[pmeek2309]

Ok here it goes...

My husband recently was offered a job on CT-334 in Ansonia off of exit 19 on CT-8. We currently live in Seattle, but I grew up in New Jersey and have family in Stamford. I will be working from home and we would like to be as close as possible to the Ansonia-Seymour border.

Ideally we would like to settle down in a family oriented, upper-middle to upper class suburb with plenty of trees and good schools since we have 3 kids. Rural is great, just not TOO out there. We haven't read great things about Ansonia so we've eliminated that. Our budget is about $700k, maybe a little more if we have to. Can we expect to get at least 1/2 acre or is that unreasonable?

I have been researching the surrounding area but it seems that a lot of the information is dated. If anyone can help us with information on the following towns I'd appreciate it:

Semour
Derby
Shelton
Oxford
Monroe

Any others we should check out?

Thank you lots!

[andthentherewere3]

It sounds like Monroe or Oxford would be a good fit for you, and you could easily find a nice home under 700k in either town. Monroe and Oxford are both pretty rural, especially Oxford. Most of the homes in Monroe are on 1 acre or more lots, and I think that is the case in Oxford as well. I don't know much about schools in Oxford, other than that they recently built their first high school. Previously they sent their high school students to Monroe or Seymour. Monroe has a lot of great parks, a few on several hundred acres. And their schools are excellent, it's a very family-oriented town. It offers more shopping than Oxford. It's about 10 minutes from our house in Monroe to Rt. 8 in Shelton, so it's a quick commute.

You could also easily find a home on a 1/2 acre+ in Shelton under 700k. The elementary and middle schools are pretty good, but I've not heard the greatest reports on their high school. I do know Monroe's high school ranks higher than Shelton. However, Shelton has more diversity than Monroe or Oxford, which a lot of people prefer. And Shelton offers a lot more shopping than Monroe or Oxford.

[JayCT]

Seymour and Derby are not very upscale communities and in your price range you can do better. I am not even sure these towns have homes that go that high. Shelton, Oxford and Monroe are good choices. I might also add Orange, Woodbridge, Bethany and Southbury.

Shelton is a small older former manufacturing city that has seen enormous growth (residental and commercial) in its more rural areas (Huntington and White Hills have minimum 1 acre zoning). It has an older small downtown and a lot of stirp type shopping centers along Bridgeport Avenue. Huntington has a nice small green with some small stores around it. It is very nice.

Oxford is a somewhat rural commmunity (1 Acre minimum) that is also very nice but there is very limited shopping so you will have to travel for most shopping (usually to nearby Seymour or Southbury).

Monroe is a somewhat more suburban town and has pretty much everything you will need within town. The schools are very good.

The best schools would be found in Woodbridge, Orange and Bethany. They share middle and high schools (Regional District 5) which are considered excellent. Of these Orange is more developed and has just about everything nearby. Woodbridge is the most expensive and is more rural with very limited shopping. Bethany is even more rural but is very pretty.

For information on schools check the links below. Hope this helps, Jay

Strategic School Profiles by District

Strategic School Profiles by School

[andthentherewere3]

Originally Posted by JayCT

The best schools would be found in Woodbridge, Orange and Bethany.

I am just confused, the best schools compared to what towns? Because Monroe's high school ranks 29. I see Woodbridge is ranked at 25, but Orange ranks 65 and Bethany ranks 71. This is the school rating site I like to use:

Connecticut State Cities - CT City School Rankings

[tstetinin]

I would also recommend you look in Middlesex county specifically in the town of Killingworth. At your price point you can buy a beautiful property with land. The commute may be longer than you would like, but at this point in your search I would strongly suggest you take a look at this area. The town websites are always very helpful.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by tstetinin

I would also recommend you look in Middlesex county specifically in the town of Killingworth. At your price point you can buy a beautiful property with land. The commute may be longer than you would like, but at this point in your search I would strongly suggest you take a look at this area. The town websites are always very helpful.

Killingworth and Middlesex County are no where near where the OP is looking to live. Please only provide information that is useful to the person asking and not push an area that you sell homes in. Jay

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by andthentherewere3

I am just confused, the best schools compared to what towns? Because Monroe's high school ranks 29. I see Woodbridge is ranked at 25, but Orange ranks 65 and Bethany ranks 71. This is the school rating site I like to use:

Connecticut State Cities - CT City School Rankings

I am going by high school student performance on the Connecticut Academic Performance Tests and class sizes. Woodbridge, Orange and Bethany are all part of Regional District 5 for middle and high school and their scores are slightly higher than Monroe's. Class sizes in Region 5 are slightly lower at around 20 students per class while Monroe's are over 20 (around 23 students per class). I am not saying there is anything wrong with Monroe schools but I have to give Region 5 a slight edge. JMHO Jay

[andthentherewere3]

Here are some more great links that rate the above-mentioned towns, and include the test scores and overall town-wide school rankings. Monroe is generally slightly higher. The test scores are all very similar, though. I think all those towns have very good schools. And I will agree that Monroe's class sizes are slightly higher, which is an important consideration. I think it really comes down to which town you prefer, and Monroe is probably a bit more expensive, too. But I'm sure the OP would be happy with any of the towns mentioned.

Monroe School District schools - district elementary, middle, and high school information

Bethany School District schools - district elementary, middle, and high school information

Regional School District 05 schools - district elementary, middle, and high school information

Orange School District schools - district elementary, middle, and high school information

[pmeek2309]

Thank you all for the suggestions.

Killingworth seems very far and it does not surprise me that you are a realtor in that area.

I have researched the towns you recommended and contacted my family in Stamford for their opinion. I probably should have specified that we are not Wal-Mart people and prefer not to live in a town where large retailers have taken over. I guess this can eliminate Orange, Woodbridge and Monroe? We are looking closely at Oxford and Bethany because they seem to be leafy and quiet with homes on larger lots. Our relatives also suggested Easton but it looks like we can get more for our money one or two towns up.

Thanks for the links on school districts. It seems that all the towns we're talking about have very decent districts, so we're not worried about what town has higher testing scores. Can anyone tell me about the new high scool in Oxford? My kids are big into sports and will be entering high school in a few years; will being a new school have a negative impact on the possibility of scholarsips? Are there clubs, etc?

Can anyone give me more information on Bethany, Oxford and Easton? We do want rural but a few small shops and some nice local restaurats would be ideal. Sorry to be so picky but we just want to be sure we're laying down roots in a town we love.

Again thank you!

[andthentherewere3]

There is NO Wal-Mart in Monroe! We just have small shopping centers with places like restaurants, dry cleaners, etc., on rt. 111 and rt. 25. The rest of town is residential, with most homes on one acre+ lots. A lot of people complain there isn't enough shopping in Monroe, but I think there is plenty, just no big chains or malls.

Oxford/Easton/Bethany are all wonderful, rural towns, certainly a little more rural than Monroe. Easton will be a bit more expensive, as it's closer to NYC. But you could still find something for 700k. There is no real shopping or restaurants in Easton, other than a general store. Easton has excellent schools. But your commute to rt. 8 would be a little longer.