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We are brand new empty nesters (yay and feeling sad) who are relocating to Ct, husband has a new job in New Haven. We like the old time Americana-ness of the Ct River towns, and want to position ourselves so that our young adult children will visit us for a long weekend and have lots to do, albeit in a countrified atmosphere. I also do not want to feel isolated. We are torn between a nice old house in Chester, 2 miles from the village center, and a terrific newer home in East Haddam. We want to be members of the community, but it seems that East Haddam doesn't have much going on there other than the opera House and Gillette castle, while Chester is self contained with a lot going on. Any thoughts about those two areas (and dealing constantly with the bridge ) as well as home valuation disparities in those two areas is appreciated!
If you do not want to be isolated, then you might want to consider a town other than East Haddam. Most of the town is pretty far from things. Chester would be much more convenient to things, still neither town is what I would consider close enough to New Haven to commute regularly. Why not look in one of the many nice towns closer to New Haven like Branford, Guilford or Madison. Even Essex, Westbrook or Old Saybrook would be a better commute. Jay
If you do not want to be isolated, then you might want to consider a town other than East Haddam. Most of the town is pretty far from things. Chester would be much more convenient to things, still neither town is what I would consider close enough to New Haven to commute regularly. Why not look in one of the many nice towns closer to New Haven like Branford, Guilford or Madison. Even Essex, Westbrook or Old Saybrook would be a better commute. Jay
Killingworth to New Haven shouldn't be that terrible either. Right?
Thank you for the thoughts; the commute is not an issue for either town(about an hour to New Haven) as we have both always had horrid commutes from Suffolk Co Long Island to NYC. Unbeleivably (and this should be in the Gyiness Book of Records) forthe last few years my husband has commuted from where we live in Huntington to Wilton, Greenwich and Westport. Just about every day. We want a place with a nice small town atmosphere and some nice amenities (boat access? Restaurants?) but don't want to live on a cul de sac with kids, if you get my drift. Saw some real estate in Madison which was quite nice but a little more expensive than Chesyer/ East Haddam. Thank you, just wondering if anybody had any thoughts about the bridge one would have to take from East Haddam to get anywhere, as well as how the real estate market is holding up (or not!) from there. Thank you!!
You don't have to take the bridge in East Haddam " to get anywhere". In fact, unless you a have to cross for work, you can take the bridge as often or as seldom as you want.
The closet major supermarket to East Haddam is in Colchester- to the northeast. The only place in the area who will be servicing your rider mower ( if you have one ) is in Colchester. Lakes and ponds for swimming and fishing are in Colchester, Salem, East Hampton, in addition to East Haddam. None involve crossing a bridge. If you want ocean swimming and beach, you'll go to Rocky Neck in East Lyme. ( CT RT 82 to RT 156 south ). No bridge to cross. Private golf courses are in East Haddam, with three public courses in the town of Portland to the north and one in Norwich to the east. No bridge. Lots of interesting things to do in the town of Old Lyme to the south, along with some local restaurants. Walk in medical clinics are in Essex or Colchester .
The bridge itself is guaranteed to be in "Up' position any time you really need to get across in a hurry -lol . Once up, it's a twenty minute wait for it to get down and clear out the backed up traffic. Statistically, the bridge is up about 5 times day, but there have been days when it has gone up as many as 19 times. Unfortunately, the Coast Guard opens it on demand, rather than on a regular schedule.
No real good idea on how the real estate market will be. Local people consider the East Haddam market to be difficult. The town is considered to be " out there" and not very convenient to things, so it attracts a certain type of buyer and a lot of people won't even consider it..
Home prices will always be higher in Madison because it's a more popular, convenient town with a higher amenity level and a superb school system.
Sorry to hear about you and your husband's horrible commutes but why make it worse if you do not have to. There are a number of towns closer to New Haven that would get you what you want. First I would stay west of the Connecticut River. Trying to cross the East Hadaam Bridge can be a problem. If you want the lower Connecticut River area, stick to Old Saybrook, Essex, Chester or Deep River. Closer towns like Killingworth, Westbrook or Clinton would cut the commute further. You should note that there is train service to New Haven along the shoreline provided by the Shoreline East trains. You should consider towns with easy access to them.
Coming from Long Island, I an wondering if you will find these towns to be too quiet. There is not a lot to do there and shopping is not close by. I think you need to consider this before choosing a town. Jay
Have you taken a look at Wallingford which is north of New Haven? I used to live there and really liked it. Wallingford has it's own electric company which makes the cost less each month. I used to live on Long Island and was in shock when I first moved to CT. No more going out on Christmas Eve for dinner as most everything is closed. I felt like I moved to the country moving to CT so I agree with chosing the right area. You might think you want to live in a certain town but when you realize how far shopping, restaurants, etc... are compared to Long Island, you might reconsider which town to live in.
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