Do you think Newtown still has a rural character?

Erica Shulz: I think it’s a mixture. We have a little piece of everything.

T.J. O’Connell: Yes, because this place is much better than Stratford — where we used to live. I like going swimming in the lake, and I like that we live right next to the woods. We always see animals.

Elizabeth, left, and Chloe O’Connell: There are open spaces, and the rural character is one of the main reasons we moved here a few years ago.

Megan Meier: I think it does. We still have Fairfield Hills and open land.

Stephen Kostes: Absolutely, but I’m prejudiced. I grew up in New York.

Clare Savarese: Populationwise it is a lot larger, but I think it still has the friendliness and the caring you would think you would find in a small town