Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I'm not the expert on private schools, but Connecticut does have some outstanding private schools. Not far north of Essex in Middletown, you have two well regarded Catholic high schools in Mercy and Xavier. In New London, you have the Williams School, an expensive prep school that I think has grades 7-12, or maybe 6-12?
I wouldn't worry too much about the public schools - Connecticut typically rates among the best states for public schools, so even a town in Connecticut that merely has "good" schools is typically well above the national average. Example - my wife was contacted about a job in another state not long ago - I think it was in the South - and the headhunter and the company HR person both said the town where the company was located had some of the best schools in the state. However, upon looking into the high school, the percentage of kids going to college, the average SAT scores and the number of AP classes offered would have put this town somewhere around #75-80 in the state of Connecticut.
In the Farmington Valley area, you have Miss Porter's School for girls(Jackie Kennedy, some of the Bush family women, Gene Tierney, and others I'm forgetting are alumni), Avon Old Farms, Kingswood Oxford in West Hartford and others.
Thanks for all that! I looked as well (my kids are far from high school age yet ), and it seems there is Saint John Catholic School from PreK to Grade 8 in Old Saybrook! Have you heard of that one?
Thanks for all that! I looked as well (my kids are far from high school age yet ), and it seems there is Saint John Catholic School from PreK to Grade 8 in Old Saybrook! Have you heard of that one?
One thing to note before getting obsessed with the idea of private schools, is that sometimes they (especially the parochial schools, more often than the ritzy boarding schools) can actually be WORSE than the public school your child would go to. It depends on which town but it's not uncommon. This is unheard of in most of the country and important to note.
One thing to note before getting obsessed with the idea of private schools, is that sometimes they (especially the parochial schools, more often than the ritzy boarding schools) can actually be WORSE than the public school your child would go to. It depends on which town but it's not uncommon. This is unheard of in most of the country and important to note.
That is good to know! If anyone had info on Saint John in Old Saybrook, please share.
I think the difference in quality of education between Essex and those other schools is marginal at best.
If you want perfect high performing schools, Guilford, Madison, and Old Lyme have them.
I find the Guilford/Essex area to be far more charming than the Simsbury/Avon area, which is nice but seems more like generic suburban CT with not as much history/charm. Also the natural beauty of the eastern shoreline and lower CT River area can't be beat.
I think the difference in quality of education between Essex and those other schools is marginal at best.
If you want perfect high performing schools, Guilford, Madison, and Old Lyme have them.
I find the Guilford/Essex area to be far more charming than the Simsbury/Avon area, which is nice but seems more like generic suburban CT with not as much history/charm. Also the natural beauty of the eastern shoreline and lower CT River area can't be beat.
I have been this weekend in CT and checked all these areas and agree with you 100% in regards of the charm and natural beauty of the shoreline. While the Farmington area is very nice-looking too, I did not feel as enchanted as in Guilford and Essex. So it seems I found finally where I am going to move ! Thank you, everyone for all the wonderful advice!
I have been this weekend in CT and checked all these areas and agree with you 100% in regards of the charm and natural beauty of the shoreline. While the Farmington area is very nice-looking too, I did not feel as enchanted as in Guilford and Essex. So it seems I found finally where I am going to move ! Thank you, everyone for all the wonderful advice!
I think you will really like the area. I also think Guilford might be a good location for your office. It is right in the middle of 3 wealthy areas being (from east to west) Stony Creek in Branford, Guilford and then Madison. Also don't discount Guilford as a place to live also.
I would like to see if others agree with me. What say you Stylo and Willowwind on the above?
If I had to choose, I would both have an office and a home in Guilford. You're not going to find much in the way of homes on acreage in Essex center. You'd probably be in the Ivoryton section of Essex to get that.
Guilford, especially north Guilford is far more country. Keep in mind Essex center is the size of a postage stamp. Sure it's cute and charming but how often are you going to go there and wander through its little shops which cater more to seasonal traffic..
Fresh Market, organic stores, health food stores are in the Guilford area, not Essex. Guilford has a greater population both in town and in the surrounding towns. Thus, more clients. You won't be able to open a psychologist office right away- you may have to do some pre licensure work in some capacity for a while. The closer to New Haven you are, the easier to find jobs.
Once you start working full time and have to chauffeur your kids around to school activities, there's not going to be that much free time during the work/ school week to stroll around downtown Essex. You could just as easily go there every weekend if you feel the need to and keep your base in Guilford.
There are also going to be far more opportunities for socializing or just watching the world go by in Guilford and Madison than in Essex. Life can be very pleasant strolling around Madison center and then sitting outside at Willoughby's and sampling coffees before or after a show at the Arts Theater.
PS.- St John's school in Old Saybrook is tiny- maybe 150 students in total and perhaps 8 or 9 teachers. You're not going to get the academics and extras that you would find in any of the local public schools.
Well, think long and hard at what you want to do. Neither of your choices would ever be terrible, more a matter of overall convenience and job opportunity. Good luck
Look, if you don't want to run into your patients while buying groceries, there are other places to "hide" without necessarily stretching your commute, as you would do if you lived in Essex.
Besides, Guilford and Madison are not really little towns. They have about 20,000 people, each. And that doesn't include the weekend / summer crowd.
There are people in North Guilford, or North Madison who rarely go to their town centers. And a few might be hanging the confederate flag on the back of their pickup, so you'll question which town is it...
I think the difference in quality of education between Essex and those other schools is marginal at best.
If you want perfect high performing schools, Guilford, Madison, and Old Lyme have them.
I find the Guilford/Essex area to be far more charming than the Simsbury/Avon area, which is nice but seems more like generic suburban CT with not as much history/charm. Also the natural beauty of the eastern shoreline and lower CT River area can't be beat.
I think it can be pretty significant - in Madison, Avon or Simsbury, you have 92-93% of the kids going on to college, at Valley Regional HS, only about 80% of the graduates go on to college. VRHS has around a 91% graduation rate, while Madison, Avon and Simsbury are 97-98%+. Madison, Avon & Simsbury also offer more AP classes and have higher percentages taking and passing AP tests (95% of the kids at Avon HS get at least a 3 on their AP exams, while under 70% get at least a 3 at VRHS) Test scores usually put Avon, Madison & Simsbury in, or right outside, the top 10 in the state. VRHS is usually in the low 30s.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
), and it seems there is Saint John Catholic School from PreK to Grade 8 in Old Saybrook! Have you heard of that one?
