Location Help...a little lost (Bridgeport, Stamford: relocate, budget, travel)

[Lost4Words]

Hello everyone,

This is my first time posting so please forgive me; I'll do my best to explain. My wife and I and my 9-month old son are looking to relocate. Currently we live in CT near Trumbull. My wife would like to move to NJ preferably in the southern area near PA however I realize this may not be possible.

We both work between Wilton and Norwalk, CT. Now this is the tricky part. Money is an issue so we can't spend Stamford or Greenwich money; more like Norwalk or Bridgeport. What towns are semi affordable, yet not an insane commute between NJ and the Wilton / Norwalk area (our work location?)

If necessary I could take a train assuming the train fair would balance out the cost of gas.

[JayCT]

I can see why you are lost.

Do you realize how far you will need to travel to get from New Jersey (even the northern part) to commute to Connecticut? You do not indicate what area in NJ your wife wants to move to but lets say it is Hackettstown (which is near PA but northern NJ). First there are no trains from NJ to CT (unless you take a train into New York and switch to another train to CT) so you are going to have to drive. It is about 100 miles of travel which without traffic will take you about two hours each way. You will have to drive through one of the worlds largest cities (or its very busy suburbs). You would need to add a lot of time to this in case you hit traffic (and you will hit traffic). I would not recommend this.

Is there a reason your wife wnats to do this??? I can think of a lot closer places (and nicer ones at that) than NJ (no I am not putting NJ down, I lived there and have great friends there). Since you say you have a "Norwalk" budget, have you considered Fairfield? If your budget is more Bridgeport, consider Stratford. Both are great towns with reasonable priced homes (depending on your definition). There are affordable options here in CT. Good luck explaining this to your wife. If she questions this, send her here and we will help her understand. Jay