[emmaproctor]

I've been on this site for a few weeks now and it has been EXTREMELY helpful. We've found a house in Easton that we really love but it is located just west of South Park Avenue and just south of the Easton Reservoir and a big dam (although the house sits up on a hill) and right down the street from that Easton Woods Development. The house has been listed for quite some time now which could be due to the current slower market but I wanted to put it out there as I don't know Easton very well. Is there anything unappealing about this particular area/neighborhood? Is there anything dangerous about living near a dam or a reservoir? I have read really wonderful things about living in Easton if one doesn't mind the lack of shopping and town amenities but we realize we're going to have to compromise somewhere to get a larger home. I grew up in Shenandoah Valley, VA so I think I wouldn't mind too much? We're currently living in Westport and busting out of our small 3 bedroom home and have 3 young children and just cannot afford a bigger home in this town although we wish we could. We work in Stamford & Westchester but want to maintain a commutable distance to NYC in case we have to work there in the future. We like Fairfield too but we haven't been able to find larger homes with much land for a reasonable price so we're willing to go a little further to Easton. We also looked in Trumbull (thanks to this board!) and loved Tashua area but we think this is just a little too far from NYC? Please let me know if you can give advice on any of this especially the Easton Reservoir info. I've done a ton of research on dam breaks and living near a reservoir but haven't been able to come up with much. If you have specifics about that particular neighborhood would love to hear it. House is right near High Ridge Road. If you have suggestions for other areas, would love to hear that too. Because of this board, we've considered Ridgefield, Bethel, New Fairfield & Newton but feel they're just too far from NYC?
Thank you!!

[JayCT]

hi emmaprocter - I know the area you are interested in farly well and know of no reason that would prevent me from buying there. The dam would and reservoir are not a concern of most people. I do believe though that there was a developer trying to get an afofrdable housing project built on SSouth Park avenue and the twon turned him down. Not sure what happened with that. You might pay a visti to town hall and talk to the planning department people and see what they say about the area. They would have more information than I do. Jay

[emmaproctor]

Thanks Jay, I will check into that. Is this a known to be nice area/neighborhood to live in as you say you know it fairly well? (Those homes in Easton Estates are spectacular and not far away so I assume it is but again, know NOTHING about this area at all) Is the commute to the highways or into town ok? I will check myself before buying but maybe you already know? Is the dam being so close going to be a problem for resale (not that I EVER want to move again as this will be my 4th move in as many years!) It's really tough. Part of us moving so often is that we didn't have a board like this to do research on and moved to areas that we had no idea about until we moved there. The first house was definately not the right neighborhood for us, and now this house is just too small. The house we now found is the perfect size but again, we know nothing about the neighborhood.
Thanks so much!

[JayCT]

Yes, the neighborhood is very nice. You would kind of be between several different shopping areas. For shopping you would have to travel over to Black Rock Turnpike in Fairfield; Main Street in North Bridgeport or Quality Street/White Plains Road in Trumbull. There is a Stop & Shop Supermarket on Madison Avenue in Bridgeport that is very convenient and you would not be far from the Trumbull Mall, in fact the mall is probably the closest. The Merritt Parkway is right down the street so you could get just about anywhere conveniently. Good luck, Jay

[mbbnsb]

I retired from the company that owns the Easton reservoir. Believe me, this compnay would never allow the reservoir/dam go into disrepair. Company officals are up on maintaining everything. Please don't worry about this, in fact, if you contact the company, they would probably give you a tour of their facilities, especially if you express your concerns to them. Contact Aquarion Water Company.