[Konig1985]

Originally Posted by kidyankee764

I can't say I'd recommend Milford in this case. On days when there is traffic (if you drive), you're looking at well over an hour to Milford. It's a tough and stressful commute. Train is an option, but again, that's not an easy commute - drive to the station, get on the train and commute from the train to the office. It's easy to recommend, but a PITA to do on a daily basis (unless you live next to the Milford station and work next to the Stamford station).

In your price range, I'd suggest you look at Wilton, Ridgefield, Fairfield and perhaps even Easton. Your price range is limited but in today's market there are tons of deals.

+1
You won't believe what you can get in Wilton and Ridgefield with $600k these days. Prices have really come down.

[lindsaycg]

Thank you so much to everyone for all of your helpful information! I really appreciate the time everyone has taken to respond to my postings!! Moving to a new area can be stressful so any suggestions, hints, recommendations are so greatly appreciated!
There's clearly so much to consider and all of these towns seem to bring something to the table.
When we visited Ridgefield we fell in love with the downtown main street and the rec center, but really didn't love the actual housing neighborhoods and felt like it might be a bit secluded....but maybe we should take a look again as so many do recommend it. we also plan to check out all of the other areas as well...including milford, trumbul, wesport, weston, easton and fairfield. i am always lured by getting more for my money, but also want my husband to have a reasonable and non-stressful commute, so we'll see where that brings us.

[Stylo]

Good luck with your search and happy exploring!

[neo08]

I do this commute and generally very happy with it.

There is a day every week when someone screws up on merritt and you are stuck waiting in traffic, but it's generally ok, about one hour at worst.

If it's an option to avoid peak hours (8-9), the commute isn't all that bad. I take off 7:20am from MFD and reach Stamford 8:10ish, e.g.

I like Milford's feel better than other towns being discussed here. Bethel is another town i can recommend, just one station north of Ridgefield and easily accessible by train as well as rt 7. I can't imagine it being so bad with the improvements on rt7.

hth

Originally Posted by kidyankee764

I can't say I'd recommend Milford in this case. On days when there is traffic (if you drive), you're looking at well over an hour to Milford. It's a tough and stressful commute. Train is an option, but again, that's not an easy commute - drive to the station, get on the train and commute from the train to the office. It's easy to recommend, but a PITA to do on a daily basis (unless you live next to the Milford station and work next to the Stamford station).

In your price range, I'd suggest you look at Wilton, Ridgefield, Fairfield and perhaps even Easton. Your price range is limited but in today's market there are tons of deals.

[seymourct]

I didn't see a sq foot requirement or lot size... If you might be happy with "quaint" sizing... Then recheck the northwest suburbs of Norwalk, prices have come down.

[lindsaycg]

I've heard that its best to stay clear of Norwalk - someone mentioned something about gangs?? Not sure, but it freaked me out so we haven't looked there at all. Are the schools good in Norwalk?
What's hard for us is that Stamford needs to be the easier of commute days for my husband - he'll also need to commute into NYC twice a week! I'm getting nervous we're not going to be able to find the quality of life with his needing to commute to Stamford and NYC. We did visit Fairfield for the 1st time this past weekend and really did love it...from what we saw anyway. Loved all the restaurants, shops, etc. but equally loved all the great parks, beaches, lakes and hiking trails we came across!
We'll visit Wilton next - seems like many of you recommend it as well.

[JayCT]

Norwalk is a small city so you can expect to find some urban issues there. The schools in Norwalk perform under the state averages on the Connecticut Mastery and Connecticut Academic Performance Tests. That said there are still many nice neighborhoods in Norwalk.

Fairfield is a very nice town. The schools are very good. There are a lot of great family activities and there is a wide range of housing options. The town now has three train stations so access to mass transit is very good. It might be your best option.

Wilton is also very nice and locaiton wise it may be better than Fairfield. Wilton does not have a large downtown area or beaches like Fairfield but the schools are very good and there are many nice homes in that town. Wilton can be pricey. I am not sure if the homes in your price range are what you will want. Good luck with your decision. Jay

[Stylo]

They meant the suburbs northwest of Norwalk - Wilton, Ridgefield, Redding, etc. I wouldn't recommend Redding, Easton or Weston based on your preferences as they are the very definition of rural. Norwalk has some bad areas and some very nice areas. Some of K-8 schools are actually pretty good, it's the high schools that become a problem.

Wilton is very similar to Ridgefield, except it doesn't have as defined a town center. There is a "center" per se, but it's not really a downtown.

Personally, with what you have shown interest in I would go with Fairfield, or Milford if you don't mind adding ~10 minutes to your commute and want more home for the money.

[Mike 75]

I live in Wilton and commute to downtown Stamford each day. It is a better commute than from the towns east of Norwalk b/c you are not at the mercy of 95/Merritt traffic issues. For example, I have three options on any given day:

1. Rt. 7 to 95
2. Rt. 7 to Merritt
3. Backroads through New Caanan and Darien into Stamford.

With no traffic, 95 is about 25 min. With traffic it can be up to an hour. Merritt is a little longer, 30 min with no traffic and up to an hour with traffic. Backroads are 40 to 45 min all the time. So on Fridays in the summer, I take the back roads and am home in 45 min.

With no traffic, Fairfield is about the same (depending on where you live in town), but the traffic can really cause issues, and you are pretty much stuck with 95/Merritt. There are some backroads you can take through Westport, but you still need to take 95 or the Merritt to get there.

Driving to Stamford from Milford is brutal. Unless you take the train, I would not suggest this commute if you can avoid it. I used to live in Stratford and took the train and it was bearable. Driving was awful, especially the ride home.

Fairfield and Milford do have better access to NYC via train due to the New Haven line (Wilton is on a branch line which has less frequent service).

[Stylo]

I wouldn't recommend driving from Fairfield to Stamford every day. Although depending on time of year (like now), the drive from the Fairfield/Stratford/Milford area isn't that bad some days. You need to monitor live traffic and decide when the train is needed. Or just go stress-free and take the train every day. Some people like the train commute, others hate it. It's all down to personal preferences. At least the new trains will be clean.