We’ve lived on Washington Street in Norwalk, CT, for many years, and I must say, it’s been quite the experience. We fell in love with the area because of its historical charm and proximity to the South Norwalk train station. We failed to realize that after dark, this area turns into an enclave of debauchery for many residents and visitors who lack any respect for themselves or the neighborhood and the people who live there.
Here I’ve laid out some of the pros and cons of living on Washington Street in our experience:
Cons:
- Noise. People are yelling at all hours of the night. Loud car stereos. Motorcycles revving their engines, Music from restaurants/bars, and cars from the parking lots.
- Pan-handlers asking for money for gas or some fake charity (ART)
- Can’t sleep with the windows open when it’s nice weather. See #1
- Visitors disrespect your neighborhood. Mornings… puke, trash, food thrown on the ground, and broken glass all over. Vandalism. It’s disgusting and even worse when someone has puked on the door of your building.
- Transient population. People don’t stay very long, although that seemed to change during the pandemic. Now that the bars and restaurants are back open, I think many people are regretting moving here.
- You will deal with many disrespectful, selfish, self-entitled people who treat their apartment buildings like a frat/sorority house and cause noise at all hours of the day and night without any regard for anyone else.
- The mail service is terrible. Missing packages, etc. We get other people’s mail ALL THE TIME.
- Crime. Much of which is not reported on. I know of at least three pretty serious incidents that were never reported by the Norwalk Hour.
- Frequent fights. Stay off the street once the bars close.
- Quite a few of the businesses (I won’t name names), only care about money than being a good neighbor and being respectful to the neighborhood. Noise and possibly other health and safety violations occur at these establishments.
- Check out the One Floor Above site where this person livestreams the noise levels in their bedroom apartment which is situated over one of the bars. I know which one, but you can have fun figuring it out yourself. Norwalk has a noise ordinance, but the police don’t enforce it, so the businesses do whatever they want.
- Dog Shit (Some could be human!). Some residents think their too good to pick up their dog’s shit.
- Public parking lots. I’ve seen people fighting, urinating, having sex, drinking, and doing drugs late at night.
Pros:
- You can get good food right outside your front door, although I’d be careful. Several of the establishments on Washington Street only care about serving high-priced drinks. These establishments usually turn into nightclubs late at night on weekends. They’re only serving food in order to be able to operate legally on the street. The food is shit. Read their reviews before choosing, and If you can’t figure out which ones are fake, get off the internet and stay home.
- Want to get a drink… no problem! Just go downstairs. You don’t need to drive but choose wisely. You may get watered-down alcohol, or maybe that top-shelf alcohol you ordered isn’t really what the label says it is. Trust me. I’ve seen things.
- Walk to the train station.
As you can see, the cons outweigh the pros by a landslide. Take it from me, don’t do it unless you’re a semi-functional alcoholic with narcissistic tendencies who has had their driver’s license revoked and does not own a dog (see point #4 under cons). Our neighbor has a dog, and she says it’s like walking through a minefield some mornings.
If you’re reading this, you’ve been properly warned.