[newlysgl]

Ughh Westport ughhhghghghh yuck. The only towns that would be worse would be Greenwich and New Canaan.

My advice: rent the movie The Stepford Wives (the new version). Watch it. Repeatedly. This is what the three towns mentioned above are like.

I relocated to CT with husband about 6 years ago. He also works in Stamford. We moved from central London. Can you say culture shock?? We first lived in downtown Stamford (pointless - all the drawbacks of being in a city, without any of the good stuff), then North Stamford (it gets nice north of the Merritt Pkwy - better that downtown but expensive). I did volunteer work in New Canaan for about a year while I could not work - what an eye opener that was - horrible waspy insular people.. overpriviliged spoilt kids.. yuck yuck yuck yuck. We eventually decided to buy a house in Ridgefield. I like Ridgefield. Don't get me wrong we are still in Fairfield County so it's still a lot of the same bulls**t but it's a little more rural, a lot less snobby, and I think people are a little more 'real' here. It is very family focused - not a great place for a single person - but schools are excellent, crime is none, it's a nice place to live, and it actually feels like a real town. Property prices are a lot more reasonable than Westport, a lot of lakes around here so you can find waterfront homes too. The commute to Stamford is about 40 minutes via backroads depending which side of town you are (backroads are key, means you don't need to go in hell traffic on I95 or Merritt).

ANyway that's my 2c hope it is helpful.

[AllieInTheAlley8]

well, i would suggest that you live in Weston which is muuuucccccchhhhhhhhhh nicer than westport!!!!! it is a lot quieter.... weston has great schooling too! so move there i suggest!!!

[mlassoff]

It seem that whenever someone suggests that they'd like to live in Fairfield County a certain segment of people always come out of the woodwork and describe Fairfield County in vile terms and make incorrect accusations and generalizations.

They characterize towns like Westport as snooty and the people as aloof. And, generally, its all uneducated bull from people who mistakenly believe that accumulated wealth somehow corrupts and excludes in ways that it doesn't. I am now 34 years old and could never afford to live in Westport, Greenwich, but I am not going to begrudge those who do and pretend that the area is bereft of culture, value and quality simply because I currently don't have the economic ability to live there. Sure, there are people living in the wealthier areas of Fairfield County that I wouldn't give the time of day. There are also many, many people who are highly philanthropic, involved in their community as volunteers and small business people and have a distinct positive impact.

Please stop bashing Westport, Greenwich, Darien, etc... The repeated bashing is completely shallow, highly meritless and paints a negative picture of one of the most interesting and dynamic areas of our state.

I grew up in Trumbull (10 years), and Westport (4 years + college) and I think Westport has to be one of the best places to grow up. Trumbull was and is great and I continue to be in touch with friends that I have had from there since 1979. However, Westport, and its school system provided me with the educational experience that I could not get in many other places. The opportunities and experiences I had in Westport were unmatched and I continue to rely on and enjoy the personal network I developed in Westport. The homes, in general, are quite nice and the town offers cultural opportunities that are hard to find elsewhere. A great town beach and beautiful recreational opportunities combine with good shopping and excellent restaurants round out the offerings available in Westport.

Having lived in Austin, Texas now for the last 15 years, I can make some pretty strong contrasts between Austin-- which is often considered to be one of the most desirable cities in the country-- to Fairfield County and Fairfield County is superior in almost every way.

Don't let the rather sad and highly vitriolic bashing of Westport and other Fairfield County towns by non-residents dissuade you from further examining living in this excellent area.
[SIZE=3] [/SIZE]

[Stratford, Ct. Resident]

Originally Posted by mlassoff

It seem that whenever someone suggests that they'd like to live in Fairfield County a certain segment of people always come out of the woodwork and describe Fairfield County in vile terms and make incorrect accusations and generalizations.

They characterize towns like Westport as snooty and the people as aloof. And, generally, its all uneducated bull from people who mistakenly believe that accumulated wealth somehow corrupts and excludes in ways that it doesn't. I am now 34 years old and could never afford to live in Westport, Greenwich, but I am not going to begrudge those who do and pretend that the area is bereft of culture, value and quality simply because I currently don't have the economic ability to live there. Sure, there are people living in the wealthier areas of Fairfield County that I wouldn't give the time of day. There are also many, many people who are highly philanthropic, involved in their community as volunteers and small business people and have a distinct positive impact.

Please stop bashing Westport, Greenwich, Darien, etc... The repeated bashing is completely shallow, highly meritless and paints a negative picture of one of the most interesting and dynamic areas of our state.

