[tempewick]

We are officially moving to CT - hubs has a job in New Haven and I'll be teaching in Colchester. I think Old Lyme/Lyme/Old Saybrook are a good midway point for us to split the commute, stay close to the water, be in a town with great schools, and have things to do. Am I correct? Are the houses very spread out or do those towns have little neighborhoods? Can you recommend any others? We love Guilford and Madison, but think it would be too far for me to drive. House budget is about $600k. Thank you very much!!

[JayCT]

You mention that you love Madison and Guilford but that you do not think you could handle the commute. What length of commute can you handle?

It is about 45 miles from New Haven to Colchester but unfortunately there are no highways in between them. Since the commute into New Haven would have more traffic and as a teacher your commute will likely be less days per year and not on days there are snow, I would consider living a little closer to New Haven than Colchester.

Given your budget I would first consider North Madison meaning Madison north of I-95. Your commute would be about 30 miles or 45 minutes. Is that too much? If it is I would then consider Killingworth which is about 25 miles from Colchester or about 40 minutes. It is also about 25 miles to New Haven but during rush hour it is at least 45 minutes, maybe more.

To be even closer to Colchester, you might then consider living in the Connecticut River Valley. I would start in Chester which is a really cute small town. Your commute would be about 20 miles or 30 minutes. Your spouse’s commute would be about 35 miles but because it is mostly highways (Route 9 to I-95) it is not much longer than a Killingworth commute to New Haven. Other valley towns you might consider are Essex and Deep River. They are a little closer to New Haven but further from Colchester. Again it comes down to how long of a commute you can tolerate verse that of your spouse. Good luck. Jay

[Stylo]

Madison isn’t a bad compromise distance wise. Old Lyme and Old Saybrook are great too, just a bit of a commute to New Haven. Shoreline East train is of course an option for commuting.

All these towns have fairly close knit neighborhoods close to the water. As you go north it gets more spread out. That’s true throughout the CT coast.

[RiskReturn]

Originally Posted by JayCT

You mention that you love Madison and Guilford but that you do not think you could handle the commute. What length of commute can you handle?

It is about 45 miles from New Haven to Colchester but unfortunately there are no highways in between them. Since the commute into New Haven would have more traffic and as a teacher your commute will likely be less days per year and not on days there are snow, I would consider living a little closer to New Haven than Colchester.

Given your budget I would first consider North Madison meaning Madison north of I-95. Your commute would be about 30 miles or 45 minutes. Is that too much? If it is I would then consider Killingworth which is about 25 miles from Colchester or about 40 minutes. It is also about 25 miles to New Haven but during rush hour it is at least 45 minutes, maybe more.

To be even closer to Colchester, you might then consider living in the Connecticut River Valley. I would start in Chester which is a really cute small town. Your commute would be about 20 miles or 30 minutes. Your spouse’s commute would be about 35 miles but because it is mostly highways (Route 9 to I-95) it is not much longer than a Killingworth commute to New Haven. Other valley towns you might consider are Essex and Deep River. They are a little closer to New Haven but further from Colchester. Again it comes down to how long of a commute you can tolerate verse that of your spouse. Good luck. Jay

+1

Also it’s still a good 20-30+ minutes from lymes/OS to colchester vs 35-45 from madison. You’re adding maybe 15 minutes each way on average. Your husband would have a harder adjustment moving east of Madison due to new haven traffic and beach traffic in the summertime.

I guess the question is if what Madison has to offer is worth the extra 30 minutes out of your day.