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I live in Vermont and am planning to move with my wife and two children (2.5 and infant) to my home state of Connecticut, where I've received two job offers: one in Wilton and the other in North Haven. Both have their appeal. The former offers higher pay, but would come with a higher cost of living--unless I commute from further away, which for us would likely be further up Route 8 and/or the Merritt Parkway (living up that way would put us closer to family in the Valley). North Haven's pay is not as appealing, but it would be a relatively easy commute from say Bethany or Guilford, two towns we love.
One thing that would help me decide is a better understanding of what a commute on the Merritt would look like. When and where does traffic pick up on the Merritt southbound, say between Orange and Fairfield? What about northbound? If I hop on the Merritt in Wilton after work at say 3-3:15 pm, how will it look on a typical day?
What is your budget for a home for each job? What do you expect/require for that budget? What type of communication do you prefer, urban, suburban or rural? Do you have relatives or friends in the state you want to live near? If so, where do they live and how long of a commute can you tolerate? The answers to these questions will help us help you.
If I had a job in Wilton, I would not look for a home that required a commute on the Merritt Parkway. Traffic congestion on the Merritt generally begins in Fairfield but there are pockets of congestion in Trumbull and Stratford. I would not recommend a commute from Orange to Wilton.
For the Wilton job, depending on your budget, I would look for a home in Wilton itself or Ridgefield. You might also consider Weston and Westport if you have a large budget. All of these towns have excellent schools and all except Weston, a pretty rural community, have great shopping and restaurants.
Another nearby town you may want to consider is Bethel. It’s very nice with good schools, good shopping and restaurants and more affordable housing. It’s about 14 miles from Wilton so your commute could be about 30 minutes depending on where you live and work.
North Have offers a lot of options on places to live. North Haven itself is a nice town. Wallingford is a nice working class town with low taxes and low electric rates. Cheshire is a nice more upscale town nearby.
Guilford is a great town and would be a not too bad commute to North Haven. It’s about 20 miles away so your commute would 30 to 45 minutes depending on where you live and work. I hope this helps. Jay
Merritt traffic is light until Fairfield and continues heavily down to Wilton.
Traffic in Stratford/Trumbull is much less common, and usually fairly light. There will be pockets on summer Friday afternoons, typically the worst time for traffic outside of winter storms, accidents, or construction.
Right now, traffic is abnormally low due to the pandemic so not really a time you could do a test commute.
In normal times, leaving Wilton at 3PM should be OK. Traffic will be starting to pick up, but not bad at all. Except for those summer Fridays. By 3PM, it's already a mess.
Source: I commuted from Milford to the Wilton/Westport area for 3 years.
It would be helpful to know what your relative budget would be with the 2 jobs and the percentage in difference on salary.
Also Bethany and Guilford are VERY different towns - what's the common appeal?
Don't be put off by a Wilton commute. It's not that bad and I'll tell you why.
You're not going all the way to Stamford.
The heaviest brunts of Merritt traffic is Westport, but you can exit there at 41 or 42 and go backroads to the Wilton Rt 7 business areas in just a few short miles as opposed to taking Rt7 exit 40A,40B. The difference may be minimal though depending how far down in Wilton the office is located.
Having to go all the way to Stamford from further into CT is another story.
I assume leaving at 3PM means you get in really early. Even better, the earlier you leave the lighter the traffic.
That's all pre-Covid. Nobody knows what post-Covid will look like. Will traffic remain light as WFH becomes more of the norm? or does it get worse as folks avoid mass transit? its anybody's guess.
There's also back roads many take avoiding the Merrit altogether.
Easton, Weston, and even Wilton are great towns with prices way down from the peaks of 2006. Granted CV oddly has reduced inventory, but there are still opportunities to find deals if one is diligent.
As Stylo asked earlier the difference in salaries plays a big part in grand scheme.
