[PaTransplant823]

Originally Posted by Stylo

Then unless you have a shuttle to your office, you'll be faced with a bad car commute from cheaper points north and east. You may want to try and push your budget a little and live in Norwalk.

I actually do have a shuttle directly to my office (NBC)

[Bluderby]

You may also want to check out some towns in Westchester county NY. You can take the train to Stamford (and find some apartments in your price range) in Portchester, Mamaroneck, and Harrison.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by Danny K

Well Bridgeport is probably affordable with your budget, but its not a really nice place. Its a major city and its one of the worst cities in CT, I sometimes debate if Bridgeport or Waterbury is the worst city in CT. With your budget, Try Trumbull first. It is more expensive, but its closer to Stamford. Its true that the commute is not long in miles, but you would be commuting with traffic flow so it will take longer then you think. You can also try Darien although its a little lower class, its much closer to Stamford. If Trumbull and Darien don't work for you, you can go to Stratford which is what others recommend, or if you want a little quieter place and don't mind being kind of on the inland, try Shelton. Shelton is a great town although not as upper class, and for amenities, you might end up going to either Fairfield or Milford, but Shelton is affordable and a little quieter than Stratford.

And also if you don't mind rural areas, try New Canaan, Weston, Wilton, or Easton. They are just off the Merritt Pkwy which runs parallel with I-95, and it would be a pretty easy commute down to Stamford. But those towns are pretty rural, so consider the ones I said above first unless you want rural areas.

Your statements on Darien really make me wonder if you know anything about Connecticut. Darien is one of the nicest and most desirable suburbs in the country. People pay a premium to live there. If it wasn't so nice they would not do that.

Also I would not really call New Canaan and Wilton rural. Both have a more suburan feel. Wilton has a lot of shopping along Route 7 and New Canaan has a quant downtown area with lots of stores. Not sure what you are talking about. Jay

[Wilton2ParkAve]

Originally Posted by JayCT

Your statements on Darien really make me wonder if you know anything about Connecticut. Darien is one of the nicest and most desirable suburbs in the country. People pay a premium to live there. If it wasn't so nice they would not do that.

Also I would not really call New Canaan and Wilton rural. Both have a more suburan feel. Wilton has a lot of shopping along Route 7 and New Canaan has a quant downtown area with lots of stores. Not sure what you are talking about. Jay

Off of Route 7, Wilton is very rural with essentially 2 acre zoning throughout town, lots of open space that can't be developed and only 2 stoplights (technically none if you strip out Routes 7 and 33).

Happy to post satellite images of NC and Wilton which reinforce this concept. Weston and Redding look similar on satellite images--- A contrast with Fairfield, Trumbull, Milford Glastonbury will reveal a pretty obvious suburban/rural dividing line.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by Wilton2ParkAve

Off of Route 7, Wilton is very rural with essentially 2 acre zoning throughout town, lots of open space that can't be developed and only 2 stoplights (technically none if you strip out Routes 7 and 33).

Happy to post satellite images of NC and Wilton which reinforce this concept. Weston and Redding look similar on satellite images--- A contrast with Fairfield, Trumbull, Milford Glastonbury will reveal a pretty obvious suburban/rural dividing line.

True but someone driving through Wilton would think anyone would be nuts calling it rural when there is so much right in town. That is one of the great things about Wilton, there is so much right in town but yet the residential areas are pretty low density. Rural is a town that has little or no commercial development. Easton and Weston would be good examples of rural towns but I would never include Wilton or New Canaan. Jay

[PaTransplant823]

Thanks for all the help! I found a brand new place in SoNo and will be moving in a few days.

Any advice on what bars/restaurants/ other things to do that I should check out on a regular basis?

[DrPizza]

Originally Posted by PaTransplant823

Thanks for all the help! I found a brand new place in SoNo and will be moving in a few days.

Any advice on what bars/restaurants/ other things to do that I should check out on a regular basis?

O'Neills

[Stylo]

Ginger Man is my go to. Barcelona is nice too. The Loft is sometimes ok. Not in love with the other bars in SoNo. O'Neill's is good for your cover band fix.