[Stratford, Ct. Resident]

Originally Posted by Wilton2ParkAve

I'd check out Trumbull near 25- this allows for a quick shot down to the Bridgeport station.

OP's budget will limit them to the Bridgeport border of Trumbull. Also, not to beat a dead horse..................., Trumbull's house taxes are insane. I'm not talking about their mill rate, i'm talking about what the houses are (over)assessed at by the town, resulting in an overall ridiculous tax bill.

[Stylo]

Originally Posted by Wilton2ParkAve

Milford is the better option, but schools based on sat scores are barely above median. Graduation rates exceed the ct cities but not the bedroom communities. I'd check out Trumbull near 25- this allows for a quick shot down to the Bridgeport station. Unless you live in downtown Milford, commute time to the train may actually be comparable from southern Trumbull.

Methinks you're seeing much of the difference in school results from Trumbull more from a more moderate/homogenous income base vs. quality of schools. You have a wider range in Milford, both poorer and richer than in Trumbull. Also, the elementary school performance seems comparable.

I would normally recommend Trumbull, but not in the OP's budget. A friend of mine just bought a house in Trumbull in the low 400's - an older home that needs work - and it goes to show the premium for that town vs. Stratford and Milford.

FWIW, most parts of Milford are a 5 minute drive to the train station, which is central. It's about 4-5 minutes for me. I can't see it taking much more than 10 from any part of town, there's not really any side street traffic in the AM.

[nmm267]

Thanks so much for all of your insight and help! I was leaning more toward Milford myself, though Stratford looks nice, too. We'll definitely be checking out both towns; it was really helpful to learn about the different neighborhoods within each city. Thanks everyone!

As for the commute, would it be more practical to take the train in every day vs driving? The one downfall to these cities seems to be the amount of time we'll spend in the car each day!

[Wilton2ParkAve]

More moderate income in Trumbull, are you serious?

The median income is $20,000 more in Trumbull and the distribution of income is tilted to higher brackets in Trumbull (check the city data page for the respective breakdown).

http://www.cerc.com/TownProfiles/Cus...es/milford.pdf vs http://www.cerc.com/TownProfiles/Cus...s/trumbull.pdf

SAT scores in Milford are now BELOW state averages. Mastery scores barely edge the state average for all three grade levels provided. Trumbull is way ahead on both metrics.

As for commute time to the train-- even if the trip to Bridgeport station is slightly longer, the rail commute is 20 minutes less to both Stamford and NYC. I also don't recall you being a commuter so you probably aren't making the trip during the early weekday rush hour. If you live in the Wolf Harbor, Great River Estates or even Woodmont areas, which are three of the more desirable sections, you'd be looking at a 12-15 minute trip. Maybe more with a parking factor.

I still love Milford downtown, but the rest of the town is bleh. Home of the big box store that exacerbates the underemployed crisis.

[Stylo]

Originally Posted by Wilton2ParkAve

More moderate income in Trumbull, are you serious?

The median income is $20,000 more in Trumbull and the distribution of income is tilted to higher brackets in Trumbull (check the city data page for the respective breakdown).

http://www.cerc.com/TownProfiles/Cus...es/milford.pdf vs http://www.cerc.com/TownProfiles/Cus...s/trumbull.pdf

SAT scores in Milford are now BELOW state averages. Mastery scores barely edge the state average for all three grade levels provided. Trumbull is way ahead on both metrics.

As for commute time to the train-- even if the trip to Bridgeport station is slightly longer, the rail commute is 20 minutes less to both Stamford and NYC. I also don't recall you being a commuter so you probably aren't making the trip during the early weekday rush hour. If you live in the Wolf Harbor, Great River Estates or even Woodmont areas, which are three of the more desirable sections, you'd be looking at a 12-15 minute trip. Maybe more with a parking factor.

I still love Milford downtown, but the rest of the town is bleh. Home of the big box store that exacerbates the underemployed crisis.

