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Old 06-24-2015, 07:00 PM
 
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Specifically looking for low priced starter homes that aren't terribly far from NYC and are in relatively safe areas. I figured Connecticut may be an option worth exploring. I know plenty of places in Connecticut are expensive, but I've heard some areas have housing that can be on the lower side.

So what is the lowest price you can spend for a starter home in Connecticut that is relatively close to NYC? Also, are there any places in NJ or NY that may be even better for such a starter home? I know property value taxes in NJ can get nuts and NY in general is just so pricey.
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Old 06-24-2015, 07:07 PM
 
Location: Northern Fairfield Co.
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Yes - you can look in the Danbury area. It would be a less than ideal commute to NYC, but people do do it; and so long as your expectations aren't super high (read: you won't get a big or new house), you can certainly find starter homes in the area. What's your budget?
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Old 06-24-2015, 07:33 PM
 
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Danbury is close to 70 miles from NYC- driving time may be an hour and a half. You could look in the Yorktown Heights area of Westchester County, NY. You might be able to find starter homes slightly under $400,000 with a little over an hour's drive to NYC. Property taxes will be high. What's your price point ?
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Old 06-24-2015, 07:45 PM
 
Location: Connecticut
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What is your budget, what is your definition of a starter home, how important are schools, what type of community (urban, suburban or rural) do you want and how far from New York are you willing to be? The answer to these questions can help us help you find the right town to recommend.

That said the Danbury area might be a good choice. You might also look at cities like Stamford, Norwalk or Bridgeport. Schools in these cities do not necessarily perform the best but they do offer more affordable homes. If schools are important you might consider Fairfield. The Tunxis Hill section is affordable and the new Fairfield Metro Center train station makes commuting to New York somewhat reasonable.

Other towns in the area to look at include Trumbull, Stratford, Shelton or Milford. Jay
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Old 06-24-2015, 07:58 PM
 
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The ONLY option is Stamford here for 1hour commute. A small starter home is high 300s to 400s in a modest area. If you prefer to have no life then certainly consider the other places mentioned.
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Old 06-24-2015, 08:18 PM
 
Location: Connecticut
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I did not see the hour drive to New York in the title. Stamford would be the OP's only option in Connecticut. Maybe Norwalk if you are willing to stretch a bit. But as noted schools i these cities do not perform well. Jay
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Old 06-24-2015, 08:20 PM
 
Location: Northern Fairfield Co.
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If your budget for a starter home is a lot less than $400k, then this is what you could expect for a low $200k range starter home in New Fairfield, CT -- a town which is in the Danbury area -- just north. If your budget is higher, let us know as you can get a lot more house than this one, or you could just look a lot closer to the city. NF is super safe, good schools, but not a whole lot of in-town amenities -- just basics like supermarket/pizza/butcher/bakery/Starbucks, a few restaurants and that sort of thing. You'd have to go to Danbury (about 10 minutes away) for big box stores/shopping. This particular house is located just about as close to the NY border as you can get. Not an "easy" commute to NYC though, unless you're traveling off hours. 25 Ilion Road, New Fairfield, CT For Sale | Trulia.com

Last edited by Lalalally; 06-24-2015 at 08:38 PM..
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Old 06-24-2015, 08:22 PM
 
Location: Northern Fairfield Co.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JayCT View Post
I did not see the hour drive to New York in the title. Stamford would be the OP's only option in Connecticut. Maybe Norwalk if you are willing to stretch a bit. But as noted schools i these cities do not perform well. Jay
Oh I missed the hour's drive part. I just saw "not terribly far." Yeah Danbury area is definitely more than a hour's drive to manhattan.

Edit: side note though: from this particular house, you could literally walk to the shuttle bus stop. Shuttle takes you directly to Metro North. Bus ride from this house to the station is about 10 minutes, and train ride is about 75-80 minutes, depending on which train you catch. Just trying to put into perspective what sort of commute you'd be looking at in Danbury area if you decided not to drive in, but took mass transit instead. It could easily take longer though, if you're not right on the NY border like this house is.

Last edited by Lalalally; 06-24-2015 at 08:54 PM..
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Old 06-24-2015, 09:53 PM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Lalalally View Post
If your budget for a starter home is a lot less than $400k, then this is what you could expect for a low $200k range starter home in New Fairfield, CT -- a town which is in the Danbury area -- just north. If your budget is higher, let us know as you can get a lot more house than this one, or you could just look a lot closer to the city. NF is super safe, good schools, but not a whole lot of in-town amenities -- just basics like supermarket/pizza/butcher/bakery/Starbucks, a few restaurants and that sort of thing. You'd have to go to Danbury (about 10 minutes away) for big box stores/shopping. This particular house is located just about as close to the NY border as you can get. Not an "easy" commute to NYC though, unless you're traveling off hours. 25 Ilion Road, New Fairfield, CT For Sale | Trulia.com
Thanks for this detailed post (also thank you to others as well). As far as budget goes I'm trying to keep it closer to the $200,000 mark. Even lower would be great, but I know that might not be realistic. I haven't read much, if anything, about New Fairfield prior to this thread. I will have to look into it more. Are there any other areas comparably priced?
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Old 06-24-2015, 10:07 PM
 
1,081 posts, read 2,262,368 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Japanfan1986 View Post
Thanks for this detailed post (also thank you to others as well). As far as budget goes I'm trying to keep it closer to the $200,000 mark. Even lower would be great, but I know that might not be realistic. I haven't read much, if anything, about New Fairfield prior to this thread. I will have to look into it more. Are there any other areas comparably priced?
That's not going to happen. Good luck in your search.
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