[tomcio]

Originally Posted by flyingdaggers

sorry I just now realized they are in CT also. so all the comments about NY don't apply any more. anyways I am still all ears.

We did the preliminary research and found those areas very nice - especially Springdale. Houses may not be cheapest there, but we sensed family friendliness, lots of diversity and lack of snobbery which all we are looking for. Taxes are relatively low. It also is 55 minute commute to NYC – both my wife and I work in midtown.

[ambarstone]

Hi flyingdaggers,

I wanted to give my imput too, just moved in Fairfield a few months ago. I personally don't like the town, but the main reason is that is not a town for singles, but for families so I think you'd be fine. Deals for houses in Fairfield abound if you compare today's prices to the ones of two years ago. There are plenty of properties in the market suitable for a small/growing family.

You have already heard plenty about the issues of parking at the FF train station. There are over 3000 people on the wait list at FF (Southport not included). There will be 1500 parking spaces available in two years at the new train station. There is currently only one wait list for everyone. To be honest, I don't think neither you and I have a chance to get parking any time soon-hope I am wrong.

It seems to me that Fairfield is a summer town. Sufficient things to do during the summer (beach, parks, lake...BBQs in the yard) but it is pretty boring during the cold months. There are a couple of movie theaters (one in Bridgeport) but I don't think there is even an ice skate rink.

The schools are good but demanding (specially behavior wise). You do a favor to your child and future children to start them here so they get used to it. Coming from another school to FF can be a bit of a shock.

Now for the services...FF is not a full service town (I didn't know how much this would bother me). It does not have a hospital (nearest is in Bridgport). The scarce public transportation is from Bridgeport too. Nearest indoor mall is in Trumbull (not bad). Need a DMV? Bridgeport is the closest. You need two cars here as things are spreaded out and not easy to walk to. There are no bad areas in FF. Tunxis Hill seems to be the most affordable area but is far from the train station. If you could afford it, living walking distance to current train would be great for you and your family.

Is not clear to me if you work or only your husband, but be aware that childcare is not easy to find at an affordable price around here. You'd be better off being an stay at home mom/working out of home.

Anyway, I wish you best of luck. Anything we do for the benefit of our families has great chance for success!

[JayCT]

Yes it is true that Fairfield relys on Bridgeport for some of its services but that is true of most suburban towns. Bridgeport is not far at all. There are winter activities that are commonly found in any town as well (indoor ice skating is available in Bridgeport as well). Not sure what else you need or want. I will also agree that Fairfield is not a great town for singles but again that is true for most suburban type communities.

ambar371 is also correct about finding good child care. There is a great demand so start looking early. Jay

[tomcio]

Does finding good child care issue apply to entire CT or it is specific to Fairfield. Are we talking both daycare and nanny?

[ambarstone]

Originally Posted by tomcio

Does finding good child care issue apply to entire CT or it is specific to Fairfield. Are we talking both daycare and nanny?

I wish I could help regarding the entire CT but I only know about FF. I am referring to daycare (to be able to work). Nannies are expensive...not sure how easy it would be to find one around here.

[JayCT]

There is an agency in Stamford or Greenwich (can't remember which) that brings in nannies from European countries. Neighbors of ours here in greater Hartford used them with fairly good results. Jay

[flyingdaggers]

Originally Posted by tomcio

We did the preliminary research and found those areas very nice - especially Springdale. Houses may not be cheapest there, but we sensed family friendliness, lots of diversity and lack of snobbery which all we are looking for. Taxes are relatively low. It also is 55 minute commute to NYC – both my wife and I work in midtown.

Tomcio, what's your preliminary research? A tour around? Do you know about schools there? We do have one kid and possibly more down the road. Also BTW when do you guys plan to move?

Also may someone share the tax differences among these towns? I though it is all very similar within one county?

[flyingdaggers]

Thanks Ambar for sharing. Sounds like we'd better be prepared for not having anything to do. But then again NYC city offers much to do and we really did enjoy it, that is, up until the point the baby came along. After that, we are just knowing there's much to do much fun to have but only sitting at home with the kid.

Currently only the hubby is working but I do plan to join the workforce as we now have a temp solution for babysitting.

[flyingdaggers]

There has to be good preschools or the kind for kids 2.5 yr and older, correct? We only plan to send the kid out after she turns 2.5 as a tradition.

[tomcio]

Originally Posted by flyingdaggers

Tomcio, what's your preliminary research? A tour around? Do you know about schools there? We do have one kid and possibly more down the road. Also BTW when do you guys plan to move?

Also may someone share the tax differences among these towns? I though it is all very similar within one county?

flyingdaggers,
We have monitored the CT (specifically Stamford, Springdale, and Glenbrook areas) market for around one year now. Last summer/fall we made several trips up there and drove around just to get familiar with those neighborhoods and find out which ones are in walking distance to Metro North stops. We also attended few open houses and saw, I believe 8 houses. We certainly did not research well enough daycare/nanny market which we are planning to do this coming spring/summer as well as deeper investigation of local school system beyond learning from some reports that schools are decent in Stamford area. We are thinking about moving in second half of 2008, but considering recent home prices declines and the general outlook for real estate - we don’t really know. How about you guys?