[NYCzombie]

Hello,

Just a friendly 30 year old zombie from NYC (NY made me dead inside ) looking to buy a house in CT and commute to work in NYC. Please help my souless corpse look for an area within CT on these criterias:

• House price 200k - 350k
• Commute to Grand Central Terminal around 1hour/45mins
• Close to train stop
• Parking at train stop (if not walking distance)
• Schools not too much a priority (no kids yet)
• Safe area

Also what CT fees should I know about?
1. Car property tax?
2. Garbage fees?
3. Parking fees at train stop?
4. If house close to water is insurance higher?
5. Is CT electricity more $ then NY?
6. Living in CT and working in NY how does the tax situate with that?
7. Should I avoid oil heating due to costs?
8. Should I avoid houses with huge land so tax is lower?
9. What train stop has free parking or has available parking? So far Fairfield and Fairfield Metro has free parking? Is there any with no waitlist?
10. For 2 people whats the average utility costs in CT?

So far I've come up with this list #1 being the better match what do you think?
1. Fairfield
2. Stratford
3. Milford
4. Bridgeport (unsafe?)
5. Norwalk (unsafe?)


Thanks for any help!

[Stylo]

IMO the only town that meets that criteria is Milford. It is a 90 minute express train, good schools, train station in town, and plenty of homes in the 200-300 range.

Fairfield is the only other one without school issues, and it's way out of your budget.

I suppose Stratford could work, but the schools don't perform as well as Milford and taxes are higher. Bridgeport schools are plain BAD, and taxes are extremely high. And yes, some neighborhoods are safe (Black Rock, North End), and some not (most of east and central Bridgeport).

You could get a very modest apartment/condo in Norwalk, but the schools are hit or miss, with issues at the high school level.

[kidyankee764]

150-300k limits you to a [very] small condo in a community with decent schools - think 1 bedroom or studio. Up the line a bit, you can afford Stratford and possibly Milford, but if you’re commuting daily into NYC, prepare for a 2 hour commute door to door, each way. It will be a severe drain on quality of life, in my opinion.

Car taxes depend on the town you live in and it’s mil rate. In Stratford, which has a mill rate of 40, you’ll spend $40 for every $1,000 of assessed value on your car. If your car is assessed at $15,000, you’ll pay around $600 a year for that vehicle.

CT’s electricity rates are slightly higher than NY (21 kw/H vs 18 in NY). Not much of a difference, but noticeable.

[Reilly1017]

He said schools not much a priority , no kids

[Lalalally]

If you truly want a house vs. a condo and keep within a 1 hour 45 minute commute to GCT, put Danbury-area towns on your radar also, specifically western Danbury (“Aunt Hack” area) or New Fairfield, which are the easiest commuting areas to The Harlem line in your price budget. You could buy a very nice 3 br updated RR on a nice lot in New Fairfield for that amount. From NF town center (specifically the southwest side of town, i.e. anywhere in the center up to Warwick Rd or west of that, would fit perfectly within your parameters. It’s about a 15 minutes drive to the Brewster station but parking is a *****. Or a 20 minute ride to Southeast, which has ample. Or you could take a shuttle bus to either and not have to worry about parking at all. Train ride itself is around 75-83 minutes, depending on which station you’re embarking from.
It’s not an easy commute, but doable for the really dedicated and committed ones.

I’m personally ok with having to do it a few times a month. Not sure I could do it day in and day out though. I couldn’t even imagine doing it from a similarly far out town on the New Haven line either. It’s draining after awhile

If you’re OK with a condo instead of house, it might open up more options for you though.

[Stylo]

Originally Posted by Lalalally

If you truly want a house vs. a condo and keep within a 1 hour 45 minute commute to GCT, put Danbury-area towns on your radar also, specifically western Danbury (“Aunt Hack” area) or New Fairfield, which are the easiest commuting areas to The Harlem line in your price budget. You could buy a very nice 3 br updated RR on a nice lot in New Fairfield for that amount. From NF town center (specifically the southwest side of town, i.e. anywhere in the center up to Warwick Rd or west of that, would fit perfectly within your parameters. It’s about a 15 minutes drive to the Brewster station but parking is a *****. Or a 20 minute ride to Southeast, which has ample. Or you could take a shuttle bus to either and not have to worry about parking at all. Train ride itself is around 75-83 minutes, depending on which station you’re embarking from.
It’s not an easy commute, but doable for the really dedicated and committed ones.

