[SteveM85]

Originally Posted by JayCT

In and around Milford Green is all pretty charming. Definitely a New England feel. That area is also adjacent to downtown which also has New England charm. As I said too the neighborhoods along the beach are also very similar to New England beach towns.

It sounds like you are judging Milford more by the Route 1 commercial district and maybe the subdivision or apartment/condo areas around town. I understand that. I hate to say this but you do find similar type development in other towns that most would consider to be New England. Branford has a lot of big box stores and lots of bland strip shopping centers along or near a Route 1 as well as condos and subdivisions. Route 1 in Guilford and Madison and pretty much the entire length from New Haven to Rhode Island does too. Most of these towns also have subdivisions and condo complexes all around the town as well. You don’t judge the New England charm of them based on that. Milford should be no different. Jay

Ehhh, naaah, not really. I totally get what you're saying and I can't speak for CTArtist, but for me its not really about stores or buildings or route 1s. Its more about geographic points and "feels". Hard to explain. The Q bridge and Guilford like another just posted is a perfect example.

I happen to think the Route 1 buildup up there is great. It serves an entire region with just about anything you need.

[CTartist]

Originally Posted by SteveM85

I agree. To me it's Tri-State and that includes Stamford, Milford, Norwalk, Darien what have you (Rowayton is not a real town). Its not meant to disparage anything.

That is exactly what I am trying to say. I am not disparaging Milford or any of the towns in Fairfield County. I was born and raised in Stamford and I moved to Trumbull. I have friends and relatives in Milford.

I am now going to show my age now.

So I grew up in Stamford. In the 1980's my first Art Director lived in Fairfield near Mohegan Lake. When I would go to her house I would think "I want to move to Fairfield...it's such a nice, peaceful little town" Now I live in Trumbull. When I go into Fairfield it feels like a rat race down there compared to Trumbull. The traffic is terrible now and it takes any quaintness out of the town. It is still a wonderful nice town but even if I could afford a house near the beach in Fairfield I would still move to Branford, Guilford or Madison in retirement.

I bought my house in Trumbull in the 1990's. It was this nice little town that felt removed from the rat race that is Fairfield County. Well guess what.....the NYC area Fairfield County rat race and attitude is here now too. Trumbull LOOKS more charming than Milford but I would put it at the same level of rat race as Fairfield County/Milford. So Trumbull is not a nice little charming town to me anymore. And all the "Jonses" that are in Trumbull now....ugh. I liked Trumbull better when mostly everyone was middle class.

When My husband and I go up past New Haven (starting with Branford) we go "ahhhhhhh" becuase we feel like we are out of the NYC/Fairfield County rat race.

[SteveM85]

Originally Posted by CTartist

That is exactly what I am trying to say. I am not disparaging Milford or any of the towns in Fairfield County. I was born and raised in Stamford and I moved to Trumbull. I have friends and relatives in Milford.

I am now going to show my age now.

So I grew up in Stamford. In the 1980's my first Art Director lived in Fairfield near Mohegan Lake. When I would go to her house I would think "I want to move to Fairfield...it's such a nice, peaceful little town" Now I live in Trumbull. When I go into Fairfield it feels like a rat race down there compared to Trumbull. The traffic is terrible now and it takes any quaintness out of the town. It is still a wonderful nice town but even if I could afford a house near the beach in Fairfield I would still move to Branford, Guilford or Madison in retirement.

I bought my house in Trumbull in the 1990's. It was this nice little town that felt removed from the rat race that is Fairfield County. Well guess what.....the NYC area Fairfield County rat race and attitude is here now too. Trumbull LOOKS more charming than Milford but I would put it at the same level of rat race as Fairfield County/Milford. So Trumbull is not a nice little charming town to me anymore. And all the "Jonses" that are in Trumbull now....ugh. I liked Trumbull better when mostly everyone was middle class.

When My husband and I go up past New Haven (starting with Branford) we go "ahhhhhhh" becuase we feel like we are out of the NYC/Fairfield County rat race.

To me it's that stretch of highway past New Haven, I'm not sure what town, maybe Branford, where you look to the left and just see that lake surrounded by woods. No houses, nothing.
I'm not up the Trumbull Fairfield way much but it is one of the states largest cities in terms of population.
Living in Fairfield County reminds me of living in California. Everyone loooooooves getting out of the house and in the car going somehwere, even on the weekends. By 11am Saturdays, people can't get out of the house fast enough and into the car going God knows where.

