Best
Southbury/ Middlebury reg 15 schools are on top 5 in state
Woodbury, Bethlehem reg 14 schools are very good too. Small yet close to major highway
Newtown/Sandy Hook - great town a bit larger and bit more pricey
Harwinton becoming a hot town- close to Hartford area
Redding/ Ridgefield
Warren CT is up and coming too. Nice area for need of quiet little areas

Worst:
Waterbury -
Bridgeport -
Torrington -
Hatrtford
New Haven -

I grew up in Bethel, North of Redding- South of city of Danbury
Lived in Newtown, Sandy Hook area 14 years very nice 60 sq mile radius 7 elementary schools k-4 1 school 5-6 1 middle 7-8 1high 9-12
Live in Woodbury- nice little New England town and close to highway
With that information, it could appear that I am bias. I am a small town girl and do not like the city living. I hope it is just that I do not love the crime in those areas.
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