[gwenrn]

husband, myself, and baby are looking to move out of city. we really like CT but are not that familiar with the areas and know we cannot afford Darien and places closer to the city (at least we assume we can't). Looking at 500K houses. Is this at all a reality? Ideal commute is under 45min, max 1 hr.

[kidyankee764]

Check out Stamford - in the current market you will more than likely find a small home at that price. Fairfield is also a great town where you will get more for your money but it is up the line a bit with a longer commute.

[jjbradleynyc]

I second Kidyankee's reply. Stamford has a lot of homes available around the $500k mark. Many "once-priced @ $600k homes" can now be purchased for around the $500k price-tag. Some excellent deals can be had right now. Or, try Norwalk--about 10 minutes further east.

[tomcio]

My wife and I did some research in CT for the $500K houses and found Springdale (part of Stamford) very attractive.

[andthentherewere3]

I agree, you should be able to find a lot of homes under 500K in Stamford now. Right now is definitely a buyer's market.

[Stratford, Ct. Resident]

Try looking in the Springdale and Belltown sections of Stamford. Good neighborhoods and the elementary schools *should* be relatively decent.

There are at least a few cottages/bungalows for sale in Darien for <500K, but of course, they have issues(old, tiny, high traffic/busy roads).

[gwenrn]

but I've heard Stamford public schools are not ideal...

[Stratford, Ct. Resident]

Originally Posted by gwenrn

but I've heard Stamford public schools are not ideal...

Stamford has some decent(non-ghetto) elementary schools. Dolan middle school doesn't have a bad rep either. At the high school level is where you will see the most integration of different types of students.

[andthentherewere3]

Originally Posted by gwenrn

but I've heard Stamford public schools are not ideal...

Not everyone will agree on what is the "ideal" school system. Here is a website that lists Connecticut schools by rank, Stamford ranks 157 out of 184. You can research all of Connecticut's schools using that link. We used to live in Stamford ourselves, Norwalk as well, but chose the suburbs for a smaller school system more "ideal" for us. Some people are happy with Stamford school system, others are not, it all depends on what one expects from a school system. One thing to consider about Stamford right now though, there is some re-districting taking place. I'm not sure if the issue has been resolved yet. Many families were not happy with the changes.


Connecticut State Cities - CT City School Rankings

[KH02]

The answer to your question is "yes" technically you can find somewhere with cheaper housing under 500K like you said but yes, you will be giving up things to do that such as quality of schools.
You have to decide what's more important, closeness to NYC or good school and being further away.