[steph3kids]

I am moving from Orange to Stratford.
Orange is great if you want your kids to live in a "white bubble".
The elementary schools are awsome.
But many kids going to Amity High school never learn to relate to anything else. A lot of spoiled brat. Very snob.
I have a teenager going there and she hates it. She has been offered all kinds of drugs on several occasion.

As far the schools in Stratford, from what I am hearing and reading, the Northern end are pretty good.

When it comes to highschool, I think the public school system is not very good nationwide though.
If someone can do it, private(most) or homeschool are the best options.

Steph

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by steph3kids

I am moving from Orange to Stratford.
Orange is great if you want your kids to live in a "white bubble".
The elementary schools are awsome.
But many kids going to Amity High school never learn to relate to anything else. A lot of spoiled brat. Very snob.
I have a teenager going there and she hates it. She has been offered all kinds of drugs on several occasion.

As far the schools in Stratford, from what I am hearing and reading, the Northern end are pretty good.

When it comes to highschool, I think the public school system is not very good nationwide though.
If someone can do it, private(most) or homeschool are the best options.

Steph

Steph - Not to be critical, but on one hand you indicate that Amity students never learn to "relate" to others and then later you advocate private schools or home schooling? Isn't that kind of a contradiction? How does a student learn to relate to others when they are home schooled or when they go to a private school full of students just like themselves?

As for Amity, I am sure there is more to the school than a bunch of brats. Jay

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by steph3kids

I am moving from Orange to Stratford.
Orange is great if you want your kids to live in a "white bubble".
The elementary schools are awsome.
But many kids going to Amity High school never learn to relate to anything else. A lot of spoiled brat. Very snob.
I have a teenager going there and she hates it. She has been offered all kinds of drugs on several occasion.

As far the schools in Stratford, from what I am hearing and reading, the Northern end are pretty good.

Hey look, Strat, my theory holds true. Too many drugs in the upscale district, so she's relocating to Stratford. Must not be so bad after all

Good points Jay.

[molly-2000]

How close is Stratford to Milford? Does this violence spill into neighboring towns? Also my sons 10 and 8 play hockey..do you know if there are any towns that offer this sport?

Thank you

[JayCT]

The Housatonic River separates Milford and Stratford but technically they border each other. It is a pretty big river and only has three crossings (Route 1, I-95 and the Parkway). Violence knows no borders, so I would say it could happen anywhere even in the most desirable of towns. Hockey is a pretty active sport in this area. Most towns have programs if not locally, they share with other nearby communities. Jay

[molly-2000]

Originally Posted by andthentherewere3

I would agree with looking into Orange. I do want to point out though, if you still wish to consider towns such as Monroe and Trumbull, the commute to Milford via Rt. 15 would not be too bad, as you would be traveling north against the traffic in the a.m. The traffic is heaviest heading southbound to the Stamford/NYC area in the mornings, and north in the evenings. From my house in SE Monroe, it takes me 20 minutes to get to Rt. 1 in Milford, 25 minutes to the mall. But the commute from Orange would be quicker, and it's a great town.

We actually saw some nice homes in Monroe...just wondering how large the town is and is it self sufficient ie grocery stores, library, community centre or would we have to travel to Trumbull or Milford for most services?

Thanks for your help

[andthentherewere3]

Originally Posted by molly-2000

We actually saw some nice homes in Monroe...just wondering how large the town is and is it self sufficient ie grocery stores, library, community centre or would we have to travel to Trumbull or Milford for most services?

Thanks for your help

There are about 20k residents in Monroe, and all the shopping centers are along Rt. 25 and Rt. 111. The rest of the town is mostly residential, on mostly one acre-plus lots. There is a large Big Y grocery store on Rt. 111, and a new Stop and Shop is also being built on Rt. 111. It's scheduled to open next summer. There is actually a lot of shopping in Monroe with small chains like Dunkin Donuts/Subway/Quiznos/Starbucks, even a McDonalds, and many numerous restaurants, gift shops, hair/nail salons, garden centers, drycleaners, hardware stores, gas stations, etc. The only thing we lack are large chain stores, and big shopping malls. We have also a brand new library that just opened in the last year or so. We don't have an actual community center, but we do have a very large 300+ park called Wolfe Park, which is adjacent to Great Hollow Lake, and provides a swimming pool, 16 acre lake with beach and swimming, hiking, tennis courts, basketball courts, playing fields, picnicking, swimming, fishing, boating, playgrounds, etc. The town recreation department offers all sorts of activities like camps for children in the summer, swimming lessons year round (there is an indoor pool at the high school open to residents), ski/snowboard trips, volleyball, exercise classes, sports, on and on...We also have the Monroe/Trumbull YMCA, and another beautiful 300 acre park called Webb Mountain along the Housatonic river that offers hiking, camping, etc. There is a new place in town called All About Art that offers all sorts of craft classes for adults and children, too. There is a beautiful new senior center that opened six or so years ago as well. There really is a lot to do in Monroe.

[JayCT]

As andthentherewere3 indicated, Monroe is a great town. It has most of what you would need to live except for a large shopping mall and that is not far away in Trumbull. You can get to the mall there in about 15 minutes or so from most of Monroe, so not too bad. Jay

[usmcfamily]

Monroe is a great place to raise kids! Wolfe Park is fantastic. There are also miles of trails to walk and bike on. The town has a nice mix of people. Trumbull Mall is just down Rt 111 a few miles. Education was also our main priority and we actually "interviewed/toured" a lot of the high schools in the towns previously mentioned. We were impressed by the faculty and students at Masuk and I am happy to say, it has been a wonderful choice for my family. We were also impressed with Trumbull High School but its size was a little intimidating for us. At the time we bought, before the market really took a dive, we did have to go a little higher in price than we wanted. The cost of living was an adjustment for me, especially our first year here. Shelton has an ice rink that has a very big hockey league - I can't think of the name? Best of luck!

[Stratford, Ct. Resident]

Originally Posted by molly-2000

How close is Stratford to Milford? Does this violence spill into neighboring towns? Also my sons 10 and 8 play hockey..do you know if there are any towns that offer this sport?

Thank you

Please review the contents of this thread, and review the crime data link for Stratford listed below. I'm certain that Milford residents do not fear that violence/criminal activity will be committed by Stratford residents upon Milford residents. Perhaps Milford residents may be slightly wary of the town to the east of them, but that wariness is really insignificant compared to the wariness that residents of Fairfield, Stratford, and Trumbull have regarding the city that they border. And honestly, the wariness level for us in these 3 towns isn't even moderate. I still feel that Orange or Woodbridge would be what you're looking for, but if it isn't, plenty of people like Milford.
http://www.city-data.com/city/Stratf...nnecticut.html