[mayopac]

Hello....I am considering moving to Hamden, Ct and commuting to NY.....Is the commute really that bad? The price range there seems reasonable for a middle class family.....Or is there another city or town less than an hour and a half from NY that I should consider? And yes, schools are important....
Thanks for any reply.....

[Cacumen667]

Greenwich
Stamford
...both much closer.
And when you say commute, you mean by train, yea?

[mayopac]

By car....will be driving...

[toddb]

Originally Posted by mayopac

By car....will be driving...

If you leave at about 5:30 AM, and return home after 7 PM, then you should be ok. Otherwise, the commute would be miserable. After 6:15 or 6:30 AM, the Merritt and 95 both become borderline parking lots, and it doesnt clear up until after 10 AM. The 20-25 minute drive from Fairfield to Greenwich takes anywhere from 60-90 minutes. The reverse (northbound) starts to get crowded at 3 (earlier on Fridays) and doesnt clear up until after 7. Your best bet would be to take the train - possibly from New Haven - as that would be faster and less wear and tear on you.

[StarlaJane]

I agree re: a miserable commute from Hamden to NYC; it will take you a minimum of 2 hours each way, and it is hell if you are driving (you will also have to pay tolls every day.)
Besides that, Hamden schools are not so great, especially when compared with Fairfield County schools. In fact, everything in Fairfield County is more prestigious and upscale, mostly b/c of the high percentage of business professionals who choose to live there in order to have a feasible commute into the city.
I imagine, then, that your decision is based on economics...? If so, there are affordable options/towns in Fairfield County that will provide you with a reasonable commute as well as a good school system.

[toddb]

Originally Posted by StarlaJane

I agree re: a miserable commute from Hamden to NYC; it will take you a minimum of 2 hours each way, and it is hell if you are driving (you will also have to pay tolls every day.)
Besides that, Hamden schools are not so great, especially when compared with Fairfield County schools. In fact, everything in Fairfield County is more prestigious and upscale, mostly b/c of the high percentage of business professionals who choose to live there in order to have a feasible commute into the city.
I imagine, then, that your decision is based on economics...? If so, there are affordable options/towns in Fairfield County that will provide you with a reasonable commute as well as a good school system.

There's not much in the Ffld County train towns that could be considered affordable for a middle class family, unless you are ok with 1300 sq ft on a small plot of land on a busy street. And even that is expensive. If you don't mind driving 20+ mins to the train before taking a 65+ minute train ride, then you can probably dig something up.

[StarlaJane]

I would try Redding. The commute will be just as bad as from Hamden but the schools are much better.

[JayCT]

Hamden schools generally perform under the state averages on the Connecticut Mastery and Connecticut Academic Performance tests, so if schools are really important you may need to rethink this. Consider Milford. It is much closer to New York and has schools that generally perform better than Hamden's. Even closer would be Fairfield but note the closer you get to NY, the higher the prices get in towns with good schools. The link below will give you information on schools systems in CT. Jay

Strategic School Profiles by District

Strategic School Profiles by School

[kidyankee764]

You can also try Danbury. Redding's home prices will be about double that of Hamden's, though the schools are excellent.

[Rich Lee]

Originally Posted by kidyankee764

You can also try Danbury. Redding's home prices will be about double that of Hamden's, though the schools are excellent.

Actually, based on median price, Redding's is almost triple to that of Hamden: $700,000 vs. $259,000.