I grew up in Trumbull (10 years), and Westport (4 years + college) and I think Westport has to be one of the best places to grow up. Trumbull was and is great and I continue to be in touch with friends that I have had from there since 1979. However, Westport, and its school system provided me with the educational experience that I could not get in many other places. The opportunities and experiences I had in Westport were unmatched and I continue to rely on and enjoy the personal network I developed in Westport. The homes, in general, are quite nice and the town offers cultural opportunities that are hard to find elsewhere. A great town beach and beautiful recreational opportunities combine with good shopping and excellent restaurants round out the offerings available in Westport.

Having lived in Austin, Texas now for the last 15 years, I can make some pretty strong contrasts between Austin-- which is often considered to be one of the most desirable cities in the country-- to Fairfield County and Fairfield County is superior in almost every way.

Don't let the rather sad and highly vitriolic bashing of Westport and other Fairfield County towns by non-residents dissuade you from further examining living in this excellent area.
[SIZE=3] [/SIZE]

Well said.

[seymourct]

I generally think most people in CT are "keep to yourselfers", not snobs. That being said, there are the people everywhere that think items they own define them. Lower FFLD county might have a higher concentration of the 2nd type of individual, Westport included.

The my mommy & daddy make money mentallity is all in how the parents allow the kids to act. I was a substitute teacher 1 year in FFLD; on 1 occasion I had a 2nd grader tell me she didn't need to read because her au pair would pick her up from school to ride her horse. I gently had to explain to her that teachers talk to principles who call parents at work - not the au pair. Did she really want her parents called just because she didn't want to sit with the sparrow group and participate?

[nish2006]

Exactly what I was thinking.
I work in Wilton and have colleagues that live in Westport/Weston... believe me, if I could afford to live in those towns, I'd be looking at listings tomorrow. They have no more/less unpleasant people than any other town, in or out of Fairfield county. Maybe I'm lucky (or just plain ignorant), but I have rarely found wealthy residents of the Gold Coast to be unpleasant - some may be a bit aloof, but I don't see whay that should be held against them.

Originally Posted by mlassoff

It seem that whenever someone suggests that they'd like to live in Fairfield County a certain segment of people always come out of the woodwork and describe Fairfield County in vile terms and make incorrect accusations and generalizations.

They characterize towns like Westport as snooty and the people as aloof. And, generally, its all uneducated bull from people who mistakenly believe that accumulated wealth somehow corrupts and excludes in ways that it doesn't. I am now 34 years old and could never afford to live in Westport, Greenwich, but I am not going to begrudge those who do and pretend that the area is bereft of culture, value and quality simply because I currently don't have the economic ability to live there. Sure, there are people living in the wealthier areas of Fairfield County that I wouldn't give the time of day. There are also many, many people who are highly philanthropic, involved in their community as volunteers and small business people and have a distinct positive impact.

Please stop bashing Westport, Greenwich, Darien, etc... The repeated bashing is completely shallow, highly meritless and paints a negative picture of one of the most interesting and dynamic areas of our state.

I grew up in Trumbull (10 years), and Westport (4 years + college) and I think Westport has to be one of the best places to grow up. Trumbull was and is great and I continue to be in touch with friends that I have had from there since 1979. However, Westport, and its school system provided me with the educational experience that I could not get in many other places. The opportunities and experiences I had in Westport were unmatched and I continue to rely on and enjoy the personal network I developed in Westport. The homes, in general, are quite nice and the town offers cultural opportunities that are hard to find elsewhere. A great town beach and beautiful recreational opportunities combine with good shopping and excellent restaurants round out the offerings available in Westport.

Having lived in Austin, Texas now for the last 15 years, I can make some pretty strong contrasts between Austin-- which is often considered to be one of the most desirable cities in the country-- to Fairfield County and Fairfield County is superior in almost every way.

Don't let the rather sad and highly vitriolic bashing of Westport and other Fairfield County towns by non-residents dissuade you from further examining living in this excellent area.
[SIZE=3] [/SIZE]

[mlassoff]

Thank you. I'm glad I wasn't the only one thinking this.

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by nish2006

Exactly what I was thinking.
I work in Wilton and have colleagues that live in Westport/Weston... believe me, if I could afford to live in those towns, I'd be looking at listings tomorrow. They have no more/less unpleasant people than any other town, in or out of Fairfield county. Maybe I'm lucky (or just plain ignorant), but I have rarely found wealthy residents of the Gold Coast to be unpleasant - some may be a bit aloof, but I don't see whay that should be held against them.

Agreed. Being aloof is much different than the pretentious attitude of much of our nation's middle class. I usually find the wealthier folks are more down to earth (well, in New England at least).