In the morning, the earlier you get on the road the better. I did a Stratford to Westport commute for a couple of years and I found that getting on the Merritt prior to 7 am made a huge difference in terms of commute time. The worst part of the commute was the no mans land in Fairfield, but there are back road alternatives that you will discover make it easier to avoid the backups.
If you are leaving around 3, you should be fine, except on Fridays during the summer as Stylo mentioned.
Thanks everyone for the perspective. Our budget for a house is in the $400-500k range, potentially a bit higher if I take the Wilton job. From what I have seen, this prices us out of a good portion of Fairfield County, but would get us a decent home on a nice lot in Guilford.
My wife and I enjoy community and making connections, but we do not like congestion, crowds, or traffic, which is why both Bethany and Guilford seem like appealing towns and why we are not too keen on the idea of living in Fairfield County. I understand that towns like Wilton, Easton, and Redding are less densely populated, but we cannot afford to live in these areas at this point in my career (at least, not based on what I've seen on real estate sites). It would be five or more years before my salary would be high enough to get to that point.
I grew up in Beacon Falls, right next door to Bethany, and have close family in that area. Living nearby to them would be a plus. To work or to family, I think my limit for a commute would be 45 minutes. More than that I suspect would feel too draining for me.
What makes this decision difficult is that, while both jobs feel like they would be a good fit for me, I am a public school teacher and Wilton schools are top notch. The students would, on average, be higher caliber and more motivated, and the resources would be greater. That said, North Haven I understand is also a fairly good district, not on par with Wilton but certainly above average for the state. I would make less there, but homes are more affordable and my commute would be much easier.
I welcome additional thoughts. Everyone has been very helpful so far!
I live in Vermont and am planning to move with my wife and two children (2.5 and infant) to my home state of Connecticut, where I've received two job offers: one in Wilton and the other in North Haven. Both have their appeal. The former offers higher pay, but would come with a higher cost of living--unless I commute from further away, which for us would likely be further up Route 8 and/or the Merritt Parkway (living up that way would put us closer to family in the Valley). North Haven's pay is not as appealing, but it would be a relatively easy commute from say Bethany or Guilford, two towns we love.
One thing that would help me decide is a better understanding of what a commute on the Merritt would look like. When and where does traffic pick up on the Merritt southbound, say between Orange and Fairfield? What about northbound? If I hop on the Merritt in Wilton after work at say 3-3:15 pm, how will it look on a typical day?
Any help you can offer is greatly appreciated!
My husband and I are originally from Stamford but moved to Trumbull in the 1990's to buy a house. We commuted to Stamford for years before we both found jobs up in our area. I am a Music Therapist and I go (or did go before Covid-19) to Norwalk once a week so I know the commute to Wilton well on the Merritt Parkway. Here are a few question I have for you and then I will give you my opinions.
1) How much can you spend on a house if you get the job in Wilton?
2) Where is the approximate location of the job in Wilton? (ex: southwestern, middle of Wilton on Route 7 etc.)
3) What are your hours for the Wilton job, start and finish?
4) How much can you afford to spend on a house if you take the job in North Haven.
My husband and I are originally from Stamford but moved to Trumbull in the 1990's to buy a house. We commuted to Stamford for years before we both found jobs up in our area. I am a Music Therapist and I go (or did go before Covid-19) to Norwalk once a week so I know the commute to Wilton well on the Merritt Parkway. Here are a few question I have for you and then I will give you my opinions.
1) How much can you spend on a house if you get the job in Wilton?
2) Where is the approximate location of the job in Wilton? (ex: southwestern, middle of Wilton on Route 7 etc.)
3) What are your hours for the Wilton job, start and finish?
4) How much can you afford to spend on a house if you take the job in North Haven.
(1) Our budget right off the bat is going to be $400k-500k for either job, but given a few years at the Wilton job, we could probably afford $600k.
(2) The job in Wilton is just north of Wilton Center, off Route 7.
(3) The job begins at 8:00 and ends at 3:00.
(4) Budget for a house for the North Haven job would probably stay between $400k-500k.
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