[krdpm]

My husband and I plan to move to CT (from Mass) next spring to be closer to family. His job is quite flexible and is not a big factor in choosing a town. We seem to have narrowed our choices down to Guilford or Cheshire, but I'm kind of making myself crazy trying to decide between the two. We've been checking out Cheshire for awhile, going to open houses, etc., and we've spent just one Sunday at open houses in Guilford.
What we're looking for: Schools are our number one priority. Our ideal town would be middle class/upper middle. I'd love a town with a sophisticated, educated population but with a minimum of the snobby, superficial, look-how-successful-I-am kind of attitude. I'd like my daughter to go to school with kids where it's just expected that you will go to college. A crunchy granola liberal vibe would be perfect, but I realize that's not really happening in any of these areas! Also would prefer a town where there are other newcomers, like ourselves.
Our price range is 300-400K, or maybe low 400's if the house needs no work at all. We just have one kid, so we're not looking for huge. A large (1/2 to 1 acre), flat lot on a residential street is our number one desire. Also, we'd love to be in a neighborhood and not in the woods.
Cheshire seems great, but I'm concerned that it just might be really, really boring. Also, there have been a few comments here from people that made it seeem as if the town could be a bit pretentious. On the positive side, shopping like Target and Home Depot would be a lot more convenient than Guilford, it seems more "neighborhood-ish", and we'de get a little more for our money. (Taxes higher, though)
Guilford seems like a lot more is going on. The Sunday we went the Green was packed. It just seems like a cooler town! Our concerns are that it is further from shopping and a bit more expensive.
I would greatly appreciate any insights anyone could offer, especially comments on the general nature and feel of these towns and what it's really like to live there.
Thanks!

[JayCT]

I agree with you that the only downside to Guilford seems to be the lack of good shopping. I know people in the area and they regularly travel to shop. They will drive to Waterford, North Haven or Milford. They will even drive all the way to West Farms Mall in order shop at Nordstroms. That said, I think the quality of Guilford makes up for its short comings. It is also on the coast which Cheshire is not. Only you can decide which town is best. Either one would be an excellent choice. Good luck, Jay

[nico7]

Let me preface my remarks by saying that I don't know much about Cheshire except their HS football team is known and feared throughout the land. But I have been a lifelong resident of Guilford, with the exception of college & grad school (I am now about 30).

You can buy your groceries (Big Y, Bishops Orchards, Foodworks, Guilford Food Center) and some appliances (Page Hardware) in Guilford. These places will meet most of your needs in those departments.

For clothing, you'll want to go to the factory stores and outlets in Clinton or Westbrook. New Haven has some nice stores as well. West Farms Mall is the best solution if you really need total immersion. For electronics, North Haven is a good solution (Bernie's, Circuit City).

Developers are building some kind of retail plaza near exit 57 in Guilford, so there will be more available in the immediate area.

As Jay mentioned, Guilford has much easier access to saltwater beaches and boating than Cheshire. Easy access to Stony Creek and Madison are pluses, too.

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Shopping in Clinton (15 minutes away) Clinton Crossing Premium Outlets
Shopping in Westbrook (20 minutes away) Tanger Outlets Centers

[activemom]

I live in Clinton, but recently was thinking of trying to move to one of these two towns too. (I've been here 2 1/2 years now.) I pretty much have the same requirements as you do- we're very travelled, both my husband and I have MBA's and have two pre-schoolers.

Both Cheshire and Guilford have lots of new people and lots of young families. Both do not have stores like Target/Home Depot, etc. Cheshire is very central in the state and is an easy drive to just about anywhere you want to go. I liked the town facilities- a newish YMCA and a town swimming pool/community center. I also liked how close it was to the Farmington Canal Bike Path- a great place to go on a family bike ride. And it was close to a lot of parks and cool CT towns. Our price range that we were looking at was the upper $400's and we really didn't see anything we liked until the $500k range. As far as Guilford, we love the green and Bishops and the proximity to the beaches. I think the Guilford schools and Cheshire schools are comparable. Both have excellent Parks and Rec departments too. (And they both have Newcomer's clubs...a great way to meet people once you've moved!) However, even though taxes here are less than Cheshire's, houses that are in a good location with little updating are at least in the mid to upper $400s.

