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Old 08-05-2011, 01:54 PM
 
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I currently live and work in Manhattan but am considering moving and buying a house in CT. My wife and I have a 1-year old daughter so want to move out of NYC and looking to spend up to $450,000 on a home. My research to date has just been to look on real estate websites. We are looking for a combination of value and a decent school system. From a commute stanpoint, it would appear Stamford or Norwalk would be the most desirable. Fairfield I have heard has better schools and also good home values but the tradeoff is it is a bit futher out. I have also come accross a few houses in Weston but not sure is that area is further from the trains, perpahs the longest commute of all these places? Any thoughts are appreciated.
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Old 08-05-2011, 02:03 PM
 
Location: In a house
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For $450,000 you might be limited to Norwalk & smaller homes at that. But I'm not a real estate person. And I'm partial to Norwalk anyway.
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Old 08-05-2011, 02:17 PM
 
Location: Coastal Connecticut
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With $450,000 I would only look at Fairfield. The schools are much better than in Norwalk, which has the weakest of the 3. Stamford has average schools but is the most expensive of the 3.

Weston will add 10-15 minutes to travel to the train. Not as convenient for an NYC commute. The towns/cities with Metro North stations on the main New Haven line are Greenwich, Stamford, Darien, Norwalk, Westport, Fairfield, Bridgeport, Stratford, Milford and New Haven.

IMO you're only saving minutes going to Fairfield vs. Norwalk and isn't worth the compromise in schools. I also think Fairfield is a nicer town.

Here's what you get for $450,000 in the towns (and some others to give you perspective of the area):

Fairfield Real Estate - Fairfield, CT Homes for Sale - Realtor.com®
Norwalk Real Estate - Norwalk, CT Homes for Sale - Realtor.com®
Stamford Real Estate - Listings of Homes for Sale in Stamford, CT - Realtor.com®
Trumbull Real Estate - Listings of Homes for Sale in Trumbull, CT - Realtor.com®
Stratford Real Estate - Listings of Homes for Sale in Stratford, CT - Realtor.com®
Milford Real Estate - Milford, Homes for Sale - Realtor.com®
Weston Real Estate - Weston, Homes for Sale - Realtor.com®
Easton Real Estate - Easton, CT Homes for Sale - Realtor.com®
Wilton Real Estate - Wilton, CT Homes for Sale and Real Estate - Realtor.com®
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Old 08-05-2011, 02:32 PM
 
Location: Connecticut
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Stamford is a major city and the schools there perform under the state averages on the Connecticut Mastery and Connecticut Academic Performance Tests. Norwalk is a small city and it too does not perform well on these tests either. The link below will give you information on schools in Connecticut.

Fairfield is a very nice town. It offers a wide range of housing options and has a lot of great parks, beaches, restaurants and stores. The schools there are excellent, performing well above the state averages on these tests. It is a great town to raise a family. About the only thing wrong is that it is the furthest from New York so your commute will be longer.

Weston is a small somewhat rural town just north of Westport. It is very nice with excellent schools. Most homes have large lots and there is very little commercial development so it is very quiet. Depending where you live in town it can be a long ride to the train station. I am surprised that there are homes there in the $450,000 price range since it is usually very expensive. Jay
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Old 08-05-2011, 05:34 PM
 
Location: Coastal Connecticut
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JayCT View Post
Stamford is a major city and the schools there perform under the state averages on the Connecticut Mastery and Connecticut Academic Performance Tests. Norwalk is a small city and it too does not perform well on these tests either. The link below will give you information on schools in Connecticut.
Just want to say that test scores don't tell the whole story. I know a lot of people that have been very happy with the Stamford schools. A bigger school can be a good life experience. This is coming from someone who went to one of the top performing schools in the state. No diversity, competition for status (many times financial driven - how big your parents house is or the Mercedes they bought you), lots of pressure and a feeling of isolation from reality. It was also comical how they drilled how to score well on the CAPT test for months.

I also feel strongy that good school performance starts at home.

I still agree on Fairfield but I often see schools here weighed strongly on test scores.
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Old 08-05-2011, 08:44 PM
 
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Honestly I would never commute to NYC from Fairfield. You're looking at 3+ hours per day just commuting. It would be a serious drain on one's quality of life.
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Old 08-05-2011, 09:02 PM
 
Location: Coastal Connecticut
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kidyankee764 View Post
Honestly I would never commute to NYC from Fairfield. You're looking at 3+ hours per day just commuting. It would be a serious drain on one's quality of life.
Yeah but you're only saving like 10 minutes from Norwalk, 15 from Stamford. It's a long commute any way you look at it. That is the price to pay to own a home at the OP's budget in a good school district.
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Old 08-05-2011, 09:04 PM
 
Location: Connecticut
34,943 posts, read 56,970,098 times
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Someone pointed out to me that I forgot the link to the information on schools. Sorry about that. Here it is:

State Department of Education - CEDaR

mkiv808 - While I agree that statistics alone do not tell the entire story of how good a school system is, to the average person looking to buy a home in a town with "good schools" test results mean a lot. They are not looking for a school system where the students are performing well under the state average, that is for certain. I know teachers in both Bridgeport and Bloomfield high schools (two of the lowest performing school systems in the state) and both have told me students there can get a good education. Would they recommend their schools to someone looking for a town with "good schools"? No way. That is just the way it is. Jay
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Old 08-05-2011, 09:11 PM
 
21,626 posts, read 31,221,057 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mkiv808 View Post
Yeah but you're only saving like 10 minutes from Norwalk, 15 from Stamford. It's a long commute any way you look at it. That is the price to pay to own a home at the OP's budget in a good school district.
I wouldn't even make the daily commute from Stamford. I did it in '01 for an internship from Cos Cob. My QOL sucked.
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Old 08-05-2011, 09:22 PM
 
Location: Coastal Connecticut
21,766 posts, read 28,102,272 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kidyankee764 View Post
I wouldn't even make the daily commute from Stamford. I did it in '01 for an internship from Cos Cob. My QOL sucked.
At least now we have iPad's and 3G to keep busy. But yeah, some people don't mind it and it drives others nuts. I would probably just keep my house and rent a studio in the city if I took a job there.
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