[Stratford, Ct. Resident]

Originally Posted by JViello

Old Lyme has to be the "stuffiest" place I have been in CT by far. I was looking for Kate H on her porch sunning herself calling for the "cabana boy" to refill her afternoon tea.

I live in FENWICK you damned peasant!!!!

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by Stratford, Ct. Resident

I live in FENWICK you damned peasant!!!!

Actually I find folks in Fenwick to be modest and friendly. Very neighborhood oriented. I've spent many months there with friends, and was always delightfully surprised at how everyone says hello.

[JViello]

Originally Posted by lasttimewemove

We were ready to write off CT before today. ONLY in regard to what we are specifically looking for that suits us personally...not in any way a reflection on the state as a whole of course! THEN we visited Chester. And we fell in love with it. Loved the small towncenter, the friendlyness of the locals, the rolling hills, houses tucked into the knolls, weathered barns telling bits of its history, water everywhere!, the small theatre, lots of kids, LOTS of artists. Just loved it. Also loved the 2 "sibling" towns of Deep River and Essex. A local explained it that Chester was the artsy town, Deep RIver was blue collar, and Essex a little blue blood. We liked them all for thier uniqueness. We have a realtor there now and will continue to look into it. Lots of questions regarding the weather there, does it snow heavily (fine by us!), do the ponds freeze over? Whats the deal with property taxes? One house we looked at for about $400 had a $9k a year prop tax? is that consistent? How do they arrive at value for it? Schools seem great. Can have a 3 or 4 hen chicken coop no problem. It wasnt too far from big box stores in New London if we needed a depot run. Loved that we could have a boat on the river for recreation. NYC and Boston about 2 hours away. Excited!

I had a feeling. Call it a hunch.

Do you see what I mean about it being this somewhat idyllic almost fairytale place? It reminds me of a Thomas Kinkade painting in real life.

(Classics Collection Collection By Thomas Kinkade)

Wait until you are sitting on the river or in your yard and hear the Essex Steam train do it's low "wooo....wooo-wooooot". You'll feel like you are in a children's book somewhere.

Snow: Yes it CAN snow hard, if we get a "noreaster" heading up the coast, it will dump a lot of snow quickly. However, the lower river valley doesn't normally keep it on the ground for long. Winters are more mild there.

Yes the ponds do freeze over, but it's not for months on end and if you want to ice skate, there will be limited days. IOW if we have a hard freeze for say 3-4 days, the pond will be okay for a bit till we get a thaw.

Taxes: Yes, that sounds about right. Horrible IMO and something this state needs to get a handle on quickly. The town has an assessed value of the property and a mill rate. They multiply the mill rate by 70% of the assessed value.

Your cars and other personal property will be taxes every year in the same manner.

You've actually got box stores closer to you than New London. Middletown is 10 miles closer up RT9 and you have two very large upscale outdoor outlet centers in Clinton and Westbrook that have all the stores.

There is a more depth to the region then just the three towns as well. Like I mentioned, just up the river a few miles is East Haddam with the Goodspeed Opera House Goodspeed Musicals Gillette Castle State Park DEP: Gillette Castle State Park. and many other things to explore and enjoy.

Best of luck in your search!

Originally Posted by Stratford, Ct. Resident

I live in FENWICK you damned peasant!!!!

Dahm you...dahm you to hell I tell you! (That's the best Kate/Elizabethan type accent I can muster. )

[wavehunter007]

Originally Posted by JViello

Old Lyme has to be the "stuffiest" place I have been in CT by far. I was looking for Kate H on her porch sunning herself calling for the "cabana boy" to refill her afternoon tea.

This of course, is after dealing with several overly rich aholes who made it known they were overly rich aholes on a business level, and then considering the place for our wedding with several interviews with churches and facilities.

Keep in mind, I almost took an apartment with friends in Greenwich and lived in Darien commuting to the city for a time and my family has property on Shippan Point in Stamford so I'm not a "newb" on money and all that. IMO FFC doesn't hold a candle to the snobbery of Old Lyme.

I would suggest you go spend some time in downtown and hob knob with the locals before you "poo poo" the notion that Old Lyme is full of old money and old crabby libs who wouldn't know a hard days work if it hit them in the eye.

In the end, we got married in a historic Portuguese fisherman's church in Niantic. It just fit "us" better.

As for the lower CT River Valley, I'd hardly call it a "boomer" town. I think Essex was rated as America's NUMBER ONE small town a time or two before the cliques of "lists" became en vogue.

Other than that, I agree with your post.

That’s a good one (lol).

However…Kate H” passed away already…and she lived in Saybrook – not Lyme…and she was actually an old fashioned hardworking Irish girl, who gave far more than she ever took from Saybrook (like a “whole park” she bought for the town to save it from condo developers). Her house in Fenwick was nice, but far from what you would expect a person of her resources to have. Next, I’m and in Old Lyme often, ‘HALF” on the town’s population doesn’t even live in the town most of the year…they come from upstate, or other states (NJ, NH, ME…etc). So you might what to get your facts “straight”

As far as the political type…well I don’t know what the main political stripe is in the area…but better libs…than capitalistic and imperil republican pigs”. (lol)

[wavehunter007]

Originally Posted by lasttimewemove

We were ready to write off CT before today. ONLY in regard to what we are specifically looking for that suits us personally...not in any way a reflection on the state as a whole of course! THEN we visited Chester. And we fell in love with it. Loved the small towncenter, the friendlyness of the locals, the rolling hills, houses tucked into the knolls, weathered barns telling bits of its history, water everywhere!, the small theatre, lots of kids, LOTS of artists. Just loved it. Also loved the 2 "sibling" towns of Deep River and Essex. A local explained it that Chester was the artsy town, Deep RIver was blue collar, and Essex a little blue blood. We liked them all for thier uniqueness. We have a realtor there now and will continue to look into it. Lots of questions regarding the weather there, does it snow heavily (fine by us!), do the ponds freeze over? Whats the deal with property taxes? One house we looked at for about $400 had a $9k a year prop tax? is that consistent? How do they arrive at value for it? Schools seem great. Can have a 3 or 4 hen chicken coop no problem. It wasnt too far from big box stores in New London if we needed a depot run. Loved that we could have a boat on the river for recreation. NYC and Boston about 2 hours away. Excited!

