[vinman]

hi all

i would like to know if anyone has any info on waterbury now i moved 20 years ago to the west coast. Thinking of moving back how is the town as far as crime, jobs ,houses i know a lot has changed in 20 years is it bad good or the same. or im thinking maybe wolcott, naugatuck, watertown, prospect. any help would be appreciated. please let me know what parts of waterbury are good place to move my wife kids and parents.

take care
vinman

[Curious in CT]

Hi,
right now I live in Bristol. Do not move back to Waterbury. The crime is high. A lot of political scandals in the past few years. When I drive through Waterbury I'm actually scared. I would pick Wolcott any day of the week over Waterbury. As a matter of fact I'm a stone throw away from Wolcott. Prospect is nice. My friend lives in Watertown.....very nice there too. Why move back to CT? I'm sure the West Coast isn't any better, but CT is getting very expensive. As a matter of fact we are moving out West to Colorado this fall. We would love to move to a better town other than Bristol, but we would be in a smaller, more out-dated house than the one we are in now. To me that's moving backwards. So we picked CO for the beauty, quality of life and low cost of living. Unless you are moving here for family, it's really hard to get ahead in CT unless you are pretty well off.

[restlessinmn]

If you look at pure statistics, the crime in Waterbury has gone down. Actually, as a region, the entire Northeast has seen a decline in crime for many years now as opposed to every other areas of the country where crime is on the rise. I don't know where on the west coast you are but if you are near LA, crime in Waterbury is nothing.

Avon, CT outside of Hartford is rated as one of the safest towns in the nation. Actually, if research the best places list on cnn .com and look at the safest places to live many of them are in CT and almost all are in the Northeast.

There are some nicer areas of Waterbury - especially those that border Middlebury and Watertown. That said, you probably don't want to live in even the nicest parts of Waterbury because of the taxes. The city has been mismanaged for so long now that the property taxes are sky high.

As far as CT being expensive, it depends on where you are coming from and what part of CT you want to live. Fairfield County is very expensive. Litchfield County is reasonable as well as some parts of New Haven County. There are places with higher property taxes than others and most cities have personal property taxes on things like cars and boats this is over and above the state registration fees.

I guess your question about Waterbury and CT depends on whether you are raising a family or planning to retire. CT is going to be more expensive for retirees due to all of the taxes. If you are in family mode, all of the taxes pay for the amenities like top schools, parks, community activities, etc...

[salatheel]

I have lived in Connecticut all my life. No way would I even consider Waterbury. Wolcott or Prospect are nice but Naugatuck and Waterbury are the pits. Connecticut as a whole is getting terrible. Taxes and the cost of living in general is very high and the employment situation sucks. The weather is atrocious. Unless you like cold damp weather! I am getting out next spring for the Carolinas.

[poodlecamper]

Hi--I live in Beacon Falls. Forget about statistics--the crime in Waterbury is awful--shootings and drugs. The schools are awful, the taxes insane. Prospect is great, BF and prospect share a school system, which is excellent.Houses are $300,000 and up for an older home. Naugatuck (I lived and worked there) has increasing crime and drugs. There are some really nice neighborhoods, though, and the schools are decent, and the services for the elderly are excellent. Lots of kid's sports, etc. Wolcott is unfamiliar to me. You can email me for more info--I'm not a realtor, just a 55 year old Mom and retired nurse.

[ASCHAEDLER]

Anywhere but Waterbury. Crime is high, people are suffering and students have no chance. The city is so bad off that when it snows, school is cancelled. They have no funds to plow the roads! Houses are falling apart and 40% are boarded up. I know people who work in the community and have seen thehorrible lives of waterbury people. Other towns neaby are OK. The home prices may be higher but the taxes are lower. I am a mortgage broker so I see this all the time. To purchase a home for $200,00 is possibole, your mortgage payment will be around $800 and so will your taxes. Most of the tax money is to pay off debt from the town's mismanagement. If you look on realtor.com the houses and prices look good but there is no resale for profit. I see a lot of short sales, this means cannot sell for what you owe. The best neighborhoods of waterbury are not as good as the worst neighborhoods in surrounding towns. Woodbury, Middlebury, Southbury, Oxford, Wolcott, Watertown, Goshen. Check out mapquest. Ask me more if you want. I am not a Realtor but I have lived here my entire life.Good luck.

