[TulsaBelle]

My husband, daughter (first grader) and I are moving to the New Haven area. Neither of us have ever been there (we've mostly been in the midwest). We are looking for good schools (great schools rating of at least 7), safe suburbs, and have a purchase price of no more than $250,000. We like new construction although it seems that will be almost impossible to find on our budget. Any help appreciated!

[TulsaBelle]

Also, looking for Baptist church that offers the Awana's program.

[NewJeffCT]

Welcome to Connecticut!

I doubt you'll find new construction near New Haven, unless you wanted a condo.

Try looking in North Haven, Wallingford, North Branford & Branford for schools. All of them have pretty good schools and are less pricey than Woodbridge, Orange, Cheshire, Guilford and Madison.

[JGBigGreen]

Welcome to Connecticut. My wife, two sons and I moved here just under two years ago. We live in Wallingford and I feel it was a very good choice. The schools are very good, there is plenty for families to do- great parks and rec department, amazing library, YMCA with amazing programs- and it is fairly affordable for Connecticut. Having said that, you won't find much for less than $250k and definitely not new construction from what I've seen although, as the previous poster said, you may find new condos near that price.

I am not a church goer myself but I believe there are several baptist churches and I'm almost certain I saw an Awana sign in front of one. It is close to my place so I'd be happy to swing by to see if the sign was for Awana.

One final thing, if you don't mind a suggestion. I would not put too much emphasis on the Great School ratings. The elementary school our son just "graduated" from here in Wallingford is rated a 6 and, in the year and a half he attended, we felt the school was as good as or superior to his 9 rated school I the state we lived in previously. Most towns in CT have public schools that are competitive with the best schools anywhere.

[seymourct]

Welcome to CT! Your list is - well- a tall order. New construction has to factor in the cost of the cost of the building lot (the land) the builder had to pay before construction ever started. With CT being one of the oldest parts of the country, land available (that is not designated unusable forest, or held in a land trust) is quite expensive.

The Great Schools rating is also a bit subjective. My daughter is (bragging alert here) is doing above the district and state averages in her assessments for reading and math, but the rating is on Great Schools is only a 6 ( I'd give it a 9.5). You want 7? Is that firm?

Search Google for Baptists churches. I just did and 3 came up: Seymour, Ansonia, Hamden.

Good luck.

[NewJeffCT]

I'd also take the great schools rankings with a grain of salt - you'll find better input on here many times.

[mlassoff]

I would just note that Connecticut towns are small-- It's very common for people to live in one town and attend church in a nearby town... You might find a nice town to live in and attend church in a nearby town or even New Haven itself, for example.

I second Wallingford as a good starting point for you.

[TulsaBelle]

Thank you all! You have wonderful suggestions! It's good to know not to be too worried about the school ratings. It just kept scaring me when I saw so many 2-4's. Good schools are a huge must for us.

[jtillman]

Branford, Milford and Wallingford have decent housing stock in the 250k range. Schools are good and they are safe.

[nico7]

Hi TulsaBelle,

The list that Jeff gave you is a good one. If you decided on a condo in his list of "pricier" towns, I think that also would be a good choice. Maintaining a house (and paying utilities for it) can be very expensive in CT, so although condo association fees might seem high, they are no worse than the "hidden costs" of keeping a house in working order. If considering condos, you should do some background research (I recommend searching this forum thoroughly for the towns you're looking at) on which of them have frequent police visits. Probably 80% of condo associations are good options. None of the towns listed have any problem with violent crime, although some are more densely populated & developed (more urban/commercial/industrial while still not being a city) than others. Most towns have a mix of high-density housing and houses on large lots. Branford, for instance, has everything from studio apartments to private islands.

Good luck!
N