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Can anyone give me some advice as to the pros/cons in the area around Essex and east along the shore? I am semi-retired and am considering moving from Fairfield County further northeast. I am looking for a smaller town, friendly people, safety and charm. It's great if there are activities as well, and it's dog friendly. Please share your thoughts ....I don't know the towns that well and want to zero in my search. Thanks!
Lots of pros. They're beautiful, charming, mostly quiet places that aren't too far from civilization (New Haven/Middletown/Mystic).
The cons. They may be too far from civilization for some. Some summer traffic. That's really it. Idyllic places. I guess you could say the Lyme's get a bit of a party vibe in some neighborhoods in summer, like Soundview Beach, if that's a detriment.
Would also consider other towns around there. Really any town from Branford to East Lyme. Guilford is one of my favorites and super charming. And a little closer to New Haven, if that matters.
Certainly Chester/Essex/East Haddam are quieter than shoreline areas, but so are parts of, say northern Guilford.
I think Guilford, Essex, and Chester have the most charming town centers in the entire state of Connecticut.
All of those towns you listed are very nice. Old Saybrook & East Lyme are my favorites, in fact my favorite towns in the whole state of Connecticut actually. By the way Niantic is part of East Lyme in case you didn't know.
Essex and Chester are great inland towns with beautiful town centers. However, they are not coastal and in my opinion not as charming as the coastal towns you listed. However, they are still very nice towns with some rural areas as well. East Haddam is also a great town, but it is a little ways from amenities and you would need to go to either Old Saybrook, East Lyme, or Waterford for shopping and food.
Old Saybrook is my favorite town out of all of them, and I highly recommend it for people like you that are semi-retiring and looking for charm and safety. It is very safe and heavily policed. Fenwick is one of the most beautiful beaches and areas in the whole state, in fact the whole peninsula from the Old Saybrook Center down to Fenwick is amazing. However, beware because that area is extremely expensive and cost of living is almost as high as most areas of Fairfield County. However that is just the peninsula. The rest of Old Saybrook is very affordable though.
East Lyme is also very nice and charming and bigger than Old Saybrook as well. Niantic is where all the life really is. The rest of East Lyme is fairly quiet. East Lyme itself doesn't have as many amenities as Old Saybrook, but still it has a good amount of amenities and you are very close to Waterford where you'll find a huge shopping center so it is pretty convenient. Beaches in Niantic and the Rocky Neck area are very nice. Also East Lyme is a very affordable town. You should easily get by with a budget of 300-350K. Maybe even cheaper if you are looking for a smaller house.
So I say look in Old Saybrook and East Lyme. However I wouldn't recommend the Northern part of East Lyme. It is really nice but very rural and nothing is really there. You'll have to go a little ways to get to the center of town where the amenities and life are.
The only cons I'd say about Old Saybrook and East Lyme is that there isn't much nightlife around (I doubt you were really looking for that honestly), and also it is a little ways to a major city, but there are many amenities in the surrounding towns and within the towns, and you should be good.
Thanks for your thoughts Stylo and Danny K! I do like to swim laps all year long and know that East Lyme has an aquatic center. I have never been there but from the pictures - it looks like a nice pool. I am also interested in any beach areas to bring my dog. One of my favorite things to do in both summer and winter is to bring him to the beach.
Is any one area more friendly or welcoming? I am friendly myself but it's great when the town has an upbeat, welcoming vibe.
Thanks for your thoughts Stylo and Danny K! I do like to swim laps all year long and know that East Lyme has an aquatic center. I have never been there but from the pictures - it looks like a nice pool. I am also interested in any beach areas to bring my dog. One of my favorite things to do in both summer and winter is to bring him to the beach.
Is any one area more friendly or welcoming? I am friendly myself but it's great when the town has an upbeat, welcoming vibe.
From my experience both Old Saybrook and East Lyme are equally welcoming and friendly. East Lyme is quite a bit bigger but Old Saybrook is the more upscale town overall. My family always takes family reunions in that area every year for about 2 weeks so I have vacationed there all the time. Sometimes we go to Old Saybrook and sometimes East Lyme. My guess is East Lyme might be a bit more diverse due to it being bigger, so maybe a little more welcoming? Just a wild guess, but I've never really noticed a difference in the people.
I am looking for a smaller town, friendly people, safety and charm. It's great if there are activities as well, and it's dog friendly.
Essex or Old Saybrook would be my pick, for your criteria. Both have town-organized activities. Old Saybrook is directly on I-95, so there is a bit more activity. Essex is more "charming" in my opinion. Chester has a nice small center, but I have to think it is a sleepier town than the others, maybe not many activities.
Niantic has a lot of summer seasonal activity and it quiets down a lot in winter. The rest of East Lyme is nice, but I don't know it well. Old Lyme is also nice. Don't know Lyme very well.
Old Lyme is a really nice town but less amenities and not nearly as much going on there as some of the other surrounding towns. Some great beaches and really pretty views but thats pretty much it. Not a lot of life there.
Lyme is one of the most rural towns in the whole state. Really there is absolutely nothing there other than houses, forests, and some beautiful views of the Connecticut River. But it's kind of in the middle of nowhere. Its a really nice town to walk around and maybe go hiking, but I wouldn't recommend living there.
It seems that the consensus is East Lyme . . .more then East Haddam, Chester, or Essex? I was wondering if I could get within walking distance to any of those three - maybe it would be a different experience and I could still use the beaches in East Lyme?
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