[mecawa]

Hi
We will be moving to Ct shortly and have been looking at towns all over the state. We thought we had settled on the areas of Newtown and Southbury but coming from an oceanside town we realized we were really going to miss the ocean. That and the fact that the set up for my husbands office had been changed from Waterbury to Wallingford has caused us to reassess. We have been looking at some of the towns along the shore and feel like Westbrook and Clinton may be the right fit for us. If anyone can give me any information on these two towns it would be great. We are especially interested in-
1. the overall feel of the towns
2. the school systems
3. crime rates
4. proximity to dining, shopping, beaches, entertainment etc.
5. the commute from Wallingford (how long and how bad is the traffic)
6. proximity to hospitals
7. kid friendliness/activities
I have found a lot of information on the web but have always found the info. I get on this board to be so much more informative/accurate/useful than anything else. I would appreciate any information you can give me. Thanks!!

[skytrekker]

Westbrook is a true New England faring type of town. Lots of weather worn wood sided homes with a distinctly maritime image that is real and not contrived. The Main Street, (US 1-The Boston Post Road is most charming with some seafood restaurants.
Westbrook CT ::: WESTBROOK, CT :::

For Medical Care near Clinton and Westbrook

Middlesex Hospital: Facilities and Locations

Clinton nearby is a similar type of town, though not as nautical rustic as Westbrook
Welcome to Clinton, CT!

Both towns have great recreation, close to state beaches, great shopping (in Clinton)
Crime is quiet low in both towns.

The commute from Wallingford looks strange to me- the closest route would be to drive east to Durham, then to route 81 south to Clinton.

On schools Jayct will have the hard data.

[nico7]

It's hard to determine what the best way is to get to Wallingford from Westbrook or Clinton. I would say take I-95S to exit 57 or 56, then go north to Route 80 and follow Route 22N to Route 150. Routes 22 & 150 are local roads, and it is going to take your husband about an hour, from home to work. If your husband has regular daytime work hours, he will want to avoid taking I-95S to I-91N because of rush hour traffic.

Clinton and Westbrook both have high-volume shopping centers, with a lot of nice brandname stores. Westbrook has a movie theater, as does Madison (a 2-screen artsy theater), on the other side of Clinton. Westbrook borders on Old Saybrook, which gives you a few additional options for fun and restaurants, plus the Department of Motor Vehicles (!).

There are emergency/extension medical centers in Essex (?) and Guilford (I-95, exit 59: Yale-New Haven Shoreline Medical Center, open 7am-11pm), both of which are closer than Middlesex Hospital. The other full service hospitals are in New Haven.

My guess is the schools are about an 8 out of 10. I would check out the Web sites that JayCT has posted under the "Best CT Schools" discussion thread.

Crime is pretty low... probably a non-factor in the neighborhoods. Just lock your car at the shopping centers, if you've got anything in there.

Overall, I think your husband should consider how long a commute he's willing to have, and then also if you want schools to be any better. The other thing is, you won't be particularly close to any cities (which might be fine with you).

Best of luck. If you need info about any other towns, just ask.

[mecawa]

Thank you both for the info. Exactly how bad is the commute if you take 95 to 91-- say if he had to be at work for 7am? How about if he went into Durham and took 81 like Skytrekker mentioned? Is there a ton of traffic? He's use to a 2 hour commute so maybe it wouldn't be too too bad for him. How rural are the two towns? There seems to be easy access to grocery stores, highway, etc. We are coming from a place where we don't really have to leave town unless it is for work even though we are 1 hour (2 with traffic) from a major city.

Another concern I have is that there seems to be a lack of full service hospitals, but there are emergency care centers(?) Can anybody explain this? I have always lived in a place where there was a full service hospital in town. Would we have to drive to New Haven for an actual hospital?

Also, how do the schools in the two towns compare to Southbury's schools? I was told the schools there were excellent and was just wondering if someone could compare the two just because that is the only school system in CT that I really know a lot about.

I am going to be going down to Ct soon to check out Westbrook and Clinton. My husband has already been and liked both towns, especially Westbrook. He said it felt more like home than the previous places we had been looking. Again thanks for the help!

[skytrekker]

That area of Connecticut- Clinton and Westbrook is an odd commute from Wallingford. Another option would be to take route CT 68 east from Wallingford to Durham Center, then CT 77 south to Guilford then I 95 east to Clinton or Westbrook- the I 91 south and I 95 east is longer and will have more traffic.

Full Service Hospitals will be in Middletown, New Haven & New London- a wee further then you may like to travel. New London's Lawrence Memorial will be the closest at 19 miles from Westbrook.

Emergency centers nearby; Charter Oak Medical Center in East Lyme- just to the east of Clinton & Westbrook

The schools in Clinton & Westbrook would be equal to Southbury

Both towns are not rural- but are more New England maritime towns, with town centers and established neighborhoods, as well as some limited development.

[nico7]

If your husband could start work at 7am, he would avoid the rush, and could get there in about 45 minutes using 95 and 91. He would have to leave work by 4:15-4:30 to avoid hitting stopped traffic at New Haven in the afternoon. I'm not sure how long the commute would be if he drove up through Durham, but those back roads are very scenic and he would definitely like the surroundings better than I-95.

Middlesex Hospital Shoreline Medical Center is in Essex, just up the road from Clinton/Westbrook. They have 24/7 emergency services. Here's their web site: Middlesex Hospital: Shoreline Medical Center

Their services are: Emergency Services, Neurology, Endoscopy, Outpatient Infusion, Laboratory Services, Radiology

If someone in your family were having major surgery, it would probably be best to go to New Haven (30-40 minutes away) or Hartford (1 hour+).

