NEWMARKET SERVICES ublisher of 95 U.S. and 32 International Relocation Guides, NewMarket PServices, Inc., is proud to introduce our online version. Now you may easily access the same information you find in each one of our 127 Relocation Guides at www.NewMarketServices.com. In addition to the content of our 127 professional written City Relocation Guides, the NewMarket Web Site allows us to assist movers in more than 20 countries by encouraging you and your family to share your moving experiences in our NewMarket Web Site Forums. You may share numerous moving tips and information of interest to help others settle into their new location and ease the entire transition www.NewMarketServices.com process. We invite everyone to visit and add helpful information through our many available forums. Share with others your knowledge of your new location or perhaps your former location. If you ever need to research a city for any reason, from considering a move to just checking where somebody you know is staying, this is the site for you. NewMarket Services looks forward to cooperating with everyone to continually add to our base of City Specific Information along with our various moving topics to help many of the 40 million people who have the opportunity to relocate each year. Please do not hesitate to contact our customer service department to speak to a live representative if we can provide any assistance. Our toll free number is (866) 595-3792. Fairfield County Information Guide [ 5 HOW TO USE THIS GUIDE The NewMarket Services Information Guide is designed as a valuable resource tool for you, the newcomer to Fairfield County. It is our intent in producing this publication to standardize important and helpful information on your new community in a format that is most useful to you. Fairfield County Important telephone numbers, Welcomes You! packing and moving suggestions, and much, much more useful information is found throughout the Guide pages. Selected area businesses, many offering significant savings are found in the Business Directory Section, sorted by category. The Guide can save you both time and money while providing you a continuous resource tool as you become more familiar with the metroplex. We do hope you find our Relocation Guide to be of assistance to you. If you do not find something you need, or if you have any suggestions for future issues of the Guide, please give us a call. We will be happy to assist in any way. (866) 595-3792 Toll Free From everyone at NewMarket Services Welcome to Fairfield County! 6 ] Fairfield County Information Guide www.newmarketservices.com Fairfield County Information Guide [ Volume 10 [ Number 01 LOCAL INFORMATION The State of Connecticut 8 Area Codes, Important Phone Numbers 7-8 Travel Information 16-17 About Fairfield County 9 Fairfield County Regions 10-11,15, 18 Weather 18 New Haven Neighborhoods 19-20 Publisher: NewMarket Services, Inc. Where to Stay 21 President: Patrick Morgan Dining and Nightlife 21-22 Things to Do 22-27 Managing Editor: Rebecca Wallace Recommended Tours 27-28 Executive Editor: Jason Gerali Media 29 Contributing Writer: Amy Tenant MOVING Executive VP Sales & Marketing: Robert Fischer Smooth Transitions 33-34 Regional Sales Manager: Beth Hurley Choosing a Moving Company 33 Art Department: Sprague Design Packing Tips 33-34 Staying Organized 34 Graphic Designer: Dean Sprague Settling Into Your New Home 34 NewMarket On-Line: Total Web Design, Inc. What’s All the Talk About? 37 IT and Web Development: Larry Bongiovi Pre-Move Checklist 38-39 Research Assistant: Stephanie Cooper, Lora Price MOVING WITH CHILDREN & PETS Circulation: Little Drummer Boy Dist., Inc. Reinforce the Positives 41-42 Phoenix Office: Choosing a School 41-42 Selecting Child Care 44-45 PO Box 30534 Education 4 5-47 Phoenix, AZ 85046-0534 Relocating Your Pet 47 Phone: (602) 923-3415 Fax: (602) 923-0774 FITNESS & HEALTH Toll Free: (866) 595-3791 In the Kitchen 49 Chicago Office: Physical and Mental Well Being 50-51 902 North Ashland Volunteering 52 Chicago, IL 60622 Phone: (312) 226-6288 HOUSING Fax: (312) 226-6290 Making the Right Choice 54-55 Toll Free: (866) 595-3792 Choosing the Right Home 56 Home Inspection Checklist 57 NewMarket currently publishes Information Guides for 95 North American and 32 Homecare Basics for New Homeowners 58 International Markets. To order your Security 59 NewMarket Information Guides for $3.50 Home Buyer’s Glossary 60-61 each, please contact NewMarket Services Take Control of Your Energy Costs 62 toll free at (866) 595-3792. Who’s Who in Building 63 In preparing this publication, every effort Selecting a Builder 65 has been made to assure the accuracy of Selecting a Contractor 65 the information contained herein, but Banking & Mortgage Information 66-69 authenticity cannot be guaranteed. Listings are