[JayCT]

My sister teaches at Bassick High School and I must tell you she says things are not good. It is the inner city and the inner city problems are there. Though she loves her job and works tirelessly to help kids as much as possible, the parents are not interested. There is a large mix of students and cultures and English is not even a second or third language. Bridgeport has spent a lot of money to upgrade its schools and things are changing. I would check which schools are in your district and go there and check them out yourself.

Bridgeport is not Hoboken, but it is starting to turn. The problem has been poor leadership. Politicians more interested in themselves than the betterment of the city. Mary Moran's trying to file banckruptcy did unbelieveable physicological harm to a city that was and still is not that bad off. Ganium's corruption did not help either and Fabrizzi's problems are not helping either.

PS - Bridgeport was also recently named one of the 10 best places to buy real estate in the country by Money Magazine.

[vortexx]

The schools are not horrible, but they're not good. You generally want to stay away from the East Side.

Livingwise, the North side is very nice and fairly quiet, especially the Park Avenue/Madison Avenue areas.

[CT-Guy]

Originally Posted by DietCokeGal

Thank you so very much. That's really wonderful. I'm excited about the area. I think we are going to attempt a visit this weekend.
Diana

We have a seven year old, attending Private School (St. Annes in Black Rock). She has 14 other kids in her class. $400 per month.

[CTResi]

Originally Posted by DietCokeGal

Of course my top priority is the school system.
I'd be interested in the Pre-K schools and the Kindergarten for right now.
I'm a stay at home mom who likes to walk places.
How is it walking around Bridgeport?
The other thing I'd like to know about is public transportation. Is there a bus system?
Thanks so much!
Diana

I am married with two young children and moved to Bridgeport from NYC a few years ago. We love the diversity and energy here, and have met some fantastic people.

We enjoy living in Bridgeport (a "gritty" city doesn't bother us), and have taken great delight in the changes Downtown even in the short time we've been here. Unfortunately, the school system and limited daycare and nursery school choices have been our biggest disappointments. They either are of poor quality (in my opinion) or very far from our home. I do think there might be better options in the Black Rock area (which, by the way is a great walking neighborhood -- the city's bus system is poor when compared to NYC and northern NJ) but if it is good and in the city, you have to sign up asap as there are usually waiting lists.

It is definitely true that inner city issues plague the schools overall, but my child's school in pretty benign. But, the school lacks adequate funding so that items like workbooks (they receive colored copies from the one copy the teacher has), a safe playground, science classes, etc are not provided. If they are dedicated to staying in Bridgeport, I've found that most educated, savvy parents here place their children in private schools (even if it is financially taxing) -- unless they are fortunate enough to get into one of the magnet schools. Since we love living here otherwise (aside from the mayor's issues), we'll put our child in private school in the fall.

My toddler was in daycare, but the most affordable and high quality option I found was in another town.

[bobsmith319]

Hi Diana,
The one word that I would use to describe Bridgeport is this: AWFUL! The schools are bad, and it is a bit rough. Probably is ok to walk around with your kids, but it isn't the best either. In summer 2006, the mayor of the city was found to have smoked to crack. Bridgeport is probably the worst place to move with young kids. Try some towns nearby like Stamford.

[mtc]

DON'T DO IT!! In 1986 when my husband and I were priced out of the housing market (sound familar to you) in NJ as twentysomethings, we thought we should buy this marvelous condo in Jersey City on Kennedy Blvd and renovate it. The stock market had reached a high (sound familiar), and because Jersey City was SUCH an up and coming urban/suburban consolation city like Hoboken, we hurried to buy there before even that was out of our reach. DUMBEST MOVE EVER.
Upshot: Oct 1987, economy went down, housing bubble burst, Jersey City stayed the same ugly underclass place it had always been with no hope in hell of having decent schools, or a rise in value. Did I mention the fact that unbeknownst to me at the time, I daily passed that terrorist sheik and his cohorts from the WTC bombingon my walk to the Path, lovely citizens! We lost a bundle on that condo, after having to live there for 6 more years and being saddled with it for another 7 until we could finally sell it for enough to pay the bank. Granted, the Liberty City, or whatever it's called down at Exchange Place, has in fact developed into an upscale commuter village but that is a FLUKE.
Bridgeport is the last place I would put my money unless I had a lot of it and was detached from my real estate investments.
Bridgeport has ridiculous taxes, bad schools, bad roads, crime, huge underclass, few amenities, corrupt government, no services. In short, it's Jersey City all over again, albeit mitigated by the fact that it is NOT in NJ.
Did I mention how tiring the train commute to NYC really is? It is long!
Save your money, rent in Fairfield. I'd have gladly forfeited the down payment I made on that condo and backed out (even though it was our whole life savings) if I could do it over.
And you have kids to think of. Many of the parents at St. Thomas Aquinas in Fairfield who live in the St. Mary's by the Sea homes sweated to get in so as to avoid their public and parochial schools. Even so, they can't play on the Fairfield town teams or enjoy their classmates' company at summer camps, beach access,etc....
I know this sounds like overkill but I only wish someone had warned me from my real estate mistake. Location, location,location. We have sinced lived in Southport, Westport and New Canaan and have never again worried about our home. You won't find me in a consolation town ever again, God willing.
mtc