As for schools, compare:
Southbury: http://www.csde.state.ct.us/public/d...07/dist130.pdf
Westbrook: http://www.csde.state.ct.us/public/d...07/dist103.pdf
Clinton: http://www.csde.state.ct.us/public/d...07/dist015.pdf

When it comes to grocery shopping and clothes shopping, all of that can be done locally. You may find that you enjoy exploring the other towns around you, though. They have a lot to offer.

[nico7]

Originally Posted by skytrekker

That area of Connecticut- Clinton and Westbrook is an odd commute from Wallingford. Another option would be to take route CT 68 east from Wallingford to Durham Center, then CT 77 south to Guilford then I 95 east to Clinton or Westbrook- the I 91 south and I 95 east is longer and will have more traffic.

Yes, or 68 to Durham Center and then CT 79 to I-95 in Madison. That might be shorter to Clinton/Westbrook.

[JayCT]

Sorry I did not reply to this earlier but I must have missed it. Both Clinton and Westbrook have very good schools. Students in these towns perform well over the state averages on the Connecticut Mastery and Connecticut Academic Performance tests. Class sizes are reasonable with Clinton schools generally being around 20 students per class and Westbrook being under that. You can get more information on these town's schools below. I hope this helps. Jay

Strategic School Profiles by District

Strategic School Profiles by School

[marber]

I can address the commute question. I live in Durham & used to work in Wallingford. I visit Westbrook often since that is where I keep my boat. The way I'd travel from Wallingford to Westbrook or Clinton would be to take Rt 68 from Wallingford to Durham. Go south on RT 17 . Get on Route 79 & follow to Horse Pond Road (south of Route 80). Horse Pond Rd turns into the Hammonassett Connector. You'd then have the choice of getting on Rt 95 eastbound for 1 to 3 exits depending on whether you live in Clinton or Westbrook, or can stay on the Hammonassset Connector to its intersection with Rt 1. Hammonassett Connector joins Rt 1 on the west edge of Clinton. Travel should be about 15-20 minutes from Wallingford to Route 79 in Durham & about 30 minutes from Durham to the shore in Westbrook. Mostly a pleasant ride on 2 lane roads. Lots of Summer beach traffic from Durham to Hammonassett Connector but that would not be a problem since you would be travelling opposite the direction of the heavier traffic.
Marc

[activemom]

I have lived in Clinton for almost three years, and stay at home with a 2 and 1 year old.

1. the overall feel of the towns- they are definitely small towns. People are VERY nice here (and I'm from the south originally!) The downtown areas in my opinion need some money to make them look nicer. Clinton has received a federal grant to spruce up downtown (Madison and Old Saybrook got the same grant a few years back.) I'm not sure when they will start the project (Yale Architecture school is designing the plan). Clinton has started working on a town kayak/canoe boating facility which will be really nice when completed.
2. the school systems- the school systems are great here. That was an important factor when we were moving to the area. My friends who've lived here all their lives say that the Clinton schools are better than Westbrook's.
3. crime rates- there is really no crime here other than shoplifting sort of thing at the outlets. I feel very safe here.
4. proximity to dining, shopping, beaches, entertainment etc.- beaches are really close. Hammonasset State Park is really close (I go here at least once a week year round.)I hate outlets but you've got two of them close by. Clinton has two grocery stores, a Joanne Fabrics, TJMAXX, two pharmacies. We love going out to eat, but there aren't a lot of choices here. Essex, and Old Saybrook are just 10-15 minutes away and have more options. As far as entertainment, you have the movies at Westbrook. New Haven isn't too far away. During the summer there are many more options...pretty much all the towns around here have evening concerts- you get a couple sandwiches or a pizza, grab a blanket and head downtown to the green where every week there is a different free concert. Fun. I do wish we had more around here, but you get used to driving.
5. the commute from Wallingford (how long and how bad is the traffic) My husband works in North Haven (just south of Wallingford)he takes I-95-I91 and it is about 40 minutes for him at peak commuting time. (8am and 5:30pm)
6. proximity to hospitals- we go to the Emergency Room in Guilford (Yale-New Haven) they are awesome and it is 10-15 minutes from Clinton. Yale-New Haven is 30 minutes. Essex also has an Emergency Room- 15 minutes away from Clinton.
7. kid friendliness/activities- there are a lot of kids but unfortunately around here there seem to be a lot of more retirees lately. Parks and Rec in both towns could definitely be improved upon. How old are your kids? if you have questions about activities for young ones I have lots of options.

Everyone I've met so far in Clinton is super down to earth. New people (like me) found themselves here to here due to the ability to get "more house" for the money compared to Guilford/Madison. There are amazing giant fancy houses and also very crappy dumpy houses, it is very much a mixture of everything here. I think they had a housing boom here in the 70's and 80's as there are lots of those raised ranches. Houses are still expensive here though. During the winter I found myself driving all over the state for things to do. In the summer it is awesome just being minutes from the beach. We actually have even camped out during the work week at Hammonasset- just 4 miles from our house, so my husband came home in the morning to shower before heading to work. Pilot's Point marina in Westbrook is the largest in New England and almost everyone around here has a boat.

If you aren't into a fancy town and don't mind a mish mash of houses you may like it here. There is definitely a slow pace of life here but you do have easy access to basics such as the grocery store. We find ourselves driving a lot for basics (closest Target is in Waterford, Home Depot is in East Haven) though I have my husband hit the stores quite often on his drive home so I'm not wasting gas. I honestly want to move to West Hartford, but my husband is such a water lover that I think we are staying here. The water really is very nice, but again there aren't a whole lot of shopping/restaurants without driving.