Recent comments in /f/StamfordCT

Pinkumb t1_j24u1ot wrote

Reply to What's it like trying to appeal the property assessment? by [deleted]

  1. The assessment is done every 3 years (or 4 years?) and is largely driven by the area you're in not the house itself. As you know, property values have jumped in the past few years and the state is catching up.

  2. I believe the assessment is done by the state or at the very least follows pretty stringent state guidelines. I can't imagine gaining anything out of an appeal beyond a 15 minute meeting.

My property evaluation went up $20k and I bought this place in the second half of this year. It seems stupid but I don't think I'll gain anything that I'll lose by trying to track down who comes up with this crap.

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Pinkumb t1_j1zx44x wrote

Reply to comment by martinisk in Expat family moving to Stamford, CT by martinisk

When considering Stamford's school rating you need to consider the context of Stamford. This is a city next to many phenomenally wealthy suburban towns. Our neighbors are Greenwich, New Canaan, and Darien. Average home in Greenwich is $2.4M, New Canaan is $1.7M, Darien is $1.6M. Stamford? $600k. The wealth is a good indicator for other factors. Stamford is the most diverse city in Connecticut. Our neighbors are uniquely not diverse.

Lower incomes and more diverse student demographic means you need more educational services with less money. If your kid is average in Greenwich you may get a ton of services to help them out, but if they're average in Stamford they might not. Additionally, Stamford may not have as much funding for extracurricular activities these parents care about more. These are reasons they may call the school "bad" but that's not really the situation.

That's not the whole story. Stamford schools are not immune to criticism, but the ratings are not an accurate picture.

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martinisk OP t1_j1znq9m wrote

Reply to comment by [deleted] in Expat family moving to Stamford, CT by martinisk

>I have the same feeling in general. Unless it is clearly a school in rough neighborhood there should not be a big deal when talking about elementary school as such. To be honest, from where I am from, there are no ratings on elementary schools. As essentially there are maybe 4-5 basic things that each school can teach you and as a parent you are able to course correct.
Yes, magnet is what we will try, just because everybody talks about them. But it maybe that we will find apartment in Harbor Point as I like the area a lot based feedback and internet and I don't think that area is within magnet school district.

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pizzainquiry t1_j1zeo08 wrote

Reply to comment by martinisk in Expat family moving to Stamford, CT by martinisk

From reading FB mom groups it seems like the vibe is that if you as a parent are attentive and what not kids can do really well in SPS (even not in a magnet school). A lot of "dont let the scores fool you" because of how diverse Stamford is a lot of non english speakers taking the same tests bring down the scores

I would also suggest joining some of those Stamford mom facebook groups they have lots of opinions on things and suggestions for things to do with kids in the local surrounding areas!

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freckleface2113 t1_j1zcasa wrote

Reply to comment by trin2424 in Should I move to Stamford right out of college? by trin2424

I'd pick Boston over Stamford. Yes, Boston is more expensive, but it's a much cooler city. Stamford doesn't have good public transportation and the night life scene is...well pretty shit to be honest. Boston has public transportation and since it's a bigger city has a better variety of things to do.

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