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Old 02-18-2011, 11:23 PM
 
30 posts, read 112,448 times
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Hubby is assigned to CT office in town of Fairfield, so we are moving to CT! Probably it's going to be a temp assignment for about 5,6 years. So we are looking to buy a house in either Stamford or town of Fairfield but resale value or potential of rental income is important should we have to move again after 5,6 years. If we were to buy in Stamford for the potential of keeping the house/Condo as a rental property, which area should we look? We want to be close to everything from shopping to train station to NY to GYM but we also want to be in a decent neighborhood. No kid yet but if schools are good that would be good for reselling.

Read some posts here, feel like people don't like Stamford much, how come? Is morning commute back towards town of Fairfield?

Thanks!!!
DD
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Old 02-19-2011, 09:26 AM
 
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You've been handed the best of both worlds without realizing it. Fairfield County traffic is a horror. The two choices to get to Stamford from Fairfield are the Merritt Parkway or I-95. Each choice is as bad as the other. It's not far in miles, but traffic makes it not a desirable way to live. If he works typical hours, he is going to hit God awful rush hour traffic down and back. To me the choice would be simple, live and work in Fairfield. Make your husband's life easy. If children come along, he'll be home quickly in the evening to enjoy them before their bedtime. Fairfield is a wonderful town. It's got everything you could need. Stamford is less consistent - some older,more dense, sort of urban and sketchy areas, some lovely and much better areas and some in between. Don't know why you are noting Stamford as being the place to keep a home/ condo for rental. There is no reason why you would have any problem renting a property in Fairfield. It's a highly desirable town. As far as resale value, no one has a crystal ball to know what the real estate market will be like in 5-6 years. That's just a chance you take. Good luck on your move-welcome to Connecticut
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Old 02-19-2011, 01:40 PM
 
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Thanks for the reply, Willow Wind! Lucky, my husband doesn't work the regular hours and he only goes to his office two three times a week and work from home the rest of the time. We want to be able to commute to NY with in an hour because I'm looking for a job in NYC, Greenwish or Stamford.
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Old 02-19-2011, 05:52 PM
 
Location: Connecticut
34,636 posts, read 56,391,795 times
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Stamford is a small city. When most people come on here they want a town with good schools and Stamford schools do not perform as well as other towns in the area. That is why it is not often recommended.

Fairfield is a very nice desirable town. It has a great downtown, lots of stores and restaurants and excellent schols. It is less expensive than some of the lower Fairfield County towns because it is further from New York City. For resale value and or rental potential it should not be a problem. I know several people that own rentals there and they never had a problem finding a tenant.

That sadi at first I thought you would have the best situation since you could live and work in the same town but then I read that you would be looking for work in NY or Stamford and I thought that may not work as well. If you did buy in Stamford, his commute would not be bad and then your commute would not be bad either. Again the only problem would be the schools. Jay
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Old 02-21-2011, 06:47 PM
 
Location: Tennessee
1,031 posts, read 2,436,840 times
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Note that Fairfield is located on the Metro North train line so the commute to Stamford or Grand Central wouldn't be horrendous if you decide not to drive to work. Since you don't have any kids and you're only thinking about schools from a resale perspective, don't let Stamford's poor public school system influence where you decide to live. If you buy a condo/home in a nice Stamford neighborhood or a condo/home anywhere in Fairfield, you shouldn't have a problem renting or selling it. Do you want to live in a city or a town? That should determine where you will be living.
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Old 02-21-2011, 08:19 PM
 
