[mecawa]

Thank you for your responses. Can you tell me if there are any areas in the two towns that should be avoided for any reason? Also, does anyone know how the towns handle trash disposal (curbside pick-up, transfer station, etc.)? Are the properties on town water and sewer, are they private, or does it just depend on where in town you live? Thanks again. I hopefully will be getting down there soon to check everything out.

[activemom]

You pay for your trash...there are many companies to choose from. We pay $30 a month for once a week pick up of trash and recycling. Westbrook and Clinton have no sewage treatment plants so everyone has a septic tank. There is city water, but many houses are on wells (we have a well,) so it just depends on what house you end up buying.

As far as areas to avoid, there really aren't any true "bad" areas. Seriously- you will find brand new 3000sq ft $500k+ homes across the street from 1970's raised ranch homes. I would just look at how people care for their yards and keep up their houses. There really isn't much crime in the area at all. I personally wouldn't want to live off of a main road due to traffic. Rule of thumb- houses south of Rte one are old and small (and pricy for what you get) but you are walking distance from the water. The majority of these houses are summer homes but you'll find some year-round residents. Most of the new homes are north of I-95. Between Rte 1 and I-95 you'll have your mix of just about everything. You may want to consider how close you'd like to be to the grocery as Westbrook shares the same grocery stores with Clinton and they are both on Rte 1.

[activemom]

You can also take your trash to the dump on your own...I think it is $1 a bag.

[mecawa]

activemom, thank you so much for the information. I noticed in an earlier post you mentioned you had young children, so have you heard anything about the preschools in the area? I know I've read that the public schools are good but I have a child who will be entering preschool in September and was just wondering if you knew of any preschools that may be worth checking out. Thank you again for your posts.