[TeeTee15]

We are relocating to CT and are researching where to live. My husband's job will be in Bridgeport near St. Vincent's Hospital and we're hoping to keep his commute to 30 min or less. Our house purchase budget will be $500-600k and our priority in choosing a place to live is the public school system. We have a preschooler and a middle schooler so would love to settle in a town that's generally considered to be family friendly.

I would sincerely appreciate any recommendations. We're visiting the area soon and will check them out in person.

[Stylo]

It really depends on 3 factors: 1. How much house do you expect with that budget? 2. What kind of character and amenities are you looking for in a town (e.g. lively and walkable or quiet and isolated)? 3. Future commute needs.

Here’s some suggestions:

Trumbull - suburban in nature with a wooded feel. Excellent performing schools. Homes are moderately expensive but you can get something nice with your budget. Taxes are a bit higher than other options. Nice town.

Fairfield - full of amenities, coastal access, train access, walkable downtown, shopping/dining, community events. A more bustling town. Beautiful in wealthier areas. Excellent performing schools. On the expensive side, so your money won’t go as far. One of the more well rounded towns.

Shelton - suburban with a small walkable downtown that leaves a bit to be desired. Good mix of shopping and some dining. Huntington is a nicer area. Very wooded there. Good performing schools. High value and low taxes. You will get a really nice house.

Milford - think of it as a poor man’s Fairfield (not in a disparaging way, it’s just cheaper and not as wealthy). Similar amenities. Walkable downtown, train, coast, tons of family friendly community events. Good performing schools. High value and lowish, stable taxes. Like Shelton you’ll get a killer house for budget.

Orange - suburban in nature. Wooded feel for the most part. Lots of strip mall style shopping and dining but nothing walkable. Excellent performing schools. High value, but taxes on the high side.

Monroe - similar to Orange. Further from coast and a bit more isolated feeling, but decent amount of shopping in town. No walkability. Largely wooded feel.

[TeeTee15]

That's SO helpful, thank you! I should've mentioned "as lively and not rural as possible" for our budget and criteria, lol. We can probably push the budget if need be, but it sounds like we might not need to. Really appreciate the info.

[kidyankee764]

5-600k with great schools? Fairfield, Trumbull and Orange. Runner up is Monroe.

[JayCT]

It Depends on what you expect for your budget and the type of community you want. Without that I would recommend either Fairfield or Trumbull. Both are great towns with excellent schools and tons of family activities. Plus they are immediately adjacent to Bridgeport so your commute would be less. In an area known for traffic I always recommend that you live as close to your job as possible.

Fairfield is generally considered the more desirable of the two so you can expect to get less home for your money there. This is because Fairfield has three train station on Metro North, fivebeaches on Long Island Sound and some unbelievably charming and affluent neighborhoods like Southport and Greenfield Hill. The nice thing about a Fairfield is it’s diversity. It has everything from modest starter apartments to stunning estates. It also has a great walkable town center and tons of shopping and restaurants.

That said many people I know from Fairfield have moved to Trumbull because they could get more home for their money there. Trumbull does not have the diversity of Fairfield since there are fewer modest apartments or estates. It also only has a small less walkable downtown and is more suburban in character. Still it is a beautiful community with a lot for families.

I don’t think I would recommend Shelton unless you really want lower taxes. The schools in Shelton do not perform as well and services there are less to keep taxes down. It also less convenient to Bridgeport. I would also not recommend Orange or Milford because they are further from Bridgeport. Jay

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by TeeTee15

That's SO helpful, thank you! I should've mentioned "as lively and not rural as possible" for our budget and criteria, lol. We can probably push the budget if need be, but it sounds like we might not need to. Really appreciate the info.

You posted this as I was writing my response. Fairfield is definitely the more lively town. You can’t go wrong there. Jay

[BobNJ1960]

Originally Posted by TeeTee15

That's SO helpful, thank you! I should've mentioned "as lively and not rural as possible" for our budget and criteria, lol. We can probably push the budget if need be, but it sounds like we might not need to. Really appreciate the info.

May I ask, where are you from (region, population, urban/suburban?), etc?

[BobNJ1960]

Originally Posted by JayCT

I don’t think I would recommend Shelton unless you really want lower taxes. The schools in Shelton do not perform as well and services there are less to keep taxes down. It also less convenient to Bridgeport. I would also not recommend Orange or Milford because they are further from Bridgeport. Jay

30 minutes should be doable from all Stylo suggested except Orange, but Milford/Orange you are driving into the rush to Stamford crowd, whereas Fairfield is a reverse commute with light traffic. Not many are driving into Bridgeport from the west, or even beyond Bridgeport from the west.

