[John_C]

Hello All... I am new to the board. I am relocating to Connecticut from Arizona (originally from Philly...so I can take the weather ! In any event, I will be working in Meriden, and my wife will work in New Haven. Having done some research on schools (I have 2 boys, 7 & 10), crime, economy, etc. and the town that sticks out the most as being the all-around best is Cheshire. Does anyone have any feedback on Cheshire? Thanks in adavnce!

[Rich Lee]

Hi John C,

I've lived in Cheshire since November, 1991. Cheshire has about 29,000 residents spread out so that the town doesn't feel or look overbuilt. Because of strict and conservative zoning, it's very doubtful the town will ever look like neighboring Wallingford or Southington. It was a big deal granting Stop & Shop, a large grocery-store chain, permission to build a 24-hour store right next to the existing one on the condition that the existing one be demolished upon completion of the new one.

The town has a reputation for being affluent and a little standoff-ish. Housing prices are higher than surrounding towns' except for perhaps Bethany's.

Retail is along the main drag, Route 10 (known as Highland Avenue north of the center of town or South Main south of the center of town). There is a plan to help develop West Main (Routes 68/70 West). The idea of permitting an upscale retail outlet off of I-691 has met up with a lot of opposition.

We have a rail-to-trail, part of the former Farmington River Canal, that runs for several miles south to the Hamden line. There's also our infamous Town Pool - infamous for its budget overruns and exorbitant maintenance costs - located across from Cheshire High School.

Because Cheshire strives to have "one face," there's a central post office which is in contrast to Southington, our neighbor to the north, which has four (4)! We also have one high school, one middle school, and one school for Kindergartners. There are four elementary schools and a private school - Cheshire Academy.

Housing in residential neighborhoods is consistent. It's not common to see $250,000 houses next to $750,000 houses. Mobile home parks are not allowed. There are about five condo complexes which all have great curb appeal incorporating the natural backdrop into their designs.

I-84 and I-691 cross east-west across the northern part of Cheshire. This is where our industrial parks are located. Among them are Pratt & Whitney Engine Repair, Federated Logistics & Operations (Macys.com and Bloomingdales.com) Warehouse, and Watkins Motor Freight. Again, these parks have ponds and immaculately-kept lawns.

During the summer months, properties are chosen as the "beauty spot" of the month.

Have I touched on any of your curiosities?

Rich

[melkat]

Originally Posted by John_C

Hello All... I am new to the board. I am relocating to Connecticut from Arizona (originally from Philly...so I can take the weather ! In any event, I will be working in Meriden, and my wife will work in New Haven. Having done some research on schools (I have 2 boys, 7 & 10), crime, economy, etc. and the town that sticks out the most as being the all-around best is Cheshire. Does anyone have any feedback on Cheshire? Thanks in adavnce!

We lived in Cheshire for 8 years (the only town we lived in actually while we were in CT) I loved it there It is a great town to raise a family in. It is a quiet town with no downtown/shopping area and there is 2 strip malls (some much smaller ones) Hamden has some bigger stores as well as North Haven so you won't have to go too far (I like it that we didnt' have any of that in Cheshire..there is a Marshalls though which is great to have) There are a few restaurants as well that aren't chains which we loved to have in town. The canal path is a lot of fun to go biking/roller blading/walking on. We lived right near it and went many times a week.

We lived in both the north end and the south end and I prefer the south end. The north end would be closer for you but the south end closer for your wife. I worked at Yale and it took me 18 minutes to get to work (we lived off South Brooksvale) when I lived in the north part it took me 35 minutes (plus if your wife needs to stop off at the store or go to any of the big box stores in Hamden it is easy to do on the way home living in the south rather than the north)

I just read Rich's reply and forgot about the pool! I was so happy when it was done! It is wonderful (and close to the south end ;-) They take the top off for the summer and it is back on for the winter so there is year round swimming and it was very reasonable when we were there!

Hope you have a great move..I'm jealous! We're stuck down here in Charlotte NC

[John_C]

Thank you Rich and Melcat! I appreciate the input!

[CobraKen]

You might also want to look into Prospect, Ct !!! It's tucked right in between Cheshire and Naugatuck. Check out their homepage Below for facts and figures:

http://www.town-usa.com/connecticut/.../prospect.html

[melkat]

I haven't heard very good things about the school system that Prospect kids go to. My husband worked in Prospect when we first moved to CT...the people seemed a little *different* LOL

[jsmnleona]

Can anyone tell me where South Cheshire's starting point is? Thanks!

[Rich Lee]

Originally Posted by jsmnleona

Can anyone tell me where South Cheshire's starting point is? Thanks!

It's where Route 42 (North Brooksvale) meets Route 10 or Jinny Hill Road. Some would say it is a bit farther north by the high school but this would add only a few streets (neighborhoods) and would be disputed by many.