[Legz28]

I posted a question earlier today and was hoping someone could give us some info on the Weston, Wilton, Redding areas or any other suggestions they might have. We have a middle school aged daughter who is worried about making friends and we are looking for a family friendly town with a quaint town center for shopping etc. We are fish out of water here because we are from Illinois and haven't been to the area yet. ANY info would be truly appreciated.

[jdhall1]

All of the three towns are small upscale towns. Wilton does have the most shopping among the three, with some stores along Route 7 as well as very small downtown area. Redding is a small town that shares it's school system with Weston, another small town. Redding does have 2 state parks as well as lots of portected town owned open space. Weston does have a lot of opne space as well, with the most notable being the Devil's Den, a 1500 acre preserve with land in both Weston and southern Redding. Both Redding and Weston have almost no shopping. As a realtor in the area, I can't discuss schools.

Ridgefield is a bigger town (about 25,000) just north of Wilton and to the west of Redding, but it does have a downtown that is filled with stores and restaurants. There is a state park, lots of open space, as well as 2 golf coures. Additonal things in Ridgefield include a few museums (historic and art), a playhouse, as well as a few small lake communites for small lakes.

No one these towns are inexpensive. The average list price for the three towns for a single family home is about $1.36 million. That is a lot of money, but for that investment, except to get a few year old 4 bedroom, 3.5 bath 5700 square foot colonial on 2.5 acres.

Depending on where you work, the northern suburbs of Danbury could work for you. They are considerbly more affordable than those towns.

[Legz28]

Thank you very much for that information. I already researched schools so no need for info there. Which area seems more family friendly? I think Danbury is a bit too far as my husband will be commuting to NYC. Greenwich is too expensive for us. What can you tell me about New Canaan?

Again, thanks for the reply it is very much appreciated!

[jdhall1]

New Canaan is even more expensive than the three towns mentioned earlier. About 20,000 people live within it's 20 square miles.Single family homes start at $650,000 with the average list price being a little bit less than $2.9 million. There is a downtown with lots of fancy stores and restaurants. There is a large park (Waveny) and 2 historical sites (mid to late 1700s). There is a train station in New Canann, and I am pretty sure there is a loing waiting list for parking spots there. I'm sorry that I don't know much more about it, because I do my business in greater Danbury.

The general rule is the futher you go away from the coast of CT (going North or east), the more affordable home prices get. Your tradeoff would be a longer commute for your husband, but you can own a larger home with more land. From the Brewster, NY train station (7 minutes from West Danbury), ittakes about 85 minutes to get to Grand Central Station. A growing amount of people do it every day. At almost every open house I do, I get at least 1 'buying unit' going up here from NYC or lower Fairfield County (New Canaan) looking for a home.

As for family friendly areas, I can not discuss that since childern are a protected class. There are things that can indiate if there are a lot of kids around, such as going by when the school arrives in the morning and comes back at night, weekends to see if they play outside, or seeing basketball hoops in the driveway.

[Polly Esther]

My husband and I have lived in Ffld County all our lives (Ridgefield, Wilton, New Canaan, Fairfield) so we are quite familiar with all of the towns and the NYC commute.
What is it like where you live now - assuming you like the community - and what is your general price range/expectations in a home (ie: sq. ft., age of house, etc . . ) and town services? Taxes do vary around here and are getting somewhat brutal.

[wiltontiger]

Where are you coming from in Illinois?

I have recently moved from the Chicago suburbs to Wilton and am happy to share my experiences. I'm used to the 1/4 acre lots in most of the Chicago suburbs so it has been an adjustment to an area where most of the lots are 2+ acres - meaning fewer kids around to play with. My kids are younger than yours though so that may be less of a concern.

I'm not a realtor so I can comment on the schools. All of the areas listed have excellent schools - Wilton, Ridgefield, Weston, New Canaan, with Fairfield very good but probably not quite as good as the others. Depending on where you are coming from in IL all of them are likely to be an upgrade.

jdhall is right on about the shopping, and that's part of the reason we chose Wilton vs. Redding & Weston. Ridgefield was also very high on our list, we ended up in Wilton vs. Ridgefield because I think the schools are (very slightly) better, and it's closer to my job. All were very expensive compared to most areas in Chicagoland, except Winnetka/Kenilworth/Lake Forest and Barrington type areas.

For me, coming from a suburban environment, Redding and Weston were just too rural. So far I love Wilton and Ridgefield.

[Legz28]

Thank you to those who replied to my request for info on Wilton, Weston, Redding and New Canaan. Anyone know the approximate real estate taxes on a $1M home in any of these areas including Ridgefield? A few people have recommended Ridgefield to me and it sounds very appealing.

[Polly Esther]

Mill rate in Ridgefield is 24.23 per $1000. In these towns they use 70% of fair market value to get the assessed value to figure the taxes. So a house that would sell for $1 mil, assessed for $700,000 X 24.23 / 1000 = $16,961.

Mill rate in Wilton is due to go up 3.9% (or so) soon, was in local paper last week. Wilton is also having a "reval" coming up soon - ouch, we're all in trouble!

Check out the following for mill rates in Fairfield County:
http://www.onlinecthomes.com/public/...announceID=852

I can give you information on Ridgefield if you want - I grew up there.

Good luck!

[jdhall1]

I pulled some listings in Ridgefield in that price range , and taxes are between $10k-12k, about $13k in Wilton, between $9500-$15,000 in Redding (depending on age built). In Weston, they will be between $13-$15k, and in New Canann,between $7,00 and $8000 but you will get a smaller home there compared to the others.

[Polly Esther]

Reason the taxes are out of wack is homes are supposed to be assessed at 70% of fair market value, but in reality most homes around here are selling at above assessed value (sometimes twice as much).

So, if you have a home assessed at around $700,000 town figures it will sell for $1 mil, but in actuality they are selling for around $1.2 mil. Taxes seem lower, but you need to factor into your equation when the towns will be reassessing. That could change significantly.

New Canaan & Greenwich are is a whole different ball game. Mill rates are low yielding low taxes, but home values are exponentally higher. You will pay the same price for 2,500 sq ft 40 yr old colonial on 1/2 acre that will need some updating in New Canann as you would for 4,000 sq ft newer updated colonial in on an acre in Wilton or Ridgefield.

Either way you pay, either it's more for the house or more for the taxes.