[Dockside]

My wife and I are looking at Branford and Guilford. We like both towns very much.

Can anyone compare the schools in both towns? We have a seven year old, and would like to make this a permanent move, so middle school and high school are important too.

We know Guilford has a small, beautiful public beach. Does Branford have one too?

We looked at homes in the Short Beach area of Branford. When I look at maps I see there is an airport in New Haven right next door. Is it a busy airport?

And can anyone compare the general town atmoshperes? You know, those intangibles that make or break a nice living experience.

[mels]

I know both towns have well regarded shcools so I don't think you will find fault with either one, but I am sure someone can comment on the specifics. The airport near there is called Tweed New Haven. It is definitely NOT busy. They lost most of their commuter flights years ago and it is very low key. Also they have strict noise standards to adhere to due to the large residential population, so any traffic is from small planes and mainly during the day.

Branford does have public beaches (most shoreline towns do, or sometimes they are free for residents and out of towners have to pay a fee to use them).

I find Branford to be more commercial i.e. big box stores like Wal Mart and such. Don't get me wrong, Guilford isn't exactly rural, but not as commercialized as Branford. There are also more exclusive areas of Branford that are completely removed from the whole commercialized Rt. 1 area (Stony Creek). Both have nice town centers. I recommend taking a drive through both towns and seeing what you think.

[Dockside]

Thank you for your info on the airport. We live near NYC, so Branford's commercial side seems almost quaint compared to what we are used to.

[ctblueblood]

Branford does have 2 town beaches, both small. All other beaches are private.

As to housing, the condos lower the appearance of cost, but residential housing is expensive. Neighborhoods are varied. Along the shore, mostly money and private neighborhood associations. Larger neighborhoods with more land also exist, but not along the shore area. Then you have closer to town, areas with a mix of multi family housing and residential.

Not so small a town anymore, at least by someone who has lived here for a while. It's now its considered a small city.

Most commerical areas are located on the Rte. 1 (Boston Post Rd.). Intown has the usual small boutique stores, a small grocery store, restaurants and ice cream shops as well as the required "New England Town Green."

The commercial areas are varied on Rte.1 and as I said, does not interefere with neighborhoods. They also keep the mill rate low as Branford has for the most part all "city" services. I mean gas, water, sewage & garbage pick up. You do have a some areas with well and septics but not as many.

The education system is fine, city services are great to have and it has retained its "small town" charm. Its picturesque. Taxes on the other hand along the shore have gotten rather rich. Also since we have a commercial base we get much less back for education than say Guilford, Madison and other towns that have less commercial interests or stifle those interests to keep their "bedroom community" look. It depends upon what you want, more rural I suggest Guilford, taxes are about the same, even in Madison,but you don't get any of the services I mentioned above. I know in Guilford, wells are high in saline and minerals that "stain" your sinks,etc. Septic is mostly available, very little public water/sewage. No trash pick up, either you dump it yourself or hire a waste mgmt co. Most people I know in Guilford, as well as personal experience having spent summers there at our cottage, have lots of septic problems and horrible water. Otherwise nice towns. Guilfords big thing is its town green. They have nothing on it. Stores, banks, etc surround it.
Branfords town green has on one side of it churches and the town hall. We also have two libraries, both very active, many activities, lots of volunteer opportunities, and a community rec, which keeps the kids busy.

Newcomers to Guilford are rather snooty, old timers normal for New Englanders. They are the ones who try to change the towns into their liking.

As for your inquiry on Lake Galliard, that is a reservoir.....Will never be developed, I thought your questions and observations on that more on the line of a future developer/development. Sorry to bust your bubble. Branford has tightened up its development. We got bombarded by condos and then people coming in thinking to change the character which is why people move into an area besides convenience, so the brakes have been put in place.

Hope this answers some of your questions. The town/city you move into will be determined by your "attitudes" and what you are looking for.

Oh and I think we may be a bit more liberal and "forward thinking" since we have a closer commute to New Haven, we have a lot of Yale professors, etc. who reside here.

[outofCT]

For the schools contact each board of education department. They have to furnish it; public information. I do believe Guilford's schools are better. I worked in Branford for a CPA firm and the airport is a small regional. Not much comes out and I never heard anything. Both towns have very rocky beaches. Short Beach can be all water at high tide. C