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Hello! We are a family of 4 with a baby and a 12 year old. Currently in Ridgefield CT where we have been since 2006. We are ready to get a bigger house, and because our money goes farther elsewhere, and we aren't married to Ridgefield, we think we would find another town. Ideally closer to Wallingford where my mother currently lives. (She may move in with us, but I'd like her to be close-ish to her friend base and her hospital.) Towns we have thought of so far are as follows, with the little we have heard about each or our presumptions or questions. I realize everything is very subjective, like, someone may think a town is stuck up, but maybe it's more down to earth than New Canaan, but more stuck up than Thomaston, for instance. That's what makes this so hard. I DO like the cute charm of Ridgefield, and the good schools, but I wish it were more diverse. I also like that it's fairly liberal with a lot child friendly things going on and sense of community. Sometime I wonder if "good" schools is really all it's cracked up to be, but can't bring myself to consider a town under 7 great school rating even at that. I'd prefer a town where there is great education but not the perfection pressure. Thoughts? Oh, our budget would be up to high 300's.
Southington: sort of like Wallingford? but maybe slightly more like Ridgefieldy than WLFD
Cheshire: good schools, but small minded maybe and maybe stuck up ish, but coming from FFC it may just seem silly.
Middlebury: is there anything there? Maybe good commuting location?
Southbury: Old people?
Newtown: lot's of Townies
Farmington: white.
Avon: I heard GREAT schools, but is there really a "mommy rat race"? Is it easy to ignore?
Burlington: Lots of houses we like, is there a town center???
West Hartford:crazy taxes, maybe the diversity we'd like, but super built up
Canton/collinsville: Cute? Good school?
Am I missing anything? Hubby is SAHD and I just finished school (hence the name) and will look for a job when we relocate.
Thank you so much in advance for all your opinions and expertise.
If you are working remotely and proximity to Wallingford + good schools is your main criteria, I would suggest Cheshire.
If you are open to looking around, with your budget West Hartford + Farmington Valley towns have quite a bit to offer (Simsbury probably has the closest 'feel' to Ridgefield and similarly ranked schools). Middlebury and Southbury are solid as well, but they may be a bit too rural and homogeneous for you.
Also not sure where you got the perception of Farmington as being very white. For what it is (a generic upper middle class CT town) it is quite diverse ethnically and socioeconomically. It is probably less white than all the towns you mention, with the exception of West Hartford.
You do not say where you will be looking for a job or what that job will be. It is hard to make a recommendation without knowing that, your budget, what you expect for that budget and the type of community you want. Judging from the list of communities you gave though I assume that your job will be flexible for aa location and that you want an affluent suburban community.
If you want to be closer to Wallingford, I would not necessarily recommend the towns in the Farmington River Valley (Farmington, Avon, Canton or Burlington). While beautiful, they are not relatively easy to get to and are kind of far from Wallingford.
To be close to Wallingford, in addition to Cheshire, I would also recommend North Haven. It's a nice town with very good schools and a lot of shopping. I would also consider Woodbridge and Orange. Their schools are among the best in the state and they are beautiful towns with a lot for families. Plus you would have good access to New Haven and eastern Fairfield County for jobs.
If your job location is not an issue, I personally would consider the wonderful towns located east of New Haven. Branford, Guilford and Madison are wonderful towns with very good to excellent schools and tons of activities for family. Each town has a nice downtown area and most of the everyday things you need to live. Plus you will have access to beaches and the Shoreline East trains to New Haven and the New Haven line trains to New York. Jay
Southbury has a lot of old people but also a lot of new, young families moving to town and plenty of amenities like great schools, a great library, a really nice parks and rec program, and multiple grocery and big box retail options. It does not have a charming downtown. It is fairly uniformly upper middle class, but there is some ethnic diversity.
Middlebury is pretty and extremely convenient for commuting, although there isn't much of a town center there either, and parts of it can be remote with limited cell service like Ridgefield. It shares a school district with Southbury.
You can get something reasonable for under $400k in either town.
You could also consider Oxford. It is a nice, growing community, and it is not very hard to get from there to Wallingford on back roads, either.
If you want something more economically diverse but still “good” schools, maybe Shelton, Milford, Wallingford itself. All very well rounded, stable, solid towns.
Trumbull and Orange are a bit more racially diverse than Ridgefield and have highly rated schools.
It sounds like you want good schools, a town center and some diversity, all in close proximity to Wallingford. Fair to say?
If that’s the case, I’d suggest you consider Branford, Woodbridge, Orange, Cheshire, Milford, Trumbull, and maybe even suggest a town like Wethersfield. All are middle to upper middle class and have solid schools. Orange and Woodbridge have the typical town green center, but no shops or cafes like the rest - however Woodbridge is a few minutes from the quirky center of Westville and Orange is close enough to downtown Milford to take advantage of daily. Trumbull is a good community and an easy ride to Wallingford on 15. Milford isn’t bad, if you can get past the eyesore that is route 1. It allows a decent commute to both lower Fairfield and New Haven areas. Schools are okay.
