[mlassoff]

And I couldn't be more excited. After lots of research I have narrowed my choices down to the Valley and New Haven County. I grew up in Trumbull and Westport and after many, many years in Austin, Texas I have decided its high time to be home. I am seeing loads of affordable rentals in Craigslist and since I am lucky enough to travel for a living, I don't have to commute-- except a few early morning trips to the airport and non-rush hour trips back from the airport.

So my question to Connecticut people who travel very frequently-- Do you prefer to drive in to the city for better options out of LGA and JFK or go up to BDL for the convenience? Do the parking fees eat your lunch? Any one use the train / airport express bus combo? Love to hear your experiences & I can't wait to move!

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by mlassoff

And I couldn't be more excited. After lots of research I have narrowed my choices down to the Valley and New Haven County. I grew up in Trumbull and Westport and after many, many years in Austin, Texas I have decided its high time to be home. I am seeing loads of affordable rentals in Craigslist and since I am lucky enough to travel for a living, I don't have to commute-- except a few early morning trips to the airport and non-rush hour trips back from the airport.

So my question to Connecticut people who travel very frequently-- Do you prefer to drive in to the city for better options out of LGA and JFK or go up to BDL for the convenience? Do the parking fees eat your lunch? Any one use the train / airport express bus combo? Love to hear your experiences & I can't wait to move!

I live in the southern part of the Valley and try to use Westchester County Airport for domestic flights (mostly to FL). It's a straight shot down the Merritt - about 40 minutes from Shelton going a little above the speed limit.

Bradley is smaller, less congested and easier - but many of the flights to and from are a little more expensive (though Southwest has many great deals at BDL). If you do JFK or LGA, factor in traffic, tolls, etc. to get from JFK. Never did make the trek using mass transit to CT but it can't be easy (Airtrain to the subway to Grand Central to Metro North?). At that point I would think it would be easier to rent a car.

As for living in the Valley - Shelton has really boomed in recent years. It's a nice town with good schools, and is diverse. Have you narrowed it down a specific town in the Valley?

[mlassoff]

Originally Posted by kidyankee764

Have you narrowed it down a specific town in the Valley?

Not really. Looking at Nawgy due to the inexpensive housing and the train station...

[Beeker2211]

"Never did make the trek using mass transit to CT but it can't be easy (Airtrain to the subway to Grand Central to Metro North?)."

It's a lot easier than that sounds at first, very streamlined and commuter friendly. I did it last year to JFK, could not have been easier and stress-free.

~Cheers

[mlassoff]

When I was in college I used to take the Airport Express Bus from LGA to Grand Central and then take Metro North to Westport. Got me from LGA to Westport for less than $20 (at the time) in less than 2 hours.

[laulob]

I travel for business from Oxford and definitely prefer BDL to going into the city. I only use Kennedy or LGA if I absolutely have to. BDL is so "user friendly" I barely ever have traffic issues and the parking is much less expensive than in NY.

[uconn99]

Bradley is smaller, less congested and easier - but many of the flights to and from are a little more expensive (though Southwest has many great deals at BDL).

Do you mean BDL is smaller than Westchester? Westchester (HPN) is about 6x smaller than BDL. Not only does BDL offer more flights to more destinations and more airlines, BDL handled over 6,000,000 passengers to HPN's just under 2,000,000 in 2008.

HPN has service to about 15 cities while BDL has service to around 40.

Anyways, IMO BDL is about the best choice for anyone in Connecticut except far southwestern Connecticut, and that is debatable.


You can make the connection from Metro North to either Newark, LaGuardia, or JFK but it takes anywhere from 1-3 hours depending on where you are coming from.

I sometimes fly into JFK because I prefer jetBlue. I fly into JFK and take the AirTrain to Jamaica Station. From there you take the Long Island Railroad into Penn Station. From Penn you would then take the subway (you could take a cab for about $10) to Grand Central. From Grand Central you would then take Metro North into Connecticut.

Another option is to take the Subway from Jamaica station directly into Penn or Grand Central but this adds a good amount of time.

Yet another option is to take Amtrak from Penn Station. While this is the fastest option, it is also the most expensive. You can take Amtrak directly to Newark airport without any connections besides the airtrain @ the airport station. You can also take New Jersey transit from Penn Station to the EWR station as well.

Stick with BDL unless you want to fly jetBlue. If Westchester fits where you are flying to fly from there if needed. Westchester does have a decent amount of Florida flights which is what really got the airport off the ground 10 or so years ago.