[OrangeCountyCalifornia]

I want to the northeast, where I grew up. My final decision is somewhere in CT. However, I dont know how much CT changed over the years. So, I want to move in a city that has a downtown with restaurants and local shopping, as well as big box stores such as Best Buy. I need at least 3-4 bedrooms with 2-3 bathrooms and the highest I can spend is 1.5-2.2 million. Also, is CT like Orange County? Do you get $$ easily? Finally, I like to be able to walk around the city and looking for a city with at least 250-300k (are there cities even that big?) I have a dog to walk also. Thanks for your feedback.

PS: is traffic in CT anything like "the 405" or "the 101?" I drive on freeways a lot.

[BPt111]

Originally Posted by OrangeCountyCalifornia

I want to the northeast, where I grew up. My final decision is somewhere in CT. However, I dont know how much CT changed over the years. So, I want to move in a city that has a downtown with restaurants and local shopping, as well as big box stores such as Best Buy. I need at least 3-4 bedrooms with 2-3 bathrooms and the highest I can soend is 1.5 million. Also, is CT like Orange County? Do you get $$ easily? Finally, I like to be able to walk around the city and looking for a city with at least 250-300k (are there cities even that big?) I have a dog to walk also. Thanks for your feedback.

PS: is traffic in CT anything like "the 405" or "the 101?" I drive on freeways a lot.

Two Most Populated Cities in CT are under 150,000 resident while largest cities are Bridgeport and New Haven they are kinda small but not that small around 16-17 square miles. Unfortunately you won't really get that big city feel in CT. CT is nothing is like nothing Orange County..... Traffic on 1-95 in Norwalk/Stamford area is bad in morning and evening rush hour.

Stamford area would fit and it 30 min drive to Manhattan

[mlassoff]

Originally Posted by OrangeCountyCalifornia

Do you get $$ easily?

I have to earn mine. Don't know about others.

[Stylo]

Sounds fishy.

[OrangeCountyCalifornia]

Originally Posted by BPt111

Two Most Populated Cities in CT are under 150,000 resident while largest cities are Bridgeport and New Haven they are kinda small but not that small around 16-17 square miles. Unfortunately you won't really get that big city feel in CT. CT is nothing is like nothing Orange County.....

Stamford area would fit and it 30 min drive to Manhattan

Woah that is it, 150k. I expected bigger. Also, CT is Eastern Standard Time, right?

[BPt111]

Originally Posted by OrangeCountyCalifornia

Woah that is it, 150k. I expected bigger. Also, CT is Eastern Standard Time, right?

Yea

[Stylo]

1.5MM+ budget and you don't have a plan to make money, let alone know what timezone the eastern seaboard is?

[OrangeCountyCalifornia]

I don't know, I lived in CA for 20+ years and left the east coast in the dust. Also, I plan on making money, I am being priced out of Orange County and reconsidering the state I grew up in.

[JayCT]

One thing you need to understand is that cities in Connecticut are not big in area. Hartford is about 17 square miles and is the heart of a metropolitain area of over 1 million people. New Haven itself is only 19 square miles with under 130,000 residents, yet its metropolitan area is about 800,000. Surrounding each of these cities are smaller fiercly independent towns that serve as suburbs to the major city. It is very common for people that work in a city to live in one of these towns and commute to work.

Given what you are looking for, it sounds like lower Fairfield County may be to your liking. Consider towns like Stamford, Greenwich, Darien or New Canaan. With the budget you have, you can easily find a nice place to live there. Still this is also one of the most expensive parts of the country so if you feel you are being priced out of Orange County, you may have the same feeling in Fairfield County.

Other options you may want to think about are living in or near New Haven or Hartford. Both are nice small cities with a lot to do and a more easy lifestyle (less crowded, less expensive, less traffic, etc.). Your money will go very far in or near these cities. Jay

[mrgmrg]

It's a bit hard to give you any advice based on the info you've given us. There are no cities approaching the size you mention. In CT, expect small urban cores that are (in the case of Hartford and Bridgeport at least) not desirable places to live surrounded by extremely suburban areas, with not much in between. Do you have children/care about schools? Will you be working? What do you mean by easy to get money? It's not easy to get money here, in terms of jobs. CT's economy isn't great, frankly--its unemployment rate is consistently higher than the national average. Plus, we have a highly educated workforce that makes the job market pretty competitive.