I would eliminate Newtown, Oxford, Middlebury and Southbury for the sole purpose that they are not, IMO, close enough to Wallingford to justify a move out of Ridgefield. I would never suggest Shelton for someone who is looking for 7 of 10 rated schools - everyone I know who lived there left because they weren’t thrilled with the high school. Plus, downtown is dumpy.
I lived in both Branford and Ridgefield. Branford was an awesome community to live and I miss it like crazy. It just wasn’t convenient enough for a Stamford commute. Ridgefield is about as close as you can get to perfection. I missed Branford and always tried to find fault in Ridgefield, but couldn’t. It’s one of the most well rounded communities I have ever come across.
If you are working remotely and proximity to Wallingford + good schools is your main criteria, I would suggest Cheshire.
If you are open to looking around, with your budget West Hartford + Farmington Valley towns have quite a bit to offer (Simsbury probably has the closest 'feel' to Ridgefield and similarly ranked schools). Middlebury and Southbury are solid as well, but they may be a bit too rural and homogeneous for you.
Also not sure where you got the perception of Farmington as being very white. For what it is (a generic upper middle class CT town) it is quite diverse ethnically and socioeconomically. It is probably less white than all the towns you mention, with the exception of West Hartford.
Thank you for your input! I have no idea where I will be working I figure, house first. Wherever I get a job will be just a stepping stone anyways, so don't want to make such a big choice based on that. I love hearing about Farmington being more diverse. I was also recently corrected on my idea that it was "built up" because I knew there was a mall, and that was ALL I knew about it. But was informed that the mall is on the line of a few towns and Farmington isn't like that. Thank you again!
You do not say where you will be looking for a job or what that job will be. It is hard to make a recommendation without knowing that, your budget, what you expect for that budget and the type of community you want. Judging from the list of communities you gave though I assume that your job will be flexible for aa location and that you want an affluent suburban community.
If you want to be closer to Wallingford, I would not necessarily recommend the towns in the Farmington River Valley (Farmington, Avon, Canton or Burlington). While beautiful, they are not relatively easy to get to and are kind of far from Wallingford.
To be close to Wallingford, in addition to Cheshire, I would also recommend North Haven. It's a nice town with very good schools and a lot of shopping. I would also consider Woodbridge and Orange. Their schools are among the best in the state and they are beautiful towns with a lot for families. Plus you would have good access to New Haven and eastern Fairfield County for jobs.
If your job location is not an issue, I personally would consider the wonderful towns located east of New Haven. Branford, Guilford and Madison are wonderful towns with very good to excellent schools and tons of activities for family. Each town has a nice downtown area and most of the everyday things you need to live. Plus you will have access to beaches and the Shoreline East trains to New Haven and the New Haven line trains to New York. Jay
Thank you for your suggestions, I will open up my searches to those towns also. I forgot about Orange. Being a shorter drive to the shore could be nice, also, not AS far if we want to visit friends down this way. I AM all over the map. I just need to find a site where I can work in the mental health field to get my hours to be licensed as an marriage and family therapist and eventual would like to do private practice. I don't mind a 30 minute commute anywhere, I'm used to driving all over.
It sounds like you want good schools, a town center and some diversity, all in close proximity to Wallingford. Fair to say?
If that’s the case, I’d suggest you consider Branford, Woodbridge, Orange, Cheshire, Milford, Trumbull, and maybe even suggest a town like Wethersfield. All are middle to upper middle class and have solid schools. Orange and Woodbridge have the typical town green center, but no shops or cafes like the rest - however Woodbridge is a few minutes from the quirky center of Westville and Orange is close enough to downtown Milford to take advantage of daily. Trumbull is a good community and an easy ride to Wallingford on 15. Milford isn’t bad, if you can get past the eyesore that is route 1. It allows a decent commute to both lower Fairfield and New Haven areas. Schools are okay.
I would eliminate Newtown, Oxford, Middlebury and Southbury for the sole purpose that they are not, IMO, close enough to Wallingford to justify a move out of Ridgefield. I would never suggest Shelton for someone who is looking for 7 of 10 rated schools - everyone I know who lived there left because they weren’t thrilled with the high school. Plus, downtown is dumpy.
I lived in both Branford and Ridgefield. Branford was an awesome community to live and I miss it like crazy. It just wasn’t convenient enough for a Stamford commute. Ridgefield is about as close as you can get to perfection. I missed Branford and always tried to find fault in Ridgefield, but couldn’t. It’s one of the most well rounded communities I have ever come across.
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.
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?
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I figure, house first. Wherever I get a job will be just a stepping stone anyways, so don't want to make such a big choice based on that. I love hearing about Farmington being more diverse. I was also recently corrected on my idea that it was "built up" because I knew there was a mall, and that was ALL I knew about it. But was informed that the mall is on the line of a few towns and Farmington isn't like that. Thank you again!
