Darien versus Greenwich?

[Anonymous]

" What do you mean "back country? "

North of the Merritt Parkway. The large royal estates on acreage are located in "back country" Greenwich, Connecticut. South of the Merritt Parkway are the comparatively postage-stamp properties of the merely fabulously wealthy. If you have daughters, you're in luck. Sacred Heart Greenwich is situated in the "back country."

https://www.shgreenwich.org/

[Anonymous]

" Seriously? You can't look up the Amtrak schedule? "

Amtrak? No. The New Haven Line of the Metro-North Railroad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:" Seriously? You can't look up the Amtrak schedule? "

Amtrak? No. The New Haven Line of the Metro-North Railroad.

that's super helpful

[Anonymous]

New poster here who is also thinking about Darien vs Greenwich... but also considering Westport. I know that Westport is a longer commute, but outside of that -- what is the town vibe like? My husband and I are Jewish and from DC, but we both went to Amherst and I played soccer and ran track in college (so we are comfortable with New England WASPS and I am familiar with crazy suburban sports parents... husband works in television and I work in finance).

We're not interested in keeping up with the Jonses or having amazing dinner parties. We just want to live in a place where people are somewhat down to earth and there aren't too many sharp elbows.

[Anonymous]

PP here - Forgot to add: How is Westport different from Darien and Greenwich?

[Anonymous]

I grew up in Darien and went to high school in Greenwich. Darien was a lovely place to grow up in the 70s and 80s, but honestly, I would not want to live in either place now (and the feeling is mutual among my siblings). They are lovely towns from an aesthetic standpoint but the vibe is so pretentious and vapid it would be difficult to be happy there as a normal person. If you're into that though, I suppose you could be happy. As a bigger town, Greenwich probably isn't quite as bad, as I imagine there's more diversity in perspectives. I go back often to Darien but haven't spent a ton of time in Greenwich as an adult.

The commute from New Cannan to Stamford is short. Wilton is longer, but not too bad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:New poster here who is also thinking about Darien vs Greenwich... but also considering Westport. I know that Westport is a longer commute, but outside of that -- what is the town vibe like? My husband and I are Jewish and from DC, but we both went to Amherst and I played soccer and ran track in college (so we are comfortable with New England WASPS and I am familiar with crazy suburban sports parents... husband works in television and I work in finance).

We're not interested in keeping up with the Jonses or having amazing dinner parties. We just want to live in a place where people are somewhat down to earth and there aren't too many sharp elbows.

Compo beach in westport. Done.

[Anonymous]

I moved to Darien 3 years ago and I love it. The people are friendly and there are organizations that set you up to meet people like the Newcomers Club, winetasters club, gourmet club, Playgroups based on your kid's age etc. ( it's always nice to meet other new people because you are all looking to meet people) The Rec programs are also awesome and the beaches are beautiful. The facilities at the beaches are so nice too! snack bar, playground, bathrooms, tennis courts, paddle courts, fire pit.

We looked in Greenwich too but found it too big and we were turned off by the huge high school. We rented in Old Greenwich for a couple months and preferred Darien. However some of those homes on the water in greenwich are so beautiful! but $$ I also think backcountry greenwich is so beautiful. There really isn't a "back country" in Darien. Anywhere you live is 5 min from the center of town in Darien.

Darien has express trains so it can actually be a faster commute than greenwich Rye and other towns that are closer in. Of course the express trains from these towns are faster but you have to time it right.

I have several close friends in Daren who are jewish. However none of them are "jewish jewish." No one in our group of friends is very religious at all... we have our backgrounds and traditions but religion isn't a big part of our lives. Westport definitely has a larger jewish population. In general I find everyone to be educated and respectful of all.

The schools have been amazing so far. I really think that is true for greenwich, new canaan, westport, wilton, weston. You can't go wrong with schools in any of these towns. People take education very seriously!

I know some people who grew up in Darien but the vast majority are people who lived in the city and moved out...and they come from all over. It's really a nice town with a nice vibe!

someone asked about westport and I really like westport too. It also seems to have a good vibe. It's definitely bigger which can be good and bad. There is more traffic and it's further out. Yet living in Darien I have to drive to neighboring towns for businesses.

Don't underestimate the important of the beaches and waterfront activities. This wasn't really a factor for my husband and myself. We were like oh the beach would be nice but we weren't picking a town based on beach access. We looked in many towns in Fairfield county. In hindsight though the beach has been a huge advantage. The sailing programs, paddleboarding/kayaking and just swimming and hanging at the beach.

Someone asked about working in stamford and living in wilton or weston. That would definitely work! You'd have a much easier commute than most in the area.

