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I am considering a job in Rye NY... my wife and I currently live in Southern NJ and when we looked around Westchester County we didnt really like most of the areas that we looked at.
We liked Darien, but fell in love with New Canaan... I have been looking at housing and everything seems high... It seems as though nice houses are $1M but it also seems like fixer-uppers are $1M...
We have 3 small boys - 6 and under...
I have a few questions I was hoping the forum could help me with...
1. Commute - how long would it take to drive from New Canaan to Rye (right over CT line, or White Plains as a reference)?
2. Housing... we are looking for a 4 to 5 bedroom place and I would like to keep it around $1M... am I kidding myself?... it seems like the nice places are double that
3. I was also hoping people could tell me about the town and the people... We live in a great neighborhood now with lots of family and friends and have a great church... The people around town and things to do for my wife and kids is very important...
Any new in the area in their 30's?... how have you found getting along?
Southwestern CT has some of the most expensive and exclusive real estate in the country, so be prepared to spend or sacrifice.
The houses that you're probably looking at as being fixer uppers for $1m are probably between Rt 123 and Mead Park, right? They're priced that way because many of them are very close to the center of town. As you get further out, especially in northern NC, you get a little more land for that.
You'll get a little more house/land for your money in Wilton and especially Ridgefield and Weston, but your commute will be longer.
The commute isn't too bad to Rye from NC, but you do have to go through Stamford so there will be traffic each way.
If I had a budget of 1m, I would personally look into Old Greenwich. Very expensive but your commute will be cut in half, plus it's extremely family friendly.
There were plenty of "handyman"(teardown) houses on the market for well under a million last year that fit your parameters in NC. I'm sure you'll start seeing more similar listings pop up as we get into spring. Your timing is just lousy right now.
The houses that you're probably looking at as being fixer uppers for $1m are probably between Rt 123 and Mead Park, right? They're priced that way because many of them are very close to the center of town. As you get further out, especially in northern NC, you get a little more land for that.
You'll get a little more house/land for your money in Wilton.
Yep. Actually, i never understood the appeal of the Silvermine area of NC. Going just over the line into Wilton will get you a lot more bang for the buck, and the schools are just as good.
Commute is worse from Darien than NC by car as 95 is generally worse through Stamford and back road options are more limited. Darien is also the most expensive option on the table, though not much more than NC.
With traffic, a 20 minute commute would be rare.
Wilton adds maybe 10 minutes to a NC drive, especially if in the southwest part of town. You'll get drastically more house for the money.
If train commute is an option, you could always check out Westport (40-45 min train to Rye). You're going to have to deal with traffic and back roads from any east to west commute, so it might not be a bad option.
In the morning, neither should be too bad. In the afternoon, 95 jams up in Greenwich/Stamford. The Merritt isn't too much better.
Honestly, I would choose house over town. It's a matter of 5-10 minutes and it depends on the day (sunny, rainy, snow, a Tuesday afternoon vs Friday afternoon) - not a huge difference.
What would be the commute during rush hour from...
Darien to Rye?
New Canaan to Rye?
It would be longer to New Cannan obviously because its a bit further north. Anywhere north of the CT state line you'll be a sitting duck on the roads during rush hour. Hope you have some good brakes.
As Kidyankee said, get ready to sacrafice something buying real estate around here. What I would recommend is look in northern Fairfield. This way you avoid the traffic issues and at the same time get more bang for your buck.
Look into areas near Ridgefield. You can take Route 35 across into 684 to 287 into Rye.
Also... being from southern NJ, its going to be a weather change (not drastic) but the hills of CT get slippery and it does snow more than down there. So heads up.
Mapquest says Ridgefield to Rye is 44 minutes. You can probably do it in 35 and that beats taking 30-60 minutes getting to New Canaan as stop and go..
That 684 commute is a great suggestion. Much less traffic than 95/15. Your money will go far in Ridgefield and it's a really nice town. Its town center has a similar charm to New Canaan.
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