[renovating]

Originally Posted by cls500

I drove around the area today and what really struck me is how much forest there is. Many houses are engulfed by the forest and some can't even be seen from the street.

Desire for privacy aside, is there a commercial or zoning rationale behind not opening the properties to sunlight? There were a few areas where my car's lights went on because it was that dark from all the trees!

For comparison, in Princeton, for each tree I cut I need to plant another one and may even have to obtain a permit.

Thanks

What area? What town? What roads were you on?

[cls500]

Drove from downtown Westport to Weston and Wilton. Saw Mill Rd for example looks like a tropical jungle with no sunlight touching the ground.

Spent a lot of time driving on Weston Rd, Newtown Tpk, Georgetown Rd, Lyons Plains, etc. The exact area is at this link, along with my drive-by notes:

Westport - Weston - Wilton - Fairfield Notes

[andthentherewere3]

I've noticed that some people moving from areas to the south of us often comment on the numerous trees in Ct. Just a few weeks ago I noticed while on vacation in the south, the further north we drove, the more trees there were. We love the trees! Connecticut is so lush and green compared to areas to the south of us, which is more barren. It's especially beautiful in New England during the fall months. We deliberately chose a home that was surrounded by trees, including several acres of woods. Trees will help keep your home cool during the summer months, too. My only regret is that it can be difficult to garden with so much shade, maybe one day we'll remove another tree or two. I guess it's just a matter of personal taste.

[cls500]

I agree, a lot of CT's beauty comes from the lush greens. They not only look very nice, but also keep the air clean from pollution and cool in the summer. So I do plan on keeping as many trees as possible.

Having said that, I firmly believe that trees have no business touching the house or in front of your front door to the point where you shape the pavement to go around the tree. I also want sunlight to be able to enter the windows. So there has to be a good balance between nature's beauty, privacy, and esthetics.

So, is it a matter of personal choice or it is prohibitively expensive to cut trees? Thin and prune them?

CLS500

P.S. I love trees, don't take me wrong. I have 25 acres of them at my vacation house in Canada.

[renovating]

I love trees and agree they add to our natural beauty. I recently planted some on my property.

I can only imagine how gorgeous those roads will be in the Fall!

I think it is expensive to cut down trees (it certainly isn't cheap to plant them) probably a lot cheaper to thin and prune. Good luck!

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by cls500

I drove around the area today and what really struck me is how much forest there is. Many houses are engulfed by the forest and some can't even be seen from the street.

Desire for privacy aside, is there a commercial or zoning rationale behind not opening the properties to sunlight? There were a few areas where my car's lights went on because it was that dark from all the trees!

For comparison, in Princeton, for each tree I cut I need to plant another one and may even have to obtain a permit.

Thanks

Most of the areas you drove through have larger lots (acre+) and were mostly forested before homes were built. The towns in CT value that forest and discourage clear cutting lots. Many newer subdivisions will actually have conservation easements that limit cutting of trees on parts of the property. Those trees are an important part of the character of the area and add to the desireability of the community. The towns want to preserve the rural feel and most people agree it is beautiful including me. Jay

[Ourdreamhouse]

Originally Posted by cls500

I will be moving from Princeton, NJ to CT and my new office will be in Westport.
We have to kids- 4 and 6- and the quality of the school system plays a significant role in our decision. We also like being close to stores (Whole Foods and Trader Joe's), have a downtime area to enjoy a stroll, have friendly neighbors, and being able to make friends and get integrated into the community.

Home price limit is $550K; 4 bedrooms is a must. It appears from real estate sites that Weston, Wilton, and Norwalk all offer such homes; Westport itself has only a couple.

We also like going out occasionally and are being spoiled by the restaurants in downtown Princeton. Where do we go for a similar experience in Westport, Weston, Wilton?

Ditto for key stores. We are walking distance to Whole Foods, 1 mile to Lowe's, 2 miles to Home Depot, Wegmans, Wal Mart, and Target, etc. yet we live in a friendly neighborhood with lots of kids, green, pool, etc.

So I wonder if we can find someplace similar to Princeton in our price range or need to look perhaps at Westchester? I have been commuting from Princeton to NYC since 1997 and would love to be able to drive to work in 10 minutes if possible.

Thanks

I've lived in the Princeton area for six years, grew up (many years ago) in Ridgefield, and have a pretty good idea of the differences, although not the current home prices in CT. If it were possible, i'd move back to CT tomorrow vs. stay in Princeton.

One thing to keep in mind re: home prices: property taxes in CT tend to be much less, sometimes as much as 50% less than in NJ. If you're paying ~$15k now, you may have to pay only $8k in CT for the same cost house. Factor that in to your monthlies when you're looking at houses and mortgages.

One of the key differences between the two locations is the culture. NJ tends to be more like affluent Long Island, Florida or California: lots of shoppers and shopping, materialism/shallowness, "keeping up with the Jones's" approach to life. Fairfield County is more like that than other parts of CT, but not as bad as NJ. Because of the demand, there ARE more stores in the Princeton area. On the other hand, there is the awful blight of Route 1, where Whole Foods, Lowe's, etc are located. Downtown Princeton has some very good restaurants, but i think you'll be able to find comparable ones in SW Connecticut, maybe not as close by. (I'm not current with restaurants in some of the towns that have been recommended above.)

As far as schools, i think you'll be very pleased with schools in any of those towns, with the probably exception of Norwalk. NJ schools aren't as good as i was led to believe; we wound up sending our older son to PDS, rather than West Windsor.

Lastly, as far as your impression of the amount of trees, i had to laugh. There are many communities in the Princeton area where it seems that they forgot about trees: huge McMansions with nothing but plain grass all around the houses. No shade, no shelter, no character. Ugh!

Good luck in your new world, and congratulations on being able to get out of the rat-race commute to the City.

[seymourct]

Just a thought on tree lined streets, I've had my GPS and satellite radio fail in Wesport and Weston due to the foliage blocking the signals.
If your new to the area, plan to have a mapquest printout of your route, along with your GPS, to make sure you find your way around.

[cls500]

Originally Posted by seymourct

Just a thought on tree lined streets, I've had my GPS and satellite radio fail in Wesport and Weston due to the foliage blocking the signals.
If your new to the area, plan to have a mapquest printout of your route, along with your GPS, to make sure you find your way around.

This is a very good point, particularly relevant for CT.

I have never been big on portable GPS units for that very same reason; albeit expensive, built-in car navigation systems feed from the car's gyroscopes, speed and acceleration sensors, etc. and work just fine in urban or densely wooded environment.

[cls500]

Originally Posted by Ourdreamhouse

One thing to keep in mind re: home prices: property taxes in CT tend to be much less, sometimes as much as 50% less than in NJ. If you're paying ~$15k now, you may have to pay only $8k in CT for the same cost house. Factor that in to your monthlies when you're looking at houses and mortgages.

This is true, I noticed that taxes are lower than what we pay in NJ for our townhouse. I am also factoring in the association fees, monthly ticket to NYC, and parking at the train station. The last 3 alone are a saving of $800 per month.