[StephenJ]

My company is opening an East Coast office, and Stamford is currently the favorite option. I will be running the office and I'm starting to think about where to live. I've lived in LA and London, so I'm used to living in big cities. My family won't be moving for another year, so I am looking at a 2+ bed condo for myself only. One option is to live in NYC and 'reverse commute' by train, but I'd prefer to live closer to where I work, so Stamford itself is my preference in terms of location. I am considering choosing one of the high rise condos there.

I'd like to get a sense of what the downtown area is like socially. I'm hoping there is a good nightlife with a wide range of restaurants & bars. I'm ideally looking for a little bit of Manhatten in CT! Maybe that's not realistic. Another option would be to live in Greenwich or one of the other cities on the express Metro North line, but I'm concerned from what I read that most other places nearby will be quiet in the evenings - or is there anywhere else I should look at. I am really not interested in any form of commute by car - I have done that for too long and want an easy life now! Any thoughts would be very much appreciated.

[Stellaj]

You should be able to find a touch of Manhattan in Downtown Stamford, not much but enough . There are a lot of great restaurants there as well as the most active nightlife in Fairfield County. Try a google search for Telluride, Napa and Company and Columbus Park. Those are some of my favorite restaurants in Stamford. SoNo is also known for its trendy restaurants. Check out Match on Washington St. I believe they all have online menus so you can get a pretty good idea of what the food is like in comparison to where you have lived previously.

Greenwich is very nice, but tends to be "older". The Avenue has many 5 star restaurants but is a bit more stuffy in regards to nightlife. It's easy to drive there in under 10 minutes to enjoy their restaurants and then head back to Stamford to grab drinks.

Some good bars to go to in Stamford is Tigin (Irish Pub) g/r/a/n/d (Trendy) & Thirsty Turtle (Bar/Club). In SoNo there is Loft (Martini Bar) Black Bear (Sports Bar) and a bunch more.

You could also live in Stamford and take the train into Manhattan. I believe the last train out of Grand Central is around 2:00 am.

PM me if you have any questions!

[newlysgl]

Stamford has more nightlife than Greenwich. It's probably a good place for you to start. FYI there are furnished corporate month-to-month rental options at the Avalon apartment complexes (e.g. Avalon Grove).. or you can rent a furniture package from Cort (also in Stamford). We lived at Avalon Grove when we first moved to Stamford.. it was a good solution.. walkable to everything so you don't need a car right away.. nice complex with a gym and a pool. They often have special deals going on apts they are trying to rent. Not the place I would choose to live really long term (starts to feel like a motel after a while) but it's a fine solution till you get your bearings.

[Dockside]

Originally Posted by StephenJ

I will be running the office and I'm starting to think about where to live.

Just a thought. If you're opening the office, you're going to be working some long hours. You want to see your family sometime. Sure you can reverse-commute, but it will also mean time on the subway or taxi.

Greenwich borders Stamford, it's a great town with beautiful beaches, excellent schools, low taxes, and really expensive homes. If it's in your price range I wouldn't look much further. Good luck

[StephenJ]

Many thanks to everyone for your input. I plan to visit Stamford in the next couple of weeks and have a much better idea of where to start looking. Thanks once again.

[deadcrowsflyeast]

stamford has recently started putting in the 1million $$ condos downtown....w/ all the perks that come a long w/ them..or if you prefer the stamford countryside go to the north end

[markeg]

Approximately 1 mile from downtown is an area called Shippan in Stamford. It's on the water. You can get a condo anywhere from the low to mid 400's to over 1 million. It's a 5 min drive to downtown. Otherwise check out the Strawberry Hill area of town which is walking to downtown.
Good luck!