Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
The OP is looking at condos for 800k....Here's a condo in Stamford with taxes over 12K.
It is listed as a condo, but it's a cluster house. Like Pepper Woods and Sterling Lake and Doral Farms and some others whose names escape me right now. Condo to me is attached units, like Chesterfield, Riverturn, Strawberry Woods, etc., etc.
"I am curious as to where the OP lives in PA. "
Sorry, I was not getting updates. We live in Berwyn, right on the train line ("Main Line") in between Devon and Paoli. We have great access to services but no sidewalks in our immediate neighborhood.
Re the move situation, H and I are buying a tiny one-bedroom condo in New Canaan, walk to all, very convenient to the train station and Mead Park. We will keep our PA home. It was just so pricey in CT for a location we wanted and we did not feel comfortable doing a total relo at that cost. We figure this way our risk exposure is lower.
Buying a small condo in New Canaan is less expensive than just moving completely to some of the towns discussed here??? Not sure about that but it is your choice and I know how tied you are to your current home. Good luck, Jay
^ No, it was not the least expensive choice, but it was the one that best met our agenda, in particular high walkability. We are a very short walk to train and shopping and directly across from a lovely park where my husband can run after work. It is a tiny (724 sq. ft.), older, but very nicely renovated one-bedroom. So our compromise was to get a tiny second home that meets our current needs and keep the PA home. Husband got an OK to work from PA a day or two each week, so we can split our time between locations.
We simply did not find what we wanted/could be enthusiastic about in a highly walkable location with great services anywhere else. Perhaps it exists, but we did not find it, and really explored lots of areas.
And the price of this small condo plus the value of our PA home is less than we would have had to pay for just a nice single family home (not fancy, but without issues and not in need of renovation, etc.) in most of the Fairfield County locations we were considering. (Fairfield was the exception on pricing and I looked there but I found little in Fairfield that was walk to all, including the train.) Those who said that the area in Stamford near the work location (First Stamford Place) is unappealing were right on. I don't understand why Westport was suggested by several since we found that the train stations are not convenient to the heart of the business district, and we needed (or at least wanted) walking access to all. We are getting that in New Canaan.
Had I found a family-sized home we felt good about in a highly walkable and train accessible location, we would probably have done the total relo.
Different strokes for different folks, I guess, but walkable/commutable location and a community with lots of services was the top criterion for us.
P.S. Maybe definitions of walkable differ as well. We wanted walkable in all seasons, all weather conditions, and on sidewalks all the way. We needed to be able to count on doing this every day. For us, we felt that under .5 mile could be considered, and .3 miles (which is what we have) would be ideal.
We were taken aback by properties described as "walk to train" that were close to a mile and did not have sidewalks all the way.
P.P.S. We did find Southport very appealing. Hope to spend some time there when up in CT.
Last edited by Jyber; 10-20-2010 at 02:33 PM..
Reason: added P.S.
We are a very short walk to train and shopping. It is a very nicely renovated one-bedroom.
Congratulations on finding something. You'll see plenty of people jogging and walking their dogs on that street. IDK if you've retained your own broker for the transaction, but if you haven't, "Nez"(the listing broker) seems to be a nice unpretentious agent.
^ Not sure we have the same unit in mind (several for sale in the complex) and the listing agent does not seem to have a name that would go to "Nez." We are working through an agent referred to us by our relo company, and we have been very happy with her. But she is not the listing agent.
Re the move situation, H and I are buying a tiny one-bedroom condo in New Canaan, walk to all, very convenient to the train station and Mead Park.
That is an excellent area for walkability, and New Canaan is a wonderful town. I think you will be very pleased, good luck with your move.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