[CTartist]

Originally Posted by SteveM85

To me it's that stretch of highway past New Haven, I'm not sure what town, maybe Branford, where you look to the left and just see that lake surrounded by woods. No houses, nothing.
I'm not up the Trumbull Fairfield way much but it is one of the states largest cities in terms of population.
Living in Fairfield County reminds me of living in California. Everyone loooooooves getting out of the house and in the car going somehwere, even on the weekends. By 11am Saturdays, people can't get out of the house fast enough and into the car going God knows where.

You got it. The traffic is a nightmare from Greenwich/Stamford to New Haven. It kills any charm and quaintness a town/area may have IMO.

I am not a person that swears but when I get stuck in the No-Exit Zone between 42 and 44 (between Westport and Fairfield) on the Parkway.....well that flies out the window along with my patience. Especially on some days when it takes me 30+ minutes to go through what should be a 5-6 minute stretch.

[Stylo]

Originally Posted by CTartist

What is near/around those pictures?

Coastal neighborhoods, historic homes. MORE New England charm.

Also strongly disagree on north Stamford having more New England charm, but we can agree to disagree as this is becoming a circular thread.

[Stylo]

Originally Posted by JayCT

In and around Milford Green is all pretty charming. Definitely a New England feel. That area is also adjacent to downtown which also has New England charm. As I said too the neighborhoods along the beach are also very similar to New England beach towns.

It sounds like you are judging Milford more by the Route 1 commercial district and maybe the subdivision or apartment/condo areas around town. I understand that. I hate to say this but you do find similar type development in other towns that most would consider to be New England. Branford has a lot of big box stores and lots of bland strip shopping centers along or near a Route 1 as well as condos and subdivisions. Route 1 in Guilford and Madison and pretty much the entire length from New Haven to Rhode Island does too. Most of these towns also have subdivisions and condo complexes all around the town as well. You don’t judge the New England charm of them based on that. Milford should be no different. Jay

I would agree on Branford, but Guilford and Madison are pretty uniformly charming. I would say they have more NE charm than either Milford or Branford overall. But the OP is looking for density, and they are not very dense/lively/walkable except some coastal neighborhoods.

[CTartist]

Originally Posted by JayCT

Branford has a lot of big box stores and lots of bland strip shopping centers along or near a Route 1 as well as condos and subdivisions. Route 1 in Guilford and Madison and pretty much the entire length from New Haven to Rhode Island does too.

Comparing Route 1 in Milford to Route 1 in Guilford, Madison and even Branford (and beyond to the RI border) is like comparing an orange to a horse. Route 1 east of New Haven isn't even remotely in the same category as Route 1 west of New Haven and especially Route 1 section in Milford/Orange.

I hope the OP gives us a synopsis of all the towns we are talking about after she/he goes there. It will be interesting.

Where is "WillowWind"* when I need her lol.

*She is a poster that (to me) is an expert on the shoreline east of New Haven. Everything she told me was spot on. I haven't seen her on here for a while though.

[macalan]

Originally Posted by CTartist

I hope the OP gives us a synopsis of all the towns we are talking about after she/he goes there. It will be interesting.

Not sure how soon we can get up there, but I definitely will!

Not being familiar with CT curious to know from people who know MA or RI towns, what towns in those states you consider quaint.

[CTartist]

Originally Posted by macalan

Not sure how soon we can get up there, but I definitely will!

Not being familiar with CT curious to know from people who know MA or RI towns, what towns in those states you consider quaint.

I have been to both Rockport and Newburyport MA but can't remember which is which. I seem to remember they are both "touristy". Am I correct? I have been to Portsmouth NH too. My aunt lived in Nashua NH and we would visit all the towns where the tourists go in the area. And I LOVE LOVE LOVE Newport RI.

After all of these posts I went back to your first post and you said this........

"We've been looking at RI, but just discovered (on the web) some towns that look interesting on the CT shore - Guildford, Madison, Old Saybrook, Stonington."

I think you've got it in the towns you mentioned. With one addition.


Trust me.....go look at Stony Creek in Branford. It is like it's own little village. It has boats and you can even take boat rides around the Thimble Islands. That area has a little "touristy" feel like I seem to remember Rockport and Newburyport had. Even though Stony Creek is in Branford it is not far from the section near Guilford I am talking about. Look at this map and you can see that Stony Creek is equal distance to the main areas of Branford and Guilford. I love boats and marinas more than I love the beach. That is another reason I will probably end up in Branford. I won't be able to afford my own boat (maybe a very small one) so I can take the boat rides in Stony Creek.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stony_Creek_(Branford)

[Stylo]

Originally Posted by macalan

Not sure how soon we can get up there, but I definitely will!

Not being familiar with CT curious to know from people who know MA or RI towns, what towns in those states you consider quaint.

Watch Hill, Narraganset, Newport, Manchester by the Sea, Rockport, Hyannis, Chatham... to name a few. Many can be expensive though.