[charlives]

I've lived all over Ct., and outside Fairfield County, you get what you pay for.

[cool_mommy]

Originally Posted by charlives

I've lived all over Ct., and outside Fairfield County, you get what you pay for.

There are many nice towns in each corner, or on every border and centrally as well. It all depends on what you are looking for. Fairfield County has some pretty high crime rates just as other towns in CT. There are towns that neighbor each other and have similar budgets but choose to spend their money quite differently. Therefore, you will find neighboring towns in the same county with vast differences, throughout the state. Some choose to spend their money on education while others spend their budget on civil works. Some schools will offer many programs while others in close proximity can't afford textbooks. I live in a town with a rather large police force that hasn't been able to solve a crime in years yet the town next door is the same size and gets by with a resident state trooper and they have virtually no crime.

You really have to do your research and can not just center your search on one county, if you do you will only short change yourself.

I personally have had it with CT as a whole and can't wait to move on. The state of CT has suffered through some devestating changes over the recent past and I don't see its stability coming back any time soon.

[uconn99]

I've lived all over Ct., and outside Fairfield County, you get what you pay for.

That is the biggest B.S. I have ever heard. Typical close minded Fairfield county attitude at its best. Don't forget your state money comes from "Hartford".

[sunshinecities]

I am from Ridgewood NJ originally. My husband and I have lived in East Hartford CT for over 20 years now. I miss Ridgewood. CT is nice in many ways though too. As far as towns. We are on the Glastonbury line and we love Glastonbury. We are right on the boarder of it and mostly go to Glastonbury Center instead of East Hartford. I don't find the people snobby in Glastonbury as another reesponse said. I think South Windsor is nice. If you want to live further from the city of Hartford then Hebron, Tolland, and Columbia, or Marlborough are nice. I love Marlborough - it's a small town - real New Englandly (I invented a word - ha ha).
Patty and Dave

[Rich Lee]

Originally Posted by uconn99

That is the biggest B.S. I have ever heard. Typical close minded Fairfield county attitude at its best. Don't forget your state money comes from "Hartford".

I took it differently. Outside of Fairfield County, you get what you pay for. Within Fairfield County, you don't - meaning that it's overpriced? That's just my take.

I do have a sidebar though: being a REALTOR® licensed BY the state of Connecticut FOR the state of Connecticut, I was once told by a Wilton office manager to "stay out of Fairfield County" since I didn't live there. They can be territorial little critters as evidenced by their stubbornness not to join the statewide MLS.

[kettlepot]

Originally Posted by Rich Lee

I took it differently. Outside of Fairfield County, you get what you pay for. Within Fairfield County, you don't - meaning that it's overpriced? That's just my take.

Ditto from me too. That's how I interpreted the comment.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by charlives

I've lived all over Ct., and outside Fairfield County, you get what you pay for.

There are an aweful lot of people buying homes in Fairfield County, so it has to be worth it for someone. This observation is obviously from someone who does not live in Fairfield County. If having access to New York City while living in a beautiful town is your priority, then Fairfield County is worth what you pay to live there. If you just want a place to live and don't need access to NYC and the high paying jobs in the area, then it is not worth it. If it was not worth it the prices wouldn't be as high as they are. Jay

[uconn99]

Maybe I read into it wrong, talking over the internet can be so confusing sometimes!

[Rich Lee]

Originally Posted by JayCT

There are an aweful lot of people buying homes in Fairfield County, so it has to be worth it for someone. This observation is obviously from someone who does not live in Fairfield County. If having access to New York City while living in a beautiful town is your priority, then Fairfield County is worth what you pay to live there. If you just want a place to live and don't need access to NYC and the high paying jobs in the area, then it is not worth it. If it was not worth it the prices wouldn't be as high as they are. Jay

If you're into analysis, here's a Market Watch Report for the first quarter of 2007 from the MLS that services most of Western Connecticut.

http://www.ct-mls.com/General/economic_market_report/2007quarter/Consolidated_1q07.pdf (broken link)

[JayCT]

Rich Lee - Thanks for the information. Looks like real estate in CT is still hanging in there (no bursting bubble like other portions of the country). Jay