[pramre]

Hey everyone!

We are planning on purchasing a home this year(5bed, 3bath) and CT is a possibility since it is closer to our family in New Hampshire and Boston. We checked out neighborhoods in Greenwich(Riverside, mid country) and the Noroton Heights section of Darien. Wife loves towns that have the New England look and feel, so either one works for a house. Our budget for mortgage+property taxes is 6500/month. My wife will stay at home to look after the kids, so it is just me commuting for work(Grand Central) say 5 days a week post COVID.

In your opinion, which of these options is less of a hassle in terms of driving to train/parking/getting a seat in the train in the morning/driving back home ? Assumption is that I’ll park in the daily spots until I get a permit in either town.

Option A) Drive to main Greenwich station, take express train.

Option B) Drive to Noroton Heights and take trains that go express after Stamford.

My goal is to find a reliable routine and minimize commute time as second priority.

[riffwraith]

Originally Posted by pramre

...CT is a possibility since it is closer to our family in New Hampshire and Boston. We checked out neighborhoods in Greenwich(Riverside, mid country) and the Noroton Heights section of Darien.

Bear in mind, that GWich is a 6hr+ round trip to/from Boston. That's w/o traffic.

Originally Posted by pramre

Our budget for mortgage+property taxes is 6500/month.

So, you are looking in the 2M range? Depends on how much you put down, tho. That's doable, in terms of finding something.


You didn't say where you are commuting to - NYC? Tho it wasn't commuting, I have taken the train from GWich > NYC a few times years ago. Wasn't a bad ride. Can't speak about the Noroton Heights trip, tho.


Good luck.

[CTartist]

Originally Posted by pramre

Hey everyone!

We are planning on purchasing a home this year(5bed, 3bath) and CT is a possibility since it is closer to our family in New Hampshire and Boston. We checked out neighborhoods in Greenwich(Riverside, mid country) and the Noroton Heights section of Darien. Wife loves towns that have the New England look and feel, so either one works for a house. Our budget for mortgage+property taxes is 6500/month. My wife will stay at home to look after the kids, so it is just me commuting for work say 5 days a week post COVID.

In your opinion, which of these options is less of a hassle in terms of driving to train/parking/getting a seat in the train in the morning/driving back home ? Assumption is that I’ll park in the daily spots until I get a permit in either town.

Option A) Drive to main Greenwich station, take express train.

Option B) Drive to Noroton Heights and take trains that go express after Stamford.

My goal is to find a reliable routine and minimize commute time as second priority.

I was born and raised in Stamford but I now live Trumbull for 22 years. When I lived in Stamford I would take trains out of Stamford of course but also the main Greenwich station (near exit 3 of I-95) and Noroton. Years ago Noroton was the easiest and less hectic IMO. There just seems to be a lot less traffic around the Noroton station. Maybe this can help. There is a website called advance CT and you can see how many people take the trains into Manhattan from the different CT towns. Connecticut Town Profiles by CTData Collaborative

Greenwich residents commuting to Manhattan 3,672.
Population of Greenwich 57,011 in 2020

Darien residents commuting to Manhattan 1,337
Population of Darien 20,159 in 2020
(item of note: New Canaan that is north of Darien has two train stations so you don't have to worry about them going out of the Darien stations)

"My wife will stay at home to look after the kids"
I have/had relatives in both Greenwich on my dads side and my moms family was from Noroton. Actually I also have a few relatives on my dads side still in Noroton too. My vote is for Noroton.

[pramre]

Originally Posted by riffwraith

Bear in mind, that GWich is a 6hr+ round trip to/from Boston. That's w/o traffic.




So, you are looking in the 2M range? Depends on how much you put down, tho. That's doable, in terms of finding something.


You didn't say where you are commuting to - NYC? Tho it wasn't commuting, I have taken the train from GWich > NYC a few times years ago. Wasn't a bad ride. Can't speak about the Noroton Heights trip, tho.


Good luck.

Added Grand central as the commute destination to clarify - it is in the thread title. Trips to Boston will be on weekends, a few times a year. 6 hour round trip is much better than 10 hour round trip from New Jersey.

There are houses in the 1.5-1.7M range(higher side in Greenwich obviously) that sold in the craze last year. So hoping to find something in that range with a 20%+ down payment. We will compromise on the square footage if necessary to get good location - minimizing the commute effort is the highest priority.

How was your experience with parking and getting a seat on the train at Greenwich?

[riffwraith]

Originally Posted by pramre

it is in the thread title.

D'oh! Didn't see that.

Originally Posted by pramre

6 hour round trip is much better than 10 hour round trip from New Jersey.

I hear that!

Originally Posted by pramre

How was your experience with parking and getting a seat on the train at Greenwich?

Two times was morning rush hour from CT > GC. I remember parking wasn't an issue, but I remember standing. Returned mid-afternoon.

The other few times CT > GC was mid-afternoon. Got a seat then, as you can imagine.

Bear in mind, I have not done that in about 8 or so years.

Cheers.