Location: Brooklyn, NY
9,863 posts, read 14,195,958 times
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I'd like to comment that you may want to look to buy in a couple areas in both cities. Fairfield has a new metro north train station coming in, called "Black Rock Station." Buying in Fairfield would probably be a wise investment, due to the excellent, top-rated school system. Fairfield has a lovely, safe, and high-end downtown, and some wonderful family beaches.
Fairfield downsides in my opinion: a lot of competition to "keep up with the Joneses and/or Stepford wife mentality", a much more dominant caucasian-only population (with a few exceptions of course), a hike to get to NYC due to traffic.
Stamford is a wise investment due to its 45 minute train ride (and if no traffic, by car) to the city. It is a hotspot for development. It has been consistently one of the countries' safest cities for its size--so don't let people fool you into thinking it is 'crime-ridden.' It's not at all. There are a couple of borderline/bad neighborhoods (west side and pockets on the south side), but for a city of 120,000, it's extremely safe, quiet, and offers a great quality of life. Unfortunately the schools have gone down in quality over the past 3-5 years. This is due to bad leadership at the top--the superintendent of Stamford's schools the past 5 yrs plus is poorly qualified and the schools have declined as a result. Hopefully he will be on his way out soon though.
Anyway, downsides to Stamford are cost, and of course, the schools cannot compare to a couple more school systems in Fairfield County.
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Old 02-22-2011, 04:57 AM
 
Location: Connecticut
34,636 posts, read 56,391,795 times
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Kristen and JJ make excellent points. You and your husband will need to decide if this purchase will need to be in a community that you will want to live in for a long time. Given that you are already thinking of resale, it sounds like that answer is no so Stamford may be the best option.

If however you are looking for that place where you plan to stay and raise a family, then I would recommend Fairfield. I know many people that bought in Fairfield because it was less expensive than lower Fairfield County towns and then ended up staying even though their wallets improved dramatically and they could afford a more prestigous town closer to NY. Fairfield has a small town feel but is pretty big. There is a wide range of housing types, many great neighborhoods and it has what most people look for in a community. Jay
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Old 02-22-2011, 11:22 AM
 
35 posts, read 79,664 times
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Default I lived in Fairfield and work in Stamford

The commute to Stamford from Fairfield is very straightforward by train.
However, if you are planning to work outside of the city center you should check whether the company operates a shuttle service from the train station. Mine does, which makes it very very easy.

There are some stories about problems with the Metro North New Haven line at present - due to problems with winter conditions and mechanical issues combining to affect things. This is exceptional, in my experience.
I commuted for nearly three years and was only delayed on the train a handful of times, only once or twice for a significant amount of time.

Commuting by car is another matter.... The 95 is notoriously busy at rush hour. Not very pleasant, but if you have a high tolerance for traffic it's not too bad - usually worst approaching Norwalk in either direction.

Fairfield is a great town. Lots of amenities, good schools, good local shopping, handy for the mall at Milford, and of course there are the beaches which are excellent.
I actually moved out last year, but only to be able to afford to buy a place. I rented but found the prices to buy to be out of my range.

The commute by Train to Stamford takes about 30 mins. To NYC about 70-90mins.
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Old 02-25-2011, 12:26 PM
 
30 posts, read 112,448 times
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Thanks all for your very helpful replies! Kristin85, we have been living in towns but we don't mind living in mid-city. I think we are leaning towards Stamford now since we don't have kids yet and are looking to resell or rent our house out in a couple years. We want to get a house/condo near a train station in Stamford for easier re-sell or rental potential in the future. Stamford, Glenbrook or Noroton Heights Station, which station should we consider? Stamford station is probably better with more frequent train schedules, but if traffic is bad in Stamford, will a 10-minute drive to Stamford station become half an hour? How's parking at Glenbrook or Noroton Heights Stations?

Thanks,
DD
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Old 02-25-2011, 01:25 PM
 
Location: Connecticut
34,636 posts, read 56,391,795 times
Reputation: 11150
Stamford station is on the edge of downtown. One side are large high rise office buildings and the other is a redevelopment area called Harborpointe. There is not much single family homes nearby and what there is is kind of rundown.

Noroton Heights is in Darien and will be very pricey. Glenbrook might be an option though. There are a lot of nice homes in that part of Stamford. Jay
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