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I am hoping that some of you may be able to help us with our struggles! I have read a number of posts here and you guys seem to have great knowledge and advice, so I thought I'd ask too.
We are a family of 5: my husband and I and - a 7, 5 and 1 year old. We have to move from Ann Arbor (wonderful city) to work in New London. I am deeply saddened by this - this town has wonderful people, great activities for kids and excellent shopping.
I need first: a town with excellent schools, closely followed by good friendly people - pref lots of other stay at home moms (down to earth ones!!). Lots of reasonable nearby shopping - that does not involve long drives. Also plenty of things for my kids to do. They currently have dance, piano, cubs etc. I would LOVE to be able to walk to places.
I don't want to be isolated from amenities etc, so I don't want really small towns. ANd I don't want to add to pollution by driving miles to every little activity my kids do.
Any ideas? Madison, Glastonbury and The Lymes seems to have good schools. But I need RETAIL therapy too!!!!!!!
Thanks so much for taking the time to read this, Hardymom.
Yes, I agree with you Ann Arbor is a great area- South eastern Connecticut is a wonderful area, I am sure you learn to enjoy all that Connecticut has to offer-may I wish you and your family a warm welcome.
I would suggest in the New London area, the towns of Waterford, Old Lyme, Stonington (The 'Mystic section is very nice) and Colchester- a bit inland, but not to far from New London. Glastonbury, while being a fine town will be a bit longer commute then you may want.
Colchester is a mere 30 minutes from the state capital in Hartford and all it has to offer, and about the same distance to New London. Eastern Connecticut offers much in the way of Culture. There are many wineries, charming bed & Breakfasts and a rural lifestyle close to Hartford, the coastline, Providence and Boston. We have had quite a few Michigan people here relocating- many have spoke highly of Colchester. Colchester has a charming town green, some fine restaurants, A 'Super Stop & Shop", and even a Starbucks.
The towns above offer fine schools, shopping that is excellent, easy access to the Connecticut and Rhode Island beaches and more. There is a large Mall in Waterford, while Mystic has more smaller shops, fine restaurants and more.
The nearby Casino's in Ledyard, and Montville offer incredible entertainment beyond gambling, excellent restaurants and more.
Housing costs are likely to be more then double of AA- with the cheapest housing prices away from the shoreline (Colchester). 'Median' home price in New London/ Groton/ Norwich last quarter 2007 was about 270K. Good luck and again welcome.
Last edited by skytrekker; 01-28-2008 at 11:23 AM..
Thanks - I will look into those. The commute is not so huge an issue as my husband would work from home a couple of days a week if we were as far as Glastonbury. (they have a Whole Foods - thats the pull!)
Do you have any knowledge re comparing the schools in Rhode Island with those in CT?
Hi Hardymom - welcome to Connecticut. I am sure you are going to like it here. connecituct is a beautiful and historic state that is easily accessable to so much. There are a number of communities near New London that will serve your needs. For the best schools, I would consider East Lyme, Lyme and Waterford. These are nice small towns with good shopping and entertainment as well as a lot of family activities. There is major shopping in Waterford with a mall and most major retailers. Colchester or Salem may be other options as well. I agree that Glastonbury, though a wonderful town, may be a bit of trip to make as is Madison. Hope this helps. Jay
We are former Ann Arborites, currently living in IL, and in the process of relocating to the New London area for Pfizer.
I would encourage you to use the IMPACT group resource offered through Pfizer's relocation program to get information on schools and just about anything. I have barraged them with questions and nothing has gone unanswered - I got data on all of the area school districts, info on fitness centers for the various areas we're looking at, and crime stats for one area that I was concerned about. It seems like most people don't take advantage of them, and it's really a great resource.
Glastonbury seems like it would be a long haul to Pfizer. We stopped there for dinner on our way back to the airport after our last house-hunting trip. We love the Essex area and had one house there that we were seriously considering and it sold before we had a chance to decide on it.
You might look at Stonington - our realtor lives there and from what she's told us about it, it sounds like it has a lot of what you're looking for. It's out of our price range though.
Hi. Thanks for your replies - my concern about some of those areas was that the schools did not rate so highly. I really want good schools - that is my primary driving force and we are happy to have a big commute if that's necessary.
Thanks for the tip re IMPACT (great name!) - I will definately check them out. But from what I've read - notning compares to 'real' people's experiences here on these boards. Some previous poster called them the 'intangibles' and I think he really hit the nail on the head. Things like - the 'feel' of a place, culture, attitude.
Also -we are from England - and my ancestry is also Indian - is there much opportunity for international cuisine/grocery in the area??
Hardymom- you will have to get used to driving to do your retail therapy! I rarely shop around home as there isn't much in Southeastern CT (Crystal Mall is not a very nice mall!) However, there are tons of different restaurants in the New London area of all sorts of ethnicities. Middletown has all sorts of restaurants too...it would be a bit of a drive, but it would be there. If I were you, I'd check out the Stonington or Mystic areas- they are both very pretty. Providence Place (in Providence, RI) wouldn't be too far from Mystic if you ended up there.
Madison has great schools with lots of activites for the kids. Regarding proximity to retail there is a shopping mall in Clinton and one in Westbrook with decent outlet stores. Old Saybrook also has some nice shopping. There are many restaurants in the neighboring towns and they are not all seafood spots. Then you certainly can go to New Haven which has a diverse number of restaurants. Neighboring Guilford and Branford have wonderful town greens with lots if small boutiques. The shoreline is an excellent place to raise a family and should be on your list of places to check out. The individual town websites are very helpful and contain lots of links to activities, school and general community information.
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) - I will definately check them out. But from what I've read - notning compares to 'real' people's experiences here on these boards. Some previous poster called them the 'intangibles' and I think he really hit the nail on the head. Things like - the 'feel' of a place, culture, attitude.
