[slimjimjones]

I'm sure you guys get a lot of these posts, but bear with me. I have a job offer in Norwalk, CT that I'm considering. I will be flying out there in early Feb to see the place first hand. I have two middle-school aged children, and will be enrolling them in public schools. Wife stays at home currently. We have two cars and are accustomed to driving everywhere. I have a series of questions.

1. I really like the idea of having access to NYC on the weekends for leisure/entertainment. I grew up in NYC (Brooklyn) back in the 70's-80's. I've never used the MTA going from CT to NYC. What's it like? Is it reliable? Does it run frequently on weekends? Does it run late? Can you park your car at the station overnight?

2. After some Google searches, it seems that Darien and Westport would be ideal because the MTA services them, and they're adjacent to Norwalk. What are these towns like? Would Stamford be too far away? I'm not sure what the traffic situation would be like going W -> E. I would need to be at work by 7:30am, so I'd like to minimize my commute.

3. Away from the coast, I'm also considering Weston and Trumbull. Does mass transit serve those areas?

4. Our housing budget is variable, but I'd like to keep it between $700-900k. With that budget in mind, are there places I'm not considering that would fit us better?

5. I enjoy being outdoors (running, biking, etc). Are there a lot of trails and paths for public use? What are the beaches like in these areas? I hear they're rocky.

6. Is there anything I should know about life in Western CT that I may not have considered?

Thanks, folks. I appreciate it.

[FairfieldCountyPal]

Congrats on your job offer! Where are you moving from - that might help us all understand what you are looking for. With a job in Norwalk you have lots of options: Westport, Weston, Wilton, Fairfield, even Norwalk! The towns on the Metro North train line have more expensive homes because of the easier commute but Weston and Wilton have great schools and use the shoreline town train stations to get to NYC.

Leaving for your job that early will definitely help on I-95 or the Merritt but there will still be lots of traffic. Maybe a 30 minute commute from Fairfield; a little longer from Trumbull.

Visit the MTA site to see schedules... Metro-North - Schedules, Tickets, rail | MTA

Best of luck to you!

[MrGompers]

The best piece of general advice I would give a new person to CT is to STAY OUT OF ALL OF CT's CITIES if your children are going to attend public school. There can be exceptions like anything, but the amount of research that would require isn't worth the time. Websites that rank schools are not always accurate and they especially do not take into account the social aspects that kids face in school(s).

Then again if you have enough money you can send your kids to private school and live in any CT city you want.

Your housing budget is good for the towns you're looking into. I would assume your salary is commensurate as you're going to need to make bank to live in those towns year after year.

Traffic in South west CT and especially the tri-state area of NJ/NY/CT rivals anything you would experience in Chicago (even when the Cubbies are playing at home).

[EUPL]

Originally Posted by MrGompers

The best piece of general advice I would give a new person to CT is to STAY OUT OF ALL OF CT's CITIES if your children are going to attend public school. There can be exceptions like anything, but the amount of research that would require isn't worth the time. Websites that rank schools are not always accurate and they especially do not take into account the social aspects that kids face in school(s).

Then again if you have enough money you can send your kids to private school and live in any CT city you want.

Your housing budget is good for the towns you're looking into. I would assume your salary is commensurate as you're going to need to make bank to live in those towns year after year.

That is very inaccurate.


CT voted best public schools, 5th in nation
On Course


https://www.greenwichsentinel.com/20...g-nominations/


Top 100 Connecticut High Schools in 2016, Plus National...

[bicape]

1. Yes the Metro-North is prominent in southwestern CT with frequent service on weekdays and weekends. Typically during weekday rush hour there are at least 4 trains an hour to grand central and during weekends there are about 2 an hour until late at night where it's usually just 1 train an hour. The MTA considers late by being over 6 minutes late to the arrival of the terminus station. A lot of the time you'll find that the train may arrive a couple minutes late to intermediate stations yet can still make the 6-minute cut off before being a statistical late train.

2. Darien and Westport are adjacent to Norwalk. Greenwich, Stamford, Darien, Norwalk, Westport, and Fairfield are all coastal towns that are parallel to each other each (in that order from west to east) having at least 2 MTA stations in each town that run to either New Haven or Grand Central. Commuting by train is ideal due to the horrific traffic on I-95 and the Merritt Parkway, the only two north/south(technically east/west) highways that service the area.

3. Weston and Trumbull do not have metro-north stations. Typically Weston residents frequent Westport stations and Trumbull residents use either Bridgeport or Fairfield.

4. With that budget look into West Norwalk and North Stamford. I'm still a college student so you can rule me out on the real estate knowledge.

5. The beaches aren't as rocky as you'd think. It's not the finest sand in the world but in my opinion they are still easy to walk on barefoot. There are also plenty of parks in the area with walking paths.

