Fairfield (Stamford, Ridgefield, Wilton: housing, hotel, schools)

[carolyn11]

How is Fairfield to commute to NYC. I heard they are builiding a new train station. Which zip code has the nicer area 06824 for 06825. How are the schools

[Whalehead]

Fairfield station is adding more parking spaces. The crowding on the trains will get worse. Metro North is not adding longer trains with extra cars or more
frequent trains. Not my favorite place to leave for NYC. Commute just about an hour. Lucky to find a seat sometimes, depending on time you depart in the morning.
There are probably better commuting choices. Don't get me wrong, I like my space, hate crowds, and don't like to dash onto the train in search of a good seat (not middle). Other than my personal foibles.....Fairfield is okay. Frankly, unless you are wed to an hour's commute only, look further north to Ridgefield, west to Wilton or even further west to Stamford. My personal favorite is Ridgefield with a 1:20 commute...20 minute drive to Katonah, the 59 minutes to GCT...pretty town, well regarded schools.

[JayCT]

Sorry to disagree with you Whalehead, but they are NOT adding parking to Fairfield station. They are constructing an entirely new station with 1500 parking spaces in the eastern part of town. It will be called Commerce Drive Station because it is located near Commerce Drive and will be part of a large office/retail/hotel complex called Fairfield Metro Center. I do not hink that the station will be opened until 2009 and once it does train schedules will need to be revised to accomodate this new major stop.

That said I will agree that some of the trains do get crowded by the time they get to Fairfield. But alot of seats open up at Stamford so if it standing room only when you get on, you will eventually get a seat for the reainder of the ride into Manhatten.

Ridgefield is a very nice town with a lot going for it, but I believe it can be pricier than Fairfield. One thing that fairfield has that Ridgefield doesn't is beaches. The town maintains four beaches on Long Island Sound for town residents. Plus there is a lake and a couple of river front parks. Very nice.

Fairfield offers a wide range of housing choices from smaller starter home to mansions. It is a very diverse town. Either zip code is fine, however the western half of town is a bit nicer and more expensive than the east. The nicest sections are Southport (which has its own zip code 06890) and Greenfield Hill. Not sure what their zip codes are. Other sections of town are very nice as well. You can't go wrong with any of them. If you are interested in particular neighborhoods or streets in Fairfield and post them, I could let you know which is nicer. Good luck, Jay

[ronson]

You mentioned schools;

Can't beat Fairfield. Can't beat the home prices as well! If money is no object you really can't go too wrong in any part of Fairfield. Try to Live as close to the existing train station as possible. Some areas near commerce drive are as the name implies...industrial so do your reseach before looking in that area but you should do well no matter where you pick. What is your price range?