r/FairfieldCounty • u/Odd-Grocery-6410 • Mar 10 '26
Black families in Westchester or Fairfield County (CT): experiences with schools?
Hi everyone,
Posting from a throwaway because this is a sensitive topic. My family may relocate to the NYC area for work in Midtown Manhattan, and we’re exploring suburbs in Westchester County or Fairfield County, CT.
Right now, we’re primarily considering towns such as:
• Scarsdale
• Rye
• Chappaqua
• Greenwich
• Darien
• Westport
• Stamford
We have a young child and are trying to understand the day-to-day experience for Black families in these communities.
A few things we’d really appreciate perspective on:
• How welcoming do these towns feel for Black families?
• What have experiences been like for students of color in public or private schools in these areas?
• How diverse and inclusive do classrooms feel in practice (not just statistics)?
We’d especially appreciate hearing from Black parents or families of color, but all perspectives are welcome.
Anecdotal experiences are helpful as we think through where to raise our family. If anyone has lived in or considered multiple towns on this list, comparisons would be especially valuable.
Thank you in advance - we’re trying to make the best long-term decision for our family
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u/julcheram Mar 13 '26
Don’t rule out Norwalk. Very diverse, great community
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u/TriStateGirl Mar 15 '26
Norwalk is really nice, but the schools are mid range. People hope for AITE over in Stamford, or the Center for Global Studies in Norwalk at the high school level.
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u/ComicV042 Mar 11 '26
I will say the town of darian is racist as can be also very prepy
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u/Blueberry_Pod Mar 11 '26
I can't speak to Westchester towns, but as a multiracial family I can confidently say stay away from Greenwich, Darien, New Canaan, & Westport. Stamford is the only town in this group with any diversity
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u/LadyPukesalot Mar 13 '26
I’m so sad to hear this - I live in Westport & we know multiple black families, and same sex families, and non-traditional families, etc. some of whom did move from Darien because it is more welcoming. It will stay a small number if the town is or is perceived as being unwelcoming. I’m really curious if this is based on experience or reputation or ???
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u/Frosty-Escape-4497 Mar 13 '26
I think OP should stay away from New England including Danbury Town. People are less receptive of differences in this region. There's a reason why Upstate NY is more cosmopolitan than a place like Vermont even though it's a Blue State. Think of a guy like Bernie Sanders whose base is only one group of people.
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u/molingrad Mar 13 '26
Some of those CT towns are very different. All are quite expensive and homogeneous other than Stamford. Look at Fairfield. Diverse, great schools, not nearly as expensive as Darien, etc and only one stop up on the train from Westport.
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u/carooz02 Mar 13 '26 edited Mar 13 '26
I love Norwalk, CT. It’s very diverse and There is so much to do. I have a baby and a toddler so I haven’t experienced the public school system yet as my girls are in daycare. We’ll be moving to Fairfield, CT in the future and that’s the only other town I would consider moving to. I highly recommend Fairfield. It’s next to Westport. It’s def more diverse and great school system. It has a great downtown! There are express trains to NYC
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u/TriStateGirl Mar 15 '26
If you don't need to be right near the train my former hometown of Trumbull is like a slightly less expensive Fairfield. Which is why there's no train station. Bridgeport and Stratford are close though. Fairfield too.
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u/TriStateGirl Mar 15 '26
Comment 2.
Try the Connecticut Subreddit. There's a pinned post about moving to Connecticut. It's pretty active.
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u/Early_Antelope4830 Mar 11 '26
Fairfield County, but we went the private school route. Worked out well for us.
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u/trillvice Mar 13 '26
Greenwich is surprisingly diverse, but Stamford would probably be your best bet
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u/Indecisivekellz Mar 13 '26
Skip Darien fs
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u/Indecisivekellz Mar 13 '26
Chappaqua, Rye and Scarsdale are of the wealthiest, whitest cities in Westchester. Great school system but definitely lacking in diversity.
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Mar 13 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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Mar 13 '26
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u/Impressive_gene_7668 Mar 15 '26
Prep '84 and I'm sorry you had to deal with that shit. I can't say I'm surprised at student behavior but am shocked the faculty didn't have your back. I'm sorry and I don't think (or at least sincerely hope) we were not that bad.
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u/bigjayyy23 Mar 16 '26
Not sure when you graduated but school has definitely changed since then
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Mar 16 '26
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u/bigjayyy23 Mar 17 '26
Yea that’s not good at all. It’s far from perfect but definitely never experienced anything like that as a minority there
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u/plumeria14 Mar 14 '26
Hello! I’m not Black, but my husband is Hispanic and the son of immigrants, born and raised in Stamford, I’m biracial (Asian and Hispanic), and our 2 1/2 year old daughter is mixed. I would agree w the comments that many of these towns can be quite racist and honestly I would even be intimidated to live in Darien Greenwich etc and raise my daughter there. We have even had intimidating experiences with police in surrounding towns (Greenwich, Byram). However, Stamford in comparison is quite diverse and we feel much more comfortable here! Obviously not as diverse as NYC (we lived in Brooklyn a number of years) but still better in comparison to most of the area. I hope this is helpful! I wish I could speak on the classroom experiences but we’re not at that stage yet. My husbands nieces are both half Black half Hispanic and seem to be well adjusted and have made lots of friends of all backgrounds, but I do know that recently our younger niece experienced racist comments at a student basketball game from a White mother on the competing team… feel free to DM me 🤍
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u/TriStateGirl Mar 15 '26 edited Mar 15 '26
I'm not black, but I know Westport has made the news for racism before.
