[BlackRocker]

Live in Black Rock if you can find a place and just take 1 instead of 95. West Haven? Cmon, that's way too far.

[CTartist]

Originally Posted by itchyforehead

I will be transferring offices from Ohio to Westport in Spring of 19 and I am looking for apartments an hour or less away from Westport for under $1,000. So far I have found some in Bridgeport, Branford, West Haven, Waterbury, New Haven, Wallingford, and Old Saybrook that are in my price range. I am not familiar with any of those areas and I want to learn a bit more about quality of life in each of them.

I have tried to do my own research but I'm finding a lot of biased posts from people who seemed to have had one or two negative experiences in a city and I don't want that to taint my perception. I've had a couple of negative experiences in my current city but would consider it relatively safe for its size. I have also heard people comment on how terrible Bridgeport is but none of those comments elaborated on why they felt that way. I guess what I'm looking for is someone to breakdown each of those places in an unbiased manner to help me narrow down my decision of where to look. Right now I am leaning towards Branford because it looks nice and I have yet to see complaints about it.

If it helps, I am 24 and will be moving alone. I don't care about the bar scene so the town I live in doesn't have to be "happening" at night, but some activities or being near some activities would be great. My main concern though is living in a decent city that is relatively safe, affordable, and not too far from Westport.

I have a suggestion for you. I live in Trumbull and go down to the Norwalk/Westport area a few days a week and it's not a bad commute. Your price range is pretty hard in this area. Trumbull now lets it's residents have in-law/accessory apartments on their houses. If you keep looking on craigslist you might be able to find one. Trumbull is a very safe nice town north of Bridgeport.

https://newyork.craigslist.org/fct/a...759844021.html

https://newyork.craigslist.org/fct/a...758415333.html

Here are a few and they go fast. You have to keep looking every day for these little apartments in Trumbull.

Branford is a great town but far from Westport. Here is a heads up. If CT puts tolls on I-95 and the Merritt Parkway it will probably eat up a good chuck of the money you would save on the apartment.

[Siberiaboy]

Originally Posted by Sri

I'm not aware of any FB groups, unfortunately. If you really don't mind commuting close to an hour each way I would check out New Haven (I know east rock and areas around Yale are nice, but I'm sure others are much better versed than I with the neighborhoods in New Haven). You may be able to save some money on rent and budget it towards transportation as well.

I know you mentioned that you aren't too concerned with nightlife/social scenes, but New Haven probably has the most to offer for 20-somethings in CT.

Also, as Stylo mentioned, you should consider how far your work is from the Westport train station. You'll likely have to uber if it's outside of walking distance and that'll add up real fast. There are commuter shuttles but I'm not sure what the fares and routes look like.

edit:
https://www.norwalktransit.com/westport/

https://static1.squarespace.com/stat...s+New+Logo.pdf


seems like the routes cover a lot of ground and there may be door-door service as well (probably at an additional cost).

What about the quirky idea of seeking monthly car parking, walk distance from the train station in Westport to drive to work from the train, and living in a small place near the train station in Stratford? So you would walk to train, take train to Westport, get your car to work. End of day, drive to Westport train, then take train home.

Then on Friday nights you can drive home to have your car for the weekend for weekends you want to drive around. Doing this might trim your car insurance premium and gas, yet you’ll keep your engine going for the little driving each work day.

Another idea is set up a car pool from the Westport train station with fellow employees. Then only on days you are doing the pickups, you’ll face the traffic so the other days you don’t have to.

[Stylo]

Originally Posted by Siberiaboy

What about the quirky idea of seeking monthly car parking, walk distance from the train station in Westport to drive to work from the train, and living in a small place near the train station in Stratford? So you would walk to train, take train to Westport, get your car to work. End of day, drive to Westport train, then take train home.

Then on Friday nights you can drive home to have your car for the weekend for weekends you want to drive around. Doing this might trim your car insurance premium and gas, yet you’ll keep your engine going for the little driving each work day.

Another idea is set up a car pool from the Westport train station with fellow employees. Then only on days you are doing the pickups, you’ll face the traffic so the other days you don’t have to.

That’s a lot of hassle for little benefit. Stratford to Westport is NOT a bad car commute. Full stop. Stamford would be a different story.

[CTartist]

Originally Posted by Stylo

Stratford to Westport is NOT a bad car commute. Full stop. Stamford would be a different story.

The heavy traffic doesn't really start until you hit exit 44 (Fairfield) on the Parkway and around 23/24 (Fairfield also) on the I-95. You can get off in Fairfield and take back roads to Westport on the days the traffic is really bad. It would not be a bad commute at all.

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by CTartist

The heavy traffic doesn't really start until you hit exit 44 (Fairfield) on the Parkway and around 23/24 (Fairfield also) on the I-95. You can get off in Fairfield and take back roads to Westport on the days the traffic is really bad. It would not be a bad commute at all.

A lot of times, those back roads take just as long. Granted, it’s more satisfying if you’re constantly moving instead of stop and go.

[CTartist]

Originally Posted by kidyankee764

A lot of times, those back roads take just as long. Granted, it’s more satisfying if you’re constantly moving instead of stop and go.

The traffic is so bad now that when things back up on the Parkway it faster to take the back roads. I go down to Norwalk 2 days a week from Trumbull so I am doing the commute right now.

[JimG2]

Unless you are getting a 30% raise to cover the cost of living in SW CT, stay in OH

[AK-Cathy]

Pay heed and stay close. I-95 can get backed up for miles anywhere along it's length at both predictable and totally random times of day or day of the week. Even the little roads can get completely jammed up during commute times. Unless you are working overnight or oddball shifts I'd go for something reasonable within a 5, maybe 10 mile radius of your job. Pay particular attention to staying on the same side of major water crossings as your workplace. Those bridges see tons of traffic and are bottlenecks. Think the opening scene from Office Space.

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by AK-Cathy

Pay heed and stay close. I-95 can get backed up for miles anywhere along it's length at both predictable and totally random times of day or day of the week. Even the little roads can get completely jammed up during commute times. Unless you are working overnight or oddball shifts I'd go for something reasonable within a 5, maybe 10 mile radius of your job. Pay particular attention to staying on the same side of major water crossings as your workplace. Those bridges see tons of traffic and are bottlenecks. Think the opening scene from Office Space.

Staying on the same side of water crossings is an excellent recommendation. That’s true for both greater Hartford and New Haven. If you can avoid those bottlenecks and are traveling during off hours, you’ll be good.