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Hello!
I know you may not trust my answer since I am in Real Estate but I got into real estate because I love to help people move to Ridgefield - I know how hard it is to relocate. We came with our three small children from OHIO, 16 years ago.
This truely is a great time to come to Ridgefield because there are some really nice choices and prices are so down. Ridgefield will always have value, it is a lovely town, great commute and the schools are excellent. We have a doggy park and anything else you could ever want!
Thanks for the great inputs about Ridgefield. We have been visiting the town last a few weekends. Our kids loved the playground at the Ballard park, Mr. Hot dog across the park is always very nice and told us many good things about the community. We have not gotten the goggy park yet just because we did not know about it. Thank you! looking forward to taking our playful dog there next time. We have been looking at some houses in So. Ridgefiled area and realized that it is still expensive side and not so many inventories, but keep looking. My husband may drive back roads, route 35 to crossriver-bedford to Greenwich, or go down 124 south to Stamford and take Merritt to Greenwich. Is anyone known about the traffic on those roads on the peak time? We concern about the distance from Greenwich, not only his commute; but his parents are there and we have been getting togeter at least one a week. We wanted to be close to Greenwich, yet we did not have good impressions from people around the area and also very expenseive. It seems poeple in Ridgefiled are more friendly, welcoming to new poeple? We think that our life style will fit in and we'd love to raise our children in a good community. We are still thinkinf about Fairfield because the real easats seems more reasonable and also we like the town. We simply think that commuting to Greenwich from fairfield would be worse than from Ridgefiled. We know that the public schools in Fairfield are all good, but we really don't know the community yet. Just from driving by, Fairfiled looks more down to earth than Westport. Please give us some idea about the community/ people in Fairfield?
That is great information Ridgefielder4life. We are heading to Ridgefield this week to look at the town,schools and property. I am glad to hear that people are friendly there. I am very down to earth and don't feel like I would fit in very well in a snobby town. My kids are in elementary school and we will be visiting Farmingville while we are there. Any school suggestions? Is one middle school better or diferent than the other? Thanks!
Fairfield is more "down to earth" than Westport. It is a more diverse community with a wide range of housing options from small starter apartments to palatial estates. It has a wonderful downtown area with lots of stores and restaurants. There is a small community theater that features second-run movies and they have a great library. There are a number of nice parks and beaches as well. It really is a nice town. Could your husband take a train to his job? That would make the commute to Greenwich easier. Jay
That is great information Ridgefielder4life. We are heading to Ridgefield this week to look at the town,schools and property. I am glad to hear that people are friendly there. I am very down to earth and don't feel like I would fit in very well in a snobby town. My kids are in elementary school and we will be visiting Farmingville while we are there. Any school suggestions? Is one middle school better or diferent than the other? Thanks!
Thanks! In terms of schools, it has been some time since I have been enrolled, but from the general consensus that I get, they truly are quite equal. Because all schools are served under the same board of education, they are required to implement the same curricula into each school.
Where the schools TRULY differ is merely based on asthetics. Every school but Ridgebury (where I went) is just one floor. The latter has been most recently updated so it has nicer amenities, but it doesn't make it any better than the next. Barlow Mountain was also fairly recently reopened. In the interim, it served as the old parks and rec center, so it too is pretty nice. Veterans Park is the oldest, so it is the most...outdated, so to speak.
Scotts Ridge is the new middle school. It was not in existence when I went to school, but I have been there in the past. It is nice and very up to date. Although, last I heard they are updating East Ridge, the other middle school, as well. Scotts Ridge serves northern Ridgefield (Ridgebury, Scotland, and Barlow Mountain). East Ridge serves southern Ridgefield (Veterans Park, Farmingville, Branchville).
The high school is very unique. The main body of the school was completed in 1971. And you can certainly tell. It has a very modern vibe, that is quite interesting. The "addition", or G-wing and student center is gorgeous. It is state of the art and very up to date. The track, Tiger Hollow, is also state of the art, and is a great place for teenagers to gather on Friday nights to cheer on their fellow Tigers.
So, to conclude you answering your question (sorry, I like hearing myself talk ) no school is better than the other. Yes they differ on standardized testing and no I do not know which school excels and which school lags. BUT, standardized testing truly says NOTHING about the school and wouldn't even take that into consideration. Just look at it this way. In 2004, thirteen students were sent to ivy league institutions.
We are still thinkinf about Fairfield because the real easats seems more reasonable and also we like the town. We simply think that commuting to Greenwich from fairfield would be worse than from Ridgefiled. We know that the public schools in Fairfield are all good, but we really don't know the community yet. Just from driving by, Fairfiled looks more down to earth than Westport. Please give us some idea about the community/ people in Fairfield?
