[Stratford, Ct. Resident]

Originally Posted by Rich Lee

Naugatuck is much more diverse in virtually every aspect. Housing prices are much lower there compared to Oxford, Monroe, Southbury, Woodbury, etc.

There's significantly more shopping in Naugatuck, too, compared to the aforementioned towns (save Southbury to some extent).

Quick question, Rich. Does Naugatuck even have any single family listings >$500K?

[aroundthecorner059]

Originally Posted by JViello

Yes. Reserved, but warm. Do a search on "rude" and you'll see volumes written about the subject.

Once you make friends in our area, you have a friendship that goes very deep. We not not "surface" level people.

Don't be put off if you don't find a warm casserol on your front steps when you move in. It's not that they don't care, it's more that they don't know you and don't want to invade YOUR space if you didn't want it. It's a little backward here...the new folks have to give the "I wish to meet folks" signals and not the other way around.

If two folks are standing in line and neither say nothing...nothing will be said out of respect for each others space. If you want communication YOU have to say "hi" and you'll probably start chatting up a storm about life, kids etc.

Oh and Southford/Southbury area is very nice plenty of necessity shopping and then some. I grew up in Waterbury and dated a girl in Southbury for a long time so I know it well. Spent many an afternoon at Southford falls.

http://www.ct.gov/dep/cwp/view.asp?A=2716&Q=325266

How can I forget about Southford Falls? I just took the kids there last week to go snowtubing! The park is beautiful with some hiking trails. I live about a mile and a half away...you can walk from downtown Southford to the falls.

JViello is right. Warm up to people here first and then you'll easily make friends. I waited a few weeks to knock on my neighbors door thinking they would come to me, and when I finally made the first gesture, they said something along the lines of 'oh we figured you were so busy moving in that you didn't have the time to stop over!' Life here is busier than even GA where Im from. Time is not on anyone's side here in CT. We are now becoming great friends with people around town.

The thing with Oxford is not everyone is from CT and the area is experiencing growth so there is an active newcomers club. I am sure the same thing with the other towns you are eyeing.

[Rich Lee]

Originally Posted by Stratford, Ct. Resident

Quick question, Rich. Does Naugatuck even have any single family listings >$500K?

Yes, 3 out of 190: W1036695, B983647, V982947.

You can get more detail on these via realtor.com or any of the web sites of the larger real estate companies in Connecticut.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by Rich Lee

Yes, 3 out of 190: W1036695, B983647, V982947.

You can get more detail on these via realtor.com or any of the web sites of the larger real estate companies in Connecticut.

I just took a look at realtor.com and two of those are the same listing. Not sure why. Also none of the listings are over $600,000.

Naugatuck is really a small mill town that is slowly being discovered as an affordable place to live for people of more modest means. The schools there generally perform under the state averages on the Connecticut Mastery and Connecticut Academic Performance Tests. Though class sizes appear to be reasonable. You can get mor einformaiton on Naugatuck schools by check the linnk I previously posted. Jay

[Rich Lee]

Here are the specifics from the MLS:

W1036695 - 40 BEECHER - $1,250,000
B983647 - 60 GUNNTOWN - $539,900
V982947 - 111 MAY - $529,000

I'll try realtor.com in a bit...

[kidyankee764]

All of the towns recommended here are good places to live and with your budget, you can afford a beautiful home on a nice plot of land. You won't get 8-9 acres but if you like privacy, you're certainly looking into the right towns.

Naugatuck is nice, schools are decent. As others have posted, it's a completely different town. Naugatuck is more working class, the other towns are more affluent. I've been to "Naugy" several times and the people have always been down to earth and happy.

I would suggest Seymour - the 188/334 area is very nice. It's about 30 minutes to Woodbury and 20 minutes to New Haven. You can get a little more for your money on nice property with average schools for CT. There is necessary shopping (grocery, banks, drug stores, restaurants) less than a 10 minute drive from almost anywhere in Seymour. If you want more woodsy, I'd suggest Oxford or Monroe.

Good luck!

[Rich Lee]

Originally Posted by JayCT

I just took a look at realtor.com and two of those are the same listing. Not sure why. Also none of the listings are over $600,000.

Naugatuck is really a small mill town that is slowly being discovered as an affordable place to live for people of more modest means. The schools there generally perform under the state averages on the Connecticut Mastery and Connecticut Academic Performance Tests. Though class sizes appear to be reasonable. You can get more informaiton on Naugatuck schools by check the link I previously posted. Jay

I tried these on realtor.com and yielded the same results as the MLS. Two of the three actually had the street address appear.

[Rich Lee]

To the OP, you might find this of interest:

Town Profiles – Economic Data in Connecticut - CERC

Also I edited out from my earlier post a comment about looking at towns along Route 63 and east of the Housatonic first: Woodbury, Middlebury, Naugatuck, Oxford, Seymour, and Woodbridge. If you want to add additional towns: Southbury, Monroe, and Bethany.

[zoomer41]

Originally Posted by Rich Lee

Naugatuck is much more diverse in virtually every aspect. Housing prices are much lower there compared to Oxford, Monroe, Southbury, Woodbury, etc.

There's significantly more shopping in Naugatuck, too, compared to the aforementioned towns (save Southbury to some extent).

Don't move to Naugatuck! Southbury would be good for your situation and is a pretty town....can't say the same for "Naugy"

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by Rich Lee

I tried these on realtor.com and yielded the same results as the MLS. Two of the three actually had the street address appear.

Thanks Rich - I just went back and looked at Realtor.com and found four listings, two of which were for the same house. Yesterday the most exensive house (the one for $1.25 million) did not show up on my search. Maybe it is a new listing. Anyway, as you can see Naugatuck is not really a town of upscale homes. Jay