[Stylo]

Originally Posted by okbymeman

20 minutes just to drive to a train station for a 1.5+ hour commute would get real old real fast. Do you know how slow those trains are? Especially that last jaunt when it pulls into Grand Central. They are so slow. It will drive anyone insane eventually.

Plus you would have to live in Derby.

I know exactly how long those trains take.

Fairfield Metro expresses are 80-83 minutes.

I did it from Milford for 4 years and was fine. I didn't go insane. 3-4 days a week. Office by GCT.

Anyway, OP wants a house for ~250k and was considering Norwich. Yeah, it's a tough commute, but what other option is there?

[MikefromCT]

Originally Posted by Stylo

I know exactly how long those trains take.

Fairfield Metro expresses are 80-83 minutes.

I did it from Milford for 4 years and was fine. I didn't go insane. 3-4 days a week. Office by GCT.

Anyway, OP wants a house for ~250k and was considering Norwich. Yeah, it's a tough commute, but what other option is there?

If the OP does not have children and is agreeable to city life, at least for the short term, maybe Bridgeport's Black Rock neighborhood? It's not cheap, but it's definitely one of the few remaining places with affordable housing in Fairfield County (though "affordable" is a decidedly a relative term right now ) and quicker access to the city.

[thinkingofconn]

Originally Posted by JayCT

There’s a reason that Norwich homes are so cheap and that’s its distance to major employment centers. New York City is about 130 miles from Norwich. Even without traffic it would take you over 2 1/2 hours each way. That’s an insane commute.

What is your budget? There are more affordable areas closer to the city that you may want to consider. The Danbury area immediately comes to mind. Stratford also might work. Another are the Naugatuck River Valley towns like Derby, Ansonia, Seymour, Beacon Falls and Naugatuck. Also you could consider the City of Waterbury. Again it depends on your budget.

Have you considered leaving your job in New York. I’m not sure what you do but Electric Boat in Groton is hiring thousands. You might check what they are looking for. You would be close to Norwich then but also affordable nicer towns near it. Jay

I work in the financial sector so am tied to NYC tri state area for the foreseeable future. Although I am looking into jobs in Stamford or even Boston ( big investment and mutual fund industry). Wfh is not really an option anymore full time but hybrid maybe available depending on employer.

I am pre approved for up to $450k but prefer not to max out. I have rented my entire life so would qualify for any govt first time home buyer program. Total comp all in is around $130k annually.

No kids. No spouse. No plan to have kids. Very tired of living in apt buildings my entire life with noisy neighbors. Would like a sfh to have my own greenhouse garden.

[masssachoicetts]

Originally Posted by thinkingofconn

I work in the financial sector so am tied to NYC tri state area for the foreseeable future. Although I am looking into jobs in Stamford or even Boston ( big investment and mutual fund industry). Wfh is not really an option anymore full time but hybrid maybe available depending on employer.

I am pre approved for up to $450k but prefer not to max out. I have rented my entire life so would qualify for any govt first time home buyer program. Total comp all in is around $130k annually.

No kids. No spouse. No plan to have kids. Very tired of living in apt buildings my entire life with noisy neighbors. Would like a sfh to have my own greenhouse garden.

Try Stamford or Hartford for jobs. You can live relatively close with that budget.

idk if you can some big SFH in CT on that budget, but worth a shot.

The closer you get to Boston and NYC, the more expensive it gets. For sure.

If you are thinking about Boston, there is also Warwick RI... its moderately priced.

[CTlibrarian]

The problem with Norwich is not only how far east it is, but how far away it is from major east/west highways. It's just not that close to I-95 and the MetroNorth line. Besides some of the towns that other posters have suggested, you could consider someplace like Danbury or New Fairfield and then drive into NY to catch the Hudson line at someplace like Katonah. I have a friend who lives in Ridgefield and makes that commute into the financial district.

[dcb175]

I grew up in the area, Ledyard to be precise. Don't do it, that is absolute insanity. The low prices are explained by:
1. It's a mostly military area with the massive sub base in Groton (my father was in the Navy, which is why we were there)
2. Norwich itself was one of the seedier areas within SE CT
3. As others have correctly pointed out, it's not close to major employment centers, though Hartford is under an hour and we knew people who did that commute.

I was a kid so obviously never commuted when living there, but I would imagine you're talking 2.5 hours+ each way.

There are other places closer to NYC that are cheap'ish. Heck, even the Poconos is a much easier commute than Norwich, though I also wouldn't recommend that either. But drive straight north or west for 1.5 hours and you should be in the ballpark of Norwich prices and more commutable (though still not sustainably commutable).

Just a quick glance, I'm seeing SFH's in Brewster/Carmel (Westchester/Putnam country border) under $400K. That would be infinitely more commutable as it's a straight shot down 684 to a Metro North stop.

[thinkingofconn]

How is Carmel? It looks nice and scenic.

[mels]

Originally Posted by thinkingofconn

How is Carmel? It looks nice and scenic.

Do you mean Mount Carmel, as in the neighborhood in Hamden?

[dcb175]

Originally Posted by mels

Do you mean Mount Carmel, as in the neighborhood in Hamden?

Think he means Carmel, NY, which I had suggested above as an alternate area to look that would be cheaper than the immediate NYC but a better commute to NYC than Norwich.

To the OP, I'm not really sure, you'd be better off asking in the New York State forum (or maybe Westchester). Or better yet, take a drive up to the area to scope it out. From my limited perspective passing through (on the way to somewhere else), it is pretty rural and quiet, but seemed otherwise fine if that's what you're looking for. I'd assume you would be driving a ways to get to shopping, etc. But to my original point, it will be a much easier commute than anywhere in the eastern half of CT.

[BobNJ1960]

Originally Posted by thinkingofconn

I work in the financial sector so am tied to NYC tri state area for the foreseeable future. Although I am looking into jobs in Stamford or even Boston ( big investment and mutual fund industry). Wfh is not really an option anymore full time but hybrid maybe available depending on employer.

I am pre approved for up to $450k but prefer not to max out. I have rented my entire life so would qualify for any govt first time home buyer program. Total comp all in is around $130k annually.

No kids. No spouse. No plan to have kids. Very tired of living in apt buildings my entire life with noisy neighbors. Would like a sfh to have my own greenhouse garden.

What is your Grand Central-office commute? If you are by midtown and choose Derby, you would have a 20 minute ride and park morning drive, then a train ride that would most often truly be (By time it coasts to GCT stop) 110-120 minutes, then a 20 minute subway/walk commute.

That is 150-160 minutes each way, or 5 hours, to 5 hours and twenty minutes daily. Far too long.

I did Milford-Bronx 3 years, stopping at Yankee stadium. It was a grind, and I am just under one mile from this train station. That was a grind, and my full commute cycle was 40-60 minutes less than Derby-Wall St daily, as my pre/post train commute was shorter than Derby would be for you, or Trumbull.

Think about greatly reducing the commute before the train, or it will be over-bearing.

I would not repeat my 3 year experience again. It was awful. Despite me liking the friendly lady and her always nearby family who ran the coffee stand in Mikford.