[sugarlandtransfer]

We are moving to the Shoreline area this summer, with our 13 year old son. He will be in 8th grade, is a good student and avid baseball player. He has attended large schools in Texas, and now we would like to try something smaller. Lyme-Old Lyme and Old Saybrook have caught our attention. Can anyone give us any information about the quality of the schools, school atmosphere, etc? I've seen the test scores but I'm looking for the rest of the story. Is there somewhere else we should look? I will be working in Essex. Thanks!

[yogaroots]

I used to teach in CT. Both of those towns have top notch schools. Either one is a great system. If I had to pick one, I'd pick Saybrook, but that's just my opinion. J

[skytrekker]

Both towns are great- and have much to offer, you cannot go wrong with either one.

[JayCT]

I am not sure if I already gave you this on another thread but you can find information on each school and district at the links below. Jay

Strategic School Profiles by District

Strategic School Profiles by School

[activemom]

I'd pick Old Saybrook...Lyme-Olde Lyme is much smaller and if he's used to bigger schools, Old Saybrook would be better.

[old lyme mom]

We have lived in 0ld lyme for 14 years, and found it a nice town for raising our 5 children. We selected this area when we moved from the midwest because of excellent public schools, low crime, and proximity to my husband's job in Groton. We have been thrilled with the education our children have received, as well as the many opportunities they have had to participate in athletics. Soccer and baseball are very, very popular sports, but there is also basketball, cross country, track, lacrosse, etc. Co-ops exist with other nearby schools so students can play football, hockey, wrestle, ice skate, participate in gymnastics, swimming, etc. The schools also pride themselves on excellent music and art instruction. Even though our boys are not gifted musicians, they each started playing in 5th grade and continued through middle and high school. The high school band teacher is superb. There is an art academy in the town, and there are many galleries and art exhibits. Children who do well in art and music receive a lot of recognition and encouragement, and there are many opportunities for them to obtain private instruction and compete.

The Connecticut River marks the town's boundary on the west and long island Sound is on the South. As you can imagine, it is a scenic area and boating is very popular. For those who love the waterfront, there are state, town, and private beaches. There is also a wonderful state park called Rocky neck in nearby niantic.

Shopping is limited in 0ld lyme; we do most of our shopping in nearby East lyme and Waterford. There are no buses, trains, subways, etc. so you will depend on your car. Airports are not close- TF Green is ca. a 55 min drive and Bradley Airport ca. 70 min. Although there is a wnba team- the mohegan Sun nearby, it will be an outing to see professional baseball, football, men's basketball, etc.

The prices of houses along the shoreline tend to be higher than those inland, and old lyme real estate is more expensive on average than either east lyme or old saybrook, but we have never regretted our decision to build here.

hope this helps. Sorry about the caps-my sons broke a water balloon near the keyboard and it needs to be replaced.

[kristin1]

My husband works in Essex as well and we just moved to Guilford about a month ago. We LOVE it here! We did consider moving to one of the Lymes or Essex itself, but in the end decided it was more important to live closer to NYC (in case his job lands him elsewhere).

We have been thrilled with the amount of family things to do in this town - beaches, strawberry picking, fresh water lakes, and their seems to be something going on on the town green every weekend. The schools are excellent and the town has a great soccer program.

The commute to Essex is about 20 minutes, but for us it is worth it!