[dazzleman]

It all depends on your budget. The closer you are to New York, the more expensive it will be.

You could try my town, Fairfield. It's closer to New Haven than New York, and there are some condos right near the train station.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by kidyankee764

I wouldn't call the backups on 95 North into New Haven in the morning significant. I have never seen it bumper to bumper. It's slow with volume, but I wouldn't call it real traffic (going 40-45).

Believe me, I know there are backups and they are bumper to bumper. They are not as bad as southbound but they still add time to a commute into New Haven. Maybe with the economy it is not as bad as in past years, but that will change so the OP should be prepared to face them. Jay

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by JayCT

Believe me, I know there are backups and they are bumper to bumper. They are not as bad as southbound but they still add time to a commute into New Haven. Maybe with the economy it is not as bad as in past years, but that will change so the OP should be prepared to face them. Jay

You do bring up a good point about the economy. I've noticed that as the economy is picking up, so is the traffic.

[J&A'sMOM]

Keep in mind if you live in Fairfield NYC commute close to Grand Central can take one hour 40 minutes. I'd think a more half way point would be Stamford. You will be going against traffic driving from Stamford to New Haven but I'm not sure if you'd want to take a 3 year old everyday for that commute. If you aren't buying you might want to also check out Norwalk? Maybe you can find a daycare close to home and who ever gets home first can pick up you son??
Good Luck

[kmbrewer2]

You know I just wrote a post about the new south end of Stamford and all that is happening down there.Its really in its infancy but the apartments at 101 Park Place are great....brand new.They have a shuttle every 10 minutes to the stamford station as part of the deal and you would be half way between NYC and New Haven.Ive seen the units and they are great.There are growing pains to be had down there but definitely worth a look.Google it

[JoeMcCue]

First of all, you can get a rental for that price in coastal Fairfield County. I think the more important questions would be what are you looking to rent exactly and that will give a better idea of if THAT is possible for $2000 a month or not.

NYC-NH2009, you would be right on the edge in Fairfield for the time you are requiring. I would say on a good day, no traffic, you could pull off a 20 - 30 minute commute to New Haven from Fairfield. And the train is about 90 minutes, as said earlier, from there.

Are you local or are you moving here at some point? If you are local, or are here for a weekend to check out the area (this goes for you too kyndcookie) take time actually traveling those distances that would be taken by car during the times you would be travel. A typical 9 to 5 would have you going the opposite way of car commuter traffic to NH from Fairfield for most, but not all -especially when you get close to the city, of the way. And then you have to take into account that working at Yale Hospital (depending on what you do) might have different schedule than a 9 to 5. Which could make it easier or worse depending on when that time actually is. The train is the train, you can go to the metro north website to check out the times it will take to ride the train and then just add time for getting to and from home/office on either end.

My best advise is when you come into the area (if you aren't already here) is to take time when you aren't looking for a place to live to travel the distances at the times you would travel them.

I hope that helps.

[shwee]

Prior to moving to Wilton six years ago, my wife and I lived in Norwalk for 7 years, during which time she commuted into GCT by Metro North from South Norwalk (one hour) and I drove to New Haven (45 minutes). We found Norwalk to pretty much be the ideal home for us at the time (or perfect compromise?).

[coachkecz]

Originally Posted by shwee

Prior to moving to Wilton six years ago, my wife and I lived in Norwalk for 7 years, during which time she commuted into GCT by Metro North from South Norwalk (one hour) and I drove to New Haven (45 minutes). We found Norwalk to pretty much be the ideal home for us at the time (or perfect compromise?).

Agreed. SoNo would be very good as you have a decent train ride into GCT and a reasonable drive to New Haven (going opposite of rush hour traffic). Downtown Stamford is also a great option- some buildings have shuttle service or there are local bus options to get to the train. You could try Springdale section of northern Stamford but the local train spur adds a few minutes both ways and reduces the number of available trains.

East of Norwalk you're going to start adding an extra half hour+ per day in commuting time to GCT. As that gets longer, and the drive to New Haven gets shorter you'll have less time to actually spend together. Maybe that's a good thing for you, I don't know.