I think you've misunderstood what I meant by moderate. What I meant is that Trumbull is predominantly upper-middle class. Milford is mostly middle class, but has some lower middle class and some upper middle class elements too. Even upper class families - although they're a minority - as there are hundreds of homes valued over a million - mainly due to the abundance of waterfront property. Look at the range of real estate in Milford vs. Trumbull. By moderate I meant "middle of the road" by the area's standards, and lacking the economic diversity of other towns. No wealth like lower FFC and very little low income families. Nowhere did I suggest it had a lower median income than Milford.

Also, SAT scores in that document you provided are averaged from the two high schools. Law is on the Devon side and has more students from lower income areas than Foran. Foran has above average SAT scores for the state.

The express train from Bridgeport is only 10 minutes less. It's 35 minutes from Milford and 25 minutes from Bridgeport to Stamford. I don't recall you living in Milford, and you are clarifying the trip that I make every day. I do commute by car, and I drive past the train station entrance every morning at rush hour and it takes me exactly 5 minutes from my home - which is just west of Woodmont.

I'm sorry to hear that you feel that the rest of Milford is "bleh" outside of downtown, and that your association is connected to the big box stores that inhabit Route 1. I'm glad I don't share that view! I'd sure be disappointed with my decision. Luckily, the only parts of Milford I'd consider "bleh" are select stretches of Route 1 and Devon - which is how many people experience the town. Luckily there are neighborhoods like Woodmont, Fort Trumbull, Bayview, north Milford, South of the Green and others to temper those pockets. And of course the entire harbor, downtown and duck pond area. Oh, and no fewer than 11 beaches and several parks. In fact, I'd say only a small part of the town is "bleh" to me. And I sure am isolated to those big box stores. I don't have to see them at all - and barely ever do unless I need them, in which case it's very convenient to be 5 minutes away. It's funny, I've heard similar criticisms of Branford and its strip of Route 1 - which is even less developed than Milford. But when you actually live in a town, it's a totally different feel altogether. At this stage in my life, I wouldn't give up the nightlife, variety and QUALITY of restaurants, access to water and activities for a more subdued town like Trumbull - but it is a fantastic town by many measures!

But all of this is moot as one of the core points of the OP's post is that they are looking at these towns because they are affordable. They have a budget in the low 300's. They would be stretching themselves in Trumbull.

Originally Posted by nmm267

Thanks so much for all of your insight and help! I was leaning more toward Milford myself, though Stratford looks nice, too. We'll definitely be checking out both towns; it was really helpful to learn about the different neighborhoods within each city. Thanks everyone!

As for the commute, would it be more practical to take the train in every day vs driving? The one downfall to these cities seems to be the amount of time we'll spend in the car each day!

Train is pretty much a requirement unless you are OK with tons of traffic. The commute can exceed an hour easily in one direction, especially during heavy volume months like September!

[mullinsmcd]

Any recommended Apartment Rental complexes in Milford? Spinnaker seems to own the market but I would like to know if there are any others I should check out.

[S2000]

There's Avalon as well. Try craigslist.

[nmm267]

After hearing everyone's recommendations to drive up and take a look around, we're planning on visiting Milford several times over the next few weeks to get a real feel for it. I want to take a look at the different neighborhoods within Milford to see which we like best, but I'm not sure whereabouts each one is. We've been told to avoid Devon, but I'm not sure where it is exactly and I don't want to get the wrong first impression of Milford by starting in the wrong place. Does anyone have any suggestions for restaurants and places to visit on our first trips up? Can anyone tell us where Devon is exactly? Thanks so much!

[seymourct]

Lived in Stratford years ago, & still prefer it to Milford.
In Stratford you will find more options that are not right on top of the rail line... I don't like that much noise all day. Milford more affordable choices are near the train, & also a lot are right by high tension lines... The farther you get away, the higher the prices.

[Stylo]

Originally Posted by seymourct

Lived in Stratford years ago, & still prefer it to Milford.
In Stratford you will find more options that are not right on top of the rail line... I don't like that much noise all day. Milford more affordable choices are near the train, & also a lot are right by high tension lines... The farther you get away, the higher the prices.

Totally disagree. There are affordable rentals all over town. These trains don't use their whistles terribly often like the Danbury/Waterbury lines with their street level crossings. So unless you're really close, it doesn't really matter. Where I lived in Danbury, I was 1/4 mile from a crossing. Now that's noise!