[ReitCP]

We are as new to the idea of relocation as we are to this forum. My wife will be working in Woodbury and I in New Haven. Any community suggestions for a family of five with good schools and a budget in the range of $700-$800? We are in search of a house (new or previously owned) with 4 beds, 2.5 baths and a nice yard for the kids. There don't seem to be many foreclosure properties in CT other than in Waterbury and New Haven, and I have not heard good things about that area. We like a place that is centrally located and within 20 minutes to shopping. That will be a treat for us since we live 35 plus from any decent shopping in Wisconsin.

How is traffic in that area of western CT?

We are visiting next weekend and flying into LGA. Can we take the train to Connecticut from LGA or should we rent a car direct from the terminal? If we do, best route to take to that area?

Cannot wait, have heard wonderful things about your state.

[JayCT]

Your budget will allow you to pretty much live anywhere in the area. Woodbury is about 25 miles from New Haven but because there are no major highways between these locations the trip would be about an hour to make. It is up to you how far you would want to live from your job. You will find a very nice home in the area for that price. It all depends on what type of town you are interested in living in.

The Woodbury area is very nice but a bit rural. It has beautiful countryside and a lot of large lot (acre or more) areas. There is however limited shopping in Woodbury though. Another nice community is neighboring Southbury. It too has mostly large lot neighborhoods but also has a good selection of stores and restaurants. Further south is the Town of Oxford which also has a lot of nice large lot neighborhoods. Then there is Seymour which is an older mill town that has seen some newer homes built in recent years. Closer to New Haven is Bethany and Woodbridge. Woodbridge is more upscale and pricier.

All of these towns have very good to excellent schools. Woodbridge performs the best on the Connecticut Mastery and Connecticut Academic Performance tests scoring significantly higher than the state averages. Seymour performs at or just below state averages while the other towns mentioned perform above it. All of these towns have reasonable class sizes. The links below will give you more information on the schools. I hope it helps, Jay

Strategic School Profiles by District

Strategic School Profiles by School

[ReitCP]

Thank you Jay. We would like to be about halfway between, which looks to be in Southford, cross section of 188 and Route 67. Any information on Southford schools?

We would love to send our kids to schools that perform above the CT average. Sounds great since schools perform highly in New England.

Do you have any information on travelling to CT on the local train from LGA? Is there an easy way from LGA to Grand Central Terminal?

[Cruikshl]

Take it from someone that has lived alot of places in the country that when the locals say it is remote it is only remote to them. It is a small state and everything is on top of each other. I live in Wooodbury and my husband drives to Bethel to work. The shopping isn't what I had other places but I can't find that anywhere in Ct so that is irrelevant. Towns are on top of each other, sometimes not knowing if you are leaving one and entering another. Their secondary highway speed limits do slow down the travel time. Woodbury is the picture of New England with great housing choices and better quality than we saw in New Haven county or Fairfield county with a smaller price tag and less taxes.

[Rich Lee]

Originally Posted by ReitCP

Thank you Jay. We would like to be about halfway between, which looks to be in Southford, cross section of 188 and Route 67. Any information on Southford schools?

We would love to send our kids to schools that perform above the CT average. Sounds great since schools perform highly in New England.

Do you have any information on travelling to CT on the local train from LGA? Is there an easy way from LGA to Grand Central Terminal?

Southford is a section of Oxford - where my brother lived until this past summer - and is part of the Oxford school system.

If you are considering Middlebury or Southbury, they are combined as regional school district 15 (RSD 15).

Monroe (including Stepney), just west of Oxford, has its own school district.

As for getting from LGA to GCT, you could take a Taxi. If you were to take the subway, it would be the number 7 train.

MTA NYC Transit - Subway Service Information

[aroundthecorner059]

We live in Oxford not too far from 188. Southford has a cute downtown with local breakfast (bagel and coffee) shops, banks and some Vermont style clothing stores that sell mostly North Face fleeces and winter sports apparel. The area is growing rapidly with a lot of people moving from other states. House prices are high and you'll find that you get less for your dollar in Conn, but for the location it is not too bad. We liked Southbury and Monroe, Seymour is nice but far from Woodbury. You have plenty of options.

[ReitCP]

Coming from rural WI we are ready to live in the suburbs. We don't need a ton of shopping, just necessities in our immediate area. So fair to say the good towns to look at are Oxford (Southford), Monroe, Southbury, Seymour? How is Naugatuck in comparison to the mentioned districts?

[ReitCP]

I will be honest, everyone keeps telling me we are crazy because of the snobby atmosphere there. People in CT are warm, right?

[Rich Lee]

Originally Posted by ReitCP

Coming from rural WI we are ready to live in the suburbs. We don't need a ton of shopping, just necessities in our immediate area. So fair to say the good towns to look at are Oxford (Southford), Monroe, Southbury, Seymour? How is Naugatuck in comparison to the mentioned districts?

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).

[JViello]

Originally Posted by ReitCP

I will be honest, everyone keeps telling me we are crazy because of the snobby atmosphere there. People in CT are warm, right?

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