[canadian_in_tristate]

Hi there! I found so much information in some of these blogs so helpful, that I thought I'd post. We are in the process of relocating this summer to CT for my husband's work. He will be working in Ridgefield. We are looking to a buy a 4 bedroom house (around 470-530K) in a nice neighbourhood with kids and great schools. Ridgefield is too expensive for us. We are coming from montgomery township, NJ...great schools..lots to do..life is pretty much suburban (some would say rural...I did in the beginning being a native of the greater Toronto area).

We are looking at New Fairfield, Bethel and Brookfield. I don't want to be too far into the "woods" (or "boonies"), but I am willing to make a short drive to Danbury or where ever else for things that I can't find in my town. I drive half an hour here just to get to a Target or Walmart, and my town actually doesn't have ANYTHING (a Shoprite plaza, that's about it). I will be at home for a while with a 2 year old and a 4 year old (I am a scientist and eventually will go back to work...labwork or teaching)....so looking for a nice town, great schools, activities for the kids, moms clubs, newcomer clubs, choices of good preschools (not necessarily daycares), etc. Moving is daunting as it is. We'll be making a drive to the area (which is just about 2 hours from here) when we get a chance. How are the towns I suggested? I've done some research and couldn't decide. I would like some feedback. New Milford is a bit far, we think, so we've ruled that out (unless it is the southern edge). Thanks so much for any input! As I mentioned, we narrowed it to Brookfield, Bethel or New Fairfield (unless there is a place we are missing? My husband doesn't want to drive more than 20-25 minutes for work.

[shanab]

I'm in a similar situation as you (married, 19 month old, 3 1/2 year old) and after a long decision-making process, we moved to Brookfield. We are very happy here, and the town has all of the amenities you seem to want. My older son is in a good preschool program, and there are plenty of activities for the kids. It is also very convenient to shops and there is a great mall for kids nearby in Danbury(good in the winter when it's too cold for them to play outdoors!). You can feel free to PM me if you want more info.

[JayCT]

The town you selected are excellent choices. I think it now is just a matter of personal preference and whether you can find a home you like in your price range. You should not have too much trouble since these towns are somewhat affordable. good luck, Jay

[canadian_in_tristate]

Thanks guys! "Shanab"...I may contact you again if Brookfield ends up being our place. Jay, you are such a resource in these threads!

We are planning a drive up soon. My "only" concern with Brookfield is I believe I read there is no little walkable town center? At the moment, I am not too worried until I see the area and how close everything is.

How is the traffic on Route 7? I think I read that there is going to be a bypass put in around Brookfield?

Thanks,
Carla

[jdhall1]

There is traffic along local route 7 (Federal Rd) because there are many large stores. There is a highway that runs sort of pararell to Federal Rd, but there is only an exit at the Danbury/Brookfield line of Federal Rd and the the current end of the highway about 2.5 miles. The bypass that they are talking about is going go from the current end of the highway past the '4 corners, center of town' to just north into New Milford. It will be completed in the next few months. Your price range remains competive in town.

[MomOfToo]

I moved to New Fairfield (from Danbury) because of the schools. Although Ridgefield has great schools, New Fairfield is up there too. These school districts are the top for the Danbury area. Its a cute small community & the people are very friendly...I always say NF is more like NY. I am a NY'er and feel comfortable here. I never felt comfortable in Danbury or Bethel. I lived on the border of Bethel so I've done alot there as well. I find Brookfield too congested. NF doesn't have a walkable town like Bethel but I heard they are using the stimulus money for streetscapes and a commuter lot for the MetroNorth Southeast train station. Feel free to PM me....

[canadian_in_tristate]

Thanks for the clarification on the Route 7 bypass and the comments about New Fairfield. We recently added that to our list as well. Is it safe to assume that all 3 of these towns (New Fairfield, Bethel and Brookfield) have great schools? My husband quickly looked at homes in these areas, and Brookfield seemed to have more options at the moment compared to NF and Bethel (Bethel had the least). Ridgefield seems quite expensive, from what we've seen. Is there a town we've overlooked? Newtown seems a bit far from where my husband would be working (which is Ridgefield Road...in Ridgefield but very close to Danbury I am told).

