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Our family is relocating to Connecticut in June and I am looking at Cheshire, Wallingford and North Haven. However, I don't know which one to zero in on. If someone could give me all the pro's and con's of each of these towns I would GREATLY appreciate it. We are already aware of the housing and tax costs. I am just strickly interested in the town itself (and high schools). Such as, friendly, family oriented, too much industry, bad areas ect... Also what area of the town should we stick too when looking for a house. Any info would be great. Thanks all.
Schools are good in all towns and none have dangerous/crime ridden areas. Just typical ‘burbs.
Cheshire is the most affluent of the three, so you will probably get more school programs and such and their schools have a great reputation. They have a giant prison right on Rt. 10, so I don’t think the town will ever get to the super affluent town status where the snobbery and such comes in to play. Most of the industrial type businesses are located off of Rt. 10 near the prison, with exception to a few. I know of one old factory that is still working that is SMACK in the middle of residential homes on Mixville Ave. Other than that, I can’t think of any strange/undesirable residential areas. There are some good restaurants and very nice residential areas, but it is pricey compared to the other two towns.
Wallingford is a working class kind of town. No dangerous areas, but some are not the most aesthetically pleasing. Many nice, typical middle class residential areas. Rt. 5 is a sea of chain restaurants, which is a negative for me since Applebees and the like just aren’t my bag. Most of the industrial parks are located in a segregated area, but it is an old factory town and there are random industrial type places dotted along Rt. 5 and surrounding environs
North Haven probably falls between the two in terms of cost, but I think North Haven has much nicer selection of residential areas than Wallingford. North Haven also has its share of industrial businesses, but again are mostly segregated.
My vote would be for Cheshire. We loved it there and would move back in a heart beat. We much preferred the south end of town, near the canal path (we also lived in the north part of Cheshire for 3 years) To me Wallingford can be a bit depressing and North Haven is too commercial for my taste. I think the schools in Cheshire are the best of the 3 towns as well. I know Cheshire is very family orientated..lots of programs for kids and a really nice library (that I miss! how great is it to have the childrens section totally separate with doors??? We used to go there just to play with the train table, puppet theater, blocks, dollhouse etc...) The only part of cheshire I wouldn't look at is the part that is past 84 towards Waterbury. It is a VERY safe town
Wallingford down by the North Haven line is a great part of town, especially around the Choate Rosemary Hall, Main/Center street areas. They are old large homes, lots of families walking around with the library right on main street. The streets are also very safe there and center street has a nice small town feel to it with the small shops. We often go to Michael's Trattoria or Archie Moore's on center street to eat or get a beer. I've been looking at that area as an option to move. As was mentioned however the further you get away from this area the more industrialized it gets, especially near the Meriden area. Route 5 can be a bear, although it can easily be bypassed with route 15 and 91 both running through Wallingford. Wallingford out by the Cheshire border is much more suburban feeling and you are much further away from it all.
Cheshire is the most affluent of the 3 as you probably know. I don't find myself ever going there however, because there just isn't much to do there. I personally prefer Southington to Cheshire. That aside Cheshire is safe, has good schools, and a small town feel to it. Depending on where you live in Cheshire, I find it a bit further away from the major highways than I'd like, simply for convenience sake.
North Haven I think is the least desireable of the 3, although I have also looked at homes there. The best thing with North Haven to me is the proximity to New Haven without having to be in the city. It's not a bad city by any means, it just seems to have a grittier edge than the other two you mentioned.
Since we are looking at all 3 towns and Wallingford has 2 High Schools my daughter would prefer Mark Sheehan because it is a little smaller than lyman. However, I'm sure to stay in their district we would have to consentrate on the north end of Wallingford. Should we look at the west side, east side, or in the middle? Keeping in mind rual feel and away from industry.
MTS is a great school, although my son went to LHHS. Either is a good choice, however there is a "City-like" presence at LHHS. They partic, as day students,ipate in a New Haven co-op program where the N. H. city kids care bussed to Wlfd to participate in the Food Service and Vo-Ag programs. LHHS has Latin but MTS has Italian and German. Sheehan is the #1 choice I think. The entire west side goes to MTS.
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