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City (and lower Fairfield/lower Westchester) people seem to think that going north, specifically, is akin to venturing into uncharted territories. To those in/near NYC, 20 miles north is further into the "wilderness" than 40 miles east or west. Danbury may not be much further in terms of miles and feet, but because it's more of a straight shot north, the perception is that it's further. I work in Mid-Lower Westchester (Purchase-White Plains area), you should hear how locals react when they hear I live in Dutchess County. You'd think I told them I was commuting from Plattsburgh.
That, and Fairfield is a bit easier logistically for MNR riders. To get from Danbury to NYC, you either have to drive across the state line to catch a Harlem Line train, or ride that dinky little Danbury extension off the NH line and transfer in SoNo. Fairfield, you can just catch a train right in town and take it straight to GCT (and the ride is probably shorter in terms of minutes too).
Fairfield is way quicker by a good 30 minutes or more. It has 3 stations and many express train options, a few of which go straight to GCT without making a stop. No comparison train wise. Shorter drive too (~50 miles vs ~65 to midtown). Yes there’s less traffic coming from Danbury but the vast majority of midtown commuters choose train. Hence property values.
Milford would be a more equal comparison to Danbury. And both are perceived as very far by city folk.
Fairfield is way quicker by a good 30 minutes or more. It has 3 stations and many express train options, a few of which go straight to GCT without making a stop. No comparison train wise. Shorter drive too (~50 miles vs ~65 to midtown). Yes there’s less traffic coming from Danbury but the vast majority of midtown commuters choose train. Hence property values.
Milford would be a more equal comparison to Danbury. And both are perceived as very far by city folk.
Yeah - driving into the city off peak would be far quicker from Danbury than Fairfield. By train, Fairfield.
Fairfield is way quicker by a good 30 minutes or more. It has 3 stations and many express train options, a few of which go straight to GCT without making a stop. No comparison train wise. Shorter drive too (~50 miles vs ~65 to midtown). Yes there’s less traffic coming from Danbury but the vast majority of midtown commuters choose train. Hence property values.
Milford would be a more equal comparison to Danbury. And both are perceived as very far by city folk.
Heck Stamford is perceived as FAR (and half never even heard of it — they think you’re talking about the university in California ) by native City Folk ! Honest to God the first time I visited Stamford (late ‘80s for a church school retreat, we were all excited about going to the “country” for the day. 😊
No joke, childhood friends who still live down there, will refer to any any point in Westchester County as “upstate”. Even Yonkers... lol. And even though Yonkers is much closer than many destination points out east on the Island, it does not matter.
You have the City, the Island, and then you have “Upstate”. And that’s pretty much their world...
Not to stir the pot with you, but Danbury is way more aligned with NY than Milford is. Milford and that area in general seems to have more generational CT residents. This neck of the woods, almost every 3rd person comes directly from NY. Either the city itself, or Westchester/Putnam.
Heck Stamford is perceived as FAR (and half never even heard of it — they think you’re talking about the university in California ) by native City Folk ! Honest to God the first time I visited Stamford (late ‘80s for a church school retreat, we were all excited about going to the “country” for the day. 😊
No joke, childhood friends who still live down there, will refer to any any point in Westchester County as “upstate”. Even Yonkers... lol. And even though Yonkers is much closer than many destination points out east on the Island, it does not matter.
You have the City, the Island, and then you have “Upstate”. And that’s pretty much their world...
Not to stir the pot with you, but Danbury is way more aligned with NY than Milford is. Milford and that area in general seems to have more generational CT residents. This neck of the woods, almost every 3rd person comes directly from NY. Either the city itself, or Westchester/Putnam.
I think you may be right from a heritage standpoint, though it’s hard to quantify.
Yeah, I don’t know how to quantify it either. In my mind, and for the moment, the dividing line up here has always seemed to be Newtown. And I would imagine that line could push farther east well into Newtown and beyond in coming years. But just based on my personal experience, all of my Newtown friends were born/raised in CT, and are not transplants from NY.
