[Stratford, Ct. Resident]

Originally Posted by josh1r

Hi. I wanted to thank everyone for the input, and to ask about a few other towns. Specifically, what are your thoughts on Brookfield, Orange, Shelton and any further thoughts on Fairfield.

It's my understanding that Fairfield and possibly Shelton have walkable 'downtown' areas, but Brookfield and Orange do not. Is that correct? And if they don't have a walkable downtown area (actually even if they do), how is the rest of the shopping? For example Orange is near Route 1 which has a ton of shopping...

Also, are they all ok or better as far as schools?

And finally, which is the most 'neighborhoodly' (i.e. nice neighborhoods, possibly cul-de-sacs, etc... vs. rural roads with houses scattered around...)

Thanks for any further thoughts!

Fairfield would have a walkable downtown. Shelton would as well, however, it hasn't quite reached its potential(it's nothing special). Orange doesn't have a downtown, but it overwhelmingly has the most shopping choices.

Orange would have the best schools, Fairfield would not be far behind it, then Brookfield and Shelton.

Fairfield would have the most "neighborhoods", Shelton would be a somewhat distant second, then Brookfield and Orange.

You may also be interested in Milford. It has a large walkable downtown, many shopping choices outside of downtown, many "neighborhoods", and "good" schools.

[jdhall1]

Brookfield doesn't have a downtown yet, but there have been ongoing process on creating a town center in the 4 corners area. There is a ton of shopping along Federal Rd. Plenty of neighborhoods to choose from.

[renovating]

Where will you be working? You will want to factor in commute times...

[mariadbd]

We LOVE Brookfield. Very small town, GREAT schools (public and private), lots of community events. Real small town where people take time to get to know each other. There are different areas in the town - those based around the 2 lakes, or that of the old historic district, the area near the Y, or more southern towards Newtown.
Brookfield does not yet have a town/village square that is "walkabout friendly". HOWEVER, with the new by-pass that opened at the end of last year which has directed traffic out of that 4-corners area, there is a new impetus by the town and businesses to get the downtown completed and up and running.
Plenty of shops close by - from Federal Road (with your Costco, Stew Leonards, Home Depot, etc), but also your little mom and pops and more individual outfits. Close also to other towns - be it Southbury for the wonderful baker's shop or Danbury for the mall.
Orange and Shelton are far less desirable towns and we looked around everywhere before moving. In fact we made a couple of mistakes with places we lived in first.
In terms of neighborhoods - Brookfield tends to be split into those above. If leisure is your thing and you don't mind a smaller house - then Candlewood Lake area is good as most of the houses are part of one or another beach community with beach rights for the homeowners. The historic district is more rural and quieter with larger houses and with premium houses closer to Lake Lillinonah. Every community is friendly though, so you'd do well no matter what.

[josh1r]

Thanks again for the updated info. It sounds like Fairfield might be closest to what I'm looking for, followed by Brookfield. Can anyone confirm the neighborhood situation in Brookfield? One post had it ranked near the bottom of my 4 choices, another made it sound much better in terms of having true neighborhoods. Also what $$ am I looking at for a modest 3/2 (or 4/2) with around 2,000 sq ft?

As an aside, how does Bristol compare to any of the above cities? It was just listed in Money magazine as a top 100 place to live in the U.S. I know it's a bit farther from the NYC area but that's ok.

My wife and I both work from home so commuting is not a problem.

Thanks again.

[JayCT]

To me Brookfield is more rural in character so it does not really have many "neighborhoods". As for Bristol, well it is a bit worn IMHO. It is home of ESPN but it still strggles. It is far from NY and not in the same league as the other towns mentioned. Jay

[josh1r]

I've found several homes in my price range, but don't know what type of area/neighborhood they are in. Any thoughts on these?

76 Windsor Road, Fairfield CT - Trulia
89 Lynnbrook Road, Fairfield CT - Trulia
131 Windermere Street, Fairfield CT - Trulia
191 Hunyadi Avenue, Fairfield CT - Trulia
88 Camden Street, Fairfield CT - Trulia

Or, is there a particular area on this map that I should focus on? Fairfield Single-Family Homes For Sale — Trulia.com (http://tinyurl.com/272zkb6 - broken link)

Thanks!

[Appias]

Hi josh1r,
Generally you don't want to be too close to the highway or right off route 1 on the eastern side of town. The highway is very loud and that stretch of route 1 is commercial and a bit worn looking (in my opinion). So for example, the listing on Camden Street would probably be too close to the highway for comfort. There aren't any real bad neighborhoods, but some are more suburban (smaller lots, sidewalks) than others.

[Stratford, Ct. Resident]

Originally Posted by josh1r

As an aside, how does Bristol compare to any of the above cities?

It doesn't. Considering that you seem to be leaning toward Fairfield, but you're now asking about Bristol, you really need to come up and take a better look around at all of these areas. After looking at the homes in Fairfield that you listed above, i'd have to reiterate that you should take a closer look at Milford. Some examples from Trulia for you:Milford Single-Family Homes For Sale — Trulia.com

[josh1r]

Originally Posted by Stratford, Ct. Resident

It doesn't. Considering that you seem to be leaning toward Fairfield, but you're now asking about Bristol, you really need to come up and take a better look around at all of these areas. After looking at the homes in Fairfield that you listed above, i'd have to reiterate that you should take a closer look at Milford. Some examples from Trulia for you:Milford Single-Family Homes For Sale — Trulia.com

Thanks! Those are great houses for the $$.

Yeah, I now realize that Bristol is totally different. Again, I was just curious after having seen it on the news today...

But yes, I'm generally leaning toward Fairfield and will continue to research the towns that have been mentioned in the forum.