[gmat22]

My mother, brother, sister, and I are wanting to make a move up north. We are dead set on Connecticut. We are coming from Texas and are completely unfamiliar with the area. We come from a small town and we are looking to go somewhere similar, from about 15-20,000 pop. (us now) or 40-50,000 pop. (max, don't want to move anywhere bigger). We are looking for that cozy New England feel. Crime being low is really important to us. Schools are also important, high graduation rates and comfortable proximity (30 mi. max) to a college (Community, Jr., or University). I come from a tight knit family so the possibly other relatives will be coming along to relocate is high. They have grade school aged children so this is especially important. Also, we come from a town where it was very difficult to get anywhere else (no public transportation) so we would like to be somewhere that my siblings would have access to a bus or train to get to the bigger cities to kill time. We'd like something suburban. I know it sounds like we are asking for a lot but we are making this a one way trip and we won’t have a chance to fix it if we don’t do this right the first time.

[andthentherewere3]

I think you would all love Connecticut, but you should be aware that Connecticut is rather expensive compared to Texas. You should plan on spending at least 200k for a small, fixer-upper home, and there are only a few locations in Connecticut that you could find such a deal. And they might not be in the sort of location you are looking for. What is your budget? And it isn't always possible to live in the suburbs of Connecticut and get transportation to the bigger cities.

Another very important consideration, what sort of jobs are you looking for? You should plan on lining up a job before moving.

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by gmat22

My mother, brother, sister, and I are wanting to make a move up north. We are dead set on Connecticut. We are coming from Texas and are completely unfamiliar with the area. We come from a small town and we are looking to go somewhere similar, from about 15-20,000 pop. (us now) or 40-50,000 pop. (max, don't want to move anywhere bigger). We are looking for that cozy New England feel. Crime being low is really important to us. Schools are also important, high graduation rates and comfortable proximity (30 mi. max) to a college (Community, Jr., or University). I come from a tight knit family so the possibly other relatives will be coming along to relocate is high. They have grade school aged children so this is especially important. Also, we come from a town where it was very difficult to get anywhere else (no public transportation) so we would like to be somewhere that my siblings would have access to a bus or train to get to the bigger cities to kill time. We'd like something suburban. I know it sounds like we are asking for a lot but we are making this a one way trip and we won’t have a chance to fix it if we don’t do this right the first time.

What's your price range? Do you want a home with at least an acre, or is little land okay?

There are many towns across the state that would suit you, as andthentherewere3 said. If you're looking to be close to NYC, Fairfield County has decent public transportation along the shoreline (cabs, train access). It's very expensive though. Milford is a nice suburban community, and also has access to Metro North.

I'd recommend the Hartford area but there is little to no public transportation available if you live outside the city. The same goes for almost anywhere away from the immediate Metro-North corridor (southwestern CT).

If you want to live near public transportation, a larger city and in a suburb with high graduation rates, you're looking at a starter home at well over $200k. I'd say depending on the town, even $300k is a stretch.

[jjbradleynyc]

It all depends on the budget--as to where I could refer you in CT to live. Beware, as others have said (and you may know) that CT is very expensive, as compared to most other states in the US.

Fairfield County is a superb quality of life if one can afford it. Although other counties in CT offer varying degrees in the quality of life as well. CT will be night and day from a lot of the typical TX way of doing things.

If looking for a house--say 3 bedroom 2 bath @ 2,000 sq ft--you can now find one in Stamford, CT for around $450-$500k. A year ago the range would have been about $550-600k. Prices have dropped and it is definitely a buyer's market. Generally, the further north and outside of Fairfield County you drive, the less expensive housing becomes. However, there are of course exceptions.

Best of luck.

[gmat22]

Well, to the first reply, we both do medical transcription from home part time and have reception and manufacturing experience so finding work doesn't seem like it would be a problem but we would appreciate any imput on areas specializing in those fields. All in all our budget allows for about $400-500K on the property and we would prefer at least an acre because we have chihuahuas.

To the second, I guess graduation rates are not so important as the town environment itself. Our kids are pretty social and they still maintain pretty good grades and we don't expect that to change. where school is concerned we mostly just want them to have some options out of high school even if they don't go to a big University.

Over all we just don't fit in in Texas. We're not rich or poor we're comfortable blue collar americans, we aren't drunks, and we are white-hispanics; in case you didn't know we are an extreme minority here. We'd like a moderate living, and at least personable, area.

