[seymourct]

Originally Posted by tesjesam

Two kids: 5th and 7th graders.

I was thinking of: Redding, Trumbull, Fairfield town or Ridgefield(neighborhoods?), not too far from Wilton. Good Middle school/High school district is important. What about the commute, shops etc.

If you can afford it, then I think Trumbull for the kids. Trumbull has 2 public town pools, and Twin Brooks Park for fresh water lake swimming. A golf course at Tashua, tennis courts, weekends at the mall.

The town is great for activities in the schools, band, choir, sports, shop classes, crafts. Depending on the budget year, then the science area has a planetarium at Hillcrest Middle on the Daniels Farm side of town, and Hillcrest has a pool for swimming as part of gym. etc. etc. etc.

I grew up there and even though it has gotten busier, it is still a nice town. The only fuss I heard lately about Trumbull is that they have not as yet adopted the thinking that budgets should be approved by referendum. Once the council settles on a budget and a mill rate ~ that's it. So your only input is going to the meetings.

[seymourct]

Originally Posted by tesjesam

Can anybody tell me if there is a tennis club or any public tennis courts in Bethel.

Town of Bethel Parks and Rec webpage below

Bethel Parks & Rec

Public tennis at the high school

[tesjesam]

Thanks. Is this only for teenagers or do adults play as well. Does anybody know if there is competitive tennis?

[BeeJeCT]

Hey,

I grew up in CT and have been living in NYC for a couple years, but my family still resides there. I saw your posting and wanted to help. I love Connecticut and am so grateful to have grown up in such a beautiful state with amazing school. I went to Saint Joseph High School in Trumbull and at the time lived in Milford and then later moved to Newtown. Almost all cities in Fairfield County are going to be expensive and the closer you get to NY the higher the price. For 400K your best bets for towns are Trumbull, Monroe, Shelton (Huntington area). You may also want to go a little further down and maybe look into New Haven County in towns such as Milford and Stratford. those are both in beach Communities and the prices are a lot lower. You should go on Realtor.com and start looking at house and narrow down the area that you find affordable and then contact a Realtor. I hope this is helpful

[tesjesam]

Thanks everybody for your replies. I have one more question. We will be in CT from Sunday night till Wednesday morning. So basicly we will have Monday and Tuesday to look around. We'll have a hotel in Norwalk and we will check out Bethel, Trumbull and Monroe for sure and may be some other towns.

I have two kids 10-12 years old and I was wondering if there's anything we can do to make it more fun for them. Is there a nice mall? Any other interesting places to go? Tips are welcome.

[seymourct]

Originally Posted by tesjesam

I have two kids 10-12 years old and I was wondering if there's anything we can do to make it more fun for them. Is there a nice mall? Any other interesting places to go? Tips are welcome.

Big malls are in Trumbull, Danbury, Stamford, Milford, Waterbury, part of the Westfield Shopping Town chain.
Trumbull also has a great hotel; the Trumbull Marriott with indoor and outdoor pools. Monroe has awesome icecream at Dr. Mike's on Main Street Monroe.

[JayCT]

Norwalk has a Maritime Center that is interesting. Also check out Stew Leonards. It is a large Dairy Store in Norwalk that has animals and samples. Best of all it is free. Jay

[brasscitybluenwhite]

Waterbury will have an indoor waterpark opening on Columbus Day. When I was that age, I thought the New England Air Museum in Windsor Locks, and the Military Museum of Southern New England in Danbury were cool. Plus the U.S.S. Nautilus in Groton.

The Brass Mill Center is NOT owned by the Westfield Shopping Chain, and by the way, be more creative than that. Connecticut has alot more to do, I jus never got a chance to do it. In Waterbury, we went to the mall every weekend because we the heat was free and we didn't have any money to go anywhere else. Plus the Security Guards make great babysitters!

[tesjesam]

Thanks for all the replies. We were in CT and we liked it a lot. We had a good time, but we didn't accept the job. The risk of not selling our house in CA was to high. We were very sad, because even the kids liked it in CT and were looking forward to move. Oh well, may be the housing market will get better in a couple of years and we'll get a new chance.

Take care.

[JayCT]

tesjesam - Sorry to hear the move did not work out for you. A lot of people are in similar situations. Many times a company that is hiring you will agree to help with housing until your house is sold. Some will even give you a cash settlement or have a relocation company take over the property. You might want to mention the reason to the employer and see if they can do something to assist you. Hope it is not too late. Anyway, good luck, Jay