[Seattle's Best 28]

Drove through Oxford the other day to go to a restaurant 121 (GREAT food). Town was beautiful along 188. So scenic.

[west 2 east 447]

We moved to Oxford when land there was cheap in the early 70's and stayed until last year. The town was a hidden gem until around 2000 when the area began to be discovered by NYC people and wealthy people from New Canaan area towns. They're called "yuppies" and bought big houses up here while their former generation still lives in that New Canaan/Darien area. Most new people I come accross in the town are from that area or NY. It went from a quiet, middle class town to what is now a pretty rich town. If you can afford it, more power to ya! Two years ago it was hard to find a nice house under $400k but now you can find nice houses for $350k and higher. But if you want what is average in Oxford (big colonial) then you are looking at over $600k if not more. Its a nice place to live, and is close to everything but has a remote feel. Similar to Easton in asthetics, but Oxford's traffic on the main route through the center of town (which is Rte 67) is much worse especially during rush hour.

The schools are great here too. If you are looking for a place to live in western CT with lesser status, then Oxford is a good place. It is currently the wealthiest town in the Waterbury area, and in 2000 I think it was number 4. It surpassed Middlebury, Southbury and Cheshire in 8 yrs. Thanks to the yuppies, my house was worth a lot more when it sold last year! and I mean A LOT

[brasscitybluenwhite]

lol, do u remember where u read that at? about the "wealthiest town in the waterbury area?" Honestly, I wouldnt have thought that oxford was in the waterbury area. Even though I lived in waterbury for most of my life, I never have gotten off of exit 16 in my life.

[west 2 east 447]

Originally Posted by brasscitybluenwhite

lol, do u remember where u read that at? about the "wealthiest town in the waterbury area?" Honestly, I wouldnt have thought that oxford was in the waterbury area. Even though I lived in waterbury for most of my life, I never have gotten off of exit 16 in my life.

Originally Posted by brasscitybluenwhite

lol, do u remember where u read that at? about the "wealthiest town in the waterbury area?" Honestly, I wouldnt have thought that oxford was in the waterbury area. Even though I lived in waterbury for most of my life, I never have gotten off of exit 16 in my life.

Yes was in the Voices newspaper in one of the late August issues I believe. Oxford is now more like Fairfield County than Waterbury area but it is still pretty close. Exit 16 is Southbury/Middlebury and is still about 10 miles to Oxford at least. You have to go south from Exit 16. It is technically considered greater Waterbury but is also close to greater Danbury, greater Bridgeport and greater New Haven. It's kind of a suburb of all three!

We bought our house a long time ago, it was a small 3 bedroom ranch on .6 acres. We sold it last year for the mid 400s and were able to buy the same house for 240k in Rhode Island. It got to the point where Oxford was unaffordable for people on fixed incomes like myself.

If you ever want to drive thru Oxford take exit 16, and follow Rt 188. You have to take a left then a quick right in downtown Southford to stay along 188. Nice scenic road and goes by some nice horse farms and things of that sort. It got too rich for me though, which is why I moved away.

[aroundthecorner059]

Originally Posted by west 2 east 447

We moved to Oxford when land there was cheap in the early 70's and stayed until last year. The town was a hidden gem until around 2000 when the area began to be discovered by NYC people and wealthy people from New Canaan area towns. They're called "yuppies" and bought big houses up here while their former generation still lives in that New Canaan/Darien area. Most new people I come accross in the town are from that area or NY. It went from a quiet, middle class town to what is now a pretty rich town. If you can afford it, more power to ya! Two years ago it was hard to find a nice house under $400k but now you can find nice houses for $350k and higher. But if you want what is average in Oxford (big colonial) then you are looking at over $600k if not more. Its a nice place to live, and is close to everything but has a remote feel. Similar to Easton in asthetics, but Oxford's traffic on the main route through the center of town (which is Rte 67) is much worse especially during rush hour.

The schools are great here too. If you are looking for a place to live in western CT with lesser status, then Oxford is a good place. It is currently the wealthiest town in the Waterbury area, and in 2000 I think it was number 4. It surpassed Middlebury, Southbury and Cheshire in 8 yrs. Thanks to the yuppies, my house was worth a lot more when it sold last year! and I mean A LOT

It is funny you mention Easton since we had our move narrowed between there and Oxford. We opted not to go with Easton because we couldn't picture spending another 1-200k more on a house just because it's 15 miles closer to NYC.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by aroundthecorner059

It is funny you mention Easton since we had our move narrowed between there and Oxford. We opted not to go with Easton because we couldn't picture spending another 1-200k more on a house just because it's 15 miles closer to NYC.

It goes a bit beyond distance though. Easton is an upscale rural residential community that is within commuting distance to major employment centers like Bridgeport and Stamford, as well as New york. It has been that way for many years now since it is a suburb of Bridgeport.

