There’s equally (if not more) quaint towns closer to OP. Chester, Essex, Guilford, Stonington Borough are picture perfect.

Chester is adorable and has some great food and a brewery. You could see a show at Goodspeed and also check out Essex or Guilford centers. You could also stop at Fox Farm on the way from Lisbon. Grano Arso in Chester would be a great special occasion place. Madison Beach Hotel for drinks on water and then Bar Bouchee would be really nice too.

In New Haven, you could do an art museum trip, see a show, and a really nice dinner at somewhere like Olea, The Luke, Union League, Tavern on State, Fair Haven Oyster.

If you want to make a trip for great speciality, and often local items, try Flynn’s, Provisions on State, and Atticus Market in New Haven.

Oar and Oak Birdhouse has a good chicken sandwich too.

Anyways. I like spice too. Coromandel makes a wicked vindaloo that’ll melt your face. They are not bashful with spice. If you ask for hot, it’s going to be HOT.

Sherkaan has some really interesting spicy options.

Lao Sze Chuan Milford. Hot pot. They have a few things that are deadly. I’m sure Lin’s Kitchen in Orange too, but I haven’t ordered anything spicy there.

Tibetan Kitchen in New Haven.

Dew Drop Inn’s hottest wings are legit scary.

It’s not super spicy but I appreciate that Mezcal’s mole isn’t wimpy and spiceless. Ay Guey will make your food very spicy if requested.

Munchies has a good spicy chicken sub.

Nolo has a few good spicy pizza options. Next Door has a great buffalo chicken pizza.

Not about the spice necessarily, but Tacos Los Gordos are the best in the state.

York St Noodle House in NHV used to be my go to to clear a sinus infection.

Like, for utensils and supplies or ingredients?

Kolam in Newtown is good. Coromandel in Darien and Orange is exceptional Indian. They aren’t “cheap” but entree portions are huge enough to share amongst family, so you wind up not spending that much.

Is New Haven too far? Tons of options in New Haven and nearby towns.

Ah, Volvo wagons. The official car of the New England academic elite.

Very similar. Guilford is a little more spread out and laid back. Madison is a bit more preppy.

Madison has better beaches. Guilford is more rolling and scenic.

Both areas are pretty diverse and great people to meet. You’re also a <2 hour train ride to NYC from NHV.

I’d honestly be less concerned about the social aspect and more career. If either is better for career, go there.

I’d rather live in NHV because the winters are easier, there’s more outdoors options nearby, and I prefer New England. But otherwise, I don’t have any other strong reasons. They both can be great.

Their food is amazeballs too. Matt the chef is super talented

Yummy

Ugh. Real estate agents aren’t even legally allowed to say that. Maybe you need a new agent. 😉

It is also possible they are dealing with very dated perceptions of Milford from maybe the 90’s when money hadn’t poured in yet and schools didn’t perform as well as now.

It’s not immoral to zone areas for freestanding homes where people want freestanding homes. Especially low density areas that are more rural. Where in the world is that seen as an outrage? Gimme a break.

I’m not sure SFH conversion is necessary at all.

There’s several trends that ignores: 1. De-industrialization, which has been decades in the making 2. Reduction in brick and mortar retail and shopping plaza popularity, 3. Reduction in office space needs due to increase in flex work.

Go to any developed town in the state and you’ll see lots of land that could be repurposed with zoning changes. The state can force the hand of towns with those zoning changes.

You don’t see haphazard zoning in better planned areas. Why force multi family and apartments in SFH neighborhoods when there’s so many other options?

So the state could be aggressive about forcing smart zone changes on these NIMBY towns that have no vision.

I’m in Milford and I see it here. They’re against 8-30g, but have made it difficult for developers to build in industrial and commercial districts which are ripe for redevelopment. A perfect example is their denial to the mall to build apartments. Very shortsighted. I’ll say, they probably do a better job than most “nice” towns, but there’s room for improvement.

There’s so much underutilized land in this state, it’s ridiculous. And with certain trends, those properties will be more prevalent. No need to encroach on quiet neighborhoods without the infrastructure to accommodate it. We can build density with intention and smart design, near public transportation, with traffic bandwidth, and commercial centers.

I don’t disagree but how could a new form of this law be more specific about thoughtful areas of development like dense downtown and TOD zones, or commercial/industrial conversion?

Blue Sky was a Disney cost cutting/consolidation move. Wasn’t really a CT issue.

Up there, New Park.

Counterweight is in Cheshire now, so not far.

Fox Farm is worth a drive. Best in CT IMO.

12% isn’t far from you either, and is excellent.

Tribus, East Rock, Kent Falls, NEBCO, Armada, Beeracks, Nod Hill, Berlinetta just a few others worth a visit. Two Roads has some really solid brews too.

We need more development in dense and TOD areas, but I’ve seen this law be more of a boon for greedy developers encroaching on single family neighborhoods. There’s gotta be a better way.

Milford schools are not eh. Where’d you get that from?

Number 32 in a state that is near the top in the country for public education.

https://www.niche.com/k12/search/best-school-districts/s/connecticut/?page=2

It’s also socioeconomically diverse which is rare for a town with good schools.

Nearby Orange ranks almost near the top (it’s less diverse), but I doubt you’ll notice a huge difference in school quality.

Look at Milford, Orange area. More affordable than lower FFC and tremendous area with lots to do. Near New Haven which is CT’s cultural and food capital.

700k won’t go far there. I’d go east of Bridgeport.

Milford 💯

Fits all your criteria and more.

Sounds like a terrible idea. If you want to swim a longer distance, find a longer swimming friendly stretch of beach on the LI sound and, on a calm day, do laps along the shore.

I’ve seen people playing at Orchards in Milford on warmer days.

RSVP is super high end and unique almost-private dining if you can splurge.

Kent Falls Brewery is the best brewery in western CT.

Community Table and Arethusa al Tavolo are excellent. Arethusa has great ice cream too.

Hopkins is a beautiful spot. Wine is, um, drinkable—but worth it for the area.

American Pie Company in Sherman. Mountainside Cafe in Falls Village is very casual and always good.

Thorncrest in Goshen has great chocolates. Litchfield Distilling. Stewart’s Farm for meat. Calf and Clover Creamery for raw milk.

If you can shoot down to Waterbury, Hindsight BBQ, Brooklyn Baking (donuts) are worth a stop. There’s also Domenic and Pia’s for pizza, and nearby Luna in Naugatuck. I also hear Sasso’s in Torrington has good pizza.

In Woodbury, New Morning is a good grocery store if you need organic foods. Big fan of West Egg Cafe in Woodbury too.