[Nithya]

Hi All,

I am about to get a job in New York. My husband works in Hartford CT. We would like to move to a place which is center for both New York and Hartford so that we could share equal travel time. Please provide me inputs regarding which city in connecticut is of equal distance to New York and Hartford, possible train routes and travel time. Your help would be highly appreciated.

Thanks,
Nithya.

[jdhall1]

The Danbury area is about the equal distance to NYC and Hartford. The nearest train station is in Brewster,NY which is a 10 minute drive from the west side of Danbury. It is about an 80 minute trip each way to Grand Central Station in NYC. There is no train going to Hartford, so he would have to drive. It would a 60 minute drive on I-84 (main east-west highway.

[JayCT]

A good half way point between Hartford and New York City would be Fairfield. It is about 70 minutes by train into Grand Central and about an hour drive into downtown Hartford. Of course we would need more information about the type of town you are looking for but Fairfield is a great upscale town with alot of offer most people. They have great beaches and parks. The schools and libraries are great and there is a wonderful downtown with a lotof shops, restaurants and a small locally run movie theater. House price are more reasonable in Fairfield than most towns closer to NY and taxees are pretty reasonable. There will be a new train station built on the east side of town that will provide 1500 additional parking spaces for commuters, so the east side is being discovered as a more affordable alternative to the Center and Southport.

If you want a more urban setting, Bridgeport appears to be up and coming as well. There are a lot of beautiful old buildings being renovated into apartments and condos in downtown plus ther are a lot of new restaurants and shops coming in.

If you have any questions, I would be happy to answer them for you. Jay

[Nithya]

Thanks Jay..
My concern is we both depend only on public transportation. As you have mentioned Hartford is an hour drive from Fairfield, do we have any public transport available?

[Homewood]

New Haven or its surrounding area (possible Milford). I am a home inspector who had a client who now commutes to New York. The train into New York is about 2 hrs- Milford would be less(1 1/2 hour ?). Hartford would be about an hour drive. Inside news is maybe they are going to setup a train depot in North Haven (been talk for sometime now) so your husband could possible in the future take the train into Hartford.

Any place south of Milford would be closer for you but your husband's commute would be longer drive.


Hope this helps.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by Nithya

Thanks Jay..
My concern is we both depend only on public transportation. As you have mentioned Hartford is an hour drive from Fairfield, do we have any public transport available?

Nithya - Unfortunately there is little public transportation into Hartford. Amtrak has a couple of trains from New Haven to Springfield each day but they are few and expensive. There are plans for a commuter rail service between Springfield and New Haven with stops in Hartford, but that is years away from reality.

If your husband can not drive to Hartford, then you have to consider what his trip would be like. Check Amtrak for trains between New Haven and Hartford. You could also check CT Transit for bus service. I do not know about buses between different towns and Hartford. Another option would be for your husband to check Rideshare which sets people up with vanpools. A friend commuted from Stratford to East Hartford used them for three years and said it worked out great. Good luck, Jay

[Nithya]

Thanks Jay..
Your information was really useful.

[tom701]

Hi Nithya,
I'm in the same shoes. Where did you end up settling? Any advice?

[surfsnowgirl]

I live in California but lived in Fairfield, Connecticut my entire life. My family is still there. I'm not sure where you are moving from but if you guys lived in Fairfield, dirving to Hartford would not be a big deal. I was recently visiting my family there and drove up from Fairfield to Hartford in the morning in prime rush hour and it was the easiest drive ever. I live in LA now and we have traffic here like I've never seen before in my life. Also, I spent the day in hartford and then headed to a suburb a couple of towns over in prime rush hour and it took me less than 10 minutes; oh my gosh, in LA that would have taken me an hour. I do agree that mass transit into Hartford is limited so your husband will have to drive but in my opinion it will be an easy drive. I would definietly recommend for you to take train into the city (New York) as opposed to driving. Fairfield is a great town and i agree that anything south of that gets very expensive, unless you are talking about Bridgeport which in my opinion isn't very nice, I'm a fairfield girl Fairfield's area by the train station is just darling. That's awesome on moving to CT, you will LOVE it.

[BETSRNC58]

The first year we were married, I worked in NYC and my husband worked outside Hartford. We lived in Hamden that year and I took Metro North (the train) in every day from New Haven. I loved it!