[Nick_City]

New to the boards!

My wife and I will be repatriating to the US after working in Shanghai for a year. I've secured a job in East Hartford and my wife has yet to find a job and is looking for one now. My wife is contemplating working near/in NYC and will be looking for jobs in the engineering consulting/financial area.

I've spent a good deal of time trying to figure out a reasonable place to live so that our commutes are not too ridiculous. Currently we're used to a good 1:00-1:30 commute by subway/bus here in Shanghai. I am willing to sacrifice a longer commute so that my wife can go a little easier. Realizing that its not necessary to work inside NYC to find the type of job she is looking for (Stamford and the outlying should have plenty of similar jobs), where would a good location to live? I'm sure that the best bet would be along the east shoreline train, New Haven? From what I can tell a train from New Haven to Grand Central is a good 1.5 hours so unless she was in Stamford, New Haven seems like too long of a ride to NYC.

I should say that we are willing to sacrifice and suffer for a year or two in order to put our careers first, we've put up with some heavy (and tiring) commutes here in Shanghai for awhile however we'd like to take it a bit easier back in the US.

We're in our late twenties, no children and busy/body folks.
After living in Shanghai it will take some time to slow down and try to figure out where all the people went. Thankfully NYC there for us to give us a dose of the crowded and noisy environment we've become accustomed to here in Shanghai. Not that its necessary, however, are there some crowded areas outside of NYC, say in Stamford, that have high rise apartment complexes and the like?

Glad I found these forums, figuring out a good place to live without knowing an area well is tough.

Best,

Nick

[skytrekker]

Nick; Welcome back from hectic Shanghai!

Finding a place to live which is equal distance to both East Hartford and lower FF County/Stamford might include, Hamden, North Haven, Monroe, Milford, Cheshire, Wallingford and Southbury among others. The commute from these towns from both East Hartford and the Stamford area will be anywhere from 45-75 minutes, with North Haven, Wallingford and Hamden being closer to East Hartford (the 45 minute commute to E. Hartford; 65 minutes plus commute to Stamford) While Cheshire, Monroe, Milford and Southbury being closer to Stamford a 45-60 minute commute.
These times by the way are by auto under average driving conditions. If living near the shore one could take metro north into Stamford.

The 'practicality' of living in a central location to East Hartford and Stamford is obviously doable; however the commute scenario may prove to be rather hectic and strung out geographically for both of you.

Greater Hartford is a bit less frenetic then lower Fairfield county. The traffic is less intense, and the region has a separate identity not tied to New York City. Good luck!

[JayCT]

Nick City - Welcome to Connecticut. When you say your wife is in the consulting engineering/financail profession, I am not sure what that means. I will tell you that there are a number of consulting engineering firms in the state. Many of the larger firms have offices here in CT and most of those are in the Hartford area. She should consider trying to find work there and really simplfy your lives. I love the fact that my job is 1 mile from home and my wife work rarely takes her out of greater Hartford. It helps to minimize our commuting times and allows us more time with our children.

Since you are in East Hartford, I would recommend Glastonbury. It is a great town with a lot of housing options and excellent schools. There are many family activiites and excellent restaurants and shops. Let me know if you have any questions. Jay

[jadedSOUL83]

What if she looked for jobs in Boston? You could live 40 minutes east of hartford to make your commute still easy and that way she could commute to Boston each day which would be much easier than an NYC commute in my opinion. Then again if her job HAS to be in NYC then theres nothing you can do, but financial institutions and engineering consultants do pretty well in Boston I'm sure. Plus anywhere 20 or 30 miles east of Hartford is a pretty nice quiet place to live with low traffic and such.

[jreich210]

Some highly regarded towns halfway:

Trumbull
Monroe
Shelton
Oxford
Easton
Orange
Milford
Danbury and greater area (Bethel, Brookfield, Newtown, New Fairfield, Redding, Ridgefield)

Anything east of Milford and north of New Fairfield will be a rough commute to NYC.

[jells1026]

Welcome back to the US!

I just wanted to add my two cents. I live in New Haven and I commute to Norwalk (two towns North from Stamford) and my typical commute during rush hour is an hour and a half. Sometimes it's two hours...with lighter traffic it's under an hour.....on average conditions it's a 40 minute drive but traffic is pretty horrendous south of Bridgeport.

MetroNorth is also a viable option but unless you live close to a train station I've found that it can be a bit of a pain.

I have a friend that commutes from New Haven to Hartford and it takes him about 40 minutes which isn't bad at all.

The post suggesting you live in between East Hartford and Boston isn't an awful idea either....still could get a bit harrowing but just as viable as a commute to NYC. Your best bet honestly might be to have your wife find a job in central Connecticut closer to your position...it would really improve your quality of life.

Good Luck!