[BicoastalAnn]

Originally Posted by NatRivTX

Do you recommend any smaller cities that are diverse with good schools? I just don't want to be in another big city like Houston/L.A.

It's hard for me to imagine that any city in CT is as populous as Houston/LA so I think you're good there. It's just a matter of how small you want to go IMO. I am only familiar with Fairfield County unfortunately. As a native Angeleno, my definition of the perfect size is Westport. It is big enough to be diverse, have everything you need in one town, have some anonymity, and I have never experienced traffic in the town itself (though I did not live there). For a lower price and much smaller feel, I also love Ridgefield.

Other things you should consider are... is walkability important to you? Do you need to have sidewalks? Do you need a lot of choice for shopping/retail/restaurants within a 10 min drive? Do you need a lot of choice, period, for services? Some small towns might have only a handful of doctors/mechanics/contractors/etc and you have to drive a bit further if you don't like them.

[Raider111]

Originally Posted by BicoastalAnn

It's hard for me to imagine that any city in CT is as populous as Houston/LA so I think you're good there. It's just a matter of how small you want to go IMO. I am only familiar with Fairfield County unfortunately. As a native Angeleno, my definition of the perfect size is Westport. It is big enough to be diverse, have everything you need in one town, have some anonymity, and I have never experienced traffic in the town itself (though I did not live there). For a lower price and much smaller feel, I also love Ridgefield.

Do you mean Westport, CT?
Diverse?
No traffic in town??

[BicoastalAnn]

Originally Posted by Raider111

Do you mean Westport, CT?
Diverse?
No traffic in town??

Yeah! I mean, comparatively... If she wants great schools and diversity, which cities meet both more than Westport? I'm just not aware of any but again I can only speak about FFC.

I've never experienced traffic in town personally but maybe my standard for "traffic" is a higher bar than locals (perhaps OP's will be too). I've never experienced traffic in Westchester either (and I did live there) but some there might think that's a crazy claim too.

[Raider111]

Originally Posted by BicoastalAnn

Yeah! I mean, comparatively... If she wants great schools and diversity, which cities meet both more than Westport? I'm just not aware of any but again I can only speak about FFC.

I've never experienced traffic in town personally but maybe my standard for "traffic" is a higher bar than locals (perhaps OP's will be too). I've never experienced traffic in Westchester either (and I did live there) but some there might think that's a crazy claim too.

About 25K population and 95% white, far from diverse, yet a helluva a lot of traffic filtering through town,95, and Merritt at rush hours.

[BicoastalAnn]

Originally Posted by Raider111

About 25K population and 95% white, far from diverse, yet a helluva a lot of traffic filtering through town,95, and Merritt at rush hours.

But compared to the other towns in CT with good school systems, which are more diverse than Westport? I'm not saying they don't exist.. I don't know, so I'd be happy to learn of more towns also. The OP wouldn't be commuting (unless I'm mistaken) so I was just thinking about in-town traffic for running errands. Does it really get CONGESTED or just busy? (aka you might be surrounded by lots of cars but traffic is moving)

Edit: I thought of Greenwich too but didn't think that budget would work there.

[Raider111]

Originally Posted by Stylo

Easy with the Haterade.

No haterade, just realistic-ade

If I recall correctly, you yourself said somewhere you wouldn't pay premium to live somewhere if you didn't have to. I believe it was about possibly moving to Stamford or something.

[NewJeffCT]

Originally Posted by BicoastalAnn

It's hard for me to imagine that any city in CT is as populous as Houston/LA so I think you're good there. It's just a matter of how small you want to go IMO. I am only familiar with Fairfield County unfortunately. As a native Angeleno, my definition of the perfect size is Westport. It is big enough to be diverse, have everything you need in one town, have some anonymity, and I have never experienced traffic in the town itself (though I did not live there). For a lower price and much smaller feel, I also love Ridgefield.

Other things you should consider are... is walkability important to you? Do you need to have sidewalks? Do you need a lot of choice for shopping/retail/restaurants within a 10 min drive? Do you need a lot of choice, period, for services? Some small towns might have only a handful of doctors/mechanics/contractors/etc and you have to drive a bit further if you don't like them.

Houston has more people than the entire state of Connecticut - the Houston metro area is 6.5 million, while Connecticut is 3.5 million. The city of Houston is about 2.2 million.

[BicoastalAnn]

Originally Posted by NewJeffCT

Houston has more people than the entire state of Connecticut - the Houston metro area is 6.5 million, while Connecticut is 3.5 million. The city of Houston is about 2.2 million.

Dang, didn't know it was that big. Thanks for the stats. Yeah there's nothing like Socal or Houston in CT.

[NewJeffCT]

Originally Posted by kidyankee764

Sorry but anywhere in Texas is more affordable than Westport. Tax rates are higher in TX, but market and assessed values are far lower, meaning tax amount paid on two similar homes is still much less in TX. Comparing one home to another home is a LOT different than overall cost of living in each place. You looked on Zillow (or realtor, or trulia). That's hardly an accurate comparison.

Just for the sake of giving the OP an accurate picture, see below.

Cost of living index where 100 is US average:

Bellaire, TX, 183
Westport, CT, 275

Price per square foot:

Bellaire, TX, $284
Westport, CT, $461

As you can see, Westport is significantly more expensive than Bellaire.

I agree that, on average, Westport is more expensive. However, I'm also guessing that Westport has significantly greater percentage of homes over $1.5 million than Bellaire. The home I was comparing was with a budget of $800,000 to $900,000 or so at the time. I just did a quick check and could not find a new home in Westport like I did last time, though:

for example - 2,500 sq foot home in Bellaire is $775,000 with property tax of $14,000
4807 Locust St, Bellaire, TX 77401 | MLS #57369011 | Zillow

and, 2,110 sq foot home in Wesport for $799,000 with property tax of $7,800.
238 Wilton Rd, Westport, CT 06880 - Home For Sale & Real Estate - realtor.com®

The Bellaire home has no basement and is on 1/6 of an acre of land. The Westport home has a 1,000 square foot basement on just over 1 acre of land.

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by NewJeffCT

I agree that, on average, Westport is more expensive. However, I'm also guessing that Westport has significantly greater percentage of homes over $1.5 million than Bellaire. The home I was comparing was with a budget of $800,000 to $900,000 or so at the time. I just did a quick check and could not find a new home in Westport like I did last time, though:

for example - 2,500 sq foot home in Bellaire is $775,000 with property tax of $14,000
4807 Locust St, Bellaire, TX 77401 | MLS #57369011 | Zillow

and, 2,110 sq foot home in Wesport for $799,000 with property tax of $7,800.
238 Wilton Rd, Westport, CT 06880 - Home For Sale & Real Estate - realtor.com®

The Bellaire home has no basement and is on 1/6 of an acre of land. The Westport home has a 1,000 square foot basement on just over 1 acre of land.

First of all, you chose a house in Westport that's on one of the town's busiest roads, has half the bedrooms/bathrooms and appears to need some exterior TLC. Just being on a busy road takes the home's value down quite a bit.

Second of all, you can also get a 2800 SF house in Bellaire, on of TX's most exclusive towns, for under 650k. It's all about what house you decide to click on.

I guess you ignored the price per square foot comparison, which is really the most accurate way to gauge how much home you can get for your money.