Cheshire is closer to the Hartford airport and closer to excursions to the Berkshires, VT, shopping in West Hartford or Manchester. (There aren't really any decent malls that I've seen in CT yet except for up there.) Guilford is nice because there's a train station that you can take to New Haven to jump on Metro North to NYC.

All the research and visiting that I did came down to this...how close do you want to be to the water? We go to the beach at least 1 time a week year round and many times the kids and I will meet my husband after work at the beach with a picnic dinner. We'd like to get a boat once the kids are a little older so we can spend time out on the sound. It wouldn't be practical if we lived in Cheshire. That's why we have decided to stay put for the time being where we are.

[krdpm]

Thanks to all for your thoughtful responses. We actually went to Guilford again yesterday to drive by a few houses for sale and just generally get more of a feel for the town. So far I really am completely torn....

[jmmex]

The comments about Cheshire are right on! We have been here for 3 yrs and it is BORING and the townspeople are apathetic. We tried to get invloved and attend meetings and classes and we just gave up.
The excuse everyone uses for Cheshire being so grand is the school system. After watching the locals b____h and complain about taxes, the pool, the development in the North end, bla bla bla...they have a huge tax surplus and...it's going to the schools. BUT, we got a tax increase this year!
Parts of the town are literally falling apart, State funds have been granted and...not ONE project has started, and the funding?
Driving on i-84 is a disaster and no where close to completion. BUT, we have approved the shopping development on RT 10 and 691 and of course, we have not addressed the traffic explosion that will ensue. This is the classic Cheshire BS that is inexcusable.
Children, especially teenagers, will do better elsewhere. I went to a highschool in Fairfield County in THE snobbiest town, but they really did spend money back then and made efforts in keeping teenagers entertained and well versed in multiple disciplines. Not Cheshire. They cut in all programs EXCEPT football. Where on Earth is all the money going? I'm just not seeing it. PS- there is NOTHING for teenagers to do here afterschool.
Don't take my word for it, I highly recommend that you read the Cheshire Herald online.
Listen to your gut.

[tryingCT]

I am also looking at Guilford and Cheshire. Both beautiful towns, both have great schools. As cheshire is a football town, guilford is a GREAT soccer town. Back in the late 90's their high school soccer team was 'supposedly' ranked #2 in the country, who knows how they rank that stuff. Supposedly there is nothing to do in Cheshire, just from driving up there a few times it seems like there is lots of outdoors activities right there for ya, you are close to lots of the parks of Hamden and you are close to skiing, all be it not GREAT skiing, but 15 min away from Mt. Southington. Then in Cheshire compared to Guilford you are maybe 30 - 40 min closer to skiing in VT, which doesn't sound like a lot but for a day trip it does make a big difference being on the road that extra hour to hour and a half. In Guilford of course in the summer you have the beach at your finger tips.

I have a hard time believing kids have nothing to do after school. I guess I have a hard time believing it because I was always involved with a sport after school which would take you until 5 pm, home for dinner, homework, maybe some of the boobtube.

Coming from Long Island, the corrupt school district capital of the world, I am disheartened to hear about the taxes in Cheshire and lack of improvements in other aspects of the town. It is bitter sweet though, if a town has a good school district you can always have an easier time selling your house in the future, despite if the town has other short comings as stated above.

[nico7]

Originally Posted by tryingCT

Back in the late 90's their high school soccer team was 'supposedly' ranked #2 in the country, who knows how they rank that stuff.

That was the 1997-1998 school year. The GHS boys' soccer team was ranked #2 in the nation by the Umbro Coaches' Poll. That team produced at least two All-Americans, one of whom played for Yale and the other for Harvard. They were the year behind me. Smart kids, too.

[kristin1]

Any idea where the new retail plaza off of exit 57 in Guilford will be?

[nico7]

Originally Posted by kristin1

Any idea where the new retail plaza off of exit 57 in Guilford will be?

I've been wondering that myself. A friend of mine follows all the town planning, and he listed off the stores they were going to have, which I now forget. I'll have to ask him where they're putting it. My guess is that it's going on top of the giant rock formation behind Guilford Sporting Goods -- near the self-storage facility and the cell phone tower. But it could go to the east of Sound Medical, or across the street where that large expanse of wooded land is. I hope they don't clear that.