Fairfield is west of Bridgeport. Milford/Orange are east of Bridgeport.

Orange would be longest commute as spouse would need I 95, and Orange is both further east, plus has fewer, more spread out I95 access vs Milford.

[CTartist]

Originally Posted by kidyankee764

5-600k with great schools? Fairfield, Trumbull and Orange. Runner up is Monroe.

These towns have the best schools. Monroe is actually right up there with all of them and is just as good. The best commutes would be Fairfield and Trumbull as they actually border Bridgeport. Monroe is the third best as it has the Route 25 connector which can get you to Bridgeport quickly. I live in Trumbull and my mom lives in Monroe so I know the commute times pretty well. I have friends and relatives that live in Milford and Orange. The traffic is heavy during the rush hour in New Haven and Fairfield Counties on I-95 and the Merritt Parkway. From Orange you could find yourself in traffic and your commute could be over 30 minutes on some days.

The liveliest town is Fairfield. It has the most population and density. It has a nice downtown area in and around the Post Road which is it's main road. And it has beaches. Fairfield is a great town. I was looking in Fairfield to buy a house but it was a little more than I could afford for the house & land I wanted. Fairfield is a great town.

Just for reference

Population
Fairfield.......59,000 (most hustle and bustle)
Trumbull......36,000 (pretty lively and Trumbull has a mall)
Orange........14,000 (The most quiet but the southern part is near the Post Road with tons of shopping)
Monroe........19,000 (It's pretty quiet there so I don't think you would like it, seems like most properties are at least 1 acre)

Schools Districts (Schooldigger based on 2017-18 school year test scores)
https://www.schooldigger.com/go/CT/districtrank.aspx
#12 Trumbull
#15 Monroe
#28 Fairfield
#39 Orange

There are 169 school districts so all of the schools above are very good. If you go on other school sites they may be ranked a little different but all will be within the very good school range.

[Stylo]

Originally Posted by JayCT

It Depends on what you expect for your budget and the type of community you want. Without that I would recommend either Fairfield or Trumbull. Both are great towns with excellent schools and tons of family activities. Plus they are immediately adjacent to Bridgeport so your commute would be less. In an area known for traffic I always recommend that you live as close to your job as possible.

Fairfield is generally considered the more desirable of the two so you can expect to get less home for your money there. This is because Fairfield has three train station on Metro North, fivebeaches on Long Island Sound and some unbelievably charming and affluent neighborhoods like Southport and Greenfield Hill. The nice thing about a Fairfield is it’s diversity. It has everything from modest starter apartments to stunning estates. It also has a great walkable town center and tons of shopping and restaurants.

That said many people I know from Fairfield have moved to Trumbull because they could get more home for their money there. Trumbull does not have the diversity of Fairfield since there are fewer modest apartments or estates. It also only has a small less walkable downtown and is more suburban in character. Still it is a beautiful community with a lot for families.

I don’t think I would recommend Shelton unless you really want lower taxes. The schools in Shelton do not perform as well and services there are less to keep taxes down. It also less convenient to Bridgeport. I would also not recommend Orange or Milford because they are further from Bridgeport. Jay

I’m less than 15 minutes to Bridgeport in Milford. Orange is 20 tops.

Also in contrast to CTArtist has said above, there is rarely traffic between Orange and Bridgeport. That is usually a “green” zone on Google Maps during rush hour. You can check historical traffic data on Google to confirm that. Data doesn’t lie. Only on summer Friday evenings going east do you sometimes get slowdowns. Traffic is generally from the western border of Bridgeport to Stamford, and the West Haven western border to New Haven.

Based on the lively request, I fully recommend Fairfield. If you’re willing to accept better than average schools and more socioeconomic diversity, in exchange for a lot more home, Milford. But that’s only if your home expectation is very high. IMO none of the other towns are remotely lively. If you look to give up some lively feel for value and schools, Trumbull and Orange are good options as they’re close to action. Trumbull is close to Fairfield and Westport, Orange is close to Milford and New Haven. IMO Monroe would be too isolated for you.

I think you’ll be happy with Fairfield and your budget will afford you a decent home for sure. I’d recommend looking north of 95 as it’s genrally a lot more affordable. South of Route 1 is extremely expensive.

I also don’t understand SchoolDigger’s methodology for ranking. Fairfield and Orange are among the best.

Edit: one more suggestion that I forgot to mention. Southern Easton, close to the Fairfield border. Close enough to Fairfield to enjoy it. And less expensive than Fairfield. Excellent schools. Only downside is the high school is a bit of a commute in Redding.