It’s a crap shoot for my Danbury friends (half from here, half from NY), and same for my Bethel friends.
Brookfield gets a little fuzzy — thinking off the top of my head more may be from NY...
But All of my NF and Sherman and Ridgefield friends come directly from one of those two counties (with 2 Sherman friends from Dutchess); or from the City.
Wonder where that dividing line lies in lower Fairfield County?
Last edited by Lalalally; 06-05-2018 at 07:07 PM..
Not trying to but in here and say I told you so lol. But For Danbury I personally can tell more than half the residents commute to the city And 3 thirds of danbury prefer to alone with NYC I swear ask anyone.... Also many people in db go for a quick drive and have fun in the city. I personally made it to the Bronx in MINUTES by car!!
As for that border line question. I grew up and always thought it was a line from the ny border to Ridgefield to redding then down Easton to fairfield and that was the border to lower ffc.
But being grown now and how view ffc today. I would say draw a line from NYC border to wilton to weston to westport then shore.
in my honest opinion i would say upper ffc is. Draw a line from ny border to new Fairfield to brookfield to newton to. easton (idk why but when i drive through easton I feel that hiddenish ffc vibe).
Yeah, I don’t know how to quantify it either. In my mind, and for the moment, the dividing line up here has always seemed to be Newtown. And I would imagine that line could push farther east well into Newtown and beyond in coming years. But just based on my personal experience, all of my Newtown friends were born/raised in CT, and are not transplants from NY.
It’s a crap shoot for my Danbury friends (half from here, half from NY), and same for my Bethel friends.
Brookfield gets a little fuzzy — thinking off the top of my head more may be from NY...
But All of my NF and Sherman and Ridgefield friends come directly from one of those two counties (with 2 Sherman friends from Dutchess); or from the City.
Wonder where that dividing line lies in lower Fairfield County?
I think the tide has already shifted east -- there are lots of people from NY/NJ in Southbury and Oxford - at least ones with preschool/young elementary aged kids. I think our preschool class is 50/50 local parents and transplants.
Not trying to but in here and say I told you so lol. But For Danbury I personally can tell more than half the residents commute to the city And 3 thirds of danbury prefer to alone with NYC I swear ask anyone.... Also many people in db go for a quick drive and have fun in the city. I personally made it to the Bronx in MINUTES by car!!
As for that border line question. I grew up and always thought it was a line from the ny border to Ridgefield to redding then down Easton to fairfield and that was the border to lower ffc.
But being grown now and how view ffc today. I would say draw a line from NYC border to wilton to weston to westport then shore.
in my honest opinion i would say upper ffc is. Draw a line from ny border to new Fairfield to brookfield to newton to. easton (idk why but when i drive through easton I feel that hiddenish ffc vibe).
More than half of Danbury doesn’t commute to NYC. Not even close. Probably 1000+ though.
Lower FFC is generally considered the Norwalk/Stamford area. Not sure it goes any more north than Wilton or east than Fairfield. Also known as the “gold coast”.
I think the tide has already shifted east -- there are lots of people from NY/NJ in Southbury and Oxford - at least ones with preschool/young elementary aged kids. I think our preschool class is 50/50 local parents and transplants.
I’ve met a lot of transplants in Milford. From Nashville, Colorado, Mass, Brooklyn, Minneapolis, New Hampshire. And I know a mix of CT natives and NJ/NY roots. It’s a pretty diverse scene here, it seems, and if you pull into any of the parking lots of the new apartment complexes there’s lots of out of state plates. NY plates appear to be increasingly more common in beach house driveways which is interesting. Especially in the Laurel Beach area, for whatever reason.
I think the tide has already shifted east -- there are lots of people from NY/NJ in Southbury and Oxford - at least ones with preschool/young elementary aged kids. I think our preschool class is 50/50 local parents and transplants.
The vast majority of new residents to both Southbury and Oxford are from Westchester. Many also from lower FFC towns who view them as a bargain.
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! Honest to God the first time I visited Stamford (late ‘80s for a church school retreat, we were all excited about going to the “country” for the day. 😊