[deadcrowsflyeast]

"PS - Bridgeport was also recently named one of the 10 best places to buy real estate in the country by Money Magazine."

that is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. My opinion of money magazine just dropped

they obviously took nothing into consideration other then the fact that the prices are much lower then their counterparts in fairfield county..

even if u purchase prop on the water in st marys by the sea it's littered w/ every person from b-port once it gets warm and it's not een that nice if u live there......

I doubt things will change anytime soon when a you have to pay 20k in taxes on a 3000 sq ft home by the water...

tax relief is a must if b-port is ever going to get better....

[opelske]

It has been my experience that magazines and newspapers are not the best source of good information -- mostly paid propaganda; some truth, mostly lies; with the truth added so we believe the lies.

[jjbradleynyc]

I'm considering purchasing an investment home in Bridgeport. I just visited a couple of neighborhoods the other day. My first reaction was what an ugly, gritty city. Of course I was in the West Side neighborhoods and portions of Mill Hill. But then, I saw a bit of Brooklawn (spelling wrong??) and the North Side. Very decent, some very pretty streets. I saw a house on the south end near the university and my first reaction there was that the place looked like an area that progress forgot. The university area has SUCH HUGE potential! My gut tells me to snatch up several multifamily homes, rent them to students, and sit on them for 4-6 years+. How can an amazing waterfront like that with a large university adjacent to it remain affordable for long?? Any thoughts or recommendations for me? Thanks.

[NezzaBlue]

Okay as someone who just recently graduated from a Bridgeport high school and have lived here all my life, I would not suggest moving here. I will tell you why.

Alot of people that have posted replies are seeing Bridgeport through rose colored glasses. I am pretty sure that they dont live on the east side, or the hollow, or a number of other "not so nice sections". Of course there are the beautiful parks and architechture but when theres litter all over the floor or young kids blasting their music and selling drugs with no discrestion whatsoever it kind of ruins the "beautiful horizon, or old houses."

As far as the housing market, well it is a buyers market so people that live in surrounding towns, Milford, Monroe, shelton come here and buy houses and then rent them out to people on section 8 becasue they know that they will get a check every month.

Sure it used to be one of the best places maybe about 15, 20 years ago that is not the case now. Also if you want to buy a house here great! , just don't live in it. In the past three months, my house was also most broken into by a crackhead but I was home. Also the wooden plank board that I have shoved under the doorknob helped.
My car was broken into and my best friends was stolen.
My dog had something in his mouth the other day when we were taking a walk and when I eventually grabbed it out of there I was disgusted but not surprised to see that it was a crack pipe...

I am sure some other people on here remember BPT as a beautiful place which it was, but for the youth of today its not. You have to drive through crap to get to nice places.

P.S Did I mention that my friend used to see our wonderful mayor driving through a questionable part of town, Marina Village, in his big SUV and tie undone. She used to say that it was nice he was reaching out to the less fortunate parts of the community....Haha He sure was alright. To buy crack of which he admitted 2 months later on T.V tearfully. I am glad that our future is in his hands.

Also check the statisitics of people who have left Bridgeport in the past 2 years. Its surging.
I am moving next week and couldnt be happier. Just thought I would give you the "youth" version of Bridgeport. Didnt mean to make it sound so negative, but it is what it is.

I wish you the best in your descision for your family and all that you do. Good luck.