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Fantastic, thank you so much. We are looking forward to checking it all out this weekend and I sincerely appreciate the Sherman school zone recommendation!
You should look in Greenwich too. $2 million will go alot farther there than it would a few years ago, and there is a diverse range of housing and neighborhoods. Good schools, beaches, good shopping. Plus, the commute would be short. I would suggest Cos Cob, Old Greenwich and Riverside to start.
While plenty of people do it, the Fairfield to Greenwich commute by car can be a bear. Lots of traffic, limited backroads/alternate routes. If I had your housing budget, I would not even consider Fairfield due to the commute.
Do not live in Fairfield and commute to Greenwich,especially if your budget is $2m. There's NO point in living in Fairfield when you can live in Greenwich. Sitting in traffic on 95 will consume your life.
Trust me.
Tour Old Greenwich and Riverside. Both are beautiful little villiages.
Interviews for a job opened up in Bridgeport as well. Thank you - it seems that once we have the job location nailed down we can focus on exact neighborhoods. We'll still be checking out Fairfield this weekend still and see about adding Old Greenwich to the mix. We really appreciate the suggestions!
Interviews for a job opened up in Bridgeport as well. Thank you - it seems that once we have the job location nailed down we can focus on exact neighborhoods. We'll still be checking out Fairfield this weekend still and see about adding Old Greenwich to the mix. We really appreciate the suggestions!
Old Greenwich village is exactly the kind of atmosphere you're looking for -- very friendly, you can walk to the elementary school and local shops, walk/bike to the beach, etc. You can find a nice home there in the $2mil range. It won't be waterfront, but close enough that you'll hear seagulls from the backyard. Good luck!
Bumping this with some questions about Old Greenwich. Based on recommendations in this thread (and subsequent reading) we visited Old Greenwich this weekend. Had an idyllic time at the beach with our kids and met truly nice people who live in other areas of Greenwich. Driving through the neighborhood we really liked the housing stock and how the small streets sort of meandered. Saw a couple kids and even more adults on bikes, which is what we were looking for.
The negatives were that the downtown was so very quiet. It was a Saturday evening in August and though we had a good dinner and went to ice cream after, there weren't people walking around. Shops were closed and we didn't see any bookstores or cafe-type places. No movie theatre or other entertainment-type place. Do people go elsewhere for this type of activity? Is the neighborhood more active during the schoolyear? The people we spoke with on the beach mentioned going to the Cape and Martha's Vineyard - is this the type of neighborhood where people leave to summer at their vacation homes?
Another negative was that the small streets along the perimeter of the neighborhood seemed to be predominately private roads with little beaches at the end. Do these type of streets end up like exclusive small enclaves? Aside from the playground behind the Civic Center we didn't see any other small pocket-parks or neighborhood hang-out spaces (with playgrounds, etc.). Are they there? Where do families hang out on lazy Saturday mornings? Binney park seemed much more to the north of the area...
Thank you again for input - we loved the central location of the elementary school and wonder if that tends to be an anchor for the families in the area (but of course right now they are on break).
We did drive through Riverside, but I admit it seemed a bit more spread out and not as walkable as Old Greenwich. Is there a downtown area that we missed?
The negatives were that the downtown was so very quiet. It was a Saturday evening in August and though we had a good dinner and went to ice cream after, there weren't people walking around. Shops were closed and we didn't see any bookstores or cafe-type places. No movie theatre or other entertainment-type place. Do people go elsewhere for this type of activity? Is the neighborhood more active during the schoolyear? The people we spoke with on the beach mentioned going to the Cape and Martha's Vineyard - is this the type of neighborhood where people leave to summer at their vacation homes?
During the summer, yeah - you'll find that lots of people tend to head to eastern CT, RI and MA. Some go to Long Island. That said, Greenwich is very much a sleepy suburb over being a nightlife spot. Most towns in CT are like this, with the exception of a few (Milford, West Hartford).
You might find Westport to be more to your liking.
Quote:
Originally Posted by groove
Another negative was that the small streets along the perimeter of the neighborhood seemed to be predominately private roads with little beaches at the end. Do these type of streets end up like exclusive small enclaves? Aside from the playground behind the Civic Center we didn't see any other small pocket-parks or neighborhood hang-out spaces (with playgrounds, etc.). Are they there? Where do families hang out on lazy Saturday mornings? Binney park seemed much more to the north of the area...
That's CT for you. We have the highest percentage of private beaches in the country per mile of shoreline.
A lot of people take family vacations in August, so town does seem a bit more quiet this month. But generally OG Village is not a late night place -- it caters to young families, and there's not much "night life" to speak of. Not sure where you visitied, but there are several restaurants/cafes/takeout spots (Applausi, Beach House, Mackenzie's pub, Arcadia Coffee, Garden Catering, Upper Crust, ReNapoli, Oriental Gourmet, Sound Beach Grill, Alpen Pantry) -- but if you're looking for more of a late night spot, people would head to downtown Greenwich and the bars/restaurants on/near Greenwich Ave.
The streets very close to the beach are part of a private community called Lucas Point. There are many other streets in OG that are not private, closer to the Village off of Sound Beach Ave. Riverside doesn't have a downtown area the way OG does -- most people in Riverside walk/bike/drive down to OG to shop and do errands. The neighborhoods are adjacent to each other, and are similar in that they're both on the water, convenient to the train and the kids all go to Eastern Middle School. Riverside is on higher ground, so it doesn't have the same flooding issues that OG has - something to consider, as you'll likely need flood insurance if you're close to the water. Binney Park is a popular spot for playing tennis, walking dogs, picnics, 4th of July fireworks, playground, tee-ball, etc. There are also playgrounds at OGRCC (civic center), OG and Riverside elementary schools.
These neighborhoods are among the most sought-after in all of Fairfield county, so I'd recommend finding a realtor to show you homes in both neighborhoods to get a feel for which would fit better into your life style.
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