subject to omission, error or change without notice. BUSINESS DIRECTORY Business Directory Listings 70-73 All material in this publication is copyright protected and can only be reprinted with permission of the publisher. Fairfield County Information Guide [ 7 THE STATE OF CONNECTICUT NM Connecticut is well-known as the home of Yale University, which Boston maintains a consistent ranking as one of the world’s greatest and richest universities, and has the most selective undergraduate Providence Syracuse Albany program of any university in the United States (an 8.6% acceptance MA rate in 2006). Yale is one of the largest employers in the state, and its research activity has recently spun off dozens of growing NY Hartford biotechnology companies, which have brought in billions of dollars CT Westchester County Fairfield County to the economy of New Haven and the State in general. Connecticut lies in a Humid Continental Climate. Winters are Long Island Humid and Cold, with average temperatures of 28°F in the PA Atlantic Ocean southeast and 21°F in the northwest in January. Snowfall averages The Boroughs 25-100" across the state- higher in the northwest. Summer is hot and very humid across the state, with average highs in New London Manhattan of 81°F and 87°F in Windsor Locks. Thunderstorms are common Philadelphia during the summer months and sometimes reach severe NJ magnitude. Fall months are mild, and bring foliage across the state Northern/Central in October and November. New Jersey onnecticut is in the New England region of the United States, located in the northeastern part of the country. Fast Facts CConnecticut is bordered on the south by Long Island POPULATION: 3,405,565 Sound, on the west by New York State, on the north by STATE CAPITAL: Hartford Massachusetts, and on the east by Rhode Island in terms of per STATE SALES TAX: 6% capita income, it is the wealthiest state in the country. Connecticut LARGEST CITIES: Bridgeport was one of the Thirteen Colonies that revolted against British rule in Qui transtulit sustinet the American Revolution. MOTTO: (He who transplanted still sustains) The state of Connecticut can be said to be sub-divided into eight general regions which generally correspond with the eight counties NICKNAME: The Constitution State of the state, though there are differences in the boundaries. Each LAND AREA: 4,845 square miles region boasts varied qualities which distinguish it within the state, UNION MEMBER: January 09, 1788 and at times there are minor cultural frictions between the regions PER CAPITA INCOME: $47,819 and their major cultural centers as each competes for tourists, new residents, and internal state pride. Fairfield County’s “Gold Coast” TIME ZONE: UTC-5/-4 and towns west of Waterbury and New Haven, for example, are WEB SITE: www.state.ct.us often derided by residents of the rest of the state as being more similar to New York than to New England. Many of the residents go for years or even decades without ever traveling to other regions of the state, considering themselves more attached to New York City and its suburbs in eastern New York State. The per capita income for 2005 was $47,819, ranking first among the states. There is, however, a great disparity in incomes through the state; although New Canaan has one of the highest per capita incomes in America, Hartford is one of the ten cities with the lowest per capita incomes in America. This is due to Fairfield County having become a bedroom community for higher-paid New York City workers seeking a less urban lifestyle, as well as the spread of businesses outwards from New York City having reached into southwestern Connecticut, most notably to Stamford. 8 ] Fairfield County Information Guide ABOUT FAIRFIELD COUNTY COUNTY PROFILE t’s 30 miles of beautiful coastline. It’s a stone’s throw from New York City. It’s rolling hills and picturesque New England countryside. It’s all that and more. It’s Coastal Fairfield ICounty—a place where the shore, country and city come together to create a unique getaway destination to discover. Fairfield County is located in the southwestern corner of the state of Connecticut. As of 2000 the population was 882,567. Fairfield County is comprised of 23 towns and more than 60 individual communities. The largest city in the county is Bridgeport. As is the case with all eight of Connecticut’s counties, there is no county government, and no county seat. In Connecticut, towns are responsible for all local government activities, including fire and rescue, snow removal and schools. In a few cases, neighboring towns will share certain resources. So Fairfield County is merely a group of towns on a map, and has no particular authority. Mansions, marinas, and luxury apartment blocks elbow for space right up to the deeply indented Long Island Sound shoreline.