Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I grew up on the east side of wallingford. There are many great neighborhoods on both sides of town. Public transportation is avialable in the downtown area and is also close to the public schools and several parks Doolittle park is a great park for families with tennis courts, baseball diamonds, a play ground and basketball courts. I attended public school and have a brother currently in High school in wallingford. The schools are very good with some of the best special education resources in the state if that is of concern to you. Wallingford is also home to 7 business/industrial parks with good job opportunities. I currently live in Southington and can understand your willingness to leave Waterbury. The property taxes in Wallingford are better than Meriden. Overall I would say that Wallingford is a great place to raise a family. Feel free to repost if I can be of more help.
Wallingford is a great town for raising kids. We have a wonderful school system and there are really no horrible areas in town. Not every nieghborhood is the BEST but none are so bad you would be ashamed to live there. We are not a very diverse population but we are very open and accepting! Either the west or east side are best. The west, bordering Cheshire is more crowded. Out east, zoning stopped the crowding by requiring more land for homes as the farmland is being sold off. There are also many fewer condo communities on the East side. We have a great soccer program, and a wonderful Parks and Recreation building with year round programming for tots to Oldsters! We have a community pool that looks like it is lake shaped. Our mayor keeps buying open space lands, (especially out east) to keep from crowding us with small 1/4 acre lot homes like Meriden, to our north. Wallingford is a much larger community than I remember in my youth (1950s and 60s), but it still has a small town feel. there is no nightlife, they roll up the sidewalks at 4pm! But there is route 5 which reminds me of the strip in Southington on Rt 10. Every big box store you can imagine is moving in! There are also franchise restaurants galore. Kids are safe to roam in Wallingford, within reason of course. We also have a fabulous Library system, currently under reconstruction. It's going to blow your socks off when they are done! Come to town and see for yourself-you'll love it!
Wallingford is a great town, it offers so many great things! The police and fire departments are spectacular in the service they perform. There is such low crime rate. The town council and committee are wonderful. Wallingford is hugely well developed. With expanding range of huge newly built luxury homes and properties, its a great place to raise a family. The public education system is wonderful. The educators are so involved in my children's lives. The system offers a huge range of extra activities and sports. The property taxes and taxes overall are fairly high, but thats what makes our town able to offer such great public services and amenities. Without a good tax program, a town simply could not run. Wallingford has a great tax program. I highly encourage you to move to Wallingford. This town has so much to offer it's unbelievable!
I live in East Haven and find people here very accepting, especially since yours seems to be a nice family. We have a growing Hispanic population. Police are very nice and don't hassle you. School system not the best, but improving. I have nice and friendly neighbors. Lots of churches, if that is important to you.
I live in East Haven and find people here very accepting, especially since yours seems to be a nice family. We have a growing Hispanic population. Police are very nice and don't hassle you. School system not the best, but improving. I have nice and friendly neighbors. Lots of churches, if that is important to you.
Good luck in your search!
Welcome to CT and don't worry about the KKK here. I have a funny feeling you will feel right at home in towns like Wallingford, East Haven, Branford and all the towns in the New Haven area. Maybe even more so than down south.
CT and RI has the largest perentage of Italians in the US. The area of Branford, North Branford and East Haven has the largest percentage of Italians in CT I believe. I myself am Italian and look very Spanish as does most of my family. Just about every week of my life I have had someone come up to me and start speaking Spanish because that person assumes I am Spanish. My brother's wife is Puetro Rican (not sure is that is Hispanic) and we look like we could be cousins.
I had a friend work in Waterbury and Wallingford school system. I mean Wally is not the top, but theu said they were Angelic student's it was amazing ha.
Anyways I love Wally. Has a good Italian community and lots of good eats. Kind of in the middle of some area's once through the Wally/Durham line I know the drive to Hammonasset won't be top long. Also easy to get to Middletown, Rocky Hill, Cromwell, and New Haven. Love the town center and the public library in Wallingford. Bit of a distance from hospitals, but you have 4 on the outskirts of Wally. I mean the strip is great with amenities to keep you busy. Outside of the strip beautiful house's, some great places to hike/walk, and a winery.
I think taxes and utilities are cheaper in Wally. Think property taxes are only 26 to 27% Mill Rate about 30% lower than Waterbury.
Also have to travel in regards to colleges unlike Waterbury.
I like the Meriden side, but a bit too congested for me. Like the Wally area's near Durham, the Center, and Cheshire areas.
Also not sure if it is a Puerto Rican restaurant, but there is a great Spanish hole in the wall place on the Meriden/Wally place out of this world. Also a good pizza place up that way to ha. Yeah there is I think two to three Mexican/Spanish type restaurants on the strip and an awesome taco place in Durham. There is a lot of good Chinese food in Wally and an amazing Thai place. Also the strip has a movie theater, mostly every shopping store you need, a trampoline park, and there are gyms spread through out Wally.
I used to go to meetings in Wallingford, but never lived there. It's seems to be a nice town with Choate Rosemary Hall as one of the main focuses of the town. Choate is one of the best boarding schools in CT.
I think you are making an excellent decision to not raise your kids in Waterbury!
I don't frequent wallingford too often, but working in New Haven, quite a few coworkers and colleagues reside in wallingford--many with families. I'm sure there are some on here with much more detailed experiences, but from what I know it's a great town for middle class professionals.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Either the west or east side are best. The west, bordering Cheshire is more crowded. Out east, zoning stopped the crowding by requiring more land for homes as the farmland is being sold off. There are also many fewer condo communities on the East side. We have a great soccer program, and a wonderful Parks and Recreation building with year round programming for tots to Oldsters! We have a community pool that looks like it is lake shaped. Our mayor keeps buying open space lands, (especially out east) to keep from crowding us with small 1/4 acre lot homes like Meriden, to our north. Wallingford is a much larger community than I remember in my youth (1950s and 60s), but it still has a small town feel. there is no nightlife, they roll up the sidewalks at 4pm! But there is route 5 which reminds me of the strip in Southington on Rt 10. Every big box store you can imagine is moving in! There are also franchise restaurants galore. Kids are safe to roam in Wallingford, within reason of course. We also have a fabulous Library system, currently under reconstruction. It's going to blow your socks off when they are done! Come to town and see for yourself-you'll love it!
Great Town
East Haven