[weesy68]

New Haven, Milford, Stratford, Norwalk may all be within your price range, all racially diverse, all on the MetroNorth line, with bus lines. Plenty to do in each town and their surrounding areas. Check out greatschools.net for stats, townofstratford.com, craigslist.com, monster.com, all sites that could help you. I'm sure other towns I have mentioned have their own town websites.

[andthentherewere3]

Originally Posted by gmat22

[font=Verdana]We come from a small town and we are looking to go somewhere similar, from about 15-20,000 pop. (us now) or 40-50,000 pop. (max, don't want to move anywhere bigger). We are looking for that cozy New England feel.

Since you are looking for a home in a town with a population between 20k-50k that eliminates most of the cities and towns mentioned so far. However, since you also want public transportation, that presents a problem, since it's mostly the cities that offer it. If public transportation is really important you will probably have to consider a larger town/city.

I live in Monroe, which is in Fairfield County. It matches all your criteria except the public transportation. (although it's not as diverse as the cities, but you'll find most people throughout Connecticut are welcoming to other races/ethnicities) The homes are mostly on one acre or more lots, the schools are good with a high school graduation of 100%, low crime, lots of activities for families and children, large parks, etc. It lacks a walkable downtown, though. Instead we have several shopping centers, and a town green surrounded by churches. It's considered to be rather rural here, although it would definitely be suburban by Texas standards.

Hopefully someone can think of a town with a population under 50k with good schools, and public transportation.

This link shows the ranking of school districts in Connecticut:
Connecticut State Cities - CT City School Rankings

[mlassoff]

I have lived in both Connecticut and Texas and think you will find a comfortable home in CT. I am making the move back to Connecticut myself for many of the same reasons you stated. The only thing I think will be difficult is public transportation. However, I think you will find that, unlike Texas, in most communities the schools and towns offer many more non-sports oriented activities. I think instead of going in to a larger city to hang out, many suburban kids in CT are involved in school clubs and activities, and most neighborhood oriented suburbs the kids will have friends within walking distance.

Regarding towns, if you eliminate being close to NYC you might find that there are many towns within your price range within the Hartford area-- Hartford is midway between NYC and Boston, but the suburban towns around Hartford offer quite a bit. I can't think of anywhere in CT where your more than 25 minutes from a community college, if not a 4 year university.

I think you are making the right move. I'll soon be blazing the trail behind you leaving Austin on I35 north bound for Connecticut.

[boundforfl]

Good school systems usually come with a price tag - so I'm not sure what range you're looking in but a few places to check include cheshire and west hartford are a couple. You can check out www.greatshools.net to find good schools. If you want to be near New York, Milford is an option, as is Danbury...

[JayCT]

There are many great places to live in Connecticut. The nice thing about the state is that just about everything is near by and schools are a top priority. Some of the best public schools systems in the country are here and there are many many options for colleges. Note that Connecticut is divided into 169 towns and that there are no counties here like other places. Each town has its own school district or is part of a small regional district for several adjacent small towns. This helps keep the schools quality high and accessible.

Fairfield County (southwestern CT) is very nice but its location near New York City makes it one of the priciest places to live in the country. Despite that you might consider the Town of Fairfield there which has everything you are looking for. In your price range you will find a modest home.

It sounds like you will want to be in one of the suburbs near one of the larger metropolitain areas like Hartford or New Haven. As someone mentioned, Milford is nice but also consider the shoreline towns just east of New Haven. Towns like Branford, Guilford and Madison are wonderful quaint towns with excellent schools and train access to New Haven (with connections to New York). Plus these towns are located on the water so there are nice beaches available as well.

The Hartford area is nice too. You do not have the commuter trains of Fairfield County but you do have an extensive systems of buses. I would consider towns around Hartford like West Hartford, Farmington, Wethersfield, Newington, Rocky Hill and Glastonbury. these all have school systems that are very good to excellent and have bus connections into Hartford. Unfortunately there are no commuter trains in the area like New Haven or Fairfield County, but Amtrak does offer service from Hartford into New York.

Below are links to information on wschool systems in the state. I usually look for schools systems that perform over the state averages on the Connecticut Mastery and Connecticut Academic Performance tests. These are the standardized tests required by the state. I also look for school districts that have class sizes around or under 20 students per class. I hope this helps. Jay

Strategic School Profiles by District

Strategic School Profiles by School