[NewJeffCT]

Originally Posted by parentologist

Your original post is really quite shocking, and off-putting. But it's true, you can get more house for your money in Avon or West Hartford (or Simsbury or Farmington, too). In terms of schools, the public schools in all of these districts are excellent, offer tons of APs and good extracurriculars. Only West Hartford has any significant racial/socioeconomic diversity, but the high schools there seem to sort into a 2-tiered system via the honors/AP curriculum, which is the equal of any private school's, in my opinion. Any motivated student can come out of any of these town's public schools with an excellent education via the many APs offered. All of the schools have good performing arts, but West Hartford's Hall High has a nationally-renowned jazz band program (but the kid needs to have developed proficiency on a jazz band instrument, in order to audition into it).

If what you need is a large house for lots of kids, you should know that private school is quite expensive, that if you feel that you would send the kids to private school (and there are lots of good options in the area, but really no better than the public schools, except possibly Talcott, if you have a child who is way, way ahead of the curve), it would probably be a wash, financially - less mortgage payment, but wicked high tuition bill. If it's staying in Westport and sending the kids to public, vs moving to WH/Avon/Farmington/Simsbury and sending them to private school (which is completely unnecessary), the better financial move is to stay in Westport, since you'd get back what you invest in the house, whereas the private school tuition, you'll never get anything back on.

There are areas in West Hartford west of Mountain Rd with enormous houses high up on the mountain, with stunning views.

For summer pool/lake fun, you'd probably be best off joining a club. Winding Trails offers very nice recreation, year round. There are other private clubs, usually centered around a golf course, which have pools and could serve as a summer recreation center/social center for your family. But there are public lakes with beaches in the area, too. The nearest ocean beach is at least an hour's drive away.

Farmington and West Hartford are closer to I84, so better located if you need to commute on one of the highways. Avon and Simsbury are more remote. It would be a little bit easier to drive to Boston from West Hartford and Farmington than from Simsbury and Avon, but there is plenty for kids to do here. Kids tend to get very busy with sports, swim teams, music and performing arts, etc, that are all close by.

I don't know if it's changed these past 5-6 years, but one thing you will see in Farmington, West Hartford and even Avon schools is more racial diversity than in Westport - in Farmington & Avon, it will be Asian (Chinese & Indian) and West Harford has a lot of Asian, Hispanic & African American students in the schools, especially compared to Westport that's 95-96% white.

[SteveM85]

Originally Posted by notghinsaw

So based on the comments above SteveM85 and alike sent their kids to waterbury high because schools don't matter?

That’s correct. It really doesn’t matter.
On the flip side, a bright genius is a bright genius. If you can cure Ebola you can cure Ebola. They will succeed and make real impacts in the world with or without Westport public. You can’t create genius.

The moral of the story is the OPs children won’t miss out on anything between Westport and West Hartford. From what I understand both are prominently Jewish so that may be a plus for them as well.

[reslinal]

Originally Posted by parentologist

2 hrs to lincoln center from west hartford early Sunday mornings.

That's nice. How about drive to Boston? Is the traffic usually good on weekends?

[reslinal]

Originally Posted by NewJeffCT

On summer days where it's not raining, the Farmington River gets a ton of people with canoes, kayaks, tubes, etc. A lot of fun and pretty safe as the river is not really deep and it moves slowly in most places.

Great, are there any young kids friendly activities we can do on Farmington river during summer? Are there lots of bugs flying around during summer time on the Farmington river (Saugatuck river in Westport does)?

[reslinal]

Originally Posted by WestRiverTraveler

Branford could also be a good choice. Guilford does have more takeout and restaurant options overall, in addition to being closer to New Haven.

Thanks for the suggestion. Another reason we are more interested in Avon/WH area is because I need to commute to my office near Westfarm mall area twice a week, so the shorter commute from Avon provides some additional motivation for us to move from Westport.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by ct1615

Several reasons from my time in schools (and its been a while)
Far more impressive supplies in rich school systems, computer labs that would make universities envious
School sports teams are better supplied and can offer more niche activities/sports
School environment is far more competitive, a higher percentage of kids care about their grades
Rich kids and their parents make great contacts when looking for a job
and lets not forget prestige both in the community and college admissions, we used to send a bunch of kids each year to Cornell but now competitive colleges limit how many kids they will take from a HS each year



now you can create a cons list as well and there are plenty of people in the unemployment line who went to prestigious HS and colleges just a lower % of them than other schools.






Actually a HS class mate of mine is a science professor at Yale so maybe...

This is a very good list but it goes even further. It’s a lot of little things. Class sizes in key classes are lower. The number and types of electives and extracurricular activities are more plentiful and diverse. There are more school counselors per students whose job it is to get kids on and keep them on the path to further their education. The schools curriculum is more rigorous. Students with issues are handled so fewer if any slip through the system.

Finally, colleges are well aware of which school systems produce the best students. Westport would be at the very top so comparable students from Westport with comparable grades and electives would likely win out over students from a lessor school district.

As an example, a coworker and I have kids the same age and going through high school at the same time. We would often compare what his town offered to what Glastonbury offered. There was always a big difference with Glastonbury being the better system.

Glastonbury has a set program that every student goes through to determine what they will do upon graduation. This doesn’t matter if they were going on to college, a trade, the military or to work. The program has an assigned counselor who has a limited number of students to keep on track. I’m going to say it was like 1 to 100 students. They assist the student in finding a college or trade school and with the application and financial aid if needed. Our schools also offered programs for parents to help the through the process. Im sure Westport has a similar set up.

His district has no program or parent assistance. Students were on their own figuring out what they were going to do upon graduation. There was no help filling out college applications and no assistance in finding financial aid. They were pretty much on their own. The counselor had nearly three times the number of kids to help so it was kind of hard to give the personal attention my kids got.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by reslinal

Great, are there any young kids friendly activities we can do on Farmington river during summer? Are there lots of bugs flying around during summer time on the Farmington river (Saugatuck river in Westport does)?

I know there are canoe or kayaks on the Farmington River. There may be tubing too. Of course there are bugs on the river. That’s nature. You can’t change it.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by reslinal

That's nice. How about drive to Boston? Is the traffic usually good on weekends?

Boston is a major city so of course there will be traffic but honestly I’ve rarely hit traffic unless on a Friday night leaving the city or Sunday night going back into it. It would be best to check a traffic app like Waze to be certain though.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by reslinal

Thanks for the suggestion. Another reason we are more interested in Avon/WH area is because I need to commute to my office near Westfarm mall area twice a week, so the shorter commute from Avon provides some additional motivation for us to move from Westport.

Then you are definitely making a good move. I’m sure you and your family will like it no matter which town you end up in. West Hartford would be comparable to Fairfield being bigger, more mature and more diverse. Farmington, Avon and Simsbury are less dense, quieter and very picturesque. You can’t go wrong with any of them.

[SteveM85]

Originally Posted by JayCT

Finally, colleges are well aware of which school systems produce the best students. Westport would be at the very top so comparable students from Westport with comparable grades and electives would likely win out over students from a lessor school district.

Stuck in 1963 much?
It's 2024, they all would get in colleges.