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I am looking to buy a house in one of the towns listed in the title. Any feedback on taxes, utility fees, anything relevant to being a homeowner would be very helpful.
Been living in Wallingford for 5 years now, wouldn't go anywhere else. You can't beat the town in electric as we have our own plant not part of the UI/Eversource companies. For our 3k sqft colonial with two kids we pay avg. $100 per month. It goes up a bit depending on season but the highest I have ever had with the pool running and AC on in August is still below $200. You won't come anywhere near that for electric elsewhere. Also the WED (Wallingford Electric Division) maintains a super high quality and up time and you are not left in the dark. Calls are answered immediately and worked on promptly, again it is town owned.
Downtown is getting a lot of business influx, new places opening (breweries, restaurants, etc.) and there are lots of great places to eat and shop. Route 5 has all the big stores you need for the most part BJs, Lowes, HD, all the grocery chains, and plenty of smaller plazas as well. Easy access to both 91 and 15 from pretty much anywhere in town, and I did mention the businesses downtown but it is also very walkable, with a fantastic library. The train station is newly updated with the CT Rail now running from NH to parts of MA as well.
Wallingford has a lot of open space to, parks and recreation areas that are set aside for public use throughout town. The playgrounds are in great shape and all these areas are well kept. Taxes are pretty low, similar to towns you list but your dollar does go farther than a lot of other nearby settings.
All in all it's been a great place for us, I find plenty to do if you are single, couple, have or want to raise children. We moved here with the intent of raising our family and have noticed a lot of younger couples/families moving in. It's funny I grew up in Milford and notice a lot of people I went to HS or college with have moved up this way and enjoy what this town has to offer. Great people, great utilities, services, etc. make for a very well place all around. Yes I'm gloating a bit but after 5 years it's what the town has come to mean to me, wouldn't think to live anywhere else in the state.
All of these are good towns. Wallingford is good because it has reasonable taxes and lower electric rates. Cheshire has schools that perform well and is probably the most affluent. Prospect and Bethany are more rural in character and quiet.
The costs involved really depends on your budget. A bigger house will likely cost more and have higher taxes and utility bills. You can see the taxes on a house on most websites. You can also ask the agent for copies of the owners utility bills. Jay
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