[doxeyday]

My husband has been offered a job in Darien, CT. We are thinking of relocating from Dallas, Texas. We need help! We want a tall order:
1. A family friendly area that has excellent schools (our son starts kindergarten in the Fall)
2. The New England feel with a great downtown, restaurants and the arts
3. A reasonable commute to Darien
4. A house we can afford! We cannot afford $500k for a house. We are open to renting.

Any thoughts or ideas? We are considering Trumball, Shelton and Stratford - any other ideas?

Thanks so much - Paula

[jdhall1]

Doxeyday,
Congratulations of your new husbands new job offer. I understand that relocating about half way across the country is a stressful time in your life and I am sure the relocation company is working with will get in touch with a great Realtor down there (I'm an agent, but not in that area).

The schools in the state are among the best in the country, I can not say what ones are the best or worst, per the Connecticut licensing law. I am sure that your agent will give you information about the schools and various school districts, prepared by a third party, to help you make a good decision.

Most of the cities in the area do have small little downtowns with all of the things that you like.

As you probably noticed from your searches, the area is not inexpensive for housing. Those three towns are within commutable distance of Darien. Monroe is north of Trumbull and is a little bit more affordable. Bridgeport is considerably most affordable town down that way, and was listed as the second best place to invest in the country in a few magazines last year so if you buy now, you have the chance to make a lot of money for the next few years.

Jonathan Hall

[deadcrowsflyeast]

friends and family of mine moved from fairfield county to Dallas because dallas and most of all of texas hasn't caught up yet in real estate value

500K can buy a nice starter in many pocket places...Again at 500K there will be trade offs you'll have to weigh..if school is #1... I would look into a fixer in redding and you'll have a reverse commute against all the traffic...readding was voted the #1 small town w/ a population of 5-10k people and education is very high on there list

Norwalk is the next town over but has a failing scool system...but what that means is you can pick the best school in the best neighborhood there because of it.... Monroe and Newton will give u more bang for ur buck and it will hit a few of ur requirements but the commute is hell

[kenfried]

Trumbull, Monroe, Newtown, Shelton are all good choices, Orange and Milford may be a little too far, but that would be up to you.

[JennCandi]

I would recommend looking in Stratford. The town is affordable and very nice. The schools are good if you move into the Bunnell District. The only downside to Stratford is that the property taxes are very high.