[ronson]

Not alot to do in that area but walk to Seaside park. The down town area is a ghost town but seems to be coming back a little. Not the most conducive area to walk around in but you shouldnt have any issues. Bridgeport Schools do not have a great reputation. I would pick any of the surrounding towns for a school system rather than Bridgeport.

The lofts you mention are nice though, new renovations I believe.

Good luck!

[Johnny CT]

PietVA,

If you fly to Newark there is a less expensive alternative to Amtrak. From the Airport you could take NJ Transit(the New Jersey commuter train) to Penn station in Manhattan. From Penn Station you would need to walk/take a cab to Grand Central Station. From Grand Central you can catch Metro-North, the commuter train to Connecticut. If Newtown is your final destination you can take the train to Danbury which would be the closest to Newtown.
There is also a bus service from Newark to Port Authority bus station in Manhattan. From Port Authority you would transfer to the Peter Pan busline for service to Danbury Connecticut. From Danbury to Newtown I would imagine you would have to take a taxi, I don't know if there is any local bus service.

Good luck.

[Moonraven24]

Ok, so this is way late and I'm sure you moved by now, but I grew up in that crazy drug laden city, and like someone else mentioned, I was glad to get out alive. I haven't been back in about ten years myself. And I haven't lived there in 14 years, and there is a reason. I read a lot about how much they are doing to clean things up, but that drasticly high crime rate that you mention- keep in mind that all that crime is happening in only 16 square miles of city. I never had my children in that city, never will. I myself was a child there and would never recommend the school system. Not sure which schools are specifically closest to the location you mention, but every high school in the city (except the one private school) has metal detectors, and most elementary schools do as well. I managed to be sent to a differet school system, thank goodness, but my friends went to Bridgeport Schools and the drugs, violence, and out of control crap that goes on is just not acceptable in my eyes. Good Schools? Westport. Very pricey area, but beautiful and the schools are awesome. I have friends who stayed in Bpt. through everything- the crime, the burning of entire neighborhoods, the National Guard having to come in and reroute the streets to try and dissuade people from driving around and buying drugs (this was actually a very amusing project to me- I watched it unfold, the National Guard trying to push their presence on every corner, and setting up jersey barriers and turing every other street into a one way- and then I watched young people flip over and destroy the Jersey Barriers that were set up, so that they could keep their drug routes open) the tear down of one of the largest housing projects in the country (Father Panik was an insane place to go. The police and EMS would not even answer calls there. They would require people to bring injured or sick people outside the project to be picked up by ambulance, or they were not going to get services. They may not go on record and admit that, but I saw it happen more than once and I know of someone who died of gunshot wounds because the police did not answer a call for 90 minutes), and the resulting rise in crime in the city as a whole as the residents of that project spread across the city. My advice? Stratford, though not entirely better, generally won't have hypodermic needles on the beach as you're walking, like you'll find at Seaside Park, and the schools are considerably better. Fairfield (not the side closest to Bridgeport, but the Westport/Southport side) is a much better choice. Nice schools (though overcrowded) and a lot closer to cultural things in Westport and such. You also won't have to worry about getting carjacked or shot driving around in Fairfield either, or worry about whether the police will take 30-55 minutes to arrive if you do have to call them.

[Joan Nutmeg]

Hello, all -

Birdgeport has a lot of problems, but it also has something that a lot of boring CT does not have and that is great strength of spirit and a wonderful cultural and ethnic diversity. It has a lot of cultural attractions, and one of the best city beaches in the state. It was some lovely, small neighborhoods. It also has a mess of a city government that recently announced a $16 million dollar deficit in their budget for this year. And our new mayor who made it his campaign promise to give every homeowner a $600 tax rebate has now said "not this year." But hopefully all the new planned development like Steel Point will be moving ahead, well, there is one thing Bepo has and that is a lot of hope. The City Trust condos and shops are a great step in the right direction.

Joan Nutmeg
Bridgeport In The Know
The only independent Bridgeport online discussion group
with over 300 city web links and events calendar
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bridgeportintheknow/

[flaming43]

If you move to bridgeport, i suggest you stay north of capital ave.

As for the school system in bridgeport, Iam 18 so i have recent experience. I went to a private elementary school in bridgeport, tuition was about $430/month, about 200 students in the school. Looking back i can tell you it was well worth the money, it was a very good environment, teachers were involved, benchmark was high. But i Highly suggest you stay away from the public schools in bridgeport they're horrible.

I went to private high school in fairfield county (outside bridgeport) tuition was $9k+/year. There was alot of your stereotypical rich spoiled kid. I was surprised by the amount of drug use, most of which was from the valley especially shelton.

[New England Yankee]

Bridgeport? What a terrible town.It has a bad rep and no-one that lives in that area would buy/move there.
Go in some of the surroundimg small towns.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by New England Yankee

Bridgeport? What a terrible town.It has a bad rep and no-one that lives in that area would buy/move there.
Go in some of the surroundimg small towns.

I know a lot of people that live in Bridgeport that love their city and would not move out of it. Not all of the city is bad and its "bad rep" is really over-blown. Jay

[BoriDivine]

Hi, I just Graduated From Bassick High School 2 Years ago. Not as Bad as they say... fights here and there, but not like 10-15 yrs ago. Much Better Security Guards and 1 police officer. The school where your children would be going is a school that opened a year ago, amazing! Smart boards...the whole deal. Again lots of security and the building is state of the art. I doubt there will be guns there. Kids are walking around the are all the time and there is a police station almost next to the School. I wouldn't go to Seaside (the beach a few blocks away) at night, but def during the day. Also near the lofts and seaside is the Bridgeport Universty Campus.

[BoriDivine]

By the way, lived here my whole life and still alive and In college....not to mention Hosatonic comunity college near by, full of smart young enthusiastic hard working college students. Honestly not as bad as it sounds.

[Joan Nutmeg]

Hi, all -

I have lived in Bridgeport for a couple of years, in the lovely Black Rock section. I used to live in white-bread Greenwich and I hated every minute of it. Bridgeport has some serious economic problems, but it also has a great diversity and vibrancy that a lot of boring Connecticut towns do not. I started a Yahoo group all about Bpo so that folks could share and talk and list hundreds of interesting Bpo web sites and a great calendar of events that go on in this town. I guess wherever you live is home !

Joan Nutmeg

Bridgeport In The Know
The only independent Bridgeport online discussion group
with over 400 city web links and events calendar
bridgeportintheknow : Bridgeport In The Know

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