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I am looking to move to an area around Port Chester, but not fixed on it - anything around that area is OK, e.g. Stamford or basically anything in Westchester, NY and Fairfield, CT. My preference is a town as it's important for me to have a train station and/or bus stations near by (meaning < 2 miles), but again open to suggestions.
I chose Port Chester and/or Stamford as they seem to be a bit cheaper - I'm looking for a small condo up to $150K, which I guess cannot be expected in other towns - please correct me if I'm wrong. Do you have any suggestions, especially if you've lived in some of these areas recently or live there now?
Another thing - given this general area, which are the places to avoid? I'm willing to hear both the towns and particular areas within the towns. Avoid as in unsafe (crime-wise - e.g. robberies or any general issues within the community) or unhealthy (e.g. too much noise, traffic, construction-active area, heavy industries, etc.).
I heard that the coops on Westchester Avenue are good, and that its a good area of Port Chester to be in. However, this is what I heard, it will be great if other members of the forum that know the area well to chime in.
We just looked at a new condo on westchester ave in port chester (for my sister and fiance). His family is from scarsdale to white plains area. His family has mixed reviews on the area. Yes there are alot of hispanics in the area but in general , we didn't think it seemed bad. The commute is excellent. We thought the area closest to to the train station seemed to be the worst , not that it was horrible . The further away from the water you went , the nicer it seemed to be. We also looked at a home in the area. I would not have an issue with my sister walking to and from the train station on a regular basis. Not to mention, great food, great shopping. You can get by without a car. I would also like to hear from some who live there though, and i can pass it on to her. (she still has to sell her co op in white plains first)..
I like the area in general - not that I looked too much, but a few places I saw were nice. However, I am just worried I went to all the good ones and luckily missed the bad neighborhoods.
@cincur63
Very nice info, thanks! Great to know you are generally OK with the area. I went there several times and from what I saw it was pretty OK, but again it's very important to see how it looks on the long run. Being there for a week and being there for a year is completely different...
Hope someone will add more info that could help you, too - and best luck in your search!
@jdhall1
I don't think I would have anything against Danbury! Have you been living there (or live there now)? If you did/do, would you mind sharing your experiences? Especially things how long you lived there and when, what kind of property (house/condo/co-op), rent/owner, did you have any issues that you would like to highlight, etc. I think that would mean a lot to me and hopefully others looking into the area.
I like the area in general - not that I looked too much, but a few places I saw were nice. However, I am just worried I went to all the good ones and luckily missed the bad neighborhoods.
@cincur63
Very nice info, thanks! Great to know you are generally OK with the area. I went there several times and from what I saw it was pretty OK, but again it's very important to see how it looks on the long run. Being there for a week and being there for a year is completely different...
Hope someone will add more info that could help you, too - and best luck in your search!
@jdhall1
I don't think I would have anything against Danbury! Have you been living there (or live there now)? If you did/do, would you mind sharing your experiences? Especially things how long you lived there and when, what kind of property (house/condo/co-op), rent/owner, did you have any issues that you would like to highlight, etc. I think that would mean a lot to me and hopefully others looking into the area.
danbury has direct trains to westchester via connection in norwalk and stamford the transfers are timed though. easy to reach westchester sadly train service in danbury is infrequent
danbury has direct trains to westchester via connection in norwalk and stamford the transfers are timed though. easy to reach westchester sadly train service in danbury is infrequent
However, if you drive a little over the state line into Brewster, NY you'll have more frequent train service on a different Metro North line.
Location: Danbury CT covering all of Fairfield County
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I am a Realtor. I have lived in Danbury all of my life (27 years) & own a small simple condo. In your price range, you can get a pretty good smaller 1/2 bedroom condo about 850 square feet, most likely single story ranch style built in the mid 1980s. Most units in your price range are towards Candlewood Lake, Pembroke Road or Shelter Rock Road (exit 8) area, with a few in the Mill Plain/West Danbury corridor.
One thing a lot of people don't know about Danbury is that it is a large city. It has about 85,000 people and growing. There are several amenties in town that most cities of its size don't have, like a 750 acre public park, large hospital that is being expanded about every 3-5 years, top 25 public golf course, 2 state university campus, and numberous large employers (Cartus, Boehringer Ingelheim, GE Capitial, Scholastic Publishing,etc etc).
There a few negatives that to living in Danbury. The biggest complain I hear from people is over devolpment, since Danbury has gotten considerable spillover growth from Westchester. Another negative is that there are some areas in town that need some improvement near the center of town, whereas much the overlying areas in town has gotten the growth. There might be a little too much shopping & businesses located in town so there is some traffic, but those businesses get jobs locally & help keep taxes down on average about 70% less than most of Westchester,NY.
Diversity is a recurring theme in town, in terms of economics & housing options. There are neighborhoods with million dollar homes & others with apartment houses (2-5 units), luxury apartment complexs, large middle class single family homes (about 1700 square feet on 1/2 acre lots), numberous condo & luxury townhome communites and areas along Candlewood Lake that were former summer cottages to NYers which over time became converted into year around residences. There is big box shopping & restaurants (Walmart, Best Buy, Stop & Shop, Chillis, Applebees, etc) in the Federal & Newtown Road areas, and as you get closer to town you 'the hole in the wall' shops & restaurants, primarly family owned. There are some small ethic shops & restaurants selling & serving food from all over the world. The Aunt Hack & Mill Plain Area along the NY line has always been the most high end part of town, in terms of housing prices, restuarants & shopping (the Danbury Mall is in that area). Basically, Danbury tries its best to accomdate everyone. I can understand why some people can refer to it as 'hodge podge city', but that is what its it an interesting, non stagant place to live.
Many people take the train out of Brewster or Brewster/Southeast. It is about a 10 minute drive from almost anywhere in town. There are 3 lanes in each direction on I-84. There are a couple park & ride lots with shuttle service to the train stations, such you won't have to deal with parking.
Location: Danbury CT covering all of Fairfield County
2,636 posts, read 7,432,146 times
Reputation: 1378
Also, Danbury does regularly rank as one of the safest cities in the country of its size, according to FBI stats. I have never had a problem with crime, and there isn't anywhere in town that I would think twice about going after dark. The town opened up a new police about 2.5 years ago that is twice as large as the one built in the 1970s, since the city has more than doubled since 1970.
There are a few light industrial areas, but they are relativly removed from residential areas.
Thanks a lot for a very nice overview of Danbury! Really helpful to me and I hope others that stumble upon. I guess money buys you exactly appropriately to what you have What you said seems interesting, I'll definitively look into it.
It's a beautiful area in general, though from what I've seen going a couple of times to Danbury itself did not impress me. I saw a lot of multi-homed houses, many of them ruined completely, but then again I was there for a few hours - I might be completely wrong.
The taxes thing is one of the biggest motivators for me - it's saves a lot. The biggest thing I'm concerned with is distance. I'd have to drive for 2h each day - not a small thing (and there's no railroad to my workplace - that would be much better). Yes, it's 84 + 684, and you are in White Plains. There's Trader Joe on a positive note!
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