Oxford is newer, further out and not quite as upscale so people are willing to pay more for Easton. Don't get me wrong, I am not saying that Oxford is not nice. It is great but it is kind of like comparing Greenwich to Bridgeport (okay maybe not that extreme, but you get the picture). Jay

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by JayCT

It goes a bit beyond distance though. Easton is an upscale rural residential community that is within commuting distance to major employment centers like Bridgeport and Stamford, as well as New york. It has been that way for many years now since it is a suburb of Bridgeport.

Oxford is newer, further out and not quite as upscale so people are willing to pay more for Easton. Don't get me wrong, I am not saying that Oxford is not nice. It is great but it is kind of like comparing Greenwich to Bridgeport (okay maybe not that extreme, but you get the picture). Jay

umm..what? LOL Jay, are you serious? Don't want to start anything, but that was a *very* snobby remark. Have you even been to Oxford?

Moving on... Easton is 20 minutes from Bridgeport. Oxford is 30 minutes from Bridgeport. Not that big of a difference. Easton, while technically closer to NYC and Stamford/Norwalk, is further out than Oxford, and is much more rural.

Also, I'd be willing to bet that Shelton is more of an employment center than Bridgeport is. While I like Easton, the property values there are very inflated/overpriced. The town doesn't offer anything (except good schools, which Oxford has - but you and I have always disagreed on what a true good school is) and for the price of homes there, it's not worth it IMO.

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by west 2 east 447

Yes was in the Voices newspaper in one of the late August issues I believe. Oxford is now more like Fairfield County than Waterbury area but it is still pretty close. Exit 16 is Southbury/Middlebury and is still about 10 miles to Oxford at least. You have to go south from Exit 16. It is technically considered greater Waterbury but is also close to greater Danbury, greater Bridgeport and greater New Haven. It's kind of a suburb of all three!

We bought our house a long time ago, it was a small 3 bedroom ranch on .6 acres. We sold it last year for the mid 400s and were able to buy the same house for 240k in Rhode Island. It got to the point where Oxford was unaffordable for people on fixed incomes like myself.

If you ever want to drive thru Oxford take exit 16, and follow Rt 188. You have to take a left then a quick right in downtown Southford to stay along 188. Nice scenic road and goes by some nice horse farms and things of that sort. It got too rich for me though, which is why I moved away.

I like the 188 drive too - it's very scenic especially in the fall. I wouldn't call Oxford "rich" though. It's maybe upper middle class, but not wealthy (yet).

[aroundthecorner059]

Originally Posted by JayCT

It goes a bit beyond distance though. Easton is an upscale rural residential community that is within commuting distance to major employment centers like Bridgeport and Stamford, as well as New york. It has been that way for many years now since it is a suburb of Bridgeport.

Oxford is newer, further out and not quite as upscale so people are willing to pay more for Easton. Don't get me wrong, I am not saying that Oxford is not nice. It is great but it is kind of like comparing Greenwich to Bridgeport (okay maybe not that extreme, but you get the picture). Jay

I agree with kidyankee. Just because it is not Fairfield doesn't mean it can be compared to one of the most dangerous cities in the country. Its all about location to NYC, Jay. Also the homes we looked at in Easton were actually further from Bridgeport than where we currently live (they were up near Redding). I can get there in 20 minutes maximum from Oxford.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by kidyankee764

umm..what? LOL Jay, are you serious? Don't want to start anything, but that was a *very* snobby remark. Have you even been to Oxford?

Moving on... Easton is 20 minutes from Bridgeport. Oxford is 30 minutes from Bridgeport. Not that big of a difference. Easton, while technically closer to NYC and Stamford/Norwalk, is further out than Oxford, and is much more rural.

Also, I'd be willing to bet that Shelton is more of an employment center than Bridgeport is. While I like Easton, the property values there are very inflated/overpriced. The town doesn't offer anything (except good schools, which Oxford has - but you and I have always disagreed on what a true good school is) and for the price of homes there, it's not worth it IMO.

I knew someone was going to take my comparison wrong. I said that Oxford is a great town, but Easton is more upscale. I did NOT mean to put Oxford down in any way. Nor did I mean to compare it to Bridgeport. I know it is NOTHING like Bridgeport.

Also, Easton is a LOT less than 20 minutes from Bridgeport. In fact they practically border each other. Only a very small corner of Fairfield and Trumbull separate them. Park Avenue in Bridgeport turns into Park Avenue in Easton a less than a mile north of Old town Road. So they are very close to each other. Wealthy Bridgeporters who wanted to live in the country moved there including Sam Senior, the President of Bridgeport Hydraulic Company and Igor Sikorsky, the inventor of the modern helicopter. Easton was the home of Helen Keller and the home of Jessica Tandy and Hune Cronin. Also Easton is where most of Bridgeport's water supply is located. It is very nice and people would not pay the home prices there if they were not worth it. I know people that live there and just love it. They are willing to pay the premium to not have civilization in their backyards. Easton does not have any shopping except a small general store and a couple of farm stands. There is one gas station and only one traffic signal. There are no apartments and they have been fighting condos being built there as well. Right or wrong, people there just want it to remain the same. Jay