[EricS39]

Huge Connecticut money opportunity is in Childcare services and also insurance services.

I would highly recommend West Hartford, Stamford, Fairfield

Also the ocean property near Norwalk has such a fun crowd! People just hanging out in their beach homes (well in may thru October it's that time where it's really happening)

It's liberal like the west coast
You are gaining better Italian cuisine and giving up Chinese and Mexican
Seafood is awesome here

Great scenery

Great foliage !

Great proximity to New York City and Boston

New York speaks for itself
Boston is like San Francisco but more collegey

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by OrangeCountyCalifornia

So, dont call freeeways and parkways with "The."

Anyways, my wife teaches 6th grade English and I make money profiting off stocks and shares. I also work at a business. As with traffic, is it like the Hollywood Freeway or Sepulveda Pass? Will it take 40-50 minutes to move a couple miles? But with the stocks being so-so and the market might crash again , I might sell my stocks and open my own business.

Are taxes any high, are they as high as Orange County?

We do call the Merritt Parkway (State Route 15) "The Merritt" but we do not call I-95 "The I-95".

Traffic is bad on I-95 and the Merritt but I am not sure it takes nearly an hour to go a couple of miles. If you lived close to your work you would not necessarily even have to get on a highway. People that live in say Greenwich or Darien do not even use the highway to go into Stamford for work. And traffic in Hartford and New Haven is no where near as rough.

I am not sure if property taxes here are any higher than Orange County. You need to look at listings to see how they compare. Keep in mind too that we do tax automobiles as well as homes so you should consider that as well. In general Connecticut is considered to have high taxes though but not as high as say New York and New Jersey. Jay

[Stylo]

Originally Posted by EricS39

Also the ocean property near Norwalk has such a fun crowd! People just hanging out in their beach homes (well in may thru October it's that time where it's really happening)

That vibe is similar across the whole coast, but Norwalk would be my last suggestion for a good beach town. Westport, Fairfield, Milford, Madison, East Lyme, etc. maybe. Not Norwalk. Rowayton is beautiful though.

[mrgmrg]

Rowayton = Norwalk. I would put Westport into the category of "town filled with people who like to go to the beach" rather than a "good beach town". The beaches there are awful. However, none of the FFC towns mentioned are seasonal towns as EricS39 implies. Most people who live at the beach there do so year-round.

[OrangeCountyCalifornia]

So, 90% of the people are recommending the "Connecticut Panhandle." Also, CT traffic looks relatively easy. Screenshots were taken today (Wednesday, Febuary 19, 2014 @ 4:48PM.)

[Stylo]

Originally Posted by OrangeCountyCalifornia

So, 90% of the people are recommending the "Connecticut Panhandle."

I don't see many recommendations at all in this thread. You haven't really given us any info that would direct you to the right place .

[Stylo]

Originally Posted by OrangeCountyCalifornia

So, 90% of the people are recommending the "Connecticut Panhandle." Also, CT traffic looks relatively easy. Screenshots were taken today (Wednesday, Febuary 19, 2014 @ 4:48PM.)

That's also unusually good traffic.

[OrangeCountyCalifornia]

So, I have been reading most of you want more info.

Important Info

1.5 million Down-Payment
1 kid (11 years old)
1 dog (shih tzu)
Walkable Downtown
Local Restuarants
Local Shopping
Big-Box Stores
Close to Freeway
Not a low crime rate, but a medium crime rate
Decent Schools


That is what I care about.

[Csiko]

Originally Posted by OrangeCountyCalifornia

1.5 million Down-Payment

Roughly anywhere here.

1 kid (11 years old)
Decent Schools

Forget which schools are best in Fairfield County, Jay's usually got those recommendations.

Walkable Downtown

Zillow actually tracks "walkability" though I'd keep this lower on the list of priorities.

Local Restuarants

Many places have tons of restaurants, especially in New Haven county. In fact I think it has one of the higher restaurants per square mile in the country. You're going to miss some chains you got used to out west though.

Local Shopping

Eh... I'd stay within a short distance of NYC if you want something more upscale.

Big-Box Stores

Everywhere.

Close to Freeway

Roughly everywhere in CT is within 10 minutes of one.

Not a low crime rate, but a medium crime rate

There will be some nicer areas of every large city in CT that would suit your needs, but given your budget why not live in a much nicer town?

Honestly I think Greenwich or down thataway would suit best. Nice and close to the big city life you seem to be interested in, but nice enough for a kid to grow up in.

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by OrangeCountyCalifornia

Not a low crime rate, but a medium crime rate
Decent Schools

This just proved my suspicions about this thread. I won't be commenting any further.