[kyndcookie]

Hi, My wife and I are getting ready to move back to CT this fall. I'll be driving to Yale daily, while my wife will be taking the train to NYC.

I know we have several choices of where to live. The catch is that we're hoping to find neighborhoods with homes/apartments close enough to a metro station that she/we can walk or bike, weather permitting. We would very much like to reduce our cars to 1.

Anyone here have specific neighborhoods along the metro line that might fit the bill? I know most of the town on the New Haven line, but don't know the names of neighborhoods. We'd like to stay generally between the City and New Haven, but are pretty flexible.

Hopefully your responses will help with our search (Craigslist, etc.). Thanks in advance!

[Chava61]

I know someone who used to commute to NYC by MetroNorth from Old Greenwich, CT.

[JayCT]

Kyndcookie - A lot will depend on how much you are willing to spend, what you expect to get for your money and how far from New York and New Haven you want to be. Greenwich is closest to New York but is expensive. Stamford offers a lot but is a large city by Connecticut standards and may be too urban. Darien and westport are priceir like Greenwich. Norwalk and Bridgeport are very urban. Fairfield is a nice town and more affordable than the lower Fairfield County towns but is further from Manhattan. Stratford is very nice and more reasonably priced as is Milford but they are even further from Manhattan. I think you need to give us more information to help you. Jay

[kyndcookie]

Hi Jay, We are willing to spend up to $2k per month on a rental. We're planning to do pre-school for our son (3yo) in New Haven, so school right now are a non-issue. The plan is to rent long enough for the real estate market to recover in Las Vegas before we buy in CT. I'm hoping to keep my portion of the commute to within an hour of where we live, so I would think Stamford would be as far south as we'd want to go. Thanks!

[KH02]

How many bedrooms do you need?
2K a month isn't much for a budget in fairfield county so I'd stick to the actual New Haven area.

[JayCT]

Well for $2,000, I would recommend starting in Fairfield. It is about 90 minutes by train from Manhattan and about 30 minutes (25 miles) to New Have, during peak traffic hours though it may take longer than 30 minutes though, maybe 45. Fairfield is a great town with a nice downtown area, great parks and excellent schools. Look for homes in the Old Post Road, Reef Road, Oldfield or Mill Plain areas. These are closest to the train station.

If you want to be even closer to New Haven, then consider Stratford or Milford. Both are nice towns with train stations as well. Jay

[Tubulus]

You can definitely get a 2 bedroom in Fairfield county for $2,000, especially in Fairfield or Norwalk. I would think you'll have the best luck wth walking to the train in East Norwalk or Fairfield. South Norwalk would be OK too, and has the most options for actual apartments instead of multi-families. Also remember that going further west doesn't necessarily make the train ride much shorter because of the local/express trains. Just take a look at the schedules. The drive to Yale should be fine.

[Tubulus]

Also - Westport might be a little pricier (but it's definitely possible to find what you are looking for), and there is a good shuttle system to the station that is timed around the trains.

[Stratford, Ct. Resident]

I think it's best to get as close to NY as possible. You should be able to find something walkable to the train station in the Springdale section of Stamford. You would be looking at ~40 mile commute to Yale, but you'll have a clear ride on the parkway(Rt.15) northbound in the morning. If you're looking to have "equal" commutes, this would be about the most ideal location, IMHO.

[NYC-NH2009]

Hi. I have the same question only we'd like to be no more than a 90 minute commute to NYC and hopefully a 20-30 minute commute to Yale hospital. Is this possible? Thanks!