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Wife landed permanent high paying job in central ct. We're moving the whole family there and she can't be far from her job (Fairfield is about the furthest). While this is going on, I was asked to work on a one year project Northern New Jersey. I don't have to take this job but it would be good for my career. I can handle 90-120 min commutes for a year ( lots of satellite radio) but if it's often 3 hrs each way I should just forget it.
Going to central CT from Fairfield area means very little traffic. Your mornings can be ok, some evenings will be fine - but yeah, on a bad day it could be 2-3 hours.
I agree that you might want to check out the Danbury area. Newtown, Ridgefield, and Brookfield are all great areas to start your search. Traffic wouldn't be as terrible since you're away from 95, and home prices would be more reasonable.
I agree with Stylo and kidyankee - check out those towns along 84 - I believe you can take 84 and even come over a different bridge and then come down 87 (NY thruway) to pick up 287 S by Suffern/Mahwah and avoid Tappan Zee altogether. Mileage may be longer, but traffic may not be as bad, so timing may net out. Also look into the Bear Mountain Bridge (84 to 684 - get off at Katonah and pick up some local roads in between through Yorktown Heights, etc.) which also connects to 87 S. Haven't traveled those roads at rush hour, so can't offer insight there, but perhaps worth looking into as another potential option and avoiding CT coast/Tappan Zee area altogether.
I agree with Stylo and kidyankee - check out those towns along 84 - I believe you can take 84 and even come over a different bridge and then come down 87 (NY thruway) to pick up 287 S by Suffern/Mahwah and avoid Tappan Zee altogether. Mileage may be longer, but traffic may not be as bad, so timing may net out. Also look into the Bear Mountain Bridge (84 to 684 - get off at Katonah and pick up some local roads in between through Yorktown Heights, etc.) which also connects to 87 S. Haven't traveled those roads at rush hour, so can't offer insight there, but perhaps worth looking into as another potential option and avoiding CT coast/Tappan Zee area altogether.
It gives you many more options, vs. Fairfield where you're pretty much stuck with traffic. Heck, if I lived in Fairfield and made that commute - I'd be tempted to take 84 to backroads home when live traffic shows it's bad, even though it's much longer of a drive. That's just how bad the delays can be.
As an added bonus, they are cheaper towns too. I prefer Fairfield for various reasons, but in this case it makes sense to avoid it.
OP, I'd look for an economy motel M-F, that offers weekly rates. Tell them it is for a year, and most likely they will discount what they charge you vs other guests.
That is what I did the summer I was temporarily in Hartford for 3 months, I don't know if in NJ (or closer to NYC in general for that matter) if it's harder to do or still quite expensive compared to a studio apt.
As someone who (varied jobs every few days) sometimes commutes 30-50 miles each way (but into CT instead of out of), I can say that if you like driving and listen to music, the radio, etc. it is doable and you'll be mentally sane if you can do it outside of rush hour traffic. Most of the time I am on the road 6-7am and it works fine and I'm usually back on the road about 2-4pm or so. But the few times when I am on the road later in the morning I find it pretty hard, and it's worse at that hour going your direction. I actually find going to Danbury (about 40 miles from my home) easier than when I go to Norwalk (about 25 miles) because 684 is usually moving 65+ and it's a very straight shot for example.
BTW, Bear Mountain Bridge won't work, too many backroads to get to the bridge. The final approach from Westchester is a windy scenic road reminscent of similar roads I've seen on the outskirts of LA or San Fran areas. If you approach it from the north (Putnam County), it's a 2 lane (one lane each way) road that often has a lot of cars.
I will say that I see a surprising number of NJ plates in my commute into CT (at least in Greenwich/Stamford area) so I wouldn't be surprised to see the reverse (CT drivers commuting to NJ). Good luck!
Quote:
Originally Posted by kidyankee764
I agree that you might want to check out the Danbury area. Newtown, Ridgefield, and Brookfield are all great areas to start your search. Traffic wouldn't be as terrible since you're away from 95, and home prices would be more reasonable.
It's just as easy for your wife to commute to central CT from there distance-wise as it is from Fairfield. In fact to Cheshire it's actually a lot closer, I originally thought you were talking Hartford or immediate suburbs like West Hartford, Rocky Hill, etc.
It's just as easy for your wife to commute to central CT from there distance-wise as it is from Fairfield. In fact to Cheshire it's actually a lot closer, I originally thought you were talking Hartford or immediate suburbs like West Hartford, Rocky Hill, etc.
It would be a lot easier to get to Jersey though.
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