Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
My husband has recently gotten a job lead in Fairfield which is looking pretty promising. We currently live in Providence. We've both been to CT before, but when it comes to towns and neighborhoods we have no idea where to start! We are a small family of 3. My husband is 47, our daughter is 4 and I'm 44. We currently live in a great little family friendly neighborhood just over the line from Providence. We are looking for a location that is family friendly, has good "walkability", has some uniqueness and charm with older, pre-war homes with garages and good sized yards. The area we currently live in has a cute little area with shops and restaurants that we can walk to which is something that we really like. We definitely don't want to live in an area that is "cookie cutter" (in it's homes or people!) and we prefer an area that has unique stores and restaurants rather than chain restaurants. We definitely aren't big on suburbs where there are "cookie cutter" homes, chain restaurants, and malls! It's important that there be a good public school system and/or some good private schools to choose from within a 20-30 minute drive. (We prefer private schools that are co-ed and not Catholic.) And finally, we really appreciate good racial and ethnic diversity. We are caucasian and are raising our daughter Jewish (reform) so it would be important to have a JCC and temples nearby. We realize that Fairfield County is expensive to live in and unfortunately our budget for a house is $325K tops. Any thoughts on which towns/neighborhoods would be fitting for us? We'd love any and all input! Thanks so much!
What towns in Fairfield, Litchfield and New Haven Counties are a 45 min or less commute from Fairfield?
What towns in Fairfield, Litchfield and New Haven Counties are a 45 minute or less commute from Fairfield in any/all directions? Thanks in advance for your help!
Bungalows in western counties of CT? (Fairfield, Litchfield and/or New Haven counties)
This may seem like a random question but I'm wondering if there are any towns in Fairfield, Litchfield, and/or New Haven counties where there are a good amount of bungalows...? Thanks in advance for your help!
I have merged your threads as they are all on a similar topic.
Given your wants/needs and budget, I'd suggest looking at Milford, Bethel and Seymour. All 3 have walkable downtowns. Though Milford's is the most substantial, followed by Bethel and Seymour. Seymour's is probably the weakest of the 3, but has improved a lot in recent years. All have a decent amount of pre-war stock and good schools and are within your budget. Seymour will have the lowest prices of the 3.
Shelton is another option. Great town and good value, although the downtown isn't quite there yet. It's still a little run-down and there's not much to do there. That may very well change in the next 5 years though as Shelton as a whole has been shifting upmarket.
Stratford is worth considering too, though the schools do underperform compared to the aforementioned towns. Although if you go private schools, it won't matter.
When you say Fairfield, I am assuming you mean the Town of Fairfield and not just Fairfield County. I would suggest the Town of Fairfield. It is a great town with a lot to do for families. It has a nice walkable downtown and the schools are excellent. There are great parks and beaches and the town has a lot of charm. For your price you could find a modest but liveable home. Plus your husbands commute would be minimal if his job is in town. I highly recommend it. Jay
"We are caucasian and are raising our daughter Jewish (reform) so it would be important to have a JCC and temples nearby."
There is an area in Fairfield itself where you might be able to find a nice little house in regards to the above. In Fairfield there is Route 59/Stratfield Road and there is a temple on it. On Park Ave, the next main street parallel to it there is the Jewish Community Center and the Jewish home for the elderly is near by too. My mother-in-law and sister-in-law live in this area so I know it is nice.
Here is another suggestion but it does not have all the stores you want. On Main Street in Trumbull there is a temple and you could find a pretty nice house for that price within walking distance. Also the JCC on Park Ave. is less than 10 minutes from this area. You can also walk to the Town Hall area and it has the library, Stop & Shop a little restaurant etc.
Here is the reason I emetioned these two areas. The schools in Fairfield/Trumbull are superior to Shelton, Milford, Stratford, Seymour and many of the other towns I see metioned in this thread. Here is another reason and it is a biggie which many new people to the area don't realize. You would not need to get on the Parkway or Thruway if you lived in these two areas. Your quality of life would be so much better because of that one reason alone.
Your budget is high enough so you do not have to get stuck in Fairfield County traffic and trust me on this one thing, that is huge.
Good Luck with your new home search.
Last edited by CTartist&musician; 07-22-2013 at 08:48 AM..
When you say Fairfield, I am assuming you mean the Town of Fairfield and not just Fairfield County. I would suggest the Town of Fairfield. It is a great town with a lot to do for families. It has a nice walkable downtown and the schools are excellent. There are great parks and beaches and the town has a lot of charm. For your price you could find a modest but liveable home. Plus your husbands commute would be minimal if his job is in town. I highly recommend it. Jay
Their budget is only $325k, which isn't appropriate for Fairfield.
Here is the reason I emetioned these two areas. The schools in Fairfield/Trumbull are superior to Shelton, Milford, Stratford, Seymour and many of the other towns I see metioned in this thread. Here is another reason and it is a biggie which many new people to the area don't realize. You would not need to get on the Parkway or Thruway if you lived in these two areas. Your quality of life would be so much better because of that one reason alone.
First off, I wouldn't put Fairfield and Trumbull schools together in the same sentence. Trumbull has some issues with their high school. I would never call Trumbull schools far superior to Shelton/Milford/Seymour either.
Secondly, as someone that made that commute for years, traffic doesn't even start until Fairfield 99% of the time - so it's a non issue. Just hop off and take backroads for a quick trip if it starts to back up further.
Bottom line: they'd have to seriously sacrifice house at their budget for Trumbull, let alone Fairfield. There's no need for it.
First off, I wouldn't put Fairfield and Trumbull schools together in the same sentence. Trumbull has some issues with their high school. I would never call Trumbull schools far superior to Shelton/Milford/Seymour either.
Secondly, as someone that made that commute for years, traffic doesn't even start until Fairfield 99% of the time - so it's a non issue. Just hop off and take backroads for a quick trip if it starts to back up further.
Bottom line: they'd have to seriously sacrifice house at their budget for Trumbull, let alone Fairfield. There's no need for it.
I think the issues with the high school in Trumbull are pretty overblown. I know a lot of people who grew up there and live there now-- No one is worried. If you want trouble you can find it anywhere.
While not perfect, you can get in to Trumbull at your price point:
Trumbull is a lovely town, with lots of family activities and a noticeable Jewish population.
A quick note, the synagogue in Trumbull is conservative, not reform. Most Trumbull Jews who belong to a reform temple go to B'nai Israel in Bridgeport.
My point isn't that Trumbull schools are bad, they're just not vastly superior to other area schools in towns that are considerably cheaper. Which is also a moot point because the OP is open to private schools.
I think Trumbull is a bad suggestion at their budget, period.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
What towns in Fairfield, Litchfield and New Haven Counties are a 45 min or less commute from Fairfield?
Bungalows in western counties of CT? (Fairfield, Litchfield and/or New Haven counties)
but I'm wondering if there are any towns in Fairfield, Litchfield, and/or New Haven counties where there are a good amount of bungalows...? Thanks in advance for your help!
