[giulia778]

Hi!
We're an Italian family with 2 young daughters.We're relocating from Dubai,UAE,to the area.
We're completely unfamiliar with the place,but seen the market we decided to buy a house directly instead of renting.
We have 2 options:both Toll Brothers,one is a single family villa community at Wappinger Falls(NY -Dutchess County) and the other one is a "luxury" townhouse community in Bethel,CT.
The houses are bigger and more luxurious in Wappinger Falls,but on the other side Bethel's community has at least a common area to socialize and seems to be a nice neighbourhood.What's the target of people buying at this 2 different kind of communities?

Another point is this:my husband will commute from abroad and I'll be alone most of the time at the beginning,I'm a "social lady",outgoing ,and I'd like that my daughters could do some sports and activities in the afternoon.I'll need to make new friends for them and for me!!
After all the buzzing of Dubai,I'm looking forward countryside and green(nature could be precious when you have lived in the desert!!)but on the other side I don't want to feel isolated and lonely.I do appreciate some good shopping and nice restaurants.
So I'd like to have some input from you,if you could try to be in my shoes for a while!
Thank you!

Giulia

[JayCT]

I can not really say much about Wappinger Falls, but I do know a bit about Bethel. It is a very nice middle-class community with a small downtown area with nice shops and restaurants. It is not fancy or high-end in comparison to other Fairfield County towns but it has most of the basic things you will need. Neighboring Danbury has a lot of shopping including a major mall and almost anything you would want or need. The schools in Bethel are very good. In general the town does fit your description of having green countryside and trees yet you should not feel isolated either. The trick will be to get out and meet people. Do not expect people to come to you. People here tend to respect others privacy. If you are nice to them and open they will be open with you. Get involved with activities to meet them. I am sure you will like it there. Good luck, Jay

[Rich Lee]

There are some similarities between the two in that Wappingers Falls has Poughkeepsie as its neighbor, and Bethel has Danbury. Poughkeepsie and Danbury are larger, urbanized areas.

Northern Wappingers Falls tends to blend in with Southern Poughkeepsie - which is extremely developed along Route 9 (Poughkeepsie Galleria Mall and a lot of other retail).

There are sections of Wappingers Falls that are more residential in nature (Red Oaks Mills section). I don't know if this is still true, but many residents work for IBM.

[Sylko]

Hi,

Firstly I'd like to say that I think you'll enjoy this area of CT. Secondly I relocated here and found the advice on this forum to be excellent. Kudos to JayCT - always knowledgeable and even handed with advice. Worth listening to.

Anyway, I brought my family over from the UK last year and have settled in the town of Fairfield. We recently (in the last two weeks) considered moving up to Brookfield, which is north of Danbury. Mainly because property is much cheaper there. The bottom line is that we're staying put here, but it's true that the further from the shore you go the better value for money, so I'm sure you'll find something lovely in either of your locations.

I came over here as a company transfer. That meant that I already knew my work colleagues so I've got a ready made group of friends. My wife was in the same position as you. She did find it tough to begin with.
Everyone we've met has been really nice, however keep in mind that typically Americans' initial display of enthusiasm and openness towards you doesn't necessarily mean that they are instantly ready to have a close relationship with you. That's not a criticism, just an observed behavior. It's maybe the opposite of the UK, where we tend to be more reserved initially.
We've been able to make some really great friends in the last year - mainly due to actively cultivating friendships. We've also made some really great 'acquaintances'.

Depending on what grade your daughters are in, school will also give you the opportunity to meet people. Not so much at the school gate, but via the PTA and various school activities. I don't know about elsewhere in Europe or UAE, but in the UK the PTA at school was generally fairly informal. Here it's quite different. The PTA is a very official body, responsible for many aspects of life at school. The organizational structure for the PTA here at our relatively small elementary school is pretty impressive. You can get involved in as many aspects as you like, but don't expect it to be mostly Mums' coffee mornings and chat (as our UK PTA meetings tended to be). Through the PTA here my wife has really gotten into the life of the school and enjoys the involvement.

There are lots of activities for kids outside of school. The choice can be rather overwhelming. In fact I'd go so far as to say that whatever it is that your daughters are interested in, you'll find somewhere to pursue it not far from home.

Being so close to NYC is great too. So much to do, and so easy to get around. We were walking in Central Park last Sunday - all human life was there!

Have fun!

Sylko

[JayCT]

Thank you Sylko for the kind words. I am glad to be of help. It sounds like you and your family are doing well here and like Fairfield. It is a wonderful community. I am glad to hear you are meeting people. I also enjoyed your description of the differences between PTOs here and those in the UK. Thanks, Jay

[jdhall1]

I know about that Toll Brother's development in Bethel. I was there a couple of weeks ago. The whole site has been destroyed and there is debris and upturned earth ever where. For similar prices, you can also get a couple of year old resale unit in Danbury or updated 1960s homes in the area. Good luck!

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by jdhall1

I know about that Toll Brother's development in Bethel. I was there a couple of weeks ago. The whole site has been destroyed and there is debris and upturned earth ever where. For similar prices, you can also get a couple of year old resale unit in Danbury or updated 1960s homes in the area. Good luck!

Yeah, Toll Brothers is not know for being the most environmentally sensitive builders in the world. But they are better than some of the other large scale builders (Plute, Beazer, etc.).

They are known for building upper scale tract homes and townhouses. They put up fancy, well decorated models with a lot of nice features but neglect to tell you that to get that a house with that is the same as the model would cost you tens of thousands more than the base price. Every little change has a significant increase in price.

Toll built a couple of upscale single-family home developments here and I know people that were floored by the costs of the extras. The funny thing is that they will not quote you the price of those extras until you are under contract. Some people here balked at the costs of the extras and just went with the basic model. They were still able to save money by ripping out what Toll gave them and replacing it with what they wanted. I agree you could probably be better off with a resale if you can find one that meets you needs. Jay

[Stratford, Ct. Resident]

Originally Posted by jdhall1

I know about that Toll Brother's development in Bethel. I was there a couple of weeks ago. The whole site has been destroyed and there is debris and upturned earth ever where.

What exactly does "destroyed" connote? I've never seen a development site that looked neat and tidy.

Originally Posted by jdhall1

For similar prices, you can also get a couple of year old resale unit in Danbury or updated 1960s homes in the area. Good luck!

I would choose a new unit in Bethel over a vintage unit in Danbury. BTW, is Toll Brothers offering broker protection to agents who bring buyers to Bethel?

[jdhall1]

Toll Brothers is offering broker protection, and I have brought a couple of clients through. There are a ton of dirt piles. All of the lovely trees on the site have been removed. The units are in the middle of a single family residental neighborhood.

[giulia778]

Thank you for your replies.
I'm looking forward going there and have a look directly.
Perception from the web is very different than from reality!