[Anonymous]

I grew up in Greenwich and half the population of my HS (Greenwich HS) was Catholic and the other half Jewish. OK I am exaggerating but the Catholic Church used to have 3 concurrent Masses lasting 20 mins back to back all through Easter Sunday - just to get seats for all the butts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:New poster here who is also thinking about Darien vs Greenwich... but also considering Westport. I know that Westport is a longer commute, but outside of that -- what is the town vibe like? My husband and I are Jewish and from DC, but we both went to Amherst and I played soccer and ran track in college (so we are comfortable with New England WASPS and I am familiar with crazy suburban sports parents... husband works in television and I work in finance).

We're not interested in keeping up with the Jonses or having amazing dinner parties. We just want to live in a place where people are somewhat down to earth and there aren't too many sharp elbows.

Compo beach in westport. Done.

Compo is a beautiful area and I like Saugatuck. Two colleagues live there. One is selling and I think the husband of the other would if the wife would let him. Beautiful area - great place to take a walk along the beach. But a lot of Maserati a$$holes. Beautiful but not sure I’d want to raise my kids there. Nice place is 3 or 4 - friend is selling between 5 and 6 so real estate ain’t cheap.

Given you are Jewish, Westport is likely your best bet on the Gold Coast. Westport used to be artsy - not no more. Now it’s all show me the money. I’d avoid Darien - we always called them the Aryans from Darien. Sorry but stuck up and pissed off they can’t afford Greenwich. Could not pay me to live there. Greenwich is very nice and cosmopolitan. Jewish friends there and no issues. Real money. Riverside, Old Greenwich are great beach communities. Nice old homes in central Greenwich. I’d avoid back country although they (the houses) are trading at quite the discount. Likely best deal on RE Taxes. I’d buy a quality house in central Greenwich or Riverside but I think you will get a better deal in central Greenwich.

Good luck.

[Anonymous]

Westport is a 45 mins drive from Old Greenwich, in the opposite direction of Manhattan. Old Greenwich is something like 30 mins on the train to Grand Central.

Do you want to spend your entire life commuting?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I grew up in Darien and went to high school in Greenwich. Darien was a lovely place to grow up in the 70s and 80s, but honestly, I would not want to live in either place now (and the feeling is mutual among my siblings). They are lovely towns from an aesthetic standpoint but the vibe is so pretentious and vapid it would be difficult to be happy there as a normal person. If you're into that though, I suppose you could be happy. As a bigger town, Greenwich probably isn't quite as bad, as I imagine there's more diversity in perspectives. I go back often to Darien but haven't spent a ton of time in Greenwich as an adult.

The commute from New Cannan to Stamford is short. Wilton is longer, but not too bad.

The vibe of Greenwich is the opposite of vapid.

[Anonymous]

for the PP who is Jewish, if you plan to join a temple and especially if you plan to have your kids go to religious school, move to a town with a temple you can join. Everything is based on your town in CT and if you live in a town like Darien and go to a temple in Westport it will be hard for you and especially your kids to really feel a part of the temple community. Those temples tend be more a subset of their towns than the temples in the DC area that draw from a wider geographic area. Plus in DC a lot of people go to private schools so even a temple from Bethesda will have kids from lots of different elementary/middle schools. But the temple in Westport will be 90% filled with kids from Westport (obviously you should call and check but that it what it was like when I grew up there and that seems to still be the case based on conversations with friends). Sure if you and your kids are super outgoing and social, it may work out but but it will definitely be tougher to make friends at temple.

I say that as someone who is Jewish and has some Jewish friends but most of my friends aren't Jewish and I am also used to being in very WASPy environments. But Darien especially is just different. Darien and New Canaan had the strictest no-Jews real estate covenants in the area and had them after other towns ended the practice. THat impacts who moves to the town to this day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I grew up in Darien and went to high school in Greenwich. Darien was a lovely place to grow up in the 70s and 80s, but honestly, I would not want to live in either place now (and the feeling is mutual among my siblings). They are lovely towns from an aesthetic standpoint but the vibe is so pretentious and vapid it would be difficult to be happy there as a normal person. If you're into that though, I suppose you could be happy. As a bigger town, Greenwich probably isn't quite as bad, as I imagine there's more diversity in perspectives. I go back often to Darien but haven't spent a ton of time in Greenwich as an adult.

The commute from New Cannan to Stamford is short. Wilton is longer, but not too bad.

The vibe of Greenwich is the opposite of vapid.

I'm the other poster who grew up there (Greenwich). It is definitely a very superficial place and there are a LOT of vapid people. So I agree with poster 1 not poster 2 in this.

[Anonymous]

What about Larchmont, NY?