6. I've got nothing off the top of my head

[andthentherewere3]

I would agree that the public schools in Stamford and Norwalk perform lower than their surrounding suburbs. My older kids attended school in Norwalk for a few years and we did not care for it at all. A friend of mine is a teacher there and she says it just continues to get worse. That said, certainly many students manage to get a good education there despite the issues urban students face. It really comes down to just how good a school system the OP is looking for. Websites like Schooldigger compare school systems through test scores/class size etc. as opposed to personal reviews like Greatschools. The OP will quickly learn that posters here never agree on what constitutes good schools in CT....

Connecticut State Cities - CT City School Rankings

Another reason we weren't delighted with the Stamford/Norwalk area was the density, and lack of open space. The OP is looking for trails and hiking, and we weren't pleased with what those cities had to offer in that respect. And yes, the beaches there are more rocky than ocean-side beaches, and our waves are also smaller.

In addition to the towns mentioned so far I'll throw in Fairfield. Great schools, along the shoreline, access to the train, parks, shopping, dining, etc.

[Raider111]

Heavy commuting traffic happens E to W in the mornings, opposite in the evenings. Forget Trumbull, you may as well be on Venus. I'm on the western edge of Fairfield and it can take 1/2 hour or more to the Merritt 7 complex (11ish miles) in Norwalk going backroads through Westport. Normally should take 10-15 mins on I95.
Stamford would be a reverse commute, but you might as well just be in Norwalk since the schools are about the same, not as ranked highly as the wealthier towns. The upstate woodspeople and the wealthy people will tell you they are the worst schools in the world, others will say they are happy with them. (Soon enough on here there will be a back and forth debate on school anectodals).
All towns have train stations with easy access to NYC for pleasure purposes.

This is a congested area, especially closer to the coast, no getting around it, Fairfield included, having said that, I have a beautiful hiking trail through pristine woods practically in my backyard - right near 95, the Post Rd and the Coast. There is no shortage of that and I can rattle off a myriad of places for that in Stamford-Norwalk as well as the bordering towns.

Personally, Westport and East Norwalk would have been our first choice if we had your budget. But very happy in Fairfield as the commute still worked in our favor.

[peanut24]

Just some advice from a fellow Chicagoan who moved out here 7 years ago. Just keep In mind that everything cost more out here then back in the Chicago burbs. Houses, food, gas, everything. When your looking for a house try to find one that has a heating system that uses gas and not heating oil (though this year oil is low but it's the first in my 7yrs here it's been like that) I have two children and we spent our first 3 years in Ridgefield but it just was not for us. We are now in Trumbull and could not be happier. Public schools are not first on people's lists in Stamford or Norwalk. Wilton,Fairfield,Westport, Ridgefield pretty much any of the other towns have desired public schools. You will find sooo much to do in outdoor recreational activities out here. You can go hiking in a Forrest almost moutianous terrain and then drive 10 min and be at the beach. Hope some of this helps
Ps...if your a Chicago sports fan stock up on merchandise before you leave!!

[RunD1987]

I will say Norwalk is one of the better public school systems in the state out of the CT cities. Stamford would be better, but Norwalk is a close 2nd. I like Norwalk better than Stamford. However, think more crime in Norwalk than Stamford. I mean if your looking into Darien or Westport going to have a hard time finding a house under $500K.

As far as hiking not to familiar with that part of the shore. Know not too far in NY is Pound Ridge and they are building a bike trail in the Trumbull area. Friend bikes a lot on it.

CT is not the most bike friendly place. Lot of bikers, but not going on a closed path it's all back roads. Cannondale and Thule are in CT. There is a growth of Century races and forgot the name the time bike races, do one in Naugatuck or use to. Lots of mountain bike places and race's. CT has about 5 to 6 marathons. About 3 Ultra Marathons. They have a marathon swim in Bridgeport area. Greenwich has some swim races and so does Madison. Also a good number of Tri's and believe only 1 full Tri in the state now.

There is at least 2 to 3 indoor climbing places outside of the YMCAs or local gyms. A few rock climbing and ice climbing places in the state.

Also have places to ski.

So area is big for people into the outdoors.

The beaches not fond of them in CT. Overcrowded, polluted, and muddy.

Also four baseball teams in the state. A AHL hockey team. A lacrosse team and WNBA team.

[kidyankee764]

With your budget, you're on the low end of housing for many of the area communities. You may want to look into Wilton and Ridgefield, which are a bit more affordable than Westport, Darien and New Canaan, and they are also served by Metro North's Danbury line which heads into Norwalk. I'm not sure why the previous poster said to avoid public schools - the suburbs here have some of the highest performing public schools in the nation.

I also agree with another poster who stated your COL will go up. My neighbor is from the Chicago area and they moved here 5 or 6 years ago. They still talk about experiencing sticker shock. Just about everything in CT will be higher than in IL. Make sure your new salary will account for that.