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As someone who grew up in Fairfield County, its only getting worse. There is a lot of entitlement and cliquishness that have moved into the area. I dont think I'd ever return. I like the overall feel and vibe of the other areas of CT more so than Fairfield county, plus the traffic is awful.
Il also throw out coastal Mass towns. But they are insanely priced and really, unless you are a CEO or Physician, would be hard to afford such a property there. Like living in Marblehead MA would be ideal for bringing up a family, it just sucks a 3 bedroom fixer upper would be like 750k.
I'd stick with NJ. Better prices, closer to more things than CT, good malls, not too far away from the beaches. And the towns are a big bang for your buck.
In a good year, Marblehead experiences six or seven weeks of true summer weather. Also, people in Massachusetts, especially in the Greater Boston Area, are not neighborly whatsoever. Finally, most homes in Marblehead are old, outdated and small, despite being prohibitively expensive. In my opinion, that is not an ideal environment in which to raise children, regardless of town amenities, coastline access or proximity to the City of Boston.
In a good year, Marblehead experiences six or seven weeks of true summer weather. Also, people in Massachusetts, especially in the Greater Boston Area, are not neighborly whatsoever. Finally, most homes in Marblehead are old, outdated and small, despite being prohibitively expensive. In my opinion, that is not an ideal environment in which to raise children, regardless of town amenities, coastline access or proximity to the City of Boston.
I'm.not too sure about any of that. The North Shore is extremely desirable, especially Beverly and Marblehead. I like it a lot better than the MetroWest or South Shore.i don't see the desirability just West of Boston... But North and East? I do.
Thanks, everyone! You're making me feel better!
The NJ towns sound really nice. Yes- having the beach so close by to walk at is really my favorite part about living around here. We looked in Fairfield but couldn't find anything at all within price range and the house in Westport had half the amount in taxes. So... ended up in the unfriendly town.
I guess there is hope for when little one starts elementary school in a couple years.
Madison is such a nice town. Had family who lived up there.. and yes, the Surf Club! I just feel like I need something closer to NYC or a good city to go into regularly. But really it is an amazing town and probably has friendlier people!
I'll check out the NJ forums... Thanks again. Here's hoping Ffld County gets friendlier with all the new people moving here this summer!
New Jersey is a good choice. Less pompous and 'demure' than FFC but still a very similar lifestyle. More amenities and a greater number of nice towns (sheer population). Better access to NYC, better weather (slightly). Overall NJ is a more dynamic and healthier state than CT. CT is fine to me but compared to NJ? Ir might be a better place to be poor or low income but thats about it.
Il also throw out coastal Mass towns. But they are insanely priced and really, unless you are a CEO or Physician, would be hard to afford such a property there. Like living in Marblehead MA would be ideal for bringing up a family, it just sucks a 3 bedroom fixer upper would be like 750k.
I'd stick with NJ. Better prices, closer to more things than CT, good malls, not too far away from the beaches. And the towns are a big bang for your buck.
I agree with this except there’s no way Marblehead or any town like it in MA is more welcoming than just about anywhere in CT. You’ll have welcoming folks but also outright jerks all over the pace. I feel like CT people will just watch you from afar when you move in before they decide whether or not to talk to you at all.
Upper middle class MA towns are probably less friendly than CT. When I lived in CT I found people to be less abrasive, and with better manners than MA. It was ‘reserved New England’ without Eastern New England brashness this was consistent among all socioeconomic groups actually. Just much gentler people. Probably too shy if anything.
New Jersey though you’ll just find people who are genuinely social and talkative-often. They want to know you.
I know you love your new state, but New Jersey is definitely not grittier than MA or whatever image you have made up in your head. In fact in all your posts, you keep on spouting cringey nonsense as you haven't explored the state well enough. There's always some off-color remark about NJ which comes across as some form of compensation or projection.
All the people I've ever met born in Eastern Massachusetts always have this weird elitist complex that's also classist with many undertones of racism. If a town is diverse in Massachusetts, it's looked down upon. New Jersey is definitely not cheaper than Massachusetts and Massachusetts is honestly not as nice as you make it out to be. The Cape is okay, and many New Jerseyans own secondary homes in Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket because you get more house for your money, lower taxes, and they're harder to access than many comparable NJ towns.
OP, we really don't have this elitist tone unless you're somewhere like Northern Bergen County, which is too similar to Fairfield and Westchester for my liking.
Westport would probably be similar to somewhere like Deal, Rumson, Sea Girt, or Spring Lake. Rumson would probably be your best choice for an easy commute into NY on the SeaStreak. If you're looking for more of an actual city, Red Bank and Asbury Park are very nice.
Your right about Massachusetts everything you said. That being said most of the non snobby people never leave New England. Or at least they don’t travel as much. Undertones of racism and rampant classism.
But NJ is definitely more gritty than MA. I don’t se show you could argue otherwise. The worst of NJ is much worse looking than MA.I understand NJ has more homes facing the street in nice towns and MA is more wooded but they’re both very very nice. NJs floor is so low though.
In my opinion, Maryland and Virginia are more plausible relocation options than New Jersey, especially for someone who is accustomed to low-density suburban living at Fairfield County, Connecticut.
Thanks, everyone! You're making me feel better!
The NJ towns sound really nice. Yes- having the beach so close by to walk at is really my favorite part about living around here. We looked in Fairfield but couldn't find anything at all within price range and the house in Westport had half the amount in taxes. So... ended up in the unfriendly town.
I guess there is hope for when little one starts elementary school in a couple years.
Madison is such a nice town. Had family who lived up there.. and yes, the Surf Club! I just feel like I need something closer to NYC or a good city to go into regularly. But really it is an amazing town and probably has friendlier people!
I'll check out the NJ forums... Thanks again. Here's hoping Ffld County gets friendlier with all the new people moving here this summer!
Are you sure about the taxes in Fairfield? From what I see comparable homes in Fairfield and Westport have similar taxes. The difference is that you would pay less for the home in Fairfield. Here are two examples. Both are 2,400 square foot colonials and have similar taxes. The Fairfield house though is $650,000. The Westport house is $1.195 million.
If you are going by home price though, that’s a different story. $1.195 million in Fairfield gets you a monster home, likely over 3,500 square feet. That house of course would have a lot higher taxes but rightly so. I also know that there is a shortage of inventory in Fairfield. A friend was looking to downsize so they put their large Greenfield Hill home on the market. Within two days they had two offers over asking. The problem is they couldn’t find a house to downsize to so they canceled their sale. Just wasn’t worth it.
So you still want/need to be close to New York City? That eliminates everything but northern New Jersey, Long Island, Westchester and Fairfield County. As I said, northern New Jersey does not give you easy access to the shoreline and has pretty high taxes. Long Island has beaches but is pricey and has high taxes too. Westchester also has towns with beaches but prices and taxes are insane. I’m not sure you will do better in any of these.
Another option you may want to consider is Milford, Connecticut. It’s somewhat similar to Fairfield in size but less affluent. It has beaches and decent schools and tons of shopping and entertainment. It’s a lot more diverse than Westport so there’s less snobby people. You would still be on the New Haven Line, it’s just about 20 minutes further from the city. Jay
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