[usmcfamily]

Originally Posted by Need Advice 2009

KidYankee you are right. We have been looking but the houses around 250 all need some kind of repair, unless the house is in Brightport and Meriden. It those two towns, plus Waterbury, are where we are centering our search now. I think we will have to move and if we dislike the schools, send private. Where is all the middle class housing in cT?

I would look into Stratford, if you are looking at Bridgeport and Meriden. In my opinion, Stratford has better schools and is a much nicer town than the two mentioned. I think you could find a smaller, cute home in a better neighborhood than you would at least in Bridgeport.

[Cruikshl]

Originally Posted by usmcfamily

I would look into Stratford, if you are looking at Bridgeport and Meriden. In my opinion, Stratford has better schools and is a much nicer town than the two mentioned. I think you could find a smaller, cute home in a better neighborhood than you would at least in Bridgeport.

Look at Watertown for cheaper nicer housing, not much farther than Waterbury

[seymourct]

[quote=kidyankee764;7165215] Right now we're doing our best to limit the draft (or breeze) coming in through the living room picture window and I won't be able to deal with it for another winter. The kitchen was updated 9 years ago but I'll be doing some work on it i.e. new countertops, maybe an island for more counterspace and the linoleum is starting to peel up.

Kid, don't live with a drafty window. Re-glaze it. Our picture window had a break in the thermal seal too, and was very cloudy. We called the local glass company and they re-glazed it (just replaced the glass itself for around $300-$400 ) we actually had 9 windows (sashes, cranks, slider, picture window, and the ones by the side of the front door) that had clouded with broken thermal seals and the total re-glaze was only around $1200.

It is nice to have a matching kitchen island, but as a money saver you can buy a rolling kitchen islands with 3 stools and a flip up breakfast bar with cabinets and drawers, butcher block, steel, granite or marble tops for around 500 to 700 hundred that do the trick until you can save for the 15K-30K renovation.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by Need Advice 2009

Where is all the middle class housing in cT?

The problem is you are looking at towns on the outer edge of the New York metropolitan area and it is very expensive. This area has some of the most expensive real estate in the country. Middle-class housing is usually $300k or more here. You might want to consider Naugatuck which is about a half hour from both New Haven and Danbury. It is a nice middle class town with decent schools.

Though Stratford would also be a good choice, it would be over an hour to Danbury. Good luck, Jay

[Stratford, Ct. Resident]

I think Watertown sounds like a decent option. If i'm not mistaken, i think the Oakville section is the more affordable part of town.

Stratford and Milford could also be options, but the commute to Danbury will be a bit long. Stratford is likely to be a little more affordable than Milford, but Milford probably has a better school system overall. Good luck.

[JViello]

The only thing I would caution about Watertown, is you are saddled with having Waterbury as your main "go to" city whereas a town like Naugatuck is more self sufficient. If you are okay with that, it's fine - I at least wanted the OP to realize that would be the case..

[brasscitybluenwhite]

Originally Posted by Need Advice 2009

KidYankee you are right. We have been looking but the houses around 250 all need some kind of repair, unless the house is in Brightport and Meriden. It those two towns, plus Waterbury, are where we are centering our search now. I think we will have to move and if we dislike the schools, send private. Where is all the middle class housing in cT?

If u live anywhere in greater waterbury (watertown, naugatuck), you will have to travel to waterbury at least once every 2 weeks for at least something. They are definately not that self suffient as some make them sound. (naugy's claim to fame: a big y and a wal-mart).

And I gotta say this: I think waterbury is a bit different than bridgeport in many aspects. Its considerable larger. Not to spew useless statistics, but waterbury is 29 sq miles as bridgeport is 16. that allows for alot of housing options.

For your budget, I think u would want to look into this more. If ur looking for a middle class neighborhood, there are plenty in waterbury. The entire east end is middle class. And If ur looking for something newer, there are 3 subdivisions being build along boyden st and bucks hill rd in the far north end. I went to school in this area and its located on a huge hill (bucks hill). Depending on where u buy ur house, in some spots, u can see the litchfield hills on a clear winter day. I don't know if bridgeport has alot of newer properties for middle class families.

As a native, I usually don't point the finger toward waterbury, but this time, I would consider it. I don't think u will find anything that u cant afford. For more options, there is also a neighborhood called East Mountain that u can look into. alot of the people who live in that neighborhood work for the city and they are well known for caring about their neighborhood. They also have great athletic program for kids, East Mountain Athletic Association (EMAA)

There's also Lakeside Blvd in the west end. Waterbury has some bad parts, but all of these neighborhoods are far from the bad parts

[brasscitybluenwhite]

By the way, if you decide Waterbury, your commute everyday will be 25 minutes. I don't kno wut u prefer, or how long the other cities are from danbury, but my mother used to be a secretary at danbury hospital and she did it daily. When it snowed, she left her car at the parking garage downtown and took the Peter Pan to work everyday. It was $40 for a week pass I think..

[andrea7902]

Beacon Falls. You can easily get a nice home with a good sized lot for that price.

[west 2 east 447]

Originally Posted by Need Advice 2009

Hi, we are moving from Michigan to Connecticut. I will be working in Danbury and my partner in New Haven. We have 3 young children so we would like a great school district. We have a budget of $300,000 and we're not familiar with how much that would get us. Ideally we would like to spend less. In MI we can get a new 8 room house, but am assuming CT to be less for the dollar. Can anyone name some good towns with great schools about halfway? Thanks for any help

You can get a small house in Oxford for #300k, it may need some work thou! Good luck!