SONO area- could we live here? (Stamford, Norwalk: middle-class, apartments, rentals)

krad · 02-08-2009, 07:20 AM

We are relocating from Austin, Tx to Fairfield County. My husband will be working in Stamford. We are interested in renting for a year or so to see where we would like to be. There are 2 rentals in the South Norwalk area, one on Quintard and one on Shorefront Park. Can anyone tell me what these areas are like?

We will have a newborn and would love an area that I can go for walks with baby and dog but I have read some things about some areas nearby being sketchy. Would we be better off looking in Westport? I'm just concerned that it may be a bit uptight for our tastes?

Any advice would be appreciated.

MikefromCT · 02-08-2009, 05:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by krad

We are relocating from Austin, Tx to Fairfield County. My husband will be working in Stamford. We are interested in renting for a year or so to see where we would like to be. There are 2 rentals in the South Norwalk area, one on Quintard and one on Shorefront Park. Can anyone tell me what these areas are like?

We will have a newborn and would love an area that I can go for walks with baby and dog but I have read some things about some areas nearby being sketchy. Would we be better off looking in Westport? I'm just concerned that it may be a bit uptight for our tastes?

Any advice would be appreciated.

Well if you can afford to live in Westport and plan to raise children, that would probably be the better of the two options. It's a lovely town but incredibly pricy. Norwalk is a city of 80,000. And even though they cleaned up South Norwalk quite a bit, it still has a few rough spots - over by Ely Ave are some nasty public housing complexes. Generally the closer you are to MainStreet and the MetroNorth station the better it is. The places you listed should be OK but I don't know that area well.

Did you consider Stamford? It's also a city but it's VERY safe - as in the 3rd safest city in the country. It has many solid, middle-class neighborhoods that would probably suit your needs and it would definitely be more affordable than Westport.

krad · 02-08-2009, 07:35 PM

Thanks for the reply. My husband drove by today and, while he liked the Shorefront Park house, after visiting Westport and Ridgefield, thought that they may be a better fit.

Can you tell me which parts of Stamford would be good to look at? I have also heard that East Norwalk is nice?

MikefromCT · 02-08-2009, 07:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by krad

Thanks for the reply. My husband drove by today and, while he liked the Shorefront Park house, after visiting Westport and Ridgefield, thought that they may be a better fit.

Can you tell me which parts of Stamford would be good to look at? I have also heard that East Norwalk is nice?

I was actually going to suggest East Norwalk, funny you say that. Again, I don't know that area well but it's a decent neighborhood. It's safer than SoNo.

As for Stamford, unless you're in the West Side or the South End you should be fine as far as safety. These two areas are economically depressed compared to other parts. The West Side had a bad rep a while back because it was considered a poor area. Now only a handful of housing projects remain and these not for long. There's been talk of replacing the public housing with mixed-income type residences so that some of those currently living in the PJs can stay, but you know how that goes. They had the same intention in Chicago when they knocked down Cabrini Green, and we all saw how that turned out.

Anyway, you shouldn't have any trouble if you stay away from these areas. Right now they're no good but in a few years they'll just be extensions of downtown. North Stamford is the most costly area. Other areas that are less expensive include Springdale and Glenbrook. They ain't cheap but they're more affordable than the North side and they're really nice.

kettlepot · 02-09-2009, 02:05 AM

So how did that turn out when they knocked down Cabrini Green? Not all of us know.

I lived in SONO back in the day. I've always seen it as a place for singles, and young couples without kids. Once the kids come, a little more caution, and a little less night life is in order.

brattpowered · 02-09-2009, 04:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by krad

Thanks for the reply. My husband drove by today and, while he liked the Shorefront Park house, after visiting Westport and Ridgefield, thought that they may be a better fit.

Can you tell me which parts of Stamford would be good to look at? I have also heard that East Norwalk is nice?

I would check out the Springdale, Belltown and upper Glenbrook areas of Stamford. They are old fashioned, established main street neighborhoods with lots of families. These areas are much safer than South Norwalk and much less uptight than Ridgefield or Westport. They will also be closest to where your husband works.

(From a Stamford native now living in Austin).

MikefromCT · 02-09-2009, 05:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kettlepot

So how did that turn out when they knocked down Cabrini Green? Not all of us know.

It was one of the worst housing projects on earth. Built on cheap budgets to house workers drawn to the city's booming defense industries during WWII. When the jobs left years later, so did the working class. The bulidings deteriorated and crime skyrockted. And since it was located in an unusually wealthy part of town, two things happened: One, it became a lucrative area for the drug trade; and two, now that these buildings are gone, instead of setting more space aside for the working poor, what's going in its place is catering almost exclusively to the wealthy since the land is so valueable given its location. And that's the problem - most of the people in these PJs were hastily moved out. I can understand the need to knock down something that was so infamous and the source of so much crime and infamy - but even in these slums you still have some law-abiding people who simply had nowhere else to go and they're being ousted. Very few of these people will be eligible for these new townhouses. Same thing is happening in Harlem and, to a lesser extent, Stamford. The crime certainly won't be missed but I feel bad for those who got screwed by this.

jjbradleynyc · 02-09-2009, 05:33 PM

MikefromCT gave some good advice for Stamford, as did brattpowered. I live in the Bulls Head neighborhood of Stamford and it is an excellent location. We are 2 miles from I-95 and about 2 1/2 miles from the Merritt Parkway. It's extremely safe, extremely quiet (for being in the middle of a city of 120k), and there are a ton of nice living options such as condos, apartments, single family homes. Most of Stamford in general is very, very safe, and very nice. As mentioned, there are pockets on the west side of Stamford and on the south end that are sketchy. However, those are being cleaned up either now or in the future.
Stamford's prices have dropped. Take a look, you would be surprised.

krad · 02-09-2009, 07:09 PM

Thanks so much for all of the tips. I will check out some of the Stamford neighborhoods. Do any of them have places to walk to (coffee shops, bookstores, etc)?

brattpowered · 02-09-2009, 07:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by krad

Thanks so much for all of the tips. I will check out some of the Stamford neighborhoods. Do any of them have places to walk to (coffee shops, bookstores, etc)?

I would say Springdale is the best for this. It doesn't have the funkiness of South Congress or Hyde Park, but it is walkable in the functional old fashioned sense (Pharmacy, cleaners, doctors, theatre, park, churches, train station, other services). I would say that besides downtown, it is the most walkable neighborhood in the city.

If you are looking for quaint coffeeshops or cool bookstores or boutiques to walk to, I would say SoNo and the main business district in Westport would be better.