[BillieJan]

Hi. My husband will start working in Manhattan in a couple months & we need some advice on the best CT commuter cities to live in -- good schools, neighborhoods, not too long of a commute, etc.
Thanks!

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by BillieJan

Hi. My husband will start working in Manhattan in a couple months & we need some advice on the best CT commuter cities to live in -- good schools, neighborhoods, not too long of a commute, etc.
Thanks!

SW CT is very expensive but since you're coming from CA you shouldn't suffer from sticker shock like many other newcomers. The towns within easy commuting distance to Manhattan are Greenwich, Stamford, Norwalk, Darien, New Canaan and Westport. Stamford and Norwalk are larger cities and will be the most reasonably priced. The schools are just OK though when compared with area districts. Greenwich is a beautiful town if you can afford it- the average home price in the $1m+ range. Same with New Canaan, Darien and Westport. All of the towns are very established and have excellent public schools. Greenwich will be the closest to Grand Central (express train taking between 42 and 52 minutes). Westport will be furthest at 1 hour.

If extreme lower Fairfield County prices scare you and you're looking for a town without status, consider Fairfield. The town has excellent schools as well. The train ride into the city is about 70 minutes - the Fairfield train station has some parking issues and I know a few Fairfielders who take the train out of Norwalk but from what I understand the problems are close to being resolved (correct me if I'm wrong??).

If you give us a price range we can help you out a little more.

[bmmeup2]

Maybe I can help. My husband too was transferred to the New York office of his firm from San Francisco. We were living in Marin, a 20 minute drive into SF. His NY office is in lower Manhattan, the financial district. My husband grew up in Bronxville and knew that area so that's where my house-hunting started on the east coast. Our main goal was to find a commute (the train and subway) for my husband that wasn't too brutal. We looked at Rye, Scarsdale, Bronxville but for me it was too congested (I'm a Colo. native). I knew CT would be the place but didn't know what town. We wanted a place near the train station. I started my search in Stamford, then on to Darien, New Canaan, Greenwich and Westport. We decided on Darien because of it's proximity to the train and I-95. The high school was just completed and we found a house to rent within walking distance to the train for my husband. New Canaan would be my first choice or Greenwich but the commute for my husband was the biggest factor in our dicision. They all have great schools, etc. And yes, Greenwich is REALLY nice but very expensive. My son's graduated from Darien High School and my husband's commute was a ten minute walk to the train station; 50 minutes to Grand Central; a 20 minute subway ride and then another 15 minute walk to his office, and that was on a good day! We ended up buying a small condo in the city when my son's went off to college and now he walks to work. Good luck with your move!!

[BillieJan]

Thank you so much for taking the time to help us out -- we found both of your responses very helpful Kidyankee & bmmeup!

[shorelinect]

Stay in southern Fairfield Cty. Try Greenwich, Ridgefield, New Canaan, Wilton. Coming from CA you should be able to afford the prices. You could be out of it (rural) but an hour to NYC.