Where to live in CT?

lerops · Dec 4, 2010

Hi there,

Missed skiing last year after the baby came! Determined to get back to it this year very soon after a busy year. Missed the AZ, too. Hopefully I can be more active this year.

But this thread is about a longer term solution. Hate NY, but work is here. So, where could I move in CT so that I can commute to NY, but also have access to a local hill and can relatively easily get to southern VT?

I am doing my own research, but wanted to get your experience.

lerops · Dec 4, 2010

Wrong forum, sorry! Could the moderators move to the Miscellaneous forum please?

gmcunni · Dec 4, 2010

lerops said:
So, where could I move in CT so that I can commute to NY, but also have access to a local hill and can relatively easily get to southern VT?

depends on what you are looking for in local hill and consider easy access to SVT.

Ridgefield/Danbury area might suit you.. You have Thunder Ridge ski area close by and I84 to 91 could get you to SVT inside the realm of "easily". there is a Metro North spur that runs to Danbury.(http://www.mta.info/mnr/html/mnrmap.htm)

i live in Monroe CT. I don't commute to NYC but go in occasionally taking the train out of Bridgeport. it is 2+ hours door to door to get to my company's mid-town office. I consider Ski Sundown my local mountain, 65 minutes door to door. Mohawk is an option too, 60 minutes from my home, probably less from Danbury area.

SVT is roughly 3 hours for me (Mt snow, stratton, bromely, magic, okemo). Killington is 3.5 hours to the access road lodges, less to Bear or the RT Gondola stop.

I used to live in Stamford, basically add 30 minutes to the VT times (without traffic). Thunder Ridge is still pretty easy as a local.

severine · Dec 4, 2010

gmcunni said:
i live in Monroe CT. I don't commute to NYC but go in occasionally taking the train out of Bridgeport. it is 2+ hours door to door to get to my company's mid-town office. I consider Ski Sundown my local mountain, 65 minutes door to door. Mohawk is an option too, 60 minutes from my home, probably less from Danbury area.

When I've gone into NYC, it's about 2 hrs 15 min from Torrington to Grand Central Station driving down 8>84>684 to Katonah, NY and taking the train in--which is not the best situation for frequent commuting to the city but we're only 15 miles from Sundown and Mohawk. I would recommend the Danbury/Ridgefield area, but it depends on what you're looking for. From there, you can grab the train in Brewster (very close)...though I prefer driving down to Katonah because it's a nice, safe community to park your car in. Less than 1 hour from there to Grand Central, varying if it's express service or not at the time. Danbury would be about 1 hour from Sundown or Mohawk but probably closer to half an hour to Thunder Ridge from there.

crank · Dec 5, 2010

I'm in Wilton, CT. Lot's of NYC commuters here. It takes about an hour to ride a train in from the main line running along the coastal towns from say Norwalk or Westport and it is about a 10 minute drive to several stations from here. There is also a spur - the Danbury line, which makes getting to the train easier, but trains run less frequently. I've gone in for work plenty of times but never as a regular commuter.

Mohawk is about 1:15 from here and Sundown not much more. We haven't been to either in years. Southern VT areas take about 3 hours. Killington is 3.5 - 4. Jay Peak, Sugarbush, Stowe about 5 sh. Hunter, Windham, Berkshire East, Jiminy all fall in the 2 - 2.5 hour range.

severine · Dec 5, 2010

crank said:
There is also a spur - the Danbury line, which makes getting to the train easier, but trains run less frequently.

This is why it seems worth the extra 15 min or so to drive to Brewster or Katonah from Danbury to take the train. They have trains all the way until 1:50AM coming back from Grand Central, running every hour. First train out to NYC is around 6:30, IIRC, and again, they run every hour (might even be every 30 min during commuting times but I usually ride in on off-peak times so I could be mistaken).

severine · Dec 5, 2010

I don't know if this will post properly....

Departs KATONAH Arrives GRAND CENTRAL Travel TimeIn Minutes Transfer(s) Peak Fares Apply?
4:48 AM 5:50 AM 62 THROUGH TRAIN PEAK
5:10 AM 6:12 AM 62 THROUGH TRAIN PEAK
5:35 AM 6:36 AM 61 THROUGH TRAIN PEAK
6:00 AM 7:04 AM 64 THROUGH TRAIN PEAK
6:20 AM 7:28 AM 68 THROUGH TRAIN PEAK
6:32 AM 7:32 AM 60 THROUGH TRAIN PEAK
6:39 AM 7:49 AM 70 THROUGH TRAIN PEAK
6:52 AM 7:57 AM 65 THROUGH TRAIN PEAK
7:17 AM 8:24 AM 67 THROUGH TRAIN PEAK
7:39 AM 8:44 AM 65 THROUGH TRAIN PEAK
8:09 AM 9:12 AM 63 THROUGH TRAIN PEAK
8:30 AM 9:30 AM 60 THROUGH TRAIN PEAK
8:56 AM 10:05 AM 69 THROUGH TRAIN OFF PEAK

Versus Danbury for the same time frame for a Monday:

Departs DANBURY Arrives GRAND CENTRAL Travel Time In Minutes Transfer(s) Peak Fares Apply?
5:31 AM 7:35 AM 124 THROUGH TRAIN PEAK
6:18 AM 8:11 AM 113 THROUGH TRAIN PEAK
6:49 AM 8:53 AM 124 THROUGH TRAIN PEAK
7:26 AM 9:26 AM 120 TRANSFER AT SOUTH NORWALK(AR 8:14 AM & LV 8:22 AM) PEAK
7:56 AM 9:50 AM 114 TRANSFER AT SOUTH NORWALK(AR 8:44 AM & LV 8:49 AM) PEAK

4aprice · Dec 6, 2010

Nothing wrong with CT but you could consider NNJ too. (If the taxes don't scare you away). 4 hours on the nose from Mt Snow, Bromley, Magic, Stratton and Rutland proper. Catskills a 2 hour jaunt and the Pocono's for local skiing. Not a bad position for northeastern skiing. I-87 is a straight shot up to the north country. Plenty of access to NYC.

Alex

Lake Hopatcong, NJ

lerops · Dec 8, 2010

Thanks everybody, much appreciated.

It looks like we need to be careful with this. Danbury vs. Katonah commute difference is huge although they are pretty close.

Alex: I am trying to get that 4 hours closer to 3 hours and get away from the city crowd in Catskills. Thanks though.

gmcunni · Dec 8, 2010

lerops said:
Thanks everybody, much appreciated.

It looks like we need to be careful with this. Danbury vs. Katonah commute difference is huge although they are pretty close.

Alex: I am trying to get that 4 hours closer to 3 hours and get away from the city crowd in Catskills. Thanks though.

if you are cool with 3 hours to VT and little more than an hour to a local hill then westport/fairfield might be worth a look too. both on the train