[DamsConnecticut]

Good morning to all,

We are French and currently living in Paris. My wife is 31 years old and I’m 32 and we have no children yet. We’re planning to relocate to CT in October.
I’m going to work at Wilton and my wife does not get a job yet.

We are very exciting about this opportunity to discover new people, a new place and a new lifestyle

We are starting to look at a great place to start.
Following our first research (mostly on the web and especially on this forum) we are looking at Stamford or perhaps at Norwalk or at Westport or another city we didn't thought about!
I think that we will start renting a 2 bedrooms apartment or (if exist) single house. Our budget for rental is around USD 1500-2300

We are taking care of :
- time to commute to Wilton (Anyone ever drive from Stamford/Norwalk/Westport to Wilton during rush hour?)
- quality of life
- being in town centre and not in the country (to start
- the best place to become integrated and to meet people

In your opinion, where is the best place to start our American life? As we’ve never been in CT (neither in other US states) all opinions are welcome

Damien and Emilie

[Aibutiej]

Parts of Norwalk are right next to Wilton so you might be able to commute on back streets and not worry about rush hour. Of course, those parts of Norwalk are not in the town center, but I find Norwalk to be the kind of place where you can get to what you want (restaurants, shopping, movies, services, etc.) within 5 - 15 minutes by car no matter where you are. The way the housing market is, there are indeed some houses for rent, but I don't know what they are going for. I've never been to Paris but I venture to guess this whole area (especially Wilton) will feel like the country to you. :-)

[skytrekker]

Your rental budget at about $2000 a month would go far in Norwalk, less in Westport, also consider Fairfield.

[DamsConnecticut]

Thanks for these helpfull answers.

When we arrive we will have 3 weeks to look for somewhere to live. We will first consider Norwalk and Stamford.
Greenweech is too far from Wilton? Too hard to commute?

[Stratford, Ct. Resident]

Originally Posted by DamsConnecticut

Thanks for these helpfull answers.

When we arrive we will have 3 weeks to look for somewhere to live. We will first consider Norwalk and Stamford.
Greenweech is too far from Wilton? Too hard to commute?

Greenwich will be too hard on your wallet.

[seymourct]

Wilton is not really known for aparment living, if you have your heart set on an apartment, Wilton might be tough although there likely are going to be some rentals available.

Wilton is in Fairfield County, the rush hour traffic is much heavier going west (we call it southbound) in the mornings, and east (we call it northbound) in the evening. So if you live west of (south of Wilton) your commute would be less intense than the bumper to bumper driving we all put up with on I95 and the Merritt Pkwy.

[Rich Lee]

DamsConnecticut,

This should help you with regards to the location of towns in Fairfield County:

http://www.cerc.com/fairfield.html

Bonne chance!

Rich

[DamsConnecticut]

Ok, thanks for your help!

So we abandon Greenwich to preserve our wallet ;-).

We are not focused on apartment as a single house would also be great but we think it will be easier to start in a condo.....in south of Wilton to avoid southbound and northbound.
Do you have an idea of the time to commute between Wilton and Stamford at rushhour?

Thanks

[andthentherewere3]

Hi,

Welcome to Connecticut! However, I don't think you will find a condo rental in your price range in Wilton. Wilton is also very expensive. I think you would have better luck finding something in your price range in Norwalk or Fairfield. You might try craigslist.com, and search for apartment rentals to get a sense of price ranges by town. Unfortunately, Fairfield County with it's close proximity to NYC is pricey.

[DamsConnecticut]

Hi andthentherewere3,

after more detailed research I think you're right. The price for a 2 bedrooms in Stamford seems more around 2500 USD. We will have to increase our rental budget!