It's official, we made it happen!!!

For those of you who%26#39;ve followed our almost 18 month ';journey'; and to all those who originally answered all my many who, what, where, when %26amp; why questions regarding CT...

Last week we made another short 4 day jaunt to CT, with the sole purpose of buying a home. After hours researching properties, real estate agents, and lenders... we showed up well prepared and ready to buy!

As of last week Thursday, we are now the proud owners of a beautiful home in Oakdale, a part of Montville, in the New London County!!! :)

We originally had to postpone our move to this year, instead of last year... ';life'; threw a few punches at us... a death in the family and a knee surgery. In anycase, we%26#39;ll be moving in June of this year!

Thanks again to all who%26#39;ve given so much of their time and replied... that%26#39;s what makes this forum invaluable! We so truly appreciate it!

I should have pictures of our second short rendesvous with CT up on our website within the next few days... feel free to check them out if you%26#39;d like! www.ResortHoppers.com

Sincerest Regards, Pamela

P.S. I%26#39;d love to maybe meet up with some of you once we get settled in!!!

It's official, we made it happen!!!

Hey Pamela, Well welcome to the neighborhood! I ran across your posts a couple of weeks ago and read them with interest. I could tell from your earliest posts that you were zeroing in on this area. I%26#39;m in Oakdale as well, near Oxoboxo Lake. We%26#39;ve been living in this area for about 15 years. If you have any questions give me a holler. And once again, welcome to Oakdale! :-)

Chris

It's official, we made it happen!!!

Thanks Chris! I might just give you several hollers! Being new to the town... we have no idea where anything is!

I know we%26#39;ll atleast have food, since we are only 5 miles away from Big Y and WalMart! I saw them on the 163 (I think) lol

And I know that we are about 7 miles from Mohegan Sun. So, good entertainment. I%26#39;ve noticed some good concerts coming to town... nice.

How funny that you guys live near Oxoboxo Lake... one of the homes we were looking at was near there too. I couldn%26#39;t really get a feel for the town, since we were following our real estate agent... and she was zipping allover the place, but is Oakdale very big? It does%26#39;t seem like it... and that%26#39;s great! If I%26#39;m not mistaken, it is a little neighborhood within the city of Montville, right?

Thanks again for the warm welcome!!! ~ Pamela

Hi Pamela, Yeah I%26#39;d say Montville, which Oakdale is a village of, would be considered smallish...Last I heard there were about 17,000 to 20,000 residents in all of Montville. Montville consists of the villages of Uncasville, (thats where the Sun is), Oakdale, Chesterfield, Palmertown and of course Montville. It%26#39;s about 57 so square miles, bordering the Thames river to the east, Salem to the west, Norwich to the north and Waterford to the south. We have one high school, one middle school and 3 elementarys... If you have youngsters they will either attend Dr. Charles D. Murphy, or Oakdale Elem. As a reference, my son who graduated last year had about 110 in his class.... my other son is a Junior and I believe his class is around 150 or so.

Let%26#39;s see... as far as taxes go Ct has property taxes and the rates are set by each town. Currently Montville is (I think) about 29 mils... that means your annual property tax will be $29.00 for every $1,000 of the assessed value of your castle.

If you are commuting to Hartford it%26#39;s about 40 min, New London is roughly 20 min, Groton 30, Colchester 15, New Haven 50 to 1 hour ( traffic on I-95 can be brutal at times)

Yes the Sun is very close, world class entertainment there regularly in addition to a WNBA team. Also Foxwoods resort is close by, about 12 to 15 miles. Foxwoods entertainment is equal to the Sun.

you will find just about all the major outlets here as anywhere as far as supermarkets, home improvement, department, and typical big box stores, as well as many local merchants.

I%26#39;m happy for you and your family, I hope your move goes smoothly. Seriously, if there is anything you need, or if you have more specific questions, my wife Lisa and I would be glad to help you out.

Take care, Chris

You picked a beautiful area. It took me 19 moves to get to CT but I%26#39;ve been here 25 years and it%26#39;s the best.

Thank you NKP! When we wen%26#39;t back in February we had about 12-15 homes we wanted to look at. On the first day we looked at 8 and decided on two that we really wanted to look at again. The next day we went and looked at those two again, and by the next morning put a bid on our home, it was accepted later that night and so the process began! Not sure why I%26#39;m telling you all this, lol, but I%26#39;m really excited! Maybe because we just fell in love with our home and the surrounding area! It truly is beautiful! We close on the house this Friday....

We%26#39;ll move the middle of June...

Thank you also for the warm welcome! I%26#39;ll be sure to ask many questions of both you and Chris, as I%26#39;m sure I%26#39;ll have many!!! :)

One question off the top of my head is... Where do you guys buy your furniture? This home we bought has an extra room that we don%26#39;t currently have out this way in CA, and of course, you know a girls gotta decorate! :) We have a few big box stores out this way that we use (Levitz and Wickes), but I really didn%26#39;t see anything when I looked up furniture stores on the yellow pages.

Thanks again!

Pamela, when you get here you will be bombarded with ads from the local funiture selling giant which is Bob%26#39;s Discount Furniture Stores. I%26#39;d recommend staying away from Bobs, it;s definitely cheaper than other stores, but in this case you get what you pay for ( I know from painful personal experience!) there are several local furniture stores, Campo%26#39;s in New London is a family store that has a wide selection, there is a Raymore and Flanagans in Waterford, they are a New England chain I think. In Norwich there is Gorin%26#39;s furniture, another solid store. In Waterford there is American Furniture. My favorite store is the Preston Trading Post in Preston. They sell all sorts of stuff, including wood stoves!

By the way, the previously mentioned Bob of bob%26#39;s furniture is an esteemed resident of Oakdale! (One of our few claims to fame, lol)

Thanks Chris for all the wonderful furniture locations! I can%26#39;t wait to get back there! We just closed on the house yesterday...

And, a wood stove is something we%26#39;ll definitley need down the road. We%26#39;ll be the ones freezing our tails off, at only 60 degrees! lol

Best regards, Pamela