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At the end of May, I will be starting a job in Wilton, CT. I am relocating from Southeastern North Carolina and I am not at all familiar with Connecticut (I have lived in the Northeast most of my life, but I have never been to Connecticut). I will be moving with my wife and my new daughter (less than one month old). For now at least, my wife will be staying at home so we will only have one income. Basically, our plan is to rent for 6-12 months and then potentially look to buy something assuming we like the job and area.
I would like to keep our rental costs somewhere in the neighborhood of 1500-2000 per month. In our dreams we would love a 3 BR but will certainly settle for a 2 BR. We will definitely consider apartment complexes/condos but would prefer to rent half a duplex or a single family home.
To this point, I have been looking (online) at places in Stamford, Norwalk, and Danbury. Those areas have been recommended to me (especially the first two) by a few of my future coworkers. It seems that finding a place in our budget will be a challenge, but not necessarily impossible.
Any recommendations for other town/cities we should consider or specific areas of Stamford, Norwalk, or Danbury that we should look at would be greatly appreciated. We would ideally like to live somewhere safe, close to amenities, and close to other young families. Schools do not matter to us as this will be a short term rental. I would love to stay close to Wilton but I am willing to commute, especially if we can get more for our money further away.
Thank you in advance for any help you can give me! I am happy to provide any other info if that would help.
Fairfield is another nice option. Norwalk and Stamford have high rents, a nice 3BR at that price point is tough. For more bang for the buck, look at Bethel, Stratford, Shelton, and Milford. There's more activity closer to the coast, and Bethel is a bit sleepy.
Commute is completely doable from any of those. I commuted from Milford to Westport for the past 3 years and it's not bad at all. On bad days there are back roads. My neighbor commutes to Wilton. For value, activity and young families Milford would be my pick. For ease of commute and activity, with a higher price, I'd say Stamford personally. I was never that crazy about Norwalk.
$1500-2000/mth rental in Wilton wont get you much let alone a single family home.. That price gets you a nice 2 or 3BR condo in many other towns though or even a SF house in some areas.. Try Stylo's suggestions or bump the budget up to $2500-3000 to get a decent SF home for you and your family.
Here's a list of availables with craigslist when searching Wilton. Quickly glancing check out the one for $1800. Says 1BR but New Canaan is great and look at the home. (pretty sure its an apartment within)
I have pretty much ruled out actually living in Wilton at this point. Obviously the price is quite high and it seems to me that some of the other areas have more to do for young people.
Stylo, thank you in particular for recommending Fairfield, Shelton, Milford, Stratford, and Bethel. A quick internet search suggests several viable options and the commute from those areas does not seem too bad. Do any of those towns have much of a downtown area with restaurants, bars, etc.?
I have pretty much ruled out actually living in Wilton at this point. Obviously the price is quite high and it seems to me that some of the other areas have more to do for young people.
Stylo, thank you in particular for recommending Fairfield, Shelton, Milford, Stratford, and Bethel. A quick internet search suggests several viable options and the commute from those areas does not seem too bad. Do any of those towns have much of a downtown area with restaurants, bars, etc.?
Milford is the booming city. There's the Post Road there which has every store & resturant imaginable. Might be too long a commute to Wilton and even if its not, you're not close to family in case they need you to come home quick. How about Danbury? Almost every town in SWCT has a "downtown". Some more developed and commercialized than others.
Do Fairfield, Bethel, Shelton, and Stratford have interesting downtowns or are they more residential? I guess ideally we would like a town that has a least a few nice walkable blocks of unique shops, restaurants, and bars.
Do Fairfield, Bethel, Shelton, and Stratford have interesting downtowns or are they more residential? I guess ideally we would like a town that has a least a few nice walkable blocks of unique shops, restaurants, and bars.
From my travels I've seen mostly residential but all have commercial districts with stores/ect.
"walkable" is limiting your search in a sense for a nice safe home and good schools.
Are you aware of the weather change your changing from? Are you around woods now?
I have pretty much ruled out actually living in Wilton at this point. Obviously the price is quite high and it seems to me that some of the other areas have more to do for young people.
Stylo, thank you in particular for recommending Fairfield, Shelton, Milford, Stratford, and Bethel. A quick internet search suggests several viable options and the commute from those areas does not seem too bad. Do any of those towns have much of a downtown area with restaurants, bars, etc.?
Be advised that the commute from Milford and Stratford will not be an easy one on the Merritt Parkway. It's not far in mileage but the actual commute time will be about an hour most afternoons due to traffic.
Your budget will get you something decent in Bethel and Fairfield and I highly recommend you start there. If you don't like what you see and are willing to deal with a longer commute, then expand your search into Milford and Stratford.
Be advised that the commute from Milford and Stratford will not be an easy one on the Merritt Parkway. It's not far in mileage but the actual commute time will be about an hour most afternoons due to traffic.
Your budget will get you something decent in Bethel and Fairfield and I highly recommend you start there. If you don't like what you see and are willing to deal with a longer commute, then expand your search into Milford and Stratford.
The OP may even be able to find a (crappy) house in Ridgefield or Redding at their budget. Check out the William Raveis rental section for what's available.
The commute to Wilton is a cinch, like I said before. Did a similar commute for 3 years. If you see the Merritt backing up, there are empty back roads you can take. I've NEVER had an hour commute in the afternoon. 45 minutes on the absolute worst days. 90% of my commutes are 25-35 minutes.
Fairfield and Milford have the best walkable downtowns out of those. Ridgefield's is nice too, but has a more reserved, mature feel. Bethel's is very nice but a little lacking on restaurants and activity.
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(pretty sure its an apartment within)
