[JayCT]

Fairfield is clearly more diverse than Darien, but the meaning of diverse may be different than you are thinking. Fairfield has a wide range of income levels from janitors to CEO's. There are modest apartments and mult-million dollar mansions and just about everything in between. There is also some ethnic diversity in town with the most diverse school being McKinley on the east side of town. Other schools are less diverse particularly as you go to the west side of town.

You should know that all of the schools in town offer an excellent education, so I wouldn't worry about which school to send your children to. The curriculum is pretty uniform across the district and from what I hear, none really excells over another.

As for neighborhoods, it is hard to make recommendations without knowing your price range and likes and dislikes. Southport and Greenfield Hill are beautiful areas (the most prestigous) but are not cheap. The Old Post Road/Fairfield Beach neighborhood is very nice, as is Mill Plain, Mill Hill and the University neighborhoods. Hope this helps, Jay

[flyingdaggers]

Originally Posted by JayCT

Fairfield is clearly more diverse than Darien, but the meaning of diverse may be different than you are thinking. Fairfield has a wide range of income levels from janitors to CEO's. There are modest apartments and mult-million dollar mansions and just about everything in between. There is also some ethnic diversity in town with the most diverse school being McKinley on the east side of town. Other schools are less diverse particularly as you go to the west side of town.

University neighborhoods. Hope this helps, Jay

Yes McKinley was the name of the school I was reading about. I believe the edu dpt isn't treating the ethinic components in that school as a diversity, but rather, as a problem to tackle. How they do it I don't know.

[JayCT]

The "problem" at McKinley is that the school has over 25% more "minorities" than the other schools in town. State Law does not allow this and requires the town to do something to "correct" it. The Board of Education tried to alter the school district to alter the minority makeup of the school but met with strong resistance from the McKinley parents who did not want to be redistricted to other schools. The Board then implemented a volunteer program that allowed students in the McKinley district to go to other schools and allowed other students outside the district to go to McKinley. I believe this has helped meet the criteria set by the state.

McKinley is a beautiful brand new school that replace a building that dated back to the 1920's. A poorly constructed renovation project left the old building with a leaking roof and as a result it developed a serious mold problem. The town relocated the students to another building, tore down the old building and built a new school. Many people in the neighborhood waited for several years for this to be completed and felt such a strong attachment to McKinley School that they just did not want to go anywhere lese. I hear many good things about the school. Jay

[leavingdarien]

So far my experiences have been fantastic. Everyone that I've spoken to who lives there loves it. The downtown is one of the most vibrant in the area. It feels a little urban compared to other CT towns which we like. The university brings a nice flair to the town. The beaches seem great. Camps are very affordable compared to Darien ($100/week vs. $250/week). THere isn't a good YMCA or gym/pool facility but you can join Westport which is building a new Y. We're looking for a pool cllub but can't find any yet. Driving on I 95 is horrible but if you live near the Merritt, that's better. Many families seem to start in Fairfield and move down the line for a better commute. But the housing price difference seems HUGE to me - a 4 bedroom 3000 square foot colonial is ex: $1.5mm in darien or $1mm in Fairfield.

Commuting is a huge problem but you can try Westport stations. We got a permit at Greens Farms after 5 years on the waiting list. You can also do the lottery at Rowayton train station in Rowayton which is a drive but it's a spot. The commute is 67 minutes or so.

We've looked into Westchester and I find the schools to be better in terms of 2 teachers per class and much higher $spending per pupil ($24,000 in Katonah vs. $15,000 in Fairfield). So that's what you may get for higher taxes. We're strongly considering it b/c of the schools.

Many love Wilton, it's a little more remote than Fairfield. Check out the commute to NYC. I think it's a little more laid back than Darien or New Canaan. Fairfield seems to be the most economically diverse of the towns besides Stamford/norwalk. Hope this helps!

[leavingdarien]

I hear that some of the elementary schools have had to use trailers/portable classrooms. Is there an overcrowding issue? Do you which schools do/don't have this? I like the Southport area near Westport north of Rte 1- feeds into Dwight school. Hoping to find a home in that area this spring. Also considering Greenfield HIll, a little worried about repeating our exp in Darien though. Insights appreciated.

[JayCT]

I know that Stratfield School has some portable classrooms and they are studying whether to expand the school or not. The town is also considering opening a new school to serve the Oldfield area which is south of the Post Road between Reef Road and Sasco Hill Road. Not sure if they will or not. I believe Mill Hill School which serves Southport may have some portables. That is why they are considering a new school. I believe that the two schools that serve Greenfield Hill (Dwight and Burr) are not overcrowded and do not have portables (Burr is brand new).

To me the thing about over crowding is that as long as class sizes remain reasonable (about 20 students per class), then it should not be an issue. Fairfield is very good about keeping class sizes reasonable. JMHO Jay