[Cmabs]

Hi,

We are an Anglo/Aussie family looking to move with work to CT or Westchester County this year.

Can you please help and recommend areas that may suit..

Commute to NYC - 1hr ish max
Family friendly - 3 young children
Good public Schools
Restaurants etc
Welcoming to newcomers

TIA

Cmabs

[kidyankee764]

Price range for house/apartment?

[Cmabs]

House, price range 500k-1mil
Near to train station

Thanks

[mlassoff]

I'd recommend Westport. Beautiful beach community, great shopping and among the best schools in the state. The high school (Staples High School) often ranks among the top in the country. The town has a wide range of restaurants from a local diner to world-renown dining options. The train ride to Grand Central is from :55 to 1:05.

I am biased-- Grew up in Westport and could not think of a better place to live. I will caution you that you can get more house for you money in some other communities, but you won't find the combination of schools, family activities, restaurants and location anywhere else.

[Kristin85]

If you're interested in being within walking or cycling distance to a train station within 1 hour's ride to NYC, you may want to consider Old Greenwich. The area is extremely safe, very family friendly, the schools are exceptional, and homes are in your price range. Old Greenwich also has a very quaint park with a pond (model boat races are held on the pond every summer) and it is where the town's primary beach and park are located. As for community spirit, a Memorial Day parade is held every year, the local elementary school holds an autumn fair with lots of pumpkins and baked goods for sale, and the local congregational church has live animals outside for a week before Christmas. On Halloween many adults/parents hold outdoor parties or have entertainment for everyone to enjoy. All in all, it's a wonderful place to live.

[goodfella24]

if you want a city type atmosphere Stamford is a pretty good enviornment, very congested with traffic, lots of shopping, close to nyc, i beleive theres a trainstation as well. but again im not sure if ur more of a city type person or a town person. there are suburbs there outside the city, good ones but as all places ones u should stay away from.

[nico7]

Westport is indeed a good recommendation, although the commute may put you near the 1-hour mark. If you are living in CT and commuting to NYC, then you will inevitably have a commute that may approach 1 hour depending on circumstances. Also consider Greenwich or Darien if proximity is very important.

[JayCT]

You should look at towns along the Metro-North New Haven line. The closest town to New York city is Greenwich. It is beautiful and an excellent place to raise a family. It is also very expensive. You will only get a modest home even at the top of your price range there.

Next up the line is Stamford which is a small city. It has some very nice neighborhoods and a lot of the things you would find in a small city. You could find a nice home there in your price range. The schools there though do not perform at the same level as the adjacent towns though which is one of the reasons you will pay less.

Darien is next and is a beautiful town with excellent schools. It too is expensive but it has great schools, a nice but somewhat small downtown and a lot of family activities. To the north of Darien is New Canaan which has a separate train line to Stamford that allows some trains to continue on into NY. New Canaan also has excellent schools, a beautiful downtown and all the fmaily activities you would need. You would again only find a modest home in either of these towns in your price range.

The next town along the New Haven line is Norwalk. It is a small city with schools that perform generally under the state averages. there are a couple of bad areas but many very nice areas and there will be a good selection of homes in your price range.

Next up would be Westport. It is a great town with excellent schools and a lot of family things to do but again prices can be high. After Westport is Fairfield which is kind of the outer limit of towns for people commuting to Neww York. It is a nice diverse town with excellent schools and all of the great family activities you would want. Because it is further from NY it is also less expensive so you should be able ot find a nice home there in your price range. Jay

[toddb]

Originally Posted by mlassoff

I'd recommend Westport. Beautiful beach community, great shopping and among the best schools in the state. The high school (Staples High School) often ranks among the top in the country. The town has a wide range of restaurants from a local diner to world-renown dining options. The train ride to Grand Central is from :55 to 1:05.

I would recommend looking further into Westport. There are a ton of Aussie's in town (I play soccer with 3 or 4 every week), and many do the commute to NYC. Westport would probably only allow you to get a smaller home on a busy road at the top end of your price range, but Fairfield (the next town over, where I live) would give you much more for your money but add 10 or so minutes to your commute.

Also, can you clarify "near to the train station"? Do you mean the ability to walk there, or driving within 5-10 minutes?

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by toddb

I would recommend looking further into Westport. There are a ton of Aussie's in town (I play soccer with 3 or 4 every week), and many do the commute to NYC. Westport would probably only allow you to get a smaller home on a busy road at the top end of your price range, but Fairfield (the next town over, where I live) would give you much more for your money but add 10 or so minutes to your commute.

Also, can you clarify "near to the train station"? Do you mean the ability to walk there, or driving within 5-10 minutes?

My parents are Aussie and I agree that Westport has a diverse population and culture that attracts a lot of Aussies and Brits. There are many Aussies in Greenwich as well.

For the OP, I can't say I'd recommend any town past Greenwich if you want an hour commute. The train once you get past Stamford is over an hour, so add on time to get to the train station in Connecticut, and time to walk/ride to work once you get off at Grand Central. The commute can be well over an hour if you're coming from Westport.

That being said, in this area, you're going to need to spend at least $800k on a home.