Hi, don't mind me jumping in here, this is my first post/I just found this neat forum YEY! Okay, that aside.. let me tell you what I know about Fairfield. Now, I didn't actually LIVE there, I grew up in Monroe, a town about a 20 minute ride north of Fairfield. But, from Monroe, Fairfield was 'the place to go' when we were teenagers. We liked it for the beaches mostly, which are really nice.. and there are SO many things to do. Whether you're rich or not so rich, like we were, there are always things to do and keep you amused in that town. As an adult, I worked in a hair salon there called "Hair", which has been in business for over 40 years (wow!). Working there, I saw all kinds of people coming and going, and spent a lot more time in the town. It really IS a town where you do see it all, people from all walks of life. I just moved to Seymour, but Fairfield was the town I MOST wanted to move to around here. The only thing is, for what we paid for our large brand new house here in Seymour, we could only afford a much smaller house in Fairfield, and we weren't about to scale DOWN from moving from West Haven (and you DON"T want to move there, I can assure you! LOL). Fairfield can be a bit pricey, but not compared to Wilton or Ridgefield. Since my father's side of the family is from Ridgefield, and my husband's family is in and around Wilton, I can tell you this: you'll find much more diversity in Fairfield, no two ways about that. The only catch is, on your East border, you've got Bridgeport. I, and probably you, would want to stay as far from Bridgeport in Fairfield as you can get. There is an awful, awful lot of crime that goes on within Bridgeport, and some of that spills over the borders into it's neighboring towns. On any day in the Police Blotter you can find people caught robbing cars or houses, and their residence is given as Bridgeport. Just wanted to give you a head's up on that aspect incase you weren't aware. Fairfield offers a lot of fun festivals and things during the summer, and has a lot of interesting historical places to visit (not that Wilton and Ridgefield don't! I just know more from personal experience in Fairfield since I spent/spend a lot of time there!). Fairfield is home to many snobs, no lie, but also to many sweet, down to earth people, like my old boss at Hair, Charles, and most of his staff there. A trip from Fairfield to Greenwich isn't bad at all, providing you aren't right smack during rush hour... if so, I'd say definitely avoid the Merrit, the Thruway is a slightly faster flow in and out of Fairfield during rush hour.... as I'm sure you know, if you've ever headed North on the Merrit from Greenwich right at rush hour, forgetaboutit!!!!
Good luck! Hope some of what I told you helps out a little?!
I really appreciate good inputs from Ridgefileder4life, KerrinLynna and Jayct. We are going to visit Fairfiled this weekend and look around and see some houses. I'm happy to hear about the fact that Fairfield has more diverse community. We really think that either Ridgefiled or Fairfield would be the place for us. Thank you.
KerriLynn - Your description of the east side of Fairfield is hardly accurate. The area is very nice and has some of the nicest neighborhoods in town (Brooklawn, Stratfield). I would not rule these areas out because they are close to Bridgeport. Note that the nicest parts of Bridgeport (Black Rock, Brooklawn, North End) border Fairfield so the problems do NOT spill over like you describe. Jay
This is one place I need to chime in JayCT.. spilling over of crimes, I think, is a fact. My husband and I rented in fairfield on Trefoil Ct in fairfield, which is on the bridgeport line. My husband's car was stolen from the driveway on a friday evening, about a 1/2 hr after he'd returned from work. What blew me away was the sense of "normalcy" the cop had about the happening:".. oh probably some teenage kids from bridgeport, playing around on a friday evening!!!!" Well, when the car was found 3 days later, there was $7000 worth repairs and "playful damages!" I could not get over the fact how normal the cop felt!! Even the camera tripod stand was broken still left in the car.
The next day we found our future home in Redding.. where it's quite the opposite.
Anyways, long story short, I think it's important to let a new comer know the reality.
I do have to agree that fairfield is a fun town to live in. I'll die for the beach.. a few movies on the beach.. many ethnic take out places.. good meat/specialty stores, salons; movie theaters; BJs.. but a bit more of a feel of a city than a small town..
I do have to agree that fairfield is a fun town to live in. I'll die for the beach.. a few movies on the beach.. many ethnic take out places.. good meat/specialty stores, salons; movie theaters; BJs.. but a bit more of a feel of a city than a small town..
That really stinks about your car, and I'm sorry to hear that you had that problem. And, even worse, that the cop was indifferent!
I live in Fairfield (in Fairfield Woods, about 3-4 minutes from Bridgeport), and having moved here after spending 5 years in Manhattan and 5 years in Hoboken, NJ (basically the 6th borough of NYC), I can definitely say it is far from feeling like a city. It is the quintessential suburb - with lots of green and open spaces, but also quick and easy accessibility to lots of shops and stores.
As far as commuting goes, I was back/forth to NJ every week for the first 6 months of living here, and I'll tell you that the commute was miserable. With no traffic, I could get from Fairfield to the Greenwich exit in about 20 minutes. If I left at any point after 6:15 or 6:20 AM, it would easily add 5-10 minutes. After 6:45, you're up to minimum 45 minutes. Between 7 and 10, minimum of 1 hr. Coming home, if you left Greenwich between 3 and 7, it would be anywhere from 40 -90 minutes.
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) no school is better than the other. Yes they differ on standardized testing and no I do not know which school excels and which school lags. BUT, standardized testing truly says NOTHING about the school and wouldn't even take that into consideration. Just look at it this way. In 2004, thirteen students were sent to ivy league institutions.