[Hatter58]

Wow, I am surprised by all the negative replies, but then again not. Waterbury has a beat up reputation and growing up I was told to stay away from it. But I have spent a lot of time there recently and found a lot of positive things about the city.

First off it is a Connecticut city and therefore is going to have higher crime than the burbs. Knowing that, you won't be surprised. It does have a significantly lower crime rate than New Haven, Bridgeport and Hartford (which seems to be the worst off these days).

The city does have money issues from years of mismanagement and as a result taxes are high, and the schools have to deal with funding problems.

The house prices are lower than pretty much anywhere in CT, but again the tax rate is high so that's your trade off.

If you are choosing to live in Waterbury I would suggest either the Bunker Hill (northwest part of the city), or Bucks Hill (North) neighborhoods to look. My fiance grew up in Bucks Hill and went to Wilby high school, while a friend of my daughter's goes to Wilby now. A friend of mine from work lived in Bunker Hill for years.

Drop me a line if you would like any more info. Don't be terrified of Waterbury. Like I said, it does have some issues. It's not a picture perfect quaint New England town like everyone in this state seems to want. It is a city and everything that goes with that. You have to decide what is best for you.

And...if you came from Waterbury 20 years ago...if you remember it from back then, it is getting better than it was.

[lund]

You say you're thinking of moving back to Waterbury, CT. after a 20 years in another State? No, I wouldn't suggest it. Since you're bringing your parents, please do a TREMENDOUS amount of research on how probate courts WORK in CT. I don't mean the internet PR PAGE that has been put on the net by the CT. Gov., but how it REALLY works.
A legal/valid Will MUST GO THROUGH PROBATE. Check newspaper archives for some probate horror stories, read what law professors say ( Yale law professors on the Net would be a good start), Univ. of CT. professors, Read articles in the Hartford Courant archives, The New York Times. The Waterbury Republican American newspaper has not covered a recent horror story, Probate here is very political. They're voted in.
Believe me, you don't want ANYONE CLOSE TO YOU TO DIE IN CT. I hope to move from CT. as CT. HAS NOT adopted the UNIFORM PROBATE CODE. Since Gov., Jodi Rell signed a new bill last year that refined estate taxes she also raised probate court fees making it even more expensive to die here. As to Waterbury, Wolcott and Middlebury those three cities are handled by the same "judge." In Ct. a probate judge doesn't have to be an attorney. All they have to do is live in the community. Could be a waitress, a trash hauler or an attorney with political connections, And we know that Waterbury has had a lot of corruption scandals.
Aside from the cold weather, high heating costs, the highest gas prices in the country, and humungous, back breaking Waterbury taxes, that area has to deal with what happens to their assets after they die. Anyone with property in CT. has to be concerned.
Other than the above, I guess it's O.K.

If you'd like to email me you may.

[mpd]

thinking about moving to naugatuck.
how is the neighborhood?
i was driving by and stopped by the stop and shop on rubber road and it looked like about half the shopping mall looked to be empty or almost abandoned.
what happened? did everyone just leave naugatuck?
any help would be appreciated. thanks!

[ASCHAEDLER]

Gosh I dont know what happened. I never go there. I know it has been more affordable living. People I have done mortgages for that bought in naugatuck are happy. I know sometimes an owner of a shopping area lets all the leases run out so a big chain can have all the space. Especially next to a stop and shop. Done all the time.

Woodbury and Southbury is handled by Waterbury court as well. Not an easy time in that court. The Assistant DA is so overloaded she is not listening to the defense when they speak, she is reading her next case.
Hard people, suffering people and no extra help like other courts in the state