[pramre]

Originally Posted by CTartist

I was born and raised in Stamford but I now live Trumbull for 22 years. When I lived in Stamford I would take trains out of Stamford of course but also the main Greenwich station (near exit 3 of I-95) and Noroton. Years ago Noroton was the easiest and less hectic IMO. There just seems to be a lot less traffic around the Noroton station. Maybe this can help. There is a website called advance CT and you can see how many people take the trains into Manhattan from the different CT towns. Connecticut Town Profiles by CTData Collaborative

Greenwich residents commuting to Manhattan 3,672.
Population of Greenwich 57,011 in 2020

Darien residents commuting to Manhattan 1,337
Population of Darien 20,159 in 2020
(item of note: New Canaan that is north of Darien has two train stations so you don't have to worry about them going out of the Darien stations)

"My wife will stay at home to look after the kids"
I have/had relatives in both Greenwich on my dads side and my moms family was from Noroton. Actually I also have a few relatives on my dads side still in Noroton too. My vote is for Noroton.

Thanks artist. On paper, commute from Greenwich main station is 20-25 minutes less. Are there any factors I am overlooking that make Noroton a better option? We drove from the ferry lot near Bruce Museum to Mianus area and it was a windy two lane road. Does it get congested during rush hours and cause delays? Sorry for the specific questions. It is hard to get a picture of pre COVID situation without having done the drive/commute.

[SteveM85]

Originally Posted by pramre

Thanks artist. On paper, commute from Greenwich main station is 20-25 minutes less. Are there any factors I am overlooking that make Noroton a better option? We drove from the ferry lot near Bruce Museum to Mianus area and it was a windy two lane road. Does it get congested during rush hours and cause delays? Sorry for the specific questions. It is hard to get a picture of pre COVID situation without having done the drive/commute.

I don't see a 25 min variance. Greenwich is closer obviously but Noroton Heights is just 2 stops away (excluding Old Greenwich). Greenwich, Stamford then Nor H. 25 more minutes could possibly be Westport/Fairfield stations.
Both are tremendous. You couldn't go wrong if you tried. It's impossible. That's not an exaggeration, it's a fact. They're THAT great!

[CTartist]

Originally Posted by pramre

Thanks artist. On paper, commute from Greenwich main station is 20-25 minutes less. Are there any factors I am overlooking that make Noroton a better option? We drove from the ferry lot near Bruce Museum to Mianus area and it was a windy two lane road. Does it get congested during rush hours and cause delays? Sorry for the specific questions. It is hard to get a picture of pre COVID situation without having done the drive/commute.

I actually had a job right on River Road at a marina. I also had a job* in Byram (western Greenwich) near I-95. It gets hectic over there. Here is what is going on. Greenwich itself is a center for jobs and Stamford is a big one. There are actually people that make a commute from Westchester into Stamford/Greenwich for work. Greenwich and Stamford in and around I-95 and the train stations are very busy.

*Just to explain I was a freelance graphic artist & illustrator and we tend to have many jobs.....sometimes two or three at a time. I am now a Music Therapist.

Here is the reverse information so you can get an idea of what I am referring to.

Commuting into Greenwich
Greenwich, CT 6,623
Stamford, CT 5,689
Norwalk, CT 2,178
Manhattan, NY 1520
Rye, NY 1,271 Rye, NY 460
Bridgeport, CT 82
(all of these people are getting off I-95 near the train stations and you would have to navigate around that traffic to the stations)

Commuters Into Darien
Stamford, CT 1,539
Norwalk, CT 1,373
Darien, CT 987
Bridgeport, CT 353
Fairfield, CT 352
Greenwich, CT 234

From Greenwich to Stratford through Fairfield County in and around the I-95/Metro North corridor Noroton/Darien is the most serene, pleasant and the most like a New England town. When my husband and I would go into Manhattan when we lived in Stamford we would go out of Darien because it was just a pleasant experience.

[pramre]

Originally Posted by SteveM85

I don't see a 25 min variance. Greenwich is closer obviously but Noroton Heights is just 2 stops away (excluding Old Greenwich). Greenwich, Stamford then Nor H. 25 more minutes could possibly be Westport/Fairfield stations.
Both are tremendous. You couldn't go wrong if you tried. It's impossible. That's not an exaggeration, it's a fact. They're THAT great!

My numbers are off by a bit - more like a 15 minute difference based on this old schedule. Things could change post COVID of course. http://web.mta.info/mnr/html/plannin...ED_EDITION.pdf

The time difference is small enough that train to house distance could make them equal depending on the specific house we manage to find.

[Vetgirl2014]

A lot of this will depend on where you live in Greenwich and in Darien. I have a friend who lives in northwest Greenwich who actually finds it faster to drive to white plains and train from there than go to the Greenwich station. And if you live in north Darien the traffic to get to the station and pack can be rough also. Obviously the train from Greenwich is faster so I think you have to decide where you guys want to live (in town vs more space, large lots vs small lots) and all that to determine which town would be right for you.