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Old 05-02-2019, 09:21 PM
 
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Also, if anyone has any ideas on how much I should or shouldn't rely on a Great Schools rating, feel free to share. What are other ways to determine school quality?
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Old 05-02-2019, 09:58 PM
 
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Originally Posted by MFTgradmom View Post
Also, if anyone has any ideas on how much I should or shouldn't rely on a Great Schools rating, feel free to share. What are other ways to determine school quality?
So think about the rankings as being driven by an area's wealth. The towns with schools ranked 5-7 tend to be more economically diverse than the towns ranked 8 and higher -- look at median HHI compared to nearby towns to understand the full picture, rather than the simple % on free lunch that greatschools publishes. My kid's school doesn't rank very highly, but we love it -- it just happens to be in a less affluent area -- others on this board have had similar great experiences with the lower ranked schools in their communities. We have focused more on the availability of AP courses, pass rates, and academic extracurriculars like robotics clubs at the secondary level -- and mostly on class sizes and teacher experience levels for lower grades, along with word of mouth from those in the area who are directly familiar with multiple school systems, like preschool directors and special services providers.
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Old 05-03-2019, 06:57 AM
 
Location: Coastal Connecticut
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A 7 is a solid rating and like the other poster said, points to some socioeconomic diversity like you’re looking for. Branford and Milford are both ~7 rated communities, very economically diverse, and very well rounded, beautiful towns. Branford is more quiet overall, Milford is near more stuff/jobs. I’ve heard very little bad things about schools in both towns anecdotally.

Last edited by Stylo; 05-03-2019 at 10:31 AM..
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Old 05-03-2019, 08:02 AM
 
Location: Connecticut
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Originally Posted by MFTgradmom View Post
Also, if anyone has any ideas on how much I should or shouldn't rely on a Great Schools rating, feel free to share. What are other ways to determine school quality?
Quite frankly I would take Greatschools' rating with a grain of salt. We have seen some pretty off rankings from them. In general the more desirable the town, and thus more expensive, the better the schools. Home prices are based on what people are willing to pay to live in a town and towns with better schools have more people willing to pay a premium to live there.

That however does not mean your children will not get a good education in a town with schools that perform lower. There are many towns that provide a good education but are not as desirable as Ridgefield. Most of the recommendations made here will provide your children with a good education. Still I would avoid some towns or cities that are known for poor performing schools because some have other issues like safety that make them undesirable. Good luck, Jay
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Old 05-03-2019, 08:31 AM
 
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Originally Posted by MFTgradmom View Post
Thank you all, this is very helpful and gets me pointed in a few directions. I also struggle with town we love vs house we love (we have particular tastes) but I'm thinking if I have a few towns that I know we will like, we can just wait for a house we like to pop up in those towns. Now, to sell ours! And wait for the stars to align. Anyone know of someone looking for a small cute home in Ridgefield?
What are your particular tastes as some towns may cater towards them more than others? I lived for a number of years in lower Fairfield County, but spent the last 8 in Southington. Actually my Southington house is under contract and we are looking at homes in the Avon, Simsbury, and Suffield areas.


If your Ridgefield house sells quickly what is your plan, temporary housing or rush to buy something?


Personally, I would pick a town(s) that best fit my family's needs and budget and move my mother in. It is an unfortunate situation with your mother's terminal condition, but you also may weigh potential impact to your children if there are multiple moves in the future.


This is off topic but have to spoke with a bank or mortgage broker yet to set expectations, unless you are paying cash. Sounds like your household currently has minimal income coming in which can impact your financing.
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Old 05-03-2019, 08:59 AM
 
Location: Coastal Connecticut
21,584 posts, read 27,825,637 times
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Originally Posted by MFTgradmom View Post
Thanks for sharing your experiences. I've spent 13 years in a love hate relationship to this perfect little town, but imagine I will miss it when I am elsewhere. It's a really tough choice, my mom is living with an incurable cancer, and so (I know this is a personal choice, just sharing) I want to live closer to her while she is still alive, but at the same time it's a really big move for maybe a year or two of that, HOPEFULLY more. Thanks for mentioning "Westville" because I love the use of the word "quirky". More than anything, I want to find my "tribe" and I do love so much about Ridgefield, but I have't made the kind of friendships that feed your soul. Maybe that would be the case in all these upper midde-class towns...? I've met a lot of really great people, it's just hard to connect on deeper levels. So, enough of my tangent, are the schools in Branford good? I swear I looked them up recently because a friend lives there (no kids) and maybe thought they weren't? But honestly, form a Ridgefielder to another, I'd take your word over a Great Schools rating.
I missed this reply. Being near New Haven is smart if you want that quirky, artsy, diverse community nearby. It is CT’s cultural capital.
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Old 05-03-2019, 10:26 AM
 
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If quirk is important, keep West Hartford near the top of the list. A number of my crunchier friends live there. I would also remove the Farmington Valley towns other than Farmington itself.
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Old 05-03-2019, 08:30 PM
 
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Originally Posted by hvexpatinct View Post
If quirk is important, keep West Hartford near the top of the list. A number of my crunchier friends live there. I would also remove the Farmington Valley towns other than Farmington itself.
Ha! Thank you. Those other towns may be most of what I don't like about my current town.
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Old 05-03-2019, 08:31 PM
 
15 posts, read 14,354 times
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Originally Posted by Stylo View Post
I missed this reply. Being near New Haven is smart if you want that quirky, artsy, diverse community nearby. It is CT’s cultural capital.
Thank you
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Old 05-03-2019, 08:42 PM
 
15 posts, read 14,354 times
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Originally Posted by davwve View Post
What are your particular tastes as some towns may cater towards them more than others? I lived for a number of years in lower Fairfield County, but spent the last 8 in Southington. Actually my Southington house is under contract and we are looking at homes in the Avon, Simsbury, and Suffield areas.


If your Ridgefield house sells quickly what is your plan, temporary housing or rush to buy something?


Personally, I would pick a town(s) that best fit my family's needs and budget and move my mother in. It is an unfortunate situation with your mother's terminal condition, but you also may weigh potential impact to your children if there are multiple moves in the future.


This is off topic but have to spoke with a bank or mortgage broker yet to set expectations, unless you are paying cash. Sounds like your household currently has minimal income coming in which can impact your financing.
Rent vs rush to buy is a good question. I am concerned about making a less than optimal decision if we feel pressure. I'm sort of hoping the stars align with a house we love. Frankly, if it wasn't for my mom, I'm not sure I'd stay in CT. We have a lot of equity in our home, and because we are essentially moving sideways money wise, but getting more space because it's not FFC, we can probably put at least 2/3s down. Hubby just started getting SS, so we are hoping that would count as income. If push come to shove, we could get our hands on more cash instead of mortgaging, but I'd rather not tap in to all our money. I wonder if it would be wise to rent in the town we are thinking of.... but then we'd be committed to buying a house we may not love to stay in that town and avoid moving my middle-schooler again. As a former LFFC resident, what do you think of Southington?
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