Madison/Guilford or Fairfield?? Or Someplace Else? (New Haven, Milford: transfer, high schools)
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My spouse was recently transferred to the east side of New Haven. Everybody tells him to move the family to Madison or Guilford. High school quality is a key concern. A 30 minute commute is important. However, every Saturday I'm going to drive over the Tappan Zee into New York. If I'm making the trip once (or possibly twice) a week on the weekend, should we consider living in Fairfield? Or some other place that would be within 30 or so minutes of New Haven (that has good schools)?
When you say east side of New Haven, I assume you mean east of the Quinnipiac River which means if you live in Fairfield, your husband must travel through New Haven. During rush hour this will not be easy. There is a lot of traffic going into New Haven in the morning, so what is normally a 30 minute trip from Fairfield could easily go to 45 minutes to an hour. Not fun to face everyday.
I agree with "everybody" that Guilford and Madison are great places to live. Your trip on weekends would not be in traffic so that is not a concern. If you are concerned about the added time to your trip that much, then consider living in Orange, Milford or Woodbridge which are west of New Haven and a bit closer to New York. These are great towns for families with good to excellent schools and the commute to New Haven would be less 30 minutes depending where you live and where your husband works. Good luck, Jay
If you want the best public high schools in greater New Haven, I would consider Amity (Orange, Woodbridge, Bethany), Daniel Hand (Madison), and Guilford. These towns all happen to be very nice places to live -- although the types of amenities vary. Fairfield's schools are great too, but I would not describe them as "greater New Haven."
If you are considering private high schools, then look at Choate Rosemary Hall (Wallingford) and The Hopkins School (Westville area of New Haven).
Thanks for your help. I guess I have to really consider my husband's daily commute if I expect to stay married, so I'll do my best to avoid that commute on 95 from the south. I'll check out Amity, too.
I agree with "everybody" that Guilford and Madison are great places to live. Your trip on weekends would not be in traffic so that is not a concern. If you are concerned about the added time to your trip that much, then consider living in Orange, Milford or Woodbridge which are west of New Haven and a bit closer to New York. These are great towns for families with good to excellent schools and the commute to New Haven would be less 30 minutes depending where you live and where your husband works. Good luck, Jay
Have to agree. Guilford gets my vote. Although, North Haven & Branford are certainly nice as well.
More things to think about that maybe some of you can answer - If we live in Fairfield, and I have to drive my kids around after school to ice rinks, dance lessons and music lessons, what will the afternoon traffic be like?
Orange is a great town if you're working in the New Haven area. Though it's west of New Haven, so that could be a problem. But if I were to work in New Haven and choosing a town to live in, it would be Orange.
More things to think about that maybe some of you can answer - If we live in Fairfield, and I have to drive my kids around after school to ice rinks, dance lessons and music lessons, what will the afternoon traffic be like?
Traffic on Connecticut's secondary roads is not like traffic found in other parts of the country. We do not have many major arterials with long lines of heavy traffic like other parts of the country. Route 1 is about the worst of these roads and it is really not that bad. Rarely do you ever have to wait at an intersection for more than a minute. Also, once you learn the local roads you will find your way around any problem spots. Jay
More things to think about that maybe some of you can answer - If we live in Fairfield, and I have to drive my kids around after school to ice rinks, dance lessons and music lessons, what will the afternoon traffic be like?
I find downtown Fairfield to be quite congested during rush hour. As Jay said, it's not like side roads in Charlotte or Florida but it can be a PITA if you're not used to it.
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