[Meghanhouse18]

Hello!! I am looking for advice regarding where to move with a young family. I would prefer to live in Stonington or North Stonington. School system and a friendly family atmosphere with a neighborhood/sub-division of homes would be preferred.

Where would I get the most "bang for my buck". I know north stonington has higher taxes, is it worth it? Again, top level importance would be schools, then neighborhood settings and then access to the highway, either route 95, 395 or 2. Thank you for your advice, if you can think of any towns east of east lyme and that have easy highway access and are NOT near the casinos, please let me know.

[goldenage1]

Originally Posted by Meghanhouse18

School system and a friendly family atmosphere with a neighborhood/sub-division of homes would be preferred. Max budget 250k...I know each town has limited options for that range.

Most of the homes in your price range are not in sub-divisions. You will typically be looking at an older house which needs work. As an alternative, I suggest Pawcatuck which has decently rated schools. It is zoned for the Stonington High School. The houses are close enough together to give you a neighborhood feel. You are miles away from the casino but still have easy access to the highways.

[willow wind]

Pawcatuck is part of the town of Stonington.

If you like North Stonington, look in the Kingswood subdivision. RT 2 through North Stonington is busy with casino traffic.

There are numerous subdivisions in Stonington, some in the Pawcatuck section, some off Greenhaven Rd;. others off Elm Ridge Rd.; another in the streets with bird names (Swan,Robin ,etc.) ; others off Denison Ave, in the Mystic section of town.

Stonington has the advantage of having stores/shopping in town. Probably a higher amenity level than North Stonington.

[NewJeffCT]

Welcome to the area.

What is your budget?

Stonington offers a much bigger school system, so your children will have more choices in terms of extra curricular activities like sports, music/band, theater, etc Wheeler HS in North Stonington had 216 students in it for the 2011-12 school year. Stonington HS had 772. Wheeler offered 3 AP classes, where Stonington offers 12. In terms of test scores, I think both schools end up at a similar level, if I recall (don't have my spreadsheets in front of me) and are above average for the state.

Stonington is pricier, but will give you more access to nice restaurants & shopping, and (usually) easier access to the highways.

East Lyme has some nice neighborhood style subdivisions with lots of kids. I'd avoid Groton, New London and Norwich, and would also avoid Montville and Ledyard, though the schools there are not bad. Waterford has above average test scores and has some nice neighborhoods as well, and also all the big box stores, chain restaurants and shopping you'd want. The high school has about 900 students in it, so is bigger than Stonington, though not as big as East Lyme with over 1,100 students.

[Meghanhouse18]

My budget is 250k...I already know I won't have many options. Sticking to these towns though! Stonington seems to send their 5th grades to middle school though and that is very concerning and seems to mix with the mystic schools. Is mystic a rough area?

[NewJeffCT]

Originally Posted by Meghanhouse18

My budget is 250k...I already know I won't have many options. Sticking to these towns though! Stonington seems to send their 5th grades to middle school though and that is very concerning and seems to mix with the mystic schools. Is mystic a rough area?

Mystic is a nice area. Stonington and North Stonington are both nice, but Stonington has more upscale areas in town, and also some very expensive real estate along the water.

Mystic is a village within Stonington. Pawcatuck is the area within Stonington that is not as nice as the other areas within town, but even that isn't "bad" per se.

I do agree about not liking sending 5th graders to middle school - though, most likely, they'll keep the kids to themselves most of the time (except on the bus). East Lyme does that as well.

I like how Madison does it better - they have one school for grades 5/6 and another for grades 7/8.

[willow wind]

OP- you must be very new to the area. Have you heard of Mystic Seaport & Mystic Aquarium? These are located in the Mystic section of Stonington. Not by any any stretch of the imagination is this area rough.

The center of Mystic is older, historic and can be expensive. There are less expensive side streets.

When many people think of Pawcatuck they think of the RT 2/ Liberty St. area. This is an older, congested part of Pawcatuck. However, Pawcatuck is also the whole east side of Stonington. It includes the Greenhaven Rd.area, which is suburban to country and lovely. It also includes some attractive subdivisions
off the eastern end of Elm Ridge Rd.

Right now there are about 46 homes for sale in Stonington ( all areas of Stonington) at around $250,000 & under and another 16 in North Stonington. Good luck.

[dunsere]

I know the area well. Mystic is very upscale and probably out of your price range, but the village of Pawcatuck has some beautiful, historic neighborhoods, and it borders Westerly, Rhode Island (they're basically the same town divided by the Pawcatuck River). Westerly has a gorgeous walking park and a quaint downtown, and you would be about five miles from the Rhode Island shoreline. The Stonington school system is also well respected (my younger son went to the high school). It's also fairly close to I-95 and the Providence airport.