[twinsmom919]

Hi! My husband and I are thinking of relocationg to CT from Ny and I could use some advice. We have 2 small children are are looking for a safe, nice town to raise our family. We would have to be within 2 hours commute to Manhattan since my Husband will continue to commute. Our budget is only around $325-$350,000. I am doing research and came upon Berlin, New Haven and Kensington. Any advice on these towns? I would love a small town feel with other young families and parks nearby along with good schools. Any help would be appriciated! Thank You!

[RogerAnthony]

New Haven is not a nice, safe town. It is a large city with some decent parts, but lots of crime.

Kensington is part of Berlin, which is a nice safe town.

However, there are dozens of towns in CT that can meet your criteria and many are closer to NY than Berlin. Try Milford or Stratford, for example.

[Stylo]

First off, none of the towns you mentioned are 2 hours to Manhattan except New Haven. From Berlin, try 3 hours door to door.

Secondly, New Haven is an urban city with a great downtown and cultural presence, but IMO is not appropriate to raise a family in. It's a good city for young people to rent in, but that's about it. I couldn't recommend a family to buy there since the schools underperform, the taxes are extremely high, and many parts are crime ridden. It's a place you visit.

I agree with the suggestion to check out Milford and Stratford with that budget. You could also look at Danbury or Bethel if a 2 hour commute is OK with him (car to Metro North on NY side). Lastly, Orange might be a good option with its very well performing schools, but it will add another 15-20 minutes onto the 80 minute commute from Milford.

Any other towns within commuting distance to NYC and you're really stretching your budget too thin, or in a city with bad schools.

[twinsmom919]

Thank you so much for responding. Im so glad you were able to help me. I had looked up nice safe places in CT for families and for some reason New Haven came up. I will look into the places you suggested. Do you by any chance know anything about Trumbull? Thank you so much!

[ctwhitechin]

Trumbull you should be fine...that's even closer to the city.

[andthentherewere3]

Your budget is low for Trumbull, but you could get a small fixer-upper, townhome, or condo. You could also look into Monroe. I know people in Trumbull and Monroe who commute into Manhattan. Both towns are smallish, with good schools, numerous parks, and a lot of family-oriented activities. To get an idea of pricing, look at Raveis.com.

[mlassoff]

Trumbull is a lovely town with lots of activities for families and Trumbull. Your budget is definitely on the low side for Trumbull. You might look in to Monroe, which is adjacent to Trumbull, more rural, but lovely all the same.

I would also second the votes for Milford. Milford is a great shoreline town with great shopping, good restaurants and easy access to the MetroNorth commuter railroad that goes in to Manhattan.

[Stylo]

Originally Posted by twinsmom919

Thank you so much for responding. Im so glad you were able to help me. I had looked up nice safe places in CT for families and for some reason New Haven came up. I will look into the places you suggested. Do you by any chance know anything about Trumbull? Thank you so much!

Trumbull is nice but you'll be pushing your budget a bit. I wouldn't personally look at Trumbull without a $400-$450k min. budget for a single family home. A friend got a place for $410k and it definitely needs some work. It also effectively adds about 15-20 minutes to the Fairfield/Bridgeport commute because there's no train station in Trumbull.

[anon860]

New Haven tends to unfairly get lumped into a group with Bridgeport, Hartford and Waterbury by people on this comment board. Also, I think people are envious of New Haven sometimes, because many areas are in fact far more expensive than the suburbs. If you want an acre of land in Westville or East Rock, you will be paying approximately $600,000 to $2,000,000 for a house, whereas a similar property in the suburbs can be had for a tiny fraction of that.

There are actually many young families in New Haven, and some of the best public elementary schools in the state are there. Go to the farmers' markets in East Rock or Westville and you will see throngs of young, educated families with children - i.e., literally hundreds of them. You won't even find this in most of the suburban towns around New Haven, though many of the suburban towns are perfectly nice. This is due to the presence of many Yale affiliated families and physicians at the hospitals, who want to live near to where they work. You have to know where to look, though, since some of New Haven consists of lower income neighborhoods.

Bottom line is that if you are willing to do research, the comparative advantages of some New Haven neighborhoods (e.g., New Haven is the only city in the state, other than maybe Stamford, where you can walk places; cultural scene, restaurants, etc.), may outweigh the potential negatives for you. New Haven is becoming a magnet for jobs and young families whereas the rest of the State is in the doldrums, economically and culturally speaking (though West Hartford is a nice enclave).

[andthentherewere3]

Originally Posted by anon860

Also, I think people are envious of New Haven sometimes, because many areas are in fact far more expensive than the suburbs.

The OP is looking for good schools and a small town feel, and New Haven is not known for it's good public schools or it's small town feel. If she is willing to pay thousands for a private school or get lucky by lottery into a magnet school it might be an option, though.