I’m personally ok with having to do it a few times a month. Not sure I could do it day in and day out though. I couldn’t even imagine doing it from a similarly far out town on the New Haven line either. It’s draining after awhile

If you’re OK with a condo instead of house, it might open up more options for you though.

I do it 3-4 days a week and it’s not a big deal for me. I get a lot done on the train. I make a lot more than I would anywhere else, am saving a ton of money, and have a great house and neighborhood. Everyone is different.

I would never want to live more than 5-10 minutes from the train though, regardless of train ride. Adding a drive with traffic would up the stress amount significantly. I can speak from experience driving to Fairfield Metro. While it’s a slightly faster commute for me, the stress was higher. I’m 1.5 miles to the train in Milford. It’s very low effort and quick to get on the train.

OP, I misread about schools. I still would choose Milford over Stratford if you want the most bang for buck. Would also look at Black Rock area of Bridgeport, but be wary of taxes. If you want to minimize commute and don’t mind a more modest condo, check out Norwalk.

[Lalalally]

Originally Posted by Stylo

I do it 3-4 days a week and it’s not a big deal for me. I get a lot done on the train. I make a lot more than I would anywhere else, am saving a ton of money, and have a great house and neighborhood. Everyone is different.

I would never want to live more than 5-10 minutes from the train though, regardless of train ride. Adding a drive with traffic would up the stress amount significantly. I can speak from experience driving to Fairfield Metro. While it’s a slightly faster commute for me, the stress was higher. I’m 1.5 miles to the train in Milford. It’s very low effort and quick to get on the train.

OP, I misread about schools. I still would choose Milford over Stratford if you want the most bang for buck. Would also look at Black Rock area of Bridgeport, but be wary of taxes. If you want to minimize commute and don’t mind a more modest condo, check out Norwalk.

Car rides don’t bother me at all ... time to listen to music, news, (smoke occasionally for me lol). It’s my time and about 15 minutes (or 10 if I go to Brewster’s at the crack of dawn) if you’re on the closest edge like I am ...
It’s the anywhere from 75-83 minutes on one line at its fastest vs. ~100 minutes + that’s mind boggling to me

No where passed Norwalk on the east end vs no where north of Bedford on the other is a “comfortable” commute. Some people do it though daily I realize

More power to them...

If OP is open to a condo option, it may open more doors for a normal life to him/her

[nico7]

The biggest thing I take away from your question is that you say New York has been sucking your soul away. Why not get a job somewhere else? Life can be better for you, if you make that the priority.

[Stylo]

Originally Posted by Lalalally

Car rides don’t bother me at all ... time to listen to music, news, (smoke occasionally for me lol). It’s my time and about 15 minutes (or 10 if I go to Brewster’s at the crack of dawn) if you’re on the closest edge like I am ...
It’s the anywhere from 75-83 minutes on one line at its fastest vs. ~100 minutes + that’s mind boggling to me

No where passed Norwalk on the east end vs no where north of Bedford on the other is a “comfortable” commute. Some people do it though daily I realize

More power to them...

If OP is open to a condo option, it may open more doors for a normal life to him/her

Where is 100 minutes? That’s the time it takes from New Haven.

Stratford is 85 in morning, 82 on fastest evening train. Milford 87-92. Fairfield Metro with plenty of parking closer to 72-75 and 10-15 minutes from Stratford, about the same from Devon in Milford.

I said the same thing about driving and always preferred it, until I was able to do a mostly carless commute and got used to it. Even the 15 minute drive to FFld Metro was just unnecessary stress.

[Lalalally]

7 of the morning trains out of Milford tomorrow morning rush hour, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday too are in the 100+ minutes range, one way per the MTA schedule. The rest are 90 + something minutes from Milford.
No matter how nice our respective towns may be, they’re both big time sucky commutes to NYC. Milford you get to rot your ass longer on a 100+ minute train ride; New Fairfield you have to drive some and then also rot on the train, but for a little bit less
All in, it’s the same ****ty commute from Milford, Danbury, or New Fairfield.
Sorry.