[mama11]

Family from large Texas city relocating to Westport, Weston, Wilton area. I've read everything I can find and believe these areas are safe with good schools and with affordable housing for us.

We enjoy living in a very family friendly atmosphere, families outside after school and on the weekends playing ball together, block parties, impromptu weekend dinner with neighbors, borrowing a cup of sugar sort of neighborhood where you know and see your neighbors regularly. Are any of the above areas known for this type of neighborhood feel?

My kids, 6th and 8th graders, attend a vanguard middle school and my 8th grader was accepted and excited about attending a small vanguard, nearly all AP course, high school. I found a list of about 10 vanguard CT public schools, but none in the W, W, W area. Did I miss some?

Do any of the middle and high schools in these areas have a dance program and journalism electives, i.e. newspaper. I've searched on the school web sites and found a couple school newspapers, but only a dance program at one high school. Some of the web sites don't indicate school electives, just core courses.

Also, are any schools known for teachers developing more of a connection with the students?

Many thanks in advance for your feedback!

[kidyankee764]

You're going to find CT to be a lot different than Texas. Westport is suburban, Wilton is rural/suburban, and Weston is very rural.

The W,W,W area is not affordable by any stretch of the imagination. It is an area of extreme affluence, expensive homes and people who are generally fast-paced (compared to Texas). The schools, while they perform excellent, are very pressure-cooker. In short, these communities are fairly pretentious and have a "me first" attitude.

That brings me to my second point. People along the Gold Coast are not like Texans, meaning they usually come home from work/school, shut their garage doors (or driveway gates) and pack it in for the night. Growing up in this area, there were no block parties, impromptu weekend dinners or hanging outside on a nice summer night. Sad, but true.

I suggest you look into Fairfield. It's more affordable and the schools are great. You will get more of your 50-cent millionaires here, but it is more of a family-friendly town than, say, Weston IMO. Trumbull is another good option for you.

[b2f10]

Originally Posted by kidyankee764

You're going to find CT to be a lot different than Texas. Westport is suburban, Wilton is rural/suburban, and Weston is very rural.

The W,W,W area is not affordable by any stretch of the imagination. It is an area of extreme affluence, expensive homes and people who are generally fast-paced (compared to Texas). The schools, while they perform excellent, are very pressure-cooker. In short, these communities are fairly pretentious.

That brings me to my second point. People along the Gold Coast are not like Texans, meaning they usually come home from work/school, shut their garage doors (or driveway gates) and pack it in for the night. Growing up in this area, there were no block parties, impromptu weekend dinners or hanging outside on a nice summer night. Sad, but true.

I suggest you look into Fairfield. It's more affordable and the schools are great. You will get more of your 50-cent millionaires here, but it is more of a family-friendly town than, say, Weston IMO. Trumbull is another good option for you.

Second kidyankee.

Most neighbours have known each other for ages here and if you are lucky, can buy into an 'outgoing' neighbourhood. It is an absolute must to visit these places to get a feel.

Once you have zeroed in on the schools based on what you are looking for, should be fairly easy to narrow your search in those areas.

[AMSS]

Originally Posted by kidyankee764

You're going to find CT to be a lot different than Texas. Westport is suburban, Wilton is rural/suburban, and Weston is very rural.

The W,W,W area is not affordable by any stretch of the imagination. It is an area of extreme affluence, expensive homes and people who are generally fast-paced (compared to Texas). The schools, while they perform excellent, are very pressure-cooker. In short, these communities are fairly pretentious and have a "me first" attitude.

That brings me to my second point. People along the Gold Coast are not like Texans, meaning they usually come home from work/school, shut their garage doors (or driveway gates) and pack it in for the night. Growing up in this area, there were no block parties, impromptu weekend dinners or hanging outside on a nice summer night. Sad, but true.

I suggest you look into Fairfield. It's more affordable and the schools are great. You will get more of your 50-cent millionaires here, but it is more of a family-friendly town than, say, Weston IMO. Trumbull is another good option for you.

Agree with all of this. Around here (outside Waterbury), block parties sometimes happen in newer developments but they end in a few years when the novelty of the brand new neighborhood goes away. The borrowing a cup of sugar thing is long gone. It can happen, but chances are your neighbor won't be home, much less have what you need.

[andthentherewere3]

You can't pick a Ct. town and expect every neighborhood to be family-friendly with block parties, etc. Some neighborhoods in most every town and city do that, but you won't see it everywhere. As for dance and journalism, some schools have journalism classes, but for dance you would likely need to find a dance academy geared for children and teens. There are numerous dance academies in the area. But the school systems you mentioned are very highly rated.

[Stratford, Ct. Resident]

Originally Posted by mama11

Family from large Texas city relocating to Westport, Weston, Wilton area. I've read everything I can find and believe these areas are safe with good schools and with affordable housing for us.

We enjoy living in a very family friendly atmosphere, families outside after school and on the weekends playing ball together, block parties, impromptu weekend dinner with neighbors, borrowing a cup of sugar sort of neighborhood where you know and see your neighbors regularly.

Are any of the above areas known for this type of neighborhood feel?

Anything is possible in any neighborhood, however, those communities aren't known for that type of feel. I think you'll be hard pressed to find that in any town in CT that doesn't have a sizeable population of middle and lower income residents.

[mama11]

Thanks for the info. I meant we can afford to live in those areas. We lived in lower Westchester county NY before and it was culture shock for us. We are painfully aware of the change in cost of living and culture. I was hoping that being less city and more rural/suburban would equate to a more family friendly area. I will check into Fairfield. I suppose with bigger lots in W, W, W, it's harder to get that sort of neighborhood feel. Thanks for your responses!

[Stylo]

Originally Posted by mama11

and with affordable housing for us.

Good for you! If you can afford to live in those towns, you can afford to live anywhere.

I think all 3 have excellent schools, it just depends on what kind of town you want. Westport is probably the most expensive of the 3, but is more densely populated and less rural. It also is on the sound.

Wilton is in the middle, and Weston is the most rural.

Do you want to be near water, or more quiet and wooded? Near shopping/commerce, or near nothing?

I also agree with looking at Fairfield and Trumbull as alternatives. Excellent towns, less expensive and less pretentious IMO. Easton is also nice, but very rural like Weston.

[Stylo]

Originally Posted by mama11

I suppose with bigger lots in W, W, W, it's harder to get that sort of neighborhood feel.

Well, generally the lots are a bit smaller in Westport. You see homes being bought for $800,000, only to be torn down for the .8 acres of land they're on!

[davwve]

Originally Posted by kidyankee764

The W,W,W area is not affordable by any stretch of the imagination.

It's all relative. What is affordable for one person may not be affordable for another. After living in Wilton for several years I will confirm that block parties are not a common occurence but you will see social house gatherings among friends and acquaintances. We hosted large yearly parties for the Kentucy Derby, etc...