[JayCT]

The station is located in what is called Fairfield Center which is the towns central business district. Other nearby neighborhoods would be Mill Plain and the lower portion of Fairfield University area which is sometimes called Round Hill. Winton Park is a small but pricey enclave near the station as well. Also not too far is the Old Post Road and Oldfield areas. Hope that helps.

I don't know of anywhere that has the mill rates for every town but if you go to each towns website, that information should be available. Keep in mind that the mill rate does not mean a lot since taxes depend on the property assessment. Some real estate websites give the taxes for each home. Jay

[flyingdaggers]

Originally Posted by JayCT

The station is located in what is called Fairfield Center which is the towns central business district. Other nearby neighborhoods would be Mill Plain and the lower portion of Fairfield University area which is sometimes called Round Hill. Winton Park is a small but pricey enclave near the station as well. Also not too far is the Old Post Road and Oldfield areas. Hope that helps.

Jay, sorry maybe I didn't make it clear. I meant to ask the neighborhoods close to the NEW train station (commerce drive station). appreciate it if you could give some recommedations.

[jjbradleynyc]

Originally Posted by tomcio

We simply like CT best for several reasons (one of them being reasonable taxes). We are not big fans of NJ. Long Island's location, taxes and access to/from outside world are not attractive to us. Westchester is still on our list, but our research clearly tells us that you get way more in Stamford area than in Westchester for the same money. Why specifically Stamford? I think it is a mixture of location, taxes, city's size and character and people living in the area.
That is a very BIG help and changes many things if you can bring your parents to help with the baby. We don't have an option for such luxury.

Also, Stamford's property taxes are much, much lower than Westchester's. The city is very safe, very quiet, yet has big city feeling downtown. It's pretty strict on what commercial franchises can come into the city, so I actually think it's very, very underserved, but I love the fact that there are many mom and pop stores still here. It's a unique thing for most cities these days. We live in the middle of the city of Stamford, and at night, it is so quiet the only thing we hear are the geese and ducks quacking on the river out back. It's an amazing place to live for us.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by flyingdaggers

Jay, sorry maybe I didn't make it clear. I meant to ask the neighborhoods close to the NEW train station (commerce drive station). appreciate it if you could give some recommedations.

The new station will be located in more of an industrial area so there is not a lot of housing located nearby. The nearest will be the New England Streets neighborhood (New England Avenue, Rhode Island Avenue, etc.). Also Grasmere is close (Grasmere Avenue) and would be walkable. These areas have more modest homes. There are nicer homes north of I-95 in the Gould Manor Park neighborhood but they are a bit of a distance and there are new condos called Stone Ridge that are right across the street (Kings highway East) from the new station location on the site of a former industrial building. I should note though that those condos are pretty pricey and people that bought there bought in anticipation of the station being built. Jay

[jnavs86]

Hi I am looking for a condo in Fairfield and I wanted to know if anyone can provide some input on fairfield and also the affordable parts... I've been there a couple of times and there shoppes and restaurants and a train station, I'm looking for a condo close to there... I'm a first time buyer... Thanks.

[flyingdaggers]

Originally Posted by jnavs86

Hi I am looking for a condo in Fairfield and I wanted to know if anyone can provide some input on fairfield and also the affordable parts... I've been there a couple of times and there shoppes and restaurants and a train station, I'm looking for a condo close to there... I'm a first time buyer... Thanks.

I drove by southport yesterday and there was a complex called southport woods (I believe) that was close to the southport station. Affordability, it all depends on where you coming from and comparing to. I believe I've seen ads for these units there running lower 400k. Not sure if you want to be close to southport or the fairfield station?

We are also relocating and considering fairfield. What do you like about that place?

[JayCT]

The most affordable part of Fairfield is Tunxis Hill or Grasmere on the east side of town. This is a couple of miles from the Fairfield Center which is where the existing train station and shops are. There are a couple of small condo complexes in Fairfield Center. the one that comes to mind is Mosswood which is right next to the station. Not sure how expensive they are. Hope this helps, Jay

[ambarstone]

Originally Posted by jnavs86

Hi I am looking for a condo in Fairfield and I wanted to know if anyone can provide some input on fairfield and also the affordable parts... I've been there a couple of times and there shoppes and restaurants and a train station, I'm looking for a condo close to there... I'm a first time buyer... Thanks.

_____________

I strongly recommend you to rent first before you jump and buy. Get to know the town better. Is not clear if you have any children or not (it sounds you don't). Fairfield is a family town. If you do decide to buy, a two bed will be the better investment Vs a one bed. Mosswood is expensive because of the luxury of having the train station right next door (one of the most recent sales for a 1 bed was 319,900). ALL places in/around FF central will be expensive. Tunxis Hill is the most affordable area but is bet 3.5-4.5 miles away from the train. Grasmere (older neighborhood) is second in affordability but I believe prices are reflecting a premium with the hipe of the new train. The new train is 2 years away, if not longer. Everyday new issues and arguments come up with that.

[leavingdarien]

After researching nearly every town in FF County and even Westchester County, we're 90% sure we are moving our family of 4 TO fairfield from Darien after 8 years of living here. Why? Because FF is more affordable and more diverse. This is a big move, as our kids are 5 and 8, so I'm doing tons of research. I have some questions maybe you can help me with:
Which of the elementary schools have the best reputation?
What n'hoods would you recommend in the south/west part of town (close to Southport/Westport due to the train)?
What downsides are there for kids in elementary schools if any?
We want diversity, is FF truly diverse?

I know many FF County towns if anyone has questions. Thank you

[flyingdaggers]

Originally Posted by leavingdarien

After researching nearly every town in FF County and even Westchester County, we're 90% sure we are moving our family of 4 TO fairfield from Darien after 8 years of living here. Why? Because FF is more affordable and more diverse. This is a big move, as our kids are 5 and 8, so I'm doing tons of research. I have some questions maybe you can help me with:
Which of the elementary schools have the best reputation?
What n'hoods would you recommend in the south/west part of town (close to Southport/Westport due to the train)?
What downsides are there for kids in elementary schools if any?
We want diversity, is FF truly diverse?

I know many FF County towns if anyone has questions. Thank you

I remember reading about one or a couple of elementary schools in fairfield have problems of racial imbalance. I tried but cannot remember any names. But if you look at the school reports it should be very apparent.

I am also only researching FF. Mind sharing with me your experiences? We originally considered Darien too for ease of commute but have basically decided we can't afford it. We haven't ruled out Wilton yet even though it looks like an expensive town too. I would love to hear from you about all these towns that can do daily commute to NYC. So far I am not really big on Westchester as the taxes are high there. I have asked people what they get for their tax $ but have not gotten any satisfactory answer as to what they got in westchester they wouldn't in FF for the same tax $. If you have thoughts on that it'll be great too.