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As others have already said, Fairfield is a great town with a lot to offer but I wonder if your failure to put down roots in Katonah has more to do with the age of your children than anything else. I know I thought the same thing about my town, Glastonbury, until my kids were older and entered the schools. Now I feel very connected to the community. Right now it sounds like you are very busy with small children, a job and a house to run. It is no wonder you don't feel connected to the town. You have little extra time to do so at this point. That will likely change as your kids get older and become involved in activities where you end up settling down.
I did not see a house budget mentioned in your post but others made some good suggestions. Southport is generally considered to be the top section of town with an unbelievably quant and historic village. Greenfield Hill is next with its large lot (2 acre minimum) and gentleman farmer feel. After that there are many other neighborhoods that are nice. Note that you will likely pay more to live closer to Fairfield Center and the beach than areas to the east like Stratfield and Fairfield Woods. Again, it comes down to budget and what you feel is most important. Personally I feel the eastern side of Fairfield is a bargain but others who want that walkable town center feel would not agree. This is your decision. Jay
I can handle the commute, metro north and I have a long history . Im glad to hear it sounds like Fairfield is a good match. We found a house we like in Southport but are getting conflicting info on that area. I think our ideal would be in a neighborhood and the Southport house is on a more main road- just a great house, so it seems like we will keep looking. Appreciate everyones advice its helpful to hear and facilitate this decision. I like Greenfield hills for space, we like University for neighborhoods. I like Southport because the train is a little closer but all of 10 minutes so I wont sway too much for that. If there are any other ideas or specific neighborhoods we are open.
Southport is beautiful, what's the conflicting info?
I would be interested to know too. Unless it is because the specific home they are looking at is on a busy road or is next to I-95, pretty much all of Southport is great. Jay
I can handle the commute, metro north and I have a long history . Im glad to hear it sounds like Fairfield is a good match. We found a house we like in Southport but are getting conflicting info on that area. I think our ideal would be in a neighborhood and the Southport house is on a more main road- just a great house, so it seems like we will keep looking. Appreciate everyones advice its helpful to hear and facilitate this decision. I like Greenfield hills for space, we like University for neighborhoods. I like Southport because the train is a little closer but all of 10 minutes so I wont sway too much for that. If there are any other ideas or specific neighborhoods we are open.
One of the things I always liked about Greenfield Hill is that even though you feel it is out in the country, you really are not that far from town or the train stations. There are even a few streets that give you the neighborhood feel but still have large enough lots for privacy and peace and quiet.
The Fairfield University area is very nice too and very convenient but be careful when looking at listings that say University area when they are not. I have seen listings in my family's neighborhood that say it is the university area but it definitely is not. To me and most people in town, the university area extends over to about the book at the base of Osborne Hill Road. East of that is Grasmere and Holland Hill, not a continuation of the University neighborhood. Despite this I have seen listings of homes off of Black Rock Turnpike that say University area. Come on now, that is just plain false advertising. Jay
As someone who grew up in Westchester and now lives in FFC, your desire to move doesn't seem to make a ton of sense to me, as Katonah is a great little town and very CT-esque. We cross-shopped it with the FFC towns we looked at and my biggest qualm with it was the higher relative taxes (but I don't think Fairfield would make much of a difference as their taxes are high for FFC). Fairfield is also very much a bedroom community to the city (although larger) and the schools are realistically very much on par with Katonah. If the beach is your main draw (and budget allows) why not just buy a beach home farther out in a "cheaper" part of CT? Branford, Madison or Guilford come to mind for example, and then keep your primary residence for now? Down the road you could make one of those towns your primary residence and be outside of the NYC commuting zone. People on this board love Fairfield but IMO I just don't see the appeal in moving such a short distance unless there are some other reasons for the move.
As someone who grew up in Westchester and now lives in FFC, your desire to move doesn't seem to make a ton of sense to me, as Katonah is a great little town and very CT-esque. We cross-shopped it with the FFC towns we looked at and my biggest qualm with it was the higher relative taxes (but I don't think Fairfield would make much of a difference as their taxes are high for FFC). Fairfield is also very much a bedroom community to the city (although larger) and the schools are realistically very much on par with Katonah. If the beach is your main draw (and budget allows) why not just buy a beach home farther out in a "cheaper" part of CT? Branford, Madison or Guilford come to mind for example, and then keep your primary residence for now? Down the road you could make one of those towns your primary residence and be outside of the NYC commuting zone. People on this board love Fairfield but IMO I just don't see the appeal in moving such a short distance unless there are some other reasons for the move.
Fairfield and West Hartford most popular towns. Towns like Branford, Madison, Guilford, Old Saybrook are nice shoreline towns too. Fairfield is just special more friendly than Westport and Greenwich etc it cheaper too
As someone who grew up in Westchester and now lives in FFC, your desire to move doesn't seem to make a ton of sense to me, as Katonah is a great little town and very CT-esque. We cross-shopped it with the FFC towns we looked at and my biggest qualm with it was the higher relative taxes (but I don't think Fairfield would make much of a difference as their taxes are high for FFC). Fairfield is also very much a bedroom community to the city (although larger) and the schools are realistically very much on par with Katonah. If the beach is your main draw (and budget allows) why not just buy a beach home farther out in a "cheaper" part of CT? Branford, Madison or Guilford come to mind for example, and then keep your primary residence for now? Down the road you could make one of those towns your primary residence and be outside of the NYC commuting zone. People on this board love Fairfield but IMO I just don't see the appeal in moving such a short distance unless there are some other reasons for the move.
The OP seems to want a bigger town with more to do which is what Fairfield would offer her. Part of the problem though could be the age of her children. As I pointed out, once her kids are school age, she will likely meet a lot of people and be able to get more involved in local activities. Still for someone who want more than a short street of local stores and an affordable option to the insane prices of lower Fairfield County, Fairfield may be a good option. Jay
As others have already said, Fairfield is a great town with a lot to offer but I wonder if your failure to put down roots in Katonah has more to do with the age of your children than anything else. I know I thought the same thing about my town, Glastonbury, until my kids were older and entered the schools. Now I feel very connected to the community. Right now it sounds like you are very busy with small children, a job and a house to run. It is no wonder you don't feel connected to the town. You have little extra time to do so at this point. That will likely change as your kids get older and become involved in activities where you end up settling down.
This is a valid point. Until your kids are old enough to regularly participate in extracurriculars, it is just hard and socially isolating to be a working parent, especially in a bedroom community where everyone travels a long distance and keeps busy schedules. I have a preschooler who just hit the minimum age for things like rec sports and birthday parties and we have met more new people in the past 3 months than in the 4 years prior to that. From talking to them at these events, I now know that most of the other parents at our daycare are in the same boat.
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. Im glad to hear it sounds like Fairfield is a good match. We found a house we like in Southport but are getting conflicting info on that area. I think our ideal would be in a neighborhood and the Southport house is on a more main road- just a great house, so it seems like we will keep looking. Appreciate everyones advice its helpful to hear and facilitate this decision. I like Greenfield hills for space, we like University for neighborhoods. I like Southport because the train is a little closer but all of 10 minutes so I wont sway too much for that. If there are any other ideas or specific neighborhoods we are open.
