[OsborneCox]

Hello all,

Another one of those overly broad "where to live" questions:
Considering a move from Chicago to CT. Young family, two 6 year old children, just finished kindergarten. Present town is great (except for very tough winters), kids are walked to school, main street has jazz fests, small fun events, very safe, no big box stores, etc.

One parent will be working from home (telecommute with very minimal travel). The other needing to travel in/out of JFK three times per month. Not interested in Fairfield county, want a better cost of living as the commute is essentially a non-issue. Looking for:

Smaller town "feel". Semi-relaxed, easy going people (we lived in northern California for several years) not a place where everyone worries about the type of car they drive, or how much bigger their house is than the neighbors (if at all possible). Safe walkable streets, community events, unique shops, good restaurants (not chains), farmers market type stuff, and last, but certainly not least, a couple good pubs!

Very good (no need for "the #1"...70% of education takes place at home IMO) schools, I guess above average, although it seems many of CT's schools fit that bill.

Coastal, very close to beaches, & marinas for boating.

Home cost about 750K (or less!!)

We've vacationed in Old Saybrook, really liked it, but seemed maybe a bit too...how would I put this..."mature"?....Also visited Essex, & liked it. Any thoughts on those two as well as Guilford, Madison, Clinton, Old Lyme, or any other coastal community as far east as Stonington? Thanks for any/all input.

[GrotonMan]

I think you would like it here in Southeastern Connecticut. The climate is fairly similar to Chicago except considerably more mild and a markedly more humid. We don't really get the lake effect snow that you would get in the few states north of us, and the ocean being so close keeps the temperatures from dropping too low.

One of the best things about most of Connecticut is that it is essentially one big community. With no unincorporated space (land not inside of a town's boundaries) events and amenities in one town are rarely contained to just that town. If you know about them, they are usually open to you. That being said, most towns advertise events to their residents and for more information you would need to seek it out directly at town hall. We do, however, have a couple of quaint little down towns in New London and Norwich, and New London has it's fair share of bars and pubs. There are lots of parks in the area anywhere from Harkness Memorial in Waterford, to Fort Griswold Battlefield in Groton, to Mohegan in Norwich and there are tons between and beyond.

I would say check out Old Lyme. It seems to be pretty much what you are looking for as it is a quieter town. I have a very close friend who lived there when his daughters were in elementary school (which i believe yours would be) and they always talked about how great the schools were. They are smaller so they won't provide as many extra curricular activities as you would find in a larger school system, but I would also imagine that the education would be of a higher caliber. There is an Amtrak station just across the river in Old Saybrook that could take you to New York City when you need to, or even to Boston if you want. Also, pretty much the entire southern border of Old Lyme is a beach.

I hope you do decide to make Connecticut your home. We would love to have you here especially here in Southeastern Connecticut.

[ctcoldplay11]

You're going to hate my answer, but how can you go wrong with ANY of the aforementioned towns? You are hitting the jackpot of idealistic towns; coastal towns from Guilford East are absolutely stunning. But I will give you a quick breakdown of the positives and "negatives" of each individual town:

Guilford:
Pos: Well-developed, stunning beauty, fantastic schools, quaint center.
Neg: VERY wealthy, (don't all jump at once!) perhaps a bit pretentious

Madison:
Pos: Well-developed, stunning beauty, fantastic schools, quaint center, Hamonnasset State Beach
Neg: Same as Guilford

Clinton:
Pos: Unpretentious, outlet shopping, beautiful shoreline
Neg: unnattractive town center, uninspiring, a "blah" feeling to the overall town

Westbrook:
Pos: Unpretentious, great town center, outlet shopping, BEAUTIFUL shoreline
Neg: town is desolate in the winter, lots of summer tourists (Water's Edge Resort), lots of summer homes

Old Saybrook:
Pos: Great town center, BEAUTIFUL shoreline, train station, a plethora of amenities
Neg: some parts are pretentious (though not all), town houses alot of older residents, some unattractive developments

Old Lyme:
Pos: Where do I start?! Beautiful scenery, beautiful shoreline, great schools, easy access to amenities, unpretentious
Neg: Lack of a real town center, rowdy beaches

East Lyme:
Pos: Plenty of amenities, FANTASTIC schools (best on the Eastern CT shoreline in my opinion), Rocky Neck State Park, unpretentious, great town center(s) - Niantic, Flanders, etc., beautiful shoreline
Neg: slightly uninspired development, a movement towards haughtiness

Waterford:
Pos: GREAT amenities (best on the Eastern CT shoreline), mall, Harkness Memorial State Park, great schools, affordable housing
Neg: influx of crime from New London, uninspired development, no real town center, very spread out

New London:
Pos: only real city, strong municipal government, Ocean Beach (?), Connecticut College, US Coast Guard Academy, Mitchell College, plenty of amenities
Neg: Ocean Beach (? - haha), high crime, poor schools, urban blight, etc., etc., etc.

Groton:
Pos: Shares a part of Mystic with Stonington, great HIGH school (Fitch), Groton Long Point (one of my favorite areas in SE CT), Abbott's!, UCONN Avery Point, plenty of room for improvement and development, tons of amenities
Neg: Alot of transients, average elementary-middle schools, a slight influx of crime from New London, US Submarine Base, areas of blight, lack of municipal government, lots of tourists

Stonington:
Pos: Beautiful scenery, beautiful coastline, easiest access to Rhode Island Beaches, Stonington Borough (beautiful town center), wineries, GREAT schools, brand new high school, shares a part of Mystic with Groton
Neg: very spread out, lots of tourists, parts are pretentious

Essex:
Pos: Beautiful scenery, quaint town center, good schools
Neg: lack of amenities, lack of direct access to CT shore, middle-of-nowhere feel, very small

My recommended towns for you:
1. Westbrook
2. Old Lyme
3. Stonington
4. East Lyme

Obviously, this paints a very broad picture of these towns. But hopefully, it will provide you with enough information to narrow down your town search for what you're looking for most. But as I've said before, you cannot go wrong with any of the aforementioned towns based on your criteria(except New London). Good luck, and as GrotonMan said, we would love to have you here in SE CT!