Glad to see you like the River towns, especially Chester. I think Chester is a far better choice than Essex, it’s a much younger town, with more for children to do, and more geared toward young families. As far as Deep River, although it may look scruffy…don’t be fooled by this, it is a very nice, safe place for kids. Also, be aware however, the towns much above Deep River…were much closer to the former site of the Haddam Neck Nuclear Power Plant. To my knowledge…the towns of Chester and Haddam have had NO ground water or other environmental issues. The Haddam Neck station was closed and the site has been cleaned up from what I’ve heard (I live on the coast so it’s not as big of a concern down here since we are much further away). From what I understand… the site is monitored for ground water issues, and the CT DEP is fairly watchful. As far as taxes go, your tax bill is arrived at using 70% of your homes value. $9,000 is a bit on the higher side for the region. As far as boat’s there are plenty of dockage available, so your in the right place (lol).

As far as the weather…well the further east and south you go in Connecticut…the less and less snow/ice you get. Places in the lower Connecticut River and along the southeast coast from Madison to the Rhode Island State line get the least snow in the whole state. For instance parts of the Hartford area (northern Ct) get 45 inches of snow a year…while much of the lower Connecticut River valley gets half that (closer to 25 inches). Here in southeast Connecticut the ponds only freeze for a very short time in winter (in some winters they never freeze). Normally, the ponds may freeze in January for a few weeks. So NEVER let your children on ice here until you are told it’s safe by the Fire Department, town…etc. The southeast part of CT has the mildest winters in the state due to the influnce of the warm Atlantic.

Good Luck, you’ll like Chester and the lower CT river area.

[arielmina]

Sounds idyllic OP! How lucky you are not to be tied to a particular area due to work commutes, but rather able to find your perfect town. Best of luck!!

[lasttimewemove]

Originally Posted by JViello

I had a feeling. Call it a hunch.

Very perceptive! Yes, it was just what we were looking for...very close to ideal for us.

Do you see what I mean about it being this somewhat idyllic almost fairytale place? It reminds me of a Thomas Kinkade painting in real life.

totally! I was thinking more M.Parrish though due to the spectacular skies/sunsets we saw Lots of burnt orange and big blue.

(Classics Collection Collection By Thomas Kinkade)

Wait until you are sitting on the river or in your yard and hear the Essex Steam train do it's low "wooo....wooo-wooooot". You'll feel like you are in a children's book somewhere.

Yes, love love this. The little town in Indiana i grew up in had the South Shore Line, a commuter train from South Bend to Chicago, and it had that old school "whoot" you speak of...i used to hush my dad when I called him from California, so that I could hear it in the background to remind me of home. Love trains.


Taxes: Yes, that sounds about right. Horrible IMO and something this state needs to get a handle on quickly. The town has an assessed value of the property and a mill rate. They multiply the mill rate by 70% of the assessed value.

This is something we will just have to figure in to the cost of living. It is a shock to us. Thats almost 1/3 to 1/2 AGAIN of your mortgage payment! yikes.


There is a more depth to the region then just the three towns as well. Like I mentioned, just up the river a few miles is East Haddam with the Goodspeed Opera House Goodspeed Musicals Gillette Castle State Park DEP: Gillette Castle State Park. and many other things to explore and enjoy. Yes, we see that there are many cultural opps there. it is just really really a cool little place.

Best of luck in your search! Thank you so very much, really appreciate it! We really feel like we have direction, and are actually excited. We were loathing doing any more research, it just all seemed like such a hassle, and we lost hope of finding our niche. Now, after this message board, we have it narrowed to 2 areas in 2 states...pretty remarkable. Couldnt have done it without everyone's input. Thanks again. Really.



Dahm you...dahm you to hell I tell you! (That's the best Kate/Elizabethan type accent I can muster. )

Sorry JViello, my replies are above...havent mastered the multi quote yet obviously! thanks again.

[HomeinCT]

I currently live in Monroe, and after a recent visit to Mystic CT, I thought "Why don't we live up here?" So I popped on line and came across these posts... which inspired me to check out some of these coastal towns. So far, I love Guilford, but I'm going to check out Chester next. I think Chester is smaller, though, and I think I want a larger town center. Anyway, thanks for posting all this great information, it's been so helpful!

[lasttimewemove]

Originally Posted by HomeinCT

I currently live in Monroe, and after a recent visit to Mystic CT, I thought "Why don't we live up here?" So I popped on line and came across these posts... which inspired me to check out some of these coastal towns. So far, I love Guilford, but I'm going to check out Chester next. I think Chester is smaller, though, and I think I want a larger town center. Anyway, thanks for posting all this great information, it's been so helpful!

Hi HomeinCT, Yes Chester is pretty small and sleepy compared to those you mention...and maybe a little too removed from the coast for you. Have fun looking, hope you find the perfect little spot for your family

[SailCT]

I live in lower Fairfield County and have been doing this same type of research for years. There are three towns that truly meet all your criteria: Glastonbury, Madison and Old Lyme.