[sonno23]

We've recently moved from So CA to Nyack NY. We're renting a lovely house. We love the town of Nyack and now are looking to buy. We realized that we'd rather be on a train line. That and the property taxes are crazy in NY so we're looking a bit farther afield in CT. We'd still like to stay within an hour of NYC.

Neither of us commutes but we need to get in at least several times a week for sometimes short trips. Rarely at rush hour.

What we don't know is if there are parts of Norwalk and Stamford where people in the arts or just more alternative types might feel at home. Nyack has that reputation and it lived up to it. Any enclaves we should know about?

We also loved how friendly the neighbors and people we meet in town are. We've found NYers to be incredibly friendly. Is that true in certain areas of Stamford and Norwalk?

I know, it sounds as though we should stay here but I really don't like not being able to park and get on the train and into the city.

Oh yeah, price. We'd like to stay under 500K for 3 bedroom w/ yard. Schools aren't an issue but we do have a 12 year old.

Thanks so much!

[Stylo]

Stamford/Norwalk doesn't really have an artsy/alternative feel. The closest would be South Norwalk and that's seriously pushing it. It's more of a professional, fast-paced culture. People are a mix. There are just as many stuck-up people as there are super friendly. $500k will get you a pretty modest 3BR home in Stamford, and in Norwalk it'll get you a bit more but not terribly much. They are expensive cities because of their commuting advantage.

As far as communities with the feel you're looking for, I can only really think of a couple. The Black Rock area of Bridgeport and New Haven. New Haven is definitely by far the artiest of all CT cities. Since property taxes are really high in both locations, you may not want to buy there, but there are great surrounding towns like Fairfield, Milford and Branford.

If you don't need to be going to the city at rush hour, maybe going a little further might make sense. I'm at the northern tip of Manhattan in an hour from Milford outside of rush hour traffic by car. By train though, it's more like 80-90 minutes. That said, $500k would get you a stellar house in Milford.

Fairfield might be a really good option. More expensive than New Haven/Milford area, but a bit cheaper than Stamford/Norwalk. Good housing stock, low taxes, 70 minute train to NYC, near Black Rock and New Haven, great beaches, etc.

People will say Westport is arty, but it really isn't. It's a nice town, but it's upscale tennis moms all the way. The art center and playhouse are fine, but its days of being an art enclave are over. It's also way out of your price range.

[JayCT]

To be on the New Haven line and get a decent home for $500k, I would recommend Fairfield. It is a great town with a nice downtown area and a lot of great parks. For more value for your money, I would also suggest Stratford or Milford. Jay

[sonno23]

Thanks for your responses. I think Stratford and Milford are just too far from the city for us. I can have auditions that may last all of 10 minutes sometimes. I can't see traveling 3+ hrs for that on a regular basis. As well as weekly workshops. My husband is a musician and can work until after 11 pm. My son too goes into the city for an hour class weekly.

Fairfield though in terms of time, while still farther than what we'd like might be an option. I wish there was a way to find out if other musicians lived in the area.

Would you say it's a more liberal than conservative town?

Thanks!

[Stylo]

So driving to your rehearsals isn't an option? The disparity in travel time is much less during non-rush hour time when driving.

All of CT is pretty liberal, but Fairfield isn't particularly liberal for CT. If that makes sense. I'd say moderate by CT standards (which is still pretty liberal in the grand scheme). Your $500k is going to go much further there and it's a really great town with some gorgeous areas (Southport Harbor and Greenfield are hard to match in beauty that close to NYC). Norwalk is kinda "eh" unless you live in one of the more expensive areas like Cranbury or Rowayton and Stamford is pretty decent, but really expensive too.

There are definitely other musicians in the area. I'm one of them. New Haven has a respectable amount of live music (Toad's, Cafe Nine, Stella Blues, Shubert Theater, BAR (free show every Wed), Symphony/Woolsey Hall, Morse Recital Hall, Firehouse 12, and various other bars that have bands). Acoustic Cafe in Black Rock gets some decent indie acts. Daniel Street in Milford was an incredibly good medium-sized venue, but sadly is now just another bar with mostly cover bands.

There's some great recording studios in the area. These 2 are world class:

Tarquin Records - Tarquin Studios
Firehouse 12 : Recording Studio

[richrf]

I'm also checking out areas in Westchester and Connecticut and my niece mentioned the city of Beacon to me:

N.Y. Times Article on Beacon

[Stylo]

Originally Posted by richrf

I'm also checking out areas in Westchester and Connecticut and my niece mentioned the city of Beacon to me:

N.Y. Times Article on Beacon

Beacon is interesting but probably longer to NYC than the OP wants to go.

[sonno23]

Thanks Stylo for the rundown on some of the music scene. My husband's a jazz musician and plays at places like Birdland and The Blue Note. I"m not sure there are similar places but more importantly, kindred musical folk just to play with.

richrf I had looked into Beacon which does sound ineresting but yes, I think it's too far.

If it was a rehearsal I was driving to, it would be OK but a 10 minute audition, not so good.

Westchester property taxes are so high as well as Nyack's which is why we started thinking about cT. Maybe it's not the best idea at this point.

Thanks again for your thoughts.

[Stylo]

Firehouse 12 has jazz series every season with some formidable artists. Firehouse 12 : Performance Space Calendar

Cafe Nine seems to have jazz occasionally. Bespoke used to, now it's Gilt and I'm not sure. The Owl is more of a blues club.

All are in New Haven.

I also just saw a surprisingly great trio play at Cafe Atlantique in Milford last Friday night. Definitely the best coffee shop music I've heard!

[Stratford, Ct. Resident]

I'm not sure of how "artistic" the people really are in the Silvermine section of Norwalk, but the Silvermine Art Guild located in New Canaan at the Norwalk line seems to be quite an active place.