[Torcastle]

Hello everyone,
My wife and I (33 & 37 respectively) are from Michigan and are looking for a new place to live in the next 18 months. So this is early research. We've moved out-of-state, and back, before. So we're pretty familiar with what we're getting ourselves into. My wife has relatives in the Hartford area, but we think we'd probably prefer to live in SW Connecticut for access to both the coast and NYC. She works in health care (dietitian) and I have a Master's degree and work in higher ed. We have a small side business we're hoping to grow into full time, eventually, but it's not location-dependent. We're both liberal (her moreso than I). We like to have walkable areas and a "real" downtown. We have a baby on the way, so ultimately it has to be a family friendly and have decent schools. We have no interest in working in NYC, but like the access for entertainment if we so desired.

I know that SW CT can be a little pricey, and while we're currently living in a more expensive area of Michigan, we would like to keep things as reasonably priced as possible. What I mean is, we don't even like big houses or a ritzy lifestyle; but we do like pleasant, educated neighbours in a safe place with decent schools and it'd be nice to have a cafe' or two to hang out at. We'd rather put our money into our business and maintaining a lower-stress life. There have to be some decent middle class areas that fit the bill. You think?

So any suggestions would be helpful. Danbury looks nice, but might be a little far from things (but it's not out of the question). What's the Norwalk area like? We'd consider anything from New Haven to Stamford, and probably inland a few miles. How's the job market in SW CT itself (recession-aside) since we don't want to commute to NYC? Anything else you could tell us about CT?

Thank you for any suggestions or information!
- Brandon

[JayCT]

Southwest Connecticut (generally Fairfield County) is a pretty pricey area to live. Housing is very expensive, among the most expensive in the country. Many people work in Fairfield county (mostly in Stamford) but live elsewhere and then commute in. This makes the roads and commuter rail lines very busy.

Norwalk is a small city with some of the typical urban issues. There are many nice neighborhoods but in general the schools have issues. Also the area is very busy so that lower-stress life would be difficult there.

I would suggest focusing your search on the New Haven area. New Haven is a great small city with many wonderful cultural amenities mostly due to Yale University and Medical Center. The towns east of New Haven are particularly nice including Branford, Guilford and Madison. These towns have rail service into New Haven where you can connect to trains into New York. They have nice downtown areas like you descibe and are on the water. The schools are very good to excellent in these towns as well. Check it out. Jay

[7 Wishes]

I will suggest the New Haven area as well since you're only looking for access to NYC, not jobs there. In all honesty, from what you describe, I think you'd really like the Hartford area (not the city itself, but some of the towns nearby) and except that you wouldn't have direct train access, it wouldn't be that bad for an occasional trip to Manhattan (it's maybe 40 miles past New Haven if that).

[Torcastle]

Thank you for the suggestions. Since we currently live near a major university (actually near 2) the atmosphere/culture that comes with a place like Yale would probably be very appealing. What other parts of the New Haven area might people recommend? We would also likely consider something south of Hartford that would let us work in either Hartford or New Haven. As I said, my wife's relatives live in the Hartford area (east of town) so we're not entirely opposed to being near it. We'd just like to be closer to the coast.

[Stratford, Ct. Resident]

Originally Posted by Torcastle

We'd just like to be closer to the coast.

I don't know if you're aware or not, but it is possible to find homes located in coastal towns that are "reasonably" priced. West of the city of Bridgeport, beginning with the town of Fairfield and extending to the NY state line, is where the prices climb precipitously. East of Fairfield, there are towns that are good, non-affluent coastal communities.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by Torcastle

Thank you for the suggestions. Since we currently live near a major university (actually near 2) the atmosphere/culture that comes with a place like Yale would probably be very appealing. What other parts of the New Haven area might people recommend? We would also likely consider something south of Hartford that would let us work in either Hartford or New Haven. As I said, my wife's relatives live in the Hartford area (east of town) so we're not entirely opposed to being near it. We'd just like to be closer to the coast.

Middletown would be perfect. It is near the geographic center of the state and offers great access to both Hartford and New Haven as well as Waterbury, Fairfield County and southcentral shoreline area. Middletown is home to Wesleyan University so there is the college influence. It has a wonderful downtown area with many good stores and great restaurants. Schools in Middletown are not the best but there are many towns nearby that wouold be very good. You could start in a Middletown rental, see where you end up working and get to know the area and then relocate to another town. Jay

[Torcastle]

Middletown sounds like an interesting possibility. In addition to that, what are Meriden and Waterbury like? Anything we should consider?

[KH02]

Meriden and Waterbury...Ummm NO!

[renovating]

Originally Posted by Torcastle

Hello everyone,
My wife and I (33 & 37 respectively) are from Michigan and are looking for a new place to live in the next 18 months. So this is early research. We've moved out-of-state, and back, before. So we're pretty familiar with what we're getting ourselves into. My wife has relatives in the Hartford area, but we think we'd probably prefer to live in SW Connecticut for access to both the coast and NYC. She works in health care (dietitian) and I have a Master's degree and work in higher ed. We have a small side business we're hoping to grow into full time, eventually, but it's not location-dependent. We're both liberal (her moreso than I). We like to have walkable areas and a "real" downtown. We have a baby on the way, so ultimately it has to be a family friendly and have decent schools. We have no interest in working in NYC, but like the access for entertainment if we so desired.

I know that SW CT can be a little pricey, and while we're currently living in a more expensive area of Michigan, we would like to keep things as reasonably priced as possible. What I mean is, we don't even like big houses or a ritzy lifestyle; but we do like pleasant, educated neighbours in a safe place with decent schools and it'd be nice to have a cafe' or two to hang out at. We'd rather put our money into our business and maintaining a lower-stress life. There have to be some decent middle class areas that fit the bill. You think?

So any suggestions would be helpful. Danbury looks nice, but might be a little far from things (but it's not out of the question). What's the Norwalk area like? We'd consider anything from New Haven to Stamford, and probably inland a few miles. How's the job market in SW CT itself (recession-aside) since we don't want to commute to NYC? Anything else you could tell us about CT?

Thank you for any suggestions or information!
- Brandon

Connecticut is a wonderful place to live and raise a family. So many things to do and so many opportunities.

There are plenty of towns all through the state that fit what you are looking for. However, where you work would determine where you live. No sense picking out a town near Danbury if you find a job in Hartford, right?

I would secure employment first! Good luck and congratulations on the baby.

[Torcastle]

After talking it over further, we've opened up more to the idea of the Hartford area. West Hartford seems kind of nice (given what little we have to go on). Tolland apparently ranked well in Money Magazine's ranking (not that I always agree with their picks). Any others we should keep in mind?