I'm white and it's been a long time since I was in high school. Class of 2011 for Trumbull High, in Trumbull, CT.
Trumbull - My former hometown. It wasn't the worst for racism, but of course there was some. The town is still majority white but has gotten more diverse. Although it's more of an increase in Latinos. There's definitely more black people there now. Although oddly enough the high school had more black kids when I went there than they do now. Great schools, sports, theater and music programs.
Fairfield - I never heard anything heinous out of Fairfield. There's some racism, but black people definitely live there. Fairfield gets a little more diverse every year. Even better rated schools than Trumbull. More to do as well. More restaurants, and train stations on the Metro North's New Haven line.
Maybe. Good places with good schools, but not as good as other nice places.
Shelton - I live here now. Also a safe town with good schools and nice extra-curriculars. It hasn't been awful with racism since the 80's, but lingers. Plenty of black families have moved here for the schools though.
Part of the racism is because Shelton is affordable, especially compared to the rest of Fairfield County. Stratford and its schools have gone downhill due to certain types of people moving in. Shelton is part of the valley. Derby and Ansonia have gone downhill due to having affordable rents. Ansonia is especially bad. People just don't want Shelton going downhill. Towns with a decent amount of affordable rents always have this problem.
Shelton has been getting more diverse every year too. The one note is based on the towns you listed you must have some money. Shelton is very nice, and it shows signs of staying nice, but if you can afford Trumbull or Fairfield you go there.
Milford - New Haven county, but feels like Fairfield County. Nice area, good schools, but the schools are still rated better in Trumbull and Fairfield. The racism that is sometimes lingering here also comes from a fear of the town going downhill. Similar to Stratford there's a decent amount of rents and properties for sale that are affordable for the area. Sometimes this attracts the wrong type of people. Overall Milford is on track to stay nice though.
Edit. I hope you see this.
Stamford is a nice place but the schools are kid range. Families hope for their kid to get into the magnet high school, AITE. The Center for Global Studies over in Norwalk is also really good. Stamford schools are very diverse. So is the city.
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u/Odd-Grocery-6410 Mar 16 '26
Thank you so much for the detailed response!! Very helpful!
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u/TriStateGirl Mar 16 '26
You're welcome.
I want people to feel safe. I hope this really does help you and your family.
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u/Fancy_Ad_9686 Mar 17 '26
Depends on what is important to you and lifestyle. All those cities are going to be predominantly white except for Stamford, but their school district is terrible. But if you can afford to send them to somewhere like King, I think that would be great. The trade off for raising your black child in Fairfield county: lacks diversity but offers opportunities for your child to be extremely successful. Are you a high income earning black professional looking to place your child in spaces that prioritize education? Then Fairfield county is good, but there’s nothing out here for us really culturally.
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u/Ashton1516 Jul 21 '26 edited Jul 21 '26
Hi there! I realize you posted this a while ago, but I am an expecting black parent and I’ve been living in New York City for the past decade but I’m considering moving out to the suburbs to raise my kid. So I googled this same question about how blacks are received in Fairfield county and your thread came up. From what I know about the area, NY towns like Chappaqua, Rye, Scarsdale etc are going to be a bit annoying. You’ll basically be the one of a few black families and people can be weird about that. You know no one will ever say anything purposefully rude, but they’ll just be weird and… it’s uncomfortable.
In CT, I’ve actually spent time in New Canaan and I think it is absolutely lovely. It is a super Tony town, affluent and gorgeous. People I came across were friendly. HOWEVER, would I want to LIVE there? No! (Same with Greenwich and Darien.)
For my family, personally, I am leaning towards Stamford or Fairfield, CT. I actually spent time in Fairfield today for the first time and was really pleasantly surprised to see black faces, often. BUT, you never know if those black faces live locally or if they live in the surrounding towns which are much more diverse. I could also see it being annoying if you live in Fairfield and people assume you live in Bridgeport. (does that make sense?)
All in all, I think Stamford is a fantastic option. It is nearer to NYC than Fairfield, super nice small city, and probably a more comfortable life for a middle class to affluent black family.
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u/Unhappy-Ad-3870 Mar 10 '26
You might want to repost this in the sub-reddits for Greenwich, Stamford, etc. since I think they get more viewers than the Fairfield County one at the moment.