[JayCT]

Great post CTcoldplay11 but I do not necessarily agree with your characterization of Guilford being pretentious. Maybe a bit since it is an affluent town but I think it is less so than other similar towns. I think it would be my first choice for community feel and convenience to get to JFK a couple of times a month. I also like East Lyme and Essex. Jay

[wavehunter007]

Living in eastern coastal Connecticut…I think the comments above are pretty much on target. Just a few side notes.

I think Jay has a point about not getting too far east/north if access to JFK is needed a few times a month. I think the Saybrook/Lyme (exits 66/71) is about as far east as you would want to be. It’s too bad…because I think far eastern Ct is the nicest and most authentic part of the whole Connecticut coast. I think Old Lyme, Old Saybrook, or Westbrook would be a good choice. Each of these towns has a real coastal/beach feel in summer - but the crowed departs in late September. So it’s not a 12-month tourist spot like Mystic with crowds and traffic much of the year. Old Lyme would be a good choice (your right Saybrook has an older population), it as younger families and there seems to be newer homes for sale.

Another note is location. Keep this in mind (we found this out). The two big shopping areas along the central/eastern Connecticut coast are Milford (exit 43 off I-95 ) and Waterford (exit 82 off I-95). Although all the coastal towns are nice, if you live in Guilford, Madison, or Clinton (the middle geographically)… it’s a hike of about 30 minutes in either direction to a large shopping area (if there’s no traffic tie-ups). Keep this in mind - because stores and shopping is quite limited outside these areas (outside of food stores, CVS, Walmart’s…etc). So if your closer to Branford/North Branford your fairly close to Milford…if your in Old Lyme your fairly close to Waterford. If you live in the middle you might have to drive a distance to get to the bigger stores. I ‘m not really a mall person, but I have heard this complaint.

Any of the towns east of New Haven are pretty nice overall…. you will have proximity to NYC, the smaller beaches along the Connecticut coast (and the open ocean Atlantic beaches of Rhode Island), fishing, seafood, the casinos, commuter rail/Amtrak service, ferry service to Long Island, NY, and New Haven/Hartford (about 30 to 45 min). I would disagree about finding much pretentiousness in these towns outside of perhaps Guilford. In fact, compared to some of the upscale areas of Chicago I have seen, you might think some of the coastal towns like Westbrook and Clinton are a little ramshackle.

As far as the climate of coastal/southern Connecticut…we get about half as much snow as the Chicago area (25 –inches as opposed to 45 –inches), we have a longer growing season, and the East Coast is much less cloudy than the Great Lakes in winter…on the other hand summer humidity is a bit higher along the seaboard when that Bermuda High starts pumping.

[Acipenser]

I'm new to this board, but if I may, I'd like to throw in my 2 cents. I grew up in Westport in the 80's, left CT, and am now preparing to move back for a job new New Haven. My housing budget is lower than OsborneCox, but otherwise I think we are looking for very similar things (family friendly for young kids, outdoorsy, lots of activities, laid back, etc.). I've been driving around the area, exploring and starting to look at houses and I have to say that I've absolutely fallen in love with Branford and Guilford. My personal opinion, but I got a better feeling about them than Madison (also very pretty, just my take -- please no offense to anyone who lives there!). I think you'll find lots of housing options near the water in your price range and I don't see a reason to be any farther from NYC if you need to get to JFK regularly. I don't think you'll get much more by being farther down the coast. Also, New Haven has a lot going on, so it's nice to be within easy reach.

Anyway, I do think you'll love CT. It's a beautiful state, and the coastal areas you're looking into are stunning. It's a great place for kids to grow up. As for the humidity, my inlaws live near Milwaukee, and I've been out there and in Chicago in the summers. I know it gets plenty muggy out there, and I don't think you'll be surprised at all by CT's weather. If anything, the breeze off the water makes it more pleasant than the midwest.

[HelloSam]

I've lived in Fairfield County all my life, so when I spend time in Guilford and Madison I find it refreshing how down-to-earth both towns seem! It's all relative! Either would suit your needs just fine, and you could get a nice house for less than 750K.

[OsborneCox]

Thanks so much guys!

That info was just what I was hoping to find...you've really helped me out. I've heard much the same things from other sources so I have no doubt you've all painted a pretty accurate picture of these towns. I guess it'll come down to housing availability. We're pretty sure we'd like to be in a town that we can walk thru at anytime of day/night and enjoy "strolling". Not interested in the outlets, just a normal shopping trip now & again. Biggest concerns are
1. Quaint town center
2. Good schools
3. Marinas for boating & a beach for kids.

I'll take all your input & do some more research, then plan a trip & visit to "get the feel" of each one. Thanks again, & I really appreciate your time!

[nico7]

Considering your price range, I would suggest (in order of West-to-East) Branford near Route 146, between Pine Orchard (neighborhood) and Stony Creek (neighborhood), and Guilford, near Route 146. Madison also has what you're looking for, but I don't know exactly which roads to look at.

[Seasons]

Hi OsborneCox - just curious if you selected a town and made the move to CT. We are also considering a move back East. We grew up in Westchester Cty, moved out West 20 years ago and would like to move back east to raise our son. We both lived by the sound, but can't afford Westchester or Fairfield so thought Guilford looked like a great place to land.

Anyone know anyone looking for a home in Scottsdale? It will be hard to move during this economic downturn, but where there is a will there is a way!