[bgandfamily]

Originally Posted by canyontothesky

I keep seeing the greatest rental houses in New Fairfield, so I will definitely take a look there.
I do want a quiet town, that has a quaint center with a few shops and some food. I don't mind driving 10-20 (or more) to dinner or to activities. It's also important that I am near some sort of mountain (can be a small family mountain) for snowboarding, perhaps within 40 minutes of somewhere to kayak, within 20 minutes to a dog run, and lots of nature of course. Oh also somewhere that is bike friendly!
But I'm not too picky

We looked at New Fairfield too and almost ended up there but my wife works near Hartford so it was quite a drive. So then we focused our search in Southbury/Oxford and ended up with Oxford. Not many rentals there but very nice homes (outside of our modest hippie lake community!)

[MomOfToo]

Well I grew up in Westchester, moved to Danbury(which is about a 10min drive too Newtown) 4.5 yrs ago. We just bought a house in New Fairfield and I have to say, it has that country feel but has everything you need nearby. It borders NY/Brewster so easy access to Metro North and I 684.The town is real small-if you blink you might miss it. It is a beach town, they have a small man made beach that is only for residents and is a hop skimp and a jump to Danbury where all the major stores are. It isn't too expensive either and for future-the schools are good. I also have to add that since I am a former NYer-there are alot of Ny'ers here so you should feel right at home. I have never heard anything bad about NF-and I asked a lot of people before settling here. (Also, I heard the owner of Bruno's Pizza is originally from the Bronx and he brings in the water from NYC to make his pizza, I finally realized that is the problem with CT pizza!)

[canyontothesky]

Originally Posted by MomOfToo

Well I grew up in Westchester, moved to Danbury(which is about a 10min drive too Newtown) 4.5 yrs ago. We just bought a house in New Fairfield and I have to say, it has that country feel but has everything you need nearby. It borders NY/Brewster so easy access to Metro North and I 684.The town is real small-if you blink you might miss it. It is a beach town, they have a small man made beach that is only for residents and is a hop skimp and a jump to Danbury where all the major stores are. It isn't too expensive either and for future-the schools are good. I also have to add that since I am a former NYer-there are alot of Ny'ers here so you should feel right at home. I have never heard anything bad about NF-and I asked a lot of people before settling here. (Also, I heard the owner of Bruno's Pizza is originally from the Bronx and he brings in the water from NYC to make his pizza, I finally realized that is the problem with CT pizza!)

He brings in the water from NYC! Hahahaha.
Can you tell me which street in New Fairfield is the "main" street? That way I know how to get into the center of town when we're driving in. If you also happen to know the main streets for nearby towns like Newtown and Danbury, even Brewster, that would be great. I'm trying to figure out how I am going to get from one town to the other without missing them all and not being completely lost!

[jdhall1]

The center of New Fairfield is right around the intersection of CT Route 39 & Route 37. The center of Newtown is at the intesection of Church Hill Road at Main Street (that is where the flagpole is). Downtown Bethel is along Greenwood Ave (Route 302), about a minute past the intersection of Route 53 (Grassy Plain Road). The historic center of Brookfield is at the intersection of Junction Road (Rt. 133) and Whisconier Road (Rt.25). The downtown area of Danbury is quite large for a city of it's size. A good strting point would be around the area around Main Street at White Street & White Street at Ives Street.

Good luck!

[hvexpatinct]

For what you're describing, you might want to look at Woodbury. It's probably further away than you were looking for, but it has absolutely everything you list as important to you: family ski area, dog park, kayaking, town center with shops and restaurants. It's probably the only community in the western part of CT that is going to give you all of those things. Housing isn't exactly cheap there, but it's not any more expensive than Danbury, Bethel or Brookfield would be.

I would also check out Cold Spring, NY.

[canyontothesky]

hvexpatinct -- the great thing about cars is, even if I don't live IN Woodbury, I can surely go there. What I mean is, I by no means need to live in the town that has all these things, just near them. So in that case, I think I'll still stick to the original areas, but will definately visit Woodbury in the future. Thanks though! hehe

So my trip is on Saturday! Rain is expected. But I'm excited. =) Thanks for telling me the town centers, jdhall!

[seymourct]

Originally Posted by MomOfToo

Also, I heard the owner of Bruno's Pizza is originally from the Bronx and he brings in the water from NYC to make his pizza, I finally realized that is the problem with CT pizza!

EWWW... doesn't he know why NYC water taste better... because it is bad for you! Lead solder on old copper pipes leaches in and adds a sugary taste. Not many buildings in NYC have had the plumbing completely updated, so there is lots of this lead solder still around.

Don't believe me read this:


Sugar of Lead

Sugar of Lead

Tuesday January 8, 2008
One way you might suspect lead is leeching from your plumbing into your water is if the first water from the tap tastes sweeter than water after the tap has run a while. Lead tastes sweet. In fact, lead (II) acetate [Pb(C2H3O2)2·3H2O] is a compound that has another name: sugar of lead. Sugar of lead has been used as a sweetener throughout history. No honey or sugar? No problem! There is a calorie-free alternative. It's toxic, but you won't put on pounds from eating it. If you use enough of it, you might forget to eat altogether. The perfect diet aid.

The ancient Romans would boil down grape juice in lead pots and use the resulting syrup to sweeten wine and preserve fruit. We all know how it went down for the Romans, but lead acetate is still in use today. Have you noticed some lipsticks taste sweet on your lips even though, when you read the ingredient list, they contain no sugar or other sweeteners... well... except the lead acetate. Lead acetate is found in red lipsticks (broken link) more than other colors. The chemical helps with colorfastness, which is why it's also using in dyeing, including progressive hair color, like Grecian Formula™ for men. You can have a head of youthfully dark hair, all the better to attract that lovely lady with the ruby red lips and the sweet, sweet kiss.

Crystal Photo Gallery | What Makes Lead Poisonous?
Photo: Crystals of lead (II) acetate or sugar of lead, prepared by mixing lead carbonate with aqueous acetic acid and allowing the solution to evaporate. (Dormroomchemist, wikipedia.com)

[andthentherewere3]

Note to self---avoid Bruno's pizza!

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by andthentherewere3

Note to self---avoid Bruno's pizza!

John's Best in Brookfield is very good, as is Bambino's on Mill Plain in Danbury.