[Dennis Amoakohene]

Can anyone tell me which of these NY suburbs are the best?

Thanks!

[kd83]

Originally Posted by Dennis Amoakohene

Can anyone tell me which of these NY suburbs are the best?

Thanks!

your definition of suburbs seems a little odd, as stamford and bridgeport are their own small cities with their own business districts and whatnot, but the AREAS around those cities such as stamford = new canaan greenwich, darien, westport...for bridgeport = trumbull, stratford, milford, shelton, monroe...I would not classify danbury as being close enough to NYC (if you are talking about NYC in the first place..you only said NY) for commuting purposes, more for white plains or armonk etc. As for which is best...there goes another problem..what is your definition of "best". For commute to NYC, towns near stamford would be closest and shortest commute to NYC, but bridgeport also has the same trainline, just further up. Towns around stamford are going to be more expensive and "nicer" in some peoples opinions, but towns like Trumbull and Shelton to me are better bang for your buck with more diversity and some very nice neighborhoods. Shelton for instance has the berries. Maybe a little more info on what you are looking for would help.

[Dennis Amoakohene]

Originally Posted by kd83

your definition of suburbs seems a little odd, as stamford and bridgeport are their own small cities with their own business districts and whatnot, but the AREAS around those cities such as stamford = new canaan greenwich, darien, westport...for bridgeport = trumbull, stratford, milford, shelton, monroe...I would not classify danbury as being close enough to NYC (if you are talking about NYC in the first place..you only said NY) for commuting purposes, more for white plains or armonk etc. As for which is best...there goes another problem..what is your definition of "best". For commute to NYC, towns near stamford would be closest and shortest commute to NYC, but bridgeport also has the same trainline, just further up. Towns around stamford are going to be more expensive and "nicer" in some peoples opinions, but towns like Trumbull and Shelton to me are better bang for your buck with more diversity and some very nice neighborhoods. Shelton for instance has the berries. Maybe a little more info on what you are looking for would help.

I'm looking to commute to NYC and have a price range between $200,000 to $600,000. Diversity doesn't matter to me!

[CTnative2]

I agree with much of what the previous poster said.
It depends on where exactly you're going, into NYC, I assume. Then you have to figure out what your budget is plus how much time you can handle commuting. We just sold our house in Stratford, "walking distance to train station" (less than a mile) for 300k; then you're talking about an hour into NYC on the train (NOT drivable due to traffic during rush hour....you'd never be on time and wouldn't make it home before 8 pm).
It was a 60 yr old 1400 sq foot house, plenty workable, nothing truly broken or worn out, just older. Nice, safe neighborhood, decent (if not great) schools.
The same size and age house closer to NYC in, say, Fairfield, would go for at least 450.......Stamford......maybe 600.
If you want bigger/nicer and can handle a commute on the train my suggestion would be to look at Stratford and Milford, still on the train line, but better prices and better schools (I wish we had lived in Milford :-) )

[Dennis Amoakohene]

I'm also looking at Fairfield, but it's from 1 to 1 hour 15 minutes. I'm open to place you guys suggest.

[jdhall1]

Danbury is further than the other options, but many of my clients do it since the cost of housing is considerably more affordable than the lower part of the county. You'll be looking at a 75 minute commute from the Brewster,NY train station which is about 7 minutes away from the western side of Danbury.

You mentioned our price range between $200-600k. At about $200,000, you'll be looking at your starter 1 bedroom 1 bath 900 square foot condo built in the early 1980s. Around $360,000, you get a new or newer (last 5 years), 2 bed 2 1/2 bath condo with 1600 square feet and a 1 car garage. At the $600,000 price level, expect a 4 bedroom 2 1/2 bath with many updates with 2700 square feet on about an acre of land.

[MBinCT]

I'd recommend that you look at Norwalk. We moved here from NYC 5 years ago because the housing prices were (relatively) reasonable and there are 4 Metro North train stations. It's 1 hr (give or take a few minutes) to Grand Central and there are more trains serving South Norwalk than any station other than Stamford. Right now the average selling price for a condo is $300 - $350K; for a house it's $750 - $800K, but there are great family houses in the $450 - $650 range, too. In Stamford and most of the other towns surrounding it, the average home sale prices are at or above $1 Million. If your willing to commute more than an hour by train, then I would recommend Fairfield, Trumbull, Stratford, Milford or the Danbury/Brookfield area. You'll get more house for your money in most of those towns, except Fairfield.