[daombr]

I am considering buying a house in North Stamford and I am looking for your thoughts on the commute time and experince that we will be looking at if we were to go through with this. I work in Midtown Manhattan and my wife is a teacher in Mount Vernon NY (lower Westchester).

I can easily see the commute times for the train from Stamford down to Midtown, but I am looking for some color on what the commute from N. Stamford to the train station is like in the mornings. How long is the ride? Is parking affordable and relatively easy to find? What would be your guess of the total travel time to Manhattan?

As for my wife's commute, how long is the ride down on the Merrit to Mt. Vernon in the mornings? Is it a zoo on that parkway with nothing but bumpers in sight?

Thanks in advance for your comments.

[Kristin85]

Commute time in the morning from N. Stamford to the train station is a piece of cake--about 15-25 minutes long depending on where you're located; you'll hit stop lights if you go down High Ridge Rd. but there isn't much backup. You may get there in 10-15 minutes by taking back roads. Going home from the train station to N. Stamford is terrible. Many people who commute to Stamford get on the Merritt to go home and sometimes you'll sit in 30 minutes of traffic to get from downtown Stamford to N. Stamford. However, this is during rush hour and I'm sure if you leave work in Manhattan between 5 and 6 PM that this problem won't affect you. There are parking garages at the train station but they are pretty expensive.

I am not familiar with traffic southbound on the Merritt leaving Connecticut.

[7 Wishes]

I actually do the reverse (2 days/week); commute from Mt. Vernon to north Stamford as does my wife (for teaching related jobs). Takes us about 20-30 minutes (I actually commute to the Bridgeport area the other 3 days, that takes about 45-50 minutes). There will probably be more traffic in your direction, but it also depends on the school hours. I tend to have a lot of assignments that are 7-something AM to 2-something PM, so I hit no traffic at all. However, my wife's hours are generally 8:45-3:30 or so and she tends to see a little more traffic.

I realize direction matters somewhat but I hope that helps.

[daombr]

I will be leaving Manhattan closer to 7pm so I probably won't have an issue. Do you guys think my wife's commute will be about an hour? I am really concerned about that because we want to move in order to have a better quality of life in general and a long commute for her will be an issue.

Also, we don't have kids as yet but we plan on having kids in the future. I am getting mixed info regarding schools in the area. My wife is a teacher and I work in finance, but I am all over the education debate since I am a sponsor of an education related charity and I try to stay current. I am of the opinion that my school district doesn't have to be the best in the world for my kid to succeed, but it shouldn't be the worst. Thoughts on the quality of education in the public schools?

[abrown17]

Would your wife consider taking the metro north to work as well? There are several stops in Mount Vernon. One of them may be convenient for her.

[Cambium]

From North Stamford is .....ok... Pelham is my border for commuting.. I didnt see a morning leave time but will re-read.... If you can find a home close to Merrit where you can jump right on then you should be fine..Less than an hour for sure. Traffic gets heavy little North of Stamford..

Only time you'll have an issue is accident, ice, or snow... But for the better way of life you can always leave patience for traffic...it will suck but knowing you live in CT is priceless. Unless you want to move to Vermont like me. lol

[daombr]

She has to be at work at 8:15 am and I don't think she is interested in taking the train. Basically, it appears both of us are looking at an hour.

Can anyone give me an idea of what it is like to live in the N Stamford community? Are there places to run etc? It seems like all the roads are tiny and would be dangerous for walking or running.

[Stratford, Ct. Resident]

Originally Posted by daombr

Can anyone give me an idea of what it is like to live in the N Stamford community? Are there places to run etc? It seems like all the roads are tiny and would be dangerous for walking or running.

It would be very dangerous to jog on the streets that are north of the parkway. Ridgeway or Springdale or Shippan would be better if this is important to you. Just note though, Stamford overall isn't really pedestrian friendly outside of its business districts.

[daombr]

Agreed...the roads do seem quite dangerous for anyone not in a tank. Are their any residents of N Stamford on the boards?

What do you like most about your community? Would you move there today if you had the opportunity to make your choice all over? What do you hate about the community? Does it seem like there is an unusually high number of homes for sale?

[lgorfain]

You might want to consider Westover, which is like North Stamford in feel and prices, but much closer commute to Metro North station (8-10 minutes tops). It also allows your wife to get off at Exit 33 and beat the evening bumber to bumper, which starts in at the next exit north.

As an alternative to street jogging, there's an absolutely beautiful compositerunning track at Westhill high in Westover open to public.

I really like Stamford. It's either a big little city or a little big city, whichever you want to make it. On the water, diverse population, people friendly parks, transportation hub (95 and an Amtrac stop), very safe, downtown boasts over 20 movie screens (including an art film house), 70 restaurants and a legit theater. Plus in Colony Grill, one of the top pizza's in America.

Do wish it were more pedestrian friendly. Not many sidewalks once you leave downtown.


Assume you are not looking in Westchester because of the taxes ...