I was also reading through some threads that Danbury had really nice neighbourhoods, but that the high school was questionable. Now...it is going to be a LONG TIME before my preschoolers are in high school.

Can anyone comment on New Milford? Is it as far and as isolated as some say? Apparently, there are some people at my husband's new potential work location that live in the southern end of New Milford and the commute is only 20-25 minutes. I also want to minimize the distance between NYC and some of my friends here in Hillsborough, NJ, but we don't want to totally discard New Milford if there are some good homes there. I think a drive up to Fairfield county this weekend would be a good idea for us!

[Rich Lee]

Here's the current single-family inventory for Bethel, Brookfield, and New Fairfield:

BETHEL - 113 properties
0 - Under $150,000
0 - Between $150,000 - $199,999
5 - Between $200,000 - $249,999
16- Between $250,000 - $299,999
16- Between $300,000 - $349,999
21- Between $350,000 - $399,999
10- Between $400,000 - $449,999
10- Between $450,000 - $499,999
8 - Between $500,000 - $549,999
12- Between $550,000 - $599,999
2 - Between $600,000 - $649,999
4 - Between $650,000 - $699,999
1 - Between $700,000 - $749,999
8 - Over $750,000
$219,000 - LOW
1199,000 - HIGH
$399,900 - MEDIAN

BROOKFIELD - 139 properties
0 - Under $150,000
1 - Between $150,000 - $199,999
2 - Between $200,000 - $249,999
8 - Between $250,000 - $299,999
16- Between $300,000 - $349,999
13- Between $350,000 - $399,999
11- Between $400,000 - $449,999
15- Between $450,000 - $499,999
12- Between $500,000 - $549,999
12- Between $550,000 - $599,999
9 - Between $600,000 - $649,999
2 - Between $650,000 - $699,999
6 - Between $700,000 - $749,999
32- Over $750,000
$188,900 - LOW
2495,000 - HIGH
$519,000 - MEDIAN

NEW FAIRFIELD - 146 properties
0 - Under $150,000
5 - Between $150,000 - $199,999
10- Between $200,000 - $249,999
12- Between $250,000 - $299,999
12- Between $300,000 - $349,999
11- Between $350,000 - $399,999
8 - Between $400,000 - $449,999
16- Between $450,000 - $499,999
9 - Between $500,000 - $549,999
7 - Between $550,000 - $599,999
0 - Between $600,000 - $649,999
13- Between $650,000 - $699,999
2 - Between $700,000 - $749,999
41- Over $750,000
$164,900 - LOW
10000,000 - HIGH
$499,450 - MEDIAN

Source: GFC CMLS

[jdhall1]

Originally Posted by canadian_in_tristate

Thanks for the clarification on the Route 7 bypass and the comments about New Fairfield. We recently added that to our list as well. Is it safe to assume that all 3 of these towns (New Fairfield, Bethel and Brookfield) have great schools? My husband quickly looked at homes in these areas, and Brookfield seemed to have more options at the moment compared to NF and Bethel (Bethel had the least). Ridgefield seems quite expensive, from what we've seen. Is there a town we've overlooked? Newtown seems a bit far from where my husband would be working (which is Ridgefield Road...in Ridgefield but very close to Danbury I am told).

I was also reading through some threads that Danbury had really nice neighborhoods, but that the high school was questionable. Now...it is going to be a LONG TIME before my preschoolers are in high school.

Can anyone comment on New Milford? Is it as far and as isolated as some say? Apparently, there are some people at my husband's new potential work location that live in the southern end of New Milford and the commute is only 20-25 minutes. I also want to minimize the distance between NYC and some of my friends here in Hillsborough, NJ, but we don't want to totally discard New Milford if there are some good homes there. I think a drive up to Fairfield county this weekend would be a good idea for us!

As a Realtor, I can't discuss schools. I did go through the Danbury school system & had a positive experience. In New Milford, you do get more house & land, generally for your dollar, and typically a newer home. There are some parts of town that do feel isolated, because the town has about 60 square miles.

Jon

[JayCT]

New Fairfield, Brookfield and Bethel have very good schools. The link below will provide you with informaiton on them. All have reasonable class sizes and students scoring above the state average on the Connecticut Mastery and Connecticut Academic Performance Tests. Jay

Strategic School Profiles by District

Strategic School Profiles by School