[Stratford, Ct. Resident]

Originally Posted by Stylo

West Haven doesn't have a train station yet.

I already noted that when i made the recommendation. I went with the WH recommendation because i figured the OP would have a better chance of getting a parking permit at a new station, as we certainly know that he absolutely won't be getting a permit in Milford or Stratford.

Originally Posted by Stylo

Maybe consider Shelton. You can shoot up Route 8 to 84 and drive to the Bridgeport or Fairfield Metro stations.

Overall, i really like Shelton, but i don't think the idea of driving to/from Bridgeport or Metro stations is a good one. It will add significantly to the commute. Much more so than if the OP were living in WH and driving to/from New Haven or Milford stations. For a commute from Fairfield Metro, i'd echo JayCT's suggestions of Tunxis Hill(Fairfield) or the Brooklawn section of Bridgeport.

[Stylo]

I don't think Shelton is a particularly good suggestion but they seem opposed to a practical location due to proximity to NH. Paid parking in Bridgeport and Milford is pretty reliable despite lack of available permits.

[anon860]

I would recommend living as close as humanly possible to your place of work, even if you have to settle for a studio apartment. The cities all have parks and cafes that you can enjoy. Then just bite the bullet when you have to drive to New Hampshire. Being locked in to 20+ extra hours of commuting every week is far worse than an extra hour or two of driving north to New Hampshire, even if you decide to drive to New Hampshire twice a week. You can always make that drive off peak hours and unless you are traveling right at rush hour, the traffic is never as bad as people seem to think. As others have pointed out, living in Waterbury will add a lot more travel time than you think. If you go with CT, I'd recommend any of the more developed cities along the New Haven Line proper, living within walking distance of a train station if possible.

[Comp625]

Originally Posted by Stratford, Ct. Resident

I already noted that when i made the recommendation. I went with the WH recommendation because i figured the OP would have a better chance of getting a parking permit at a new station, as we certainly know that he absolutely won't be getting a permit in Milford or Stratford.

Overall, i really like Shelton, but i don't think the idea of driving to/from Bridgeport or Metro stations is a good one. It will add significantly to the commute. Much more so than if the OP were living in WH and driving to/from New Haven or Milford stations. For a commute from Fairfield Metro, i'd echo JayCT's suggestions of Tunxis Hill(Fairfield) or the Brooklawn section of Bridgeport.

Are there any Private lots that people pay for to leave their car and take the train from Stratford? I've been entertaining with the idea of NYC jobs that may allow Remote Work capabilities (thus, only enduring a nasty commute a few times a week, and doing so while I'm still young with no kids).

On a related note, FWIW, I'm not chummy enough with my neighbor to ask, but he's mentioned in passing that he has a "secret area" that he parks at and supposedly doesn't pay for. I'm willing to bet that he parks at the Regal movie theater/Ninety Nine restaurant lot.

[Lintu]

Originally Posted by Comp625

Are there any Private lots that people pay for to leave their car and take the train from Stratford? I've been entertaining with the idea of NYC jobs that may allow Remote Work capabilities (thus, only enduring a nasty commute a few times a week, and doing so while I'm still young with no kids).

On a related note, FWIW, I'm not chummy enough with my neighbor to ask, but he's mentioned in passing that he has a "secret area" that he parks at and supposedly doesn't pay for. I'm willing to bet that he parks at the Regal movie theater/Ninety Nine restaurant lot.

There are private lots, but I don't know what their capacity is.

It pisses me off that they posted all those signs that you can't park by Bally's/the rest. There's always ample parking during the day (and hell, we have a gym membership there).

[Comp625]

Originally Posted by Lintu

There are private lots, but I don't know what their capacity is.

It pisses me off that they posted all those signs that you can't park by Bally's/the rest. There's always ample parking during the day (and hell, we have a gym membership there).

Ah, so maybe my neighbor doesn't park there.

In all seriousness, that shopping plaza has so much opportunity to rake in extra money since it's nowhere near full capacity between 7am-7pm. The movie theater lot doesn't get packed in the daytime (unless it's the afternoon after a popular midnight release), the gym doesn't attract that many people during the daytime, and most of the traffic occurs on the left side of that plaza (Marshall's, McDonald's, the Post Office, etc.) I suppose the only consistent capacity-related issue they would face is around Christmastime, when retailers see the most foot traffic.

[glennglom]

Thanks for all the responses. I pray everyone made it through the storm safely.

As an update from us, we have found a decent place in East Haven. We looked at alot of the suggestions and weighed quite a few options. We decided to continue looking in the "Haven" areas because I have found out that the office I will be working in could be closing in the next 6 months (or so) and the employees will be allowed to work from home. So it made even more sense for me to look in the areas that we could get to my folks house fairly easily while not ignoring the commute issues everyone brought up.

We are expecting to be moved before Thanksgiving so I'll get the "taste" of it pretty soon.

Glenn

[Stylo]

I'm sorry, but East Haven was a very poor choice for that commute. You asked our advice and we tried to steer you away from an unnecessarily long commute, so I guess it's your bed to sleep in now. That's going to be a terrible commute and no shorter of a drive to New Hampshire than West Haven. I hope that you don't have to do that commute for long as it's going to be close to 3 hours each way.

[anon860]

If the office you are working in is in Midtown next to Grand Central Station, the commute won't be 3 hours. There are express trains every morning that get you from New Haven to Harlem 125th Street station in 90 minutes. Getting to New Haven before rush hour from East Haven should be easy. The problem will be if you have to get on another train once you get into Manhattan, as that can throw off your schedule quite a bit. The commute isn't so bad as long as you can make it regular and predictable - the 90 minute train ride is a good time to read and a lot of people do it each day.

[JayCT]

Glenn - How are you planning to make this commute? Are you going to drive into New Haven and take the train. We do wish you the best in this, but moving to East Haven will make a really bad commute even worse. Let us know how it goes. Jay