[LG1981]

Good Morning!

My family and I are relocating to CT from the Greater Boston area. My husband accepted a position in Greenwich (we can't afford Greenwich) and are looking for an affordable town within an hour or so of commuting distance. I would also like an area that is more diverse with lots of activities for my children (7,3, and 2). I was looking at Stratford (I am a REALTOR in MA) and it seems to be a good compromise with very affordable homes. I do not want to be house poor and although we can afford much higher purchase price, I want to stay 300K or under for 3 bedroom and there seems to be a lot of inventory in Stratford within this price range but wanted to get the local experts thoughts on what are some pros and cons living in Stratford.

Since this is going to be fast move and I have three children to get into schools, I will not be working for a few months which is also why I want to stay within budget and be very conservative living off of just one income. Once I get back into the corporate world (not going to continue real estate) and we have two incomes and have lived in CT for a year or two, I am will be more comfortable upgrading so we are seeing Stratford as our "starter" CT town.

I appreciate everyone's help!

[NewJeffCT]

Welcome to Connecticut

You're coming from the Boston area and expect to pay $300K for a 3 bedroom home?

If your husband's job is near a train station, I would recommend Milford over Stratford. The schools in Stratford do not perform well in terms of test scores and the availability of advanced classes at higher levels. Milford schools perform better overall.

If you could up your budget a bit, I would recommend Trumbull - good schools, nice town and if you do get a job, you would likely be fine staying in town.

[Mike 75]

That's an awful commute from Stratford to Greenwich. Even worse from Milford. Driving will be an hour plus each way, every day. The train is better, but parking is limited, so you'll have to get to the station early before the daily spots fill up (multi year wait list for parking passes). The closer you are to Greenwich the better. The commutes in this part of the state are rough.

Why not rent for a year, especially if you can ultimately afford more than $300k? And perhaps get closer to Greenwich.

[Raider111]

Commute will be horrendous and over 1 hour but it is what it is for $300K. Good friend in Stratford turned down an administrative public school position in Norwalk paying $30K more than current position in Bridgeport, for that reason alone, the commute.
Stratford is solid nice town on the direct train line so that would be an advantage. Very little and minimal difference from Milford. Bordering Trumbull and Shelton are also cheap alternatives with 300K homes but not on the train line.
I agree with Mike about renting closer first.

[Cambium]

Originally Posted by LG1981

My family and I are relocating to CT from the Greater Boston area. My husband accepted a position in Greenwich (we can't afford Greenwich) and are looking for an affordable town within an hour or so of commuting distance.

It took me an hour to get to Greenwich from Wilton this morning.

[xo_kizzy_xo]

My husband recently accepted a job in Norwalk. He's renting a 1BR apartment in Norwalk, not far from his office.

He'd heard horror stories about the commuting times down that way and didn't want to have any part of it, even if he could've found a less expensive apartment in the general radius.

We don't have children so I can't help you with the school situation.

[BPt111]

Originally Posted by LG1981

Good Morning!

My family and I are relocating to CT from the Greater Boston area. My husband accepted a position in Greenwich (we can't afford Greenwich) and are looking for an affordable town within an hour or so of commuting distance. I would also like an area that is more diverse with lots of activities for my children (7,3, and 2). I was looking at Stratford (I am a REALTOR in MA) and it seems to be a good compromise with very affordable homes. I do not want to be house poor and although we can afford much higher purchase price, I want to stay 300K or under for 3 bedroom and there seems to be a lot of inventory in Stratford within this price range but wanted to get the local experts thoughts on what are some pros and cons living in Stratford.

Since this is going to be fast move and I have three children to get into schools, I will not be working for a few months which is also why I want to stay within budget and be very conservative living off of just one income. Once I get back into the corporate world (not going to continue real estate) and we have two incomes and have lived in CT for a year or two, I am will be more comfortable upgrading so we are seeing Stratford as our "starter" CT town.

I appreciate everyone's help!

Welcome to Connecticut !


Greenwich indeed is very expensive due to closer location to New York City and other factors. Stratford is solid middle class town in eastern edge of Fairfield County it is more affordable than Stamford area towns. Schools in Stratford would be average not the best the town is diverse with some activities for young children. I don't think you would find 3 bedrooms with aleast 2 bathrooms for 300k or under in Stratford you may want to bring your budget to 350k-380k range. My best bet is rent in Norwalk since Norwalk is 20 mins away from Greenwich. Greenwich to Stratford commute by car would be bad commute during rush hour it may take you up to 1 hour 45 mins to 2 hours to get home or By train is 1 hour commute from Greenwich you may have to get off at Stamford to pick up Greenwich train at certain times.

[allanny13]

I would up your budget enough to get into Fairfield, even if it means a lifestyle change. Assuming your husband avoids driving (which would be a nightmare as others have mentioned), the rail commute is still not ideal. As a point of anecdotal evidence, I have worked in Greenwich for the past 5 years at different employers and have never met a coworker who lives that far out.

[LG1981]

Thanks everyone for your responses. Renting was going to be our first option but with three very active and rambunctious boys and a dog, finding something that is suitable seems to be difficult to find. The homes I did see for rent that would possibly work for us would be almost double what we would pay in a mortgage (even with the high CT taxes).

I will look into Fairfield and up our budget. Are the commutes just as bad if we look in the north west part of FFC like New Fairfield?

Thanks again for everyone input.

[Raider111]

Originally Posted by LG1981

Thanks everyone for your responses. Renting was going to be our first option but with three very active and rambunctious boys and a dog, finding something that is suitable seems to be difficult to find. The homes I did see for rent that would possibly work for us would be almost double what we would pay in a mortgage (even with the high CT taxes).

I will look into Fairfield and up our budget. Are the commutes just as bad if we look in the north west part of FFC like New Fairfield?

Thanks again for everyone input.

There's a regular lady on here who I believe commutes to Greenwich from NF.

Fyi, Fairfield budget will need to go over 400K or else you get a small dumpy old money pit in a crappier part of town where renovations don't add much value. Commute will still be over 1 hour and horrible.