Wendy Leon-Gambetta and her husband, Ernesto, have recently moved into their third house on Sawmill Ridge Road in Newtown in less than 25 years.

They came across their first home on the street when they were a young married couple with two small boys, both under 5 years old.

"Moving from Miami, we wanted a neighborhood," said Mr Leon-Gambetta. "We wanted a place where the kids could ride their bicycles and when I saw the [Sawmill Ridge] neighborhood, that's what it felt like: a neighborhood. So I said, 'That's the house.'"

They purchased the home from its original owners and quickly learned what an exceptional community they had moved into. Neighbors became friends and those friends soon grew so close, they felt like family.

So, as the Leon-Gambetta family expanded - welcoming two more children into the world - the family of six realized they needed a house with more room. Having built such a close bond with their neighbors, the family decided after six years of living at 14 Sawmill Ridge Road, they would move a whopping distance of four houses down to 18 Sawmill Ridge Road.

At their second home on the street, they again bought the house from its original owners - a trend that is very common in the neighborhood, as it is rare for residents to move away.

"There's been very little turnover, with a few exceptions," Ms Leon-Gambetta explained.

Over the next 18 years, the Leon-Gambetta family went through many milestone events with their neighbors as their children grew.

In 2015, with the children grown, they realized they wanted to downsize to a smaller residence. They put a bid on a house on Taunton Lake Road (the street adjacent to Sawmill Ridge), and tried to come to grips that they may be leaving their cherished longtime neighborhood.

"For me it's been like a family," said Ms Leon-Gambetta. "I'm from Nebraska, and Ernesto is from Peru, so we don't have any family around here, and whenever we would be ready to move it was like the idea of leaving my family was tough."

Ms Leon-Gambetta recalled driving with her daughter through their neighborhood during that time. Suddenly, it was as if the whole neighborhood was out and was trying to convince her to stay - there were community members jogging down the road and neighbors out mowing their lawns. She realized what she would be missing every day, and she remembers exclaiming to her daughter, "It's a sign!"

Conveniently, another house on Sawmill Ridge Road happened to be on the market. Now with the added encouragement not to move, the family went full speed ahead to try to purchase their next house in their beloved neighborhood.

After the sale of the house was official, in January 2015, Ms Leon-Gambetta typed an emotional e-mail to all her neighbors explaining they would be leaving their current address.

She somberly wrote, "For the past couple years we have been looking for a new home, but none seemed to measure up to what we have here in our beloved neighborhood. I told Ernesto that it would take something really special to convince me to leave, but we have found it."

Ms Leon-Gambetta detailed fond memories she had made living in the Sawmill Ridge neighborhood. She spoke about how over the years they had welcomed new neighbors and said goodbye to others, seen kids grow from babies to then be old enough to babysit the new babies, and been there for milestones like graduations and grandchildren.

"We've celebrated - and worried about - your kids, right along with you, and it's been comforting to know that you were doing the same for us," she continued. "It's been a real blessing to share in our lives together, some for over 22 years."

Her letter brought neighbors to tears, and Ms Leon-Gambetta said she received touching responses back.

At the end of her e-mail she encouraged everyone to stop over and see their new home - a house that was just across from their current address. They decided to make the commute and move all the way to 19 Sawmill Ridge Road.

Meet The Neighbors

On Sunday, November 13, the Leon-Gambettas invited a few of their Sawmill Ridge neighbors to come over to their new house and talk about what makes their neighborhood so special.

Resident Karen Stern has lived in the neighborhood the longest. Her parents built her childhood home back in 1965, and at the time there was minimal development. They were only the third house on the block.

She left her home to go to college and get married to her husband, Michael Stern. While living in Danbury, she found out her parents were moving and going to sell the house. She and her husband had been wanting to look for a new home, and decided they loved her parent's house and neighborhood on Sawmill Ridge so much that they moved back in the mid-1980s.

"We have always had good times in the neighborhood with lots of families," said Ms Stern.

Even through difficult seasons of life - like the death of a loved one, or illnesses - the neighborhood has proven it was always there to come together and take care of each other.

Mr Stern explained, "When I had heart surgery, Alex [Ache] came over and did my driveway." Another neighbor came over to mow his lawn.

Alex and Nicole Ache are one of the newest couples to the neighborhood, moving in four years ago.

Coming from New York, they both worked in Bethel and hoped to find a home in Newtown. The house needed work, but Mr Ache said his wife saw its potential.

Shortly after putting an offer on the house on Sawmill Ridge, the tragedy at Sandy Hook School occurred. Mr Ache was hesitant to move in, especially having grown up in Colorado where his mother taught at Columbine at the time of its school shooting.

The family decided to follow through and move in. Mr Ache said, "We don't regret anything. Since then, we love it. The neighborhood is awesome ... My work even asks me to take promotions and move, but I'm not moving out of here."

He is so impressed with the community that when a friend of his that he knew from his children's daycare was looking for a home, he encouraged him to move to Sawmill Ridge.

"I piled on as much praise as I could," Mr Ache said.

Neighbors David and Kathleen Deschenes moved into the community back in 2008, having previously lived in New York City.

"We heard so much about the schools in Newtown and looked at a lot of houses," said Mr Deschenes.

When their realtor gave him the call about the home on Sawmill Ridge, they dropped everything to go look at it.

"It was beautiful," said Mr Deschenes, "and we heard so much about the neighborhood."

After moving into their home, they quickly realized they were not in the city anymore. Neighbors came over to greet them, and upon reflecting on those encounters, the couple admits they were a bit skeptical for people's motives.

Ms Deschenes joked, "People would come to the door, and we'd be like, 'What do they want?' They'd have bread, wine - it was like Mayberry [the fictional television town from the 1960s Andy Griffith Show]."

"We really, truly feel like it's a family," Mr Deschenes added. "Everyone knows each other. People borrow tools. We borrow sugar - literally, we borrow sugar from our neighbors."

The group of neighbors all agree they have become one big family. Whether it is driving neighbors' kids to school or checking on a vacationing neighbor's home when an alarm goes off, or taking out a neighbor's trash can upon request when they forget - they are there for each other.

Looking around the room at all of her neighbors, Ms Leon-Gambetta said affectionately, "We are lucky, aren't we?"

Neighborhood Fun

The Sawmill Ridge Road neighborhood never misses an opportunity to enjoy spending time with one another and create lasting memories.

Every year they rally together to make holidays special - like with Memorial Day picnics, Halloween group photos, and last day of school ice cream parties at the McLeod family bus stop.

The residents even go out of their way to make average days seem like special occasions with outside movie nights on neighbors' front lawns for the children and frequent porch hangouts for the grown-ups. And when it snows, families have enjoyed heading over to the Ache family home to canoe - yes, canoe - down the snow-covered hill in their backyard.

For years the Sawmill Ridge Fourth of July celebration has brought their community together. They all pitch in to organize a picnic with a bicycle parade for the children.

Mr Stern said, "I think this year we had about 80 people on our front lawn."

Also, the neighborhood Christmas Caroling, primarily organized by the O'Connor family over the last 20 years, is a well-known event among its residents.

Mr Ache said, "Everyone would have to sign up for if they are a singer or a door answerer to be there for when the carolers come. I always give out hot cider and drinks [for the adults]. Then the kids all watch the Christmas Muppets [movie]."

The fun does not have to end when all the Sawmill Ridge residents head home. This past summer, they even created a private Facebook group for neighbors to stay in touch and communicate with each other online. It marks just another reason the neighborhood is so special.