[mgHeart]

Hello, CT folks!

I have been reading City-Data forums for some time, and think it's a great resource. I figured I would ask for help myself, since I'm really stressed! I currently live in Seymour, which is fine. My family has expanded quite a bit, however, since I bought my house 13 years ago. My Mom has put her house in Shelton up for sale, and we are planning to buy a home together with an in-law setup.

My Mom would rather not be more than 40 minutes from where she currently lives. Our hopes are to find a place with a nice amount of property, good schools, relatively low mill rate, nice library, quiet…our budget is around $500,000. I have been looking online and have found some nice places, but wanted to get some input from all of you before narrowing my search down.

I suppose I may be wishful thinking to hope for an area great for seniors as well as children. I obviously don't need any sort of nightlife!

Here are some towns we have been thinking of, but are open to others.

Shelton (not large enough property, schools ok)
Monroe
Bethel (never been, but looks nice!)
Oxford
Southbury
Woodbury
Bethlehem (pushing my Mom's distance a bit)
Redding


I'm used to traveling on Route 8, and sometimes the Merritt, but would rather avoid I-95. (Had previously been liking Guilford/Madison/Clinton areas, but thought they would be too far).

Thank you in advance!!!

[kidyankee764]

I would focus on Southbury and Oxford. The rest of the towns have very high property taxes, including Seymour. Southbury has a great public library and Oxford will be building a brand new one in the next year. Redding is beautiful but $500k won't get you as much as it will in the other two communities. Shelton has low taxes but I have suspicion that once Lauretti is gone as mayor, the floodgates will open and taxes will jump. Monroe is a great town with a very attractive library, but if you're looking for low taxes, Monroe isn't the place to look. As for Bethlehem, that's pushing your 40 minute mark and it's very removed from conveniences.

You may also want to look into Middlebury. It's a little further but nice and taxes are reasonable.

[mgHeart]

Thanks very much, kidyankee764. That's quite helpful! I will definitely adjust my focus. I hadn't looked in Middlebury at all. I appreciate your response.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by kidyankee764

I would focus on Southbury and Oxford. The rest of the towns have very high property taxes, including Seymour. Southbury has a great public library and Oxford will be building a brand new one in the next year. Redding is beautiful but $500k won't get you as much as it will in the other two communities. Shelton has low taxes but I have suspicion that once Lauretti is gone as mayor, the floodgates will open and taxes will jump. Monroe is a great town with a very attractive library, but if you're looking for low taxes, Monroe isn't the place to look. As for Bethlehem, that's pushing your 40 minute mark and it's very removed from conveniences.

You may also want to look into Middlebury. It's a little further but nice and taxes are reasonable.

I agree wth kidyankee on this. Southbury and Oxford would be good towns to look at. Woodbury is nice too but can be very rural and far from conveniences. Same goes for Bethlehem. If the OP and their mother are used to living in towns like Shelton and Seymour, then towns like Woodbury and Bethlehem may be too removed from things for them. Redding would be too. Not sure if Bethel would make that 40 minute cutoff either. It is about 23 miles but there are no direct highways between them. What about Newtown. Nice town to also consider as well. Jay

[mgHeart]

Thank you, Jay! I have come across a few nice properties in Newtown. I was thinking the taxes were on the higher side though. But there are some really favorable aspects to the town. Here's a topic I should have touched on, though I'm not sure how to phrase it properly, so I will be blunt. I am trying to avoid the possibility that my children will have mostly very wealthy friends, and we will be feeling like we're not able to compete. Not that we'd want to, or need to, but I don't want to feel as if I don't really fit in somewhere that may be more upscale. One of the reasons my Mom and I are doing this together is so my family can afford a larger home, in a nicer area. It may be my self-esteem talking here, but I'm trying to also find a happy medium. Not sure if that makes sense, as I may be judging places without much to base it on.

Thanks for your help!

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by mgHeart

Thank you, Jay! I have come across a few nice properties in Newtown. I was thinking the taxes were on the higher side though. But there are some really favorable aspects to the town. Here's a topic I should have touched on, though I'm not sure how to phrase it properly, so I will be blunt. I am trying to avoid the possibility that my children will have mostly very wealthy friends, and we will be feeling like we're not able to compete. Not that we'd want to, or need to, but I don't want to feel as if I don't really fit in somewhere that may be more upscale. One of the reasons my Mom and I are doing this together is so my family can afford a larger home, in a nicer area. It may be my self-esteem talking here, but I'm trying to also find a happy medium. Not sure if that makes sense, as I may be judging places without much to base it on.

Thanks for your help!

It makes sense. In Redding, you're likely to deal with some fairly wealthy people. In Southbury and Oxford, while affluent, you'll deal mostly with upper middle class families like yourself. Same with Monroe and Newtown.

Of the towns you mentioned, Monroe and Oxford will offer the easiest commutes, with an edge to Monroe. It's ultimately up to you to decide which town suits you best.

[hvexpatinct]

I would focus on Southbury, then Woodbury, as both communities have a lot of services oriented toward seniors and the housing stock with in-law options is pretty good in both towns - $500K will buy a nice home either way. Taxes are comparable in both towns - the mill rates are in the 25-27 ballpark IIRC. The Southbury library is awesome and the Woodbury one is decent. Both have active parks/rec services. There is more economic diversity in Woodbury.

Middlebury has fewer services in town than Woodbury but is more convenient for commuting purposes.

I'd live in Bethlehem in a heartbeat but it is pretty far off the grid for someone used to Shelton. the elementary school there does have a great reputation though!

[AMSS]

I'd throw Prospect into the mix. Good schools including a brand new elementary school, nice library, convenient to stores in Waterbury, Cheshire and Naugatuck. Honestly, not far from Southington or Meriden either. I was going to add Cheshire but if you're concerned about "uppitiness", than I'd avoid it along with Newtown, Oxford, and Southbury. Oxford isn't close enough to conveniences for me but the schools are good and a new library is going up. Of course, you'll meet plenty of down to earth people in each of those towns, but there's enough people I don't want to deal with. I've known a few moms (through sports) in Southbury that constantly complain about having to keep up with expensive kids' birthday parties and competition over stupid things, but then play the game themselves even though they don't want to. My sister raised her kids in Westport and while she could afford multi-vacations, brand new cars and expensive clothes, it was difficult to stand by her principles that the kids shouldn't have a better car than the teachers and don't need everything to be top of the line. Still, she found some friends in town that thought like her and you will too wherever you go. Good luck!

[SeaDoo342]

With a budget of 500k, I would also focus on Oxford..... it's a really nice town with lots of families. I work with a few people who live in Oxford and they seem to love it. Schools are great and the commute to Shelton is easy. Right now you have to drive out of town for grocery shopping but they are building a huge town center style shopping area with a grocery store and lots of other stores (same developer of Blue Back Square in West Hartford). So by June or so you'll have lots of shopping right in town. Looks like it's going to be really nice...

Southbury is nice but the commute to Shelton isn't as easy.. so I'd look at Oxford. Someone mentioned Prospect but $500k is pretty much tops in that town. You don't want to buy the most expensive house in town...it won't hold value. Oxford/Southbury have a much better resale value down the road..

I live in Orange and love it but I wouldn't recommend it for you because the property taxes here are HIGH... honestly wish we ended up in Oxford or Shelton for low taxes..

[hvexpatinct]

Are you yourself commuting to Shelton? That might change my recommendations too because once you get North of Southbury the trip down into the valley gets tough.

I think you would be really happy with the down to earthness and amenities for both kids and seniors in Woodbury. There is some wealth in town but it tends to be part year residents or older adults, most of the families we have encountered are very reasonable and nice. The biggest issues you might have would be with noise from dirt bikes or the smell of the farms in town.