[Stratford, Ct. Resident]

Originally Posted by willow wind

If you mean Brooklyn, NY then consider this. Under seventy miles puts you smack into Fairfield County, CT one of the most expensive regions of the country. You won't find a $ 300,000 house. Maybe a small condo. At just about 70 miles or so, would put you into the edges of Fairfield County, around the towns of Danbury or Stratford, CT. You might be able to find a small, older house for that amount of money.

Schools aren't an issue for the OP though. That opens the door for finding something small in a decent section of Norwalk. Actually, if the OP were willing to undertake a reno project, there are properties in decent sections of Stamford that might work.

[JayCT]

I really do not think any town in Connecticut would be easy to get to Brooklyn from. Consider Long Island. Post on the New York Board for suggestions. Jay

[Stylo]

70 miles from Brooklyn puts you at the Danbury or Milford areas. Maybe consider Danbury, Bethel, Stratford, Shelton, Milford. The coastal towns will give you good access to public transportation. You should be able to get a good home for $300k in any of those towns.

As mentioned, Norwalk/Stamford could work if you give up space/newness.

Brooklyn is a lousy drive from ANYWHERE, so I wouldn't dissuade you from CT.

Long Island would be the "best" drive, but comes with its own problems.

[LRPct]

Originally Posted by willow wind

You asked about cell phone connections !!! Only in the true boondocks would there be rotten or no cell service. And that's actually no where in CT.

There actually are a FEW places in Ct that have no cell reception. Most only a few miles radius, but those "black holes" are there. Theres a couple areas where people fought cell towers mostly to keep there second hometown "less reachable". Prob not around Fairfield county though.

[Stratford, Ct. Resident]

Originally Posted by LRPct

There actually are a FEW places in Ct that have no cell reception. Most only a few miles radius, but those "black holes" are there. Theres a couple areas where people fought cell towers mostly to keep there second hometown "less reachable". Prob not around Fairfield county though.

New Canaan is in FFC. There are some small black holes there.

[Stylo]

Where my parents live it's a dead zone for most carriers except Verizon, which is very weak. That's in northern FFC. There are pockets near them where nothing works.

There are also parts of Redding-ish area that are really bad, I did that commute for years and had no service for a lot of my commute.

[jax12479]

Where in Brooklyn are your kids? Have you considered renting an apt in Brooklyn? It's a great place to live - less hectic than Manhattan, but still extremely convenient. The nice parts are very expensive, but very doable if renting is an option. Fairfield County is really expensive and 300k won't get you much. The drive from Greenwich/Stamford isn't that bad on the weekends (about an hour) but you're really priced out of those towns unless you'd consider a 1 bedroom apt in Stamford or a tiny, fixer-upper house.

If you're set on a house, try the Huntington area of Long Island. You can get a cute little ranch house for approx 300k, and it's about an hour from Brooklyn.

[jane_sm1th73]

Originally Posted by LERuth49

We currently have a great house in the south but are considering a move somewhere a bout 70 miles away from our daughters. Taking into consideration transportation, safety, value, medical care, reasonable shopping access, no flood issues, good place to grow old -- any thoughts? I would prefer to pay no higher than $300,000. I have been thinking CT but am not set on that. Thanks for your thoughts!

I well understand the draw of being around your children.

Does the "LE" in your name stand for Law Enforcement by any chance?

There is a town west of Danbury - Brewster, NY - which is more rural than most of the areas in CT you are considering. It has the reputation of being a retirement center for NYC police. What Brewster has to recommend it is that it is right on the Harlem line. It is about 70 minutes to Grand Central (maybe less).
Brooklyn is still a bear to get to. Got to be better than being hundreds of miles away, though.

Another suggestion: Staten Island right now is in the doldrums because of Sandy. It's gotten a bad rap, but not EVERY square inch of that island went underwater. I do not know the RE tax situation (very important for those in retirement). However, if I were a betting person, I'd be betting that there are some inland neighborhoods that are affordable and closer to Brooklyn than where you are now.

Also closer to Brooklyn is Queens, still has lots of middle class areas. I'd seriously consider doing some internet research, staying with the daughters, and going through middle class areas in Staten Island and Queens. Do it a week at a time.

In this situation, making a major move when the wrong move doesn't leave much margin for recovery is a situation to be avoided. It can likely be avoided with thorough study and first hand feel. There is no substitute for first hand "feel" and feet on the street.

Danbury to Brooklyn is a horrendous drive in traffic. There's nothing quite like being walled in by tractor trailers on the Cross Bronx Expressway. Just my opinion, and I'm not retired yet. One of the other posters here moved to CT from Long Island because he says the real estate taxes in Nassau and Suffolk are some of the highest in the country. The example he gives is his sister's house, a 3/1 nothing special on .2 acres, which has RE taxes of $10,000 a year. It is possibly different if you go all the way to the end of Long Island (tip of Suffolk County) where it's not commutable to NYC.

Regrettably, you are not going to find an answer that doesn't involve considerable footworkand time. You will need to find an area that you are happy in as well, independent of your daughters. If they have evolved lives that are a long distance apart from you, it will be an adjustment for them too. What are the mutual expectations? Are they likely to up and move? You want to make sure you do not get stuck.

Please let us know what you decide, and tell us all the tales!

Best of luck to you.

[JayCT]

Jane_smith73 makes some excellent points. Brewster, NY and the surrounding area may be better than Connecticut. You may want to consider renting first to find the right area for you to buy. Good luck, Jay

[anon860]

Jersey City etc is also an option. Going "through" Manhattan is not as hard as people think, especially on weekends.