[starshrike]

Thanks JayCT. Is Stratfield or University areas of Fairfield better for schools?

[Stratford, Ct. Resident]

Originally Posted by starshrike

Is Stratfield or University areas of Fairfield better for schools?

Fairfield is nice, but i'm not sure that i totally agree with the idea that you need to look there right now. Your budget is perfectly fine for the nicer areas of Norwalk, and you shouldn't encounter any real difficulty selling 5/7/10 years down the road.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by starshrike

Thanks JayCT. Is Stratfield or University areas of Fairfield better for schools?

One thing you need to understand about schools in Connecticut, our school systems are generally small in size and they follow a pretty strict curiculum so you really don't find a lot of difference in quality of education in different schools in each town. The schools in both Stratfield and the University areas are good and any difference is likely more related to the socio-economic make up of the school students. I would be more concerned with finding a home that suits your needs best than which school in Fairfield it is districted for. The link below will give you information on schools within each town in Connecticut. I look for schools that perform at or above the state averages on the Connecticut Mastery and Connecticut Academic Performance Tests.

As for Norwalk, it is a nice enough town but unless you really do want to move in a few years, it might be better to just buy in the town you want to stay in for a long time. This is JMHO though, Jay

State Department of Education - CEDaR

[Lintu]

Originally Posted by starshrike

Thanks JayCT. Is Stratfield or University areas of Fairfield better for schools?

Both are great - both high schools in Fairfield are highly rated, as are all the elementary schools except one (and in that case it's because there's a large international population and many non-native English speakers who are forced to take the same tests as the other kids...based on the middle school and high school scores, it seems they catch up quickly )

[Lintu]

Originally Posted by Stratford, Ct. Resident

Fairfield is nice, but i'm not sure that i totally agree with the idea that you need to look there right now. Your budget is perfectly fine for the nicer areas of Norwalk, and you shouldn't encounter any real difficulty selling 5/7/10 years down the road.

I agree about the budget and that there are good, nice areas of Norwalk - I wonder what will happen with interest rates that far down the road, though...not that people have had issues in the past paying more than the rates are now!

[CT_Yank]

To OP,

Some good advice here on Fairfield. I am nearly in same situation as you in terms of price range, perhaps a little higher ($525k tops) and I have to commute to Stamford. Market is very competitive in Fairfield at 500k range, even now in typically dead winter months. I have been outbid 3 times this month. Anything in good shape and priced right goes quickly. That said, there are tons of garbage homes sitting as overpriced, terrible condition or busy locations. Look at the taxes too! Fairfield is quickly losing its place as affordable alternative to Darien/Westport. I saw a home at .11 acres with almost 10k bill. Nuts.. At this price range, 95% of Fairfield homes are embarrassing and you would not be proud of your purchase. I wonder how sustainable it is; perhaps govt. has inflated another bubble. Lots of delusional flippers out there as well like the Marlborough home. You really have to use google maps to avoid seeing homes on very busy streets, flood zones (major problem! I think 30% of inventory now around $500k are in flood zones), or ones that back highways/shopping. I suggest Cranbury Park area of Norwalk. It is nice, wooded area and convenient. Elementary is solid. I am starting my search tomorrow. Good luck.

[Raider111]

Fairfield is about to embark on a another town wide revaluation so expect a further increase in prop tax. Currently i believe its 25 mill rate, wouldnt be be surprised to see it go over 30.
OP should also realize Stratfield is far northeastern part of town not much closer than Trumbull. A NYC commute from there is impossible. On the other hand, a similar priced home there will be bigger and nicer than lower Fairfield and Norwalk.

[starshrike]

Any 2cents for neighborhoods that might fit my needs in Stamford? I looked at some old threads to avoid essentially the SE and SW sides.

After just driving around this past week, Fairfield -> Norwalk commute does not appear great. I'll pull my search out of Fairfield and keep it primarily in the Norwalk area for job commutes, in the event anyone needs to commute to NYC. Less commute frustration = happier people. If Stamford neighborhoods work out, then I will look there as well. We're ok with a smaller place for now, and generally prefer one that is not turnkey so we can do some "personalization". Granted, the "reno budget" might not exist for several months with the housing prices.

I have also learned that the commuter train lot passes have multi-year waits for one?? How do you get around this, or really just the other option is to pay daily pass price?

[Lintu]

Originally Posted by CT_Yank

To OP,

Some good advice here on Fairfield. I am nearly in same situation as you in terms of price range, perhaps a little higher ($525k tops) and I have to commute to Stamford. Market is very competitive in Fairfield at 500k range, even now in typically dead winter months. I have been outbid 3 times this month. Anything in good shape and priced right goes quickly. That said, there are tons of garbage homes sitting as overpriced, terrible condition or busy locations. Look at the taxes too! Fairfield is quickly losing its place as affordable alternative to Darien/Westport. I saw a home at .11 acres with almost 10k bill. Nuts.. At this price range, 95% of Fairfield homes are embarrassing and you would not be proud of your purchase. I wonder how sustainable it is; perhaps govt. has inflated another bubble. Lots of delusional flippers out there as well like the Marlborough home. You really have to use google maps to avoid seeing homes on very busy streets, flood zones (major problem! I think 30% of inventory now around $500k are in flood zones), or ones that back highways/shopping. I suggest Cranbury Park area of Norwalk. It is nice, wooded area and convenient. Elementary is solid. I am starting my search tomorrow. Good luck.

Hrm...well, I disagree with this assessment of Fairfield, having just bought slightly higher than your budget with no bid war issues and having seen several homes in the high 400s that were almost right (but just slightly smaller than we wanted for a forever home). There are several nice homes on Buena Vista that are under 500k with good taxes, as an example. I know the OP is no longer interested in Fairfield, but I was surprised to hear your experience relative to ours.

[CT_Yank]

Lintu,

I should say that I have been looking primarily in University area of Fairfield so much tougher to find home for 525k. Anything reasonable gets snapped up. Stratfield has some nice homes but a little too far north for me as I need to take train. Agree that lots of nice homes in Stratfield area though. They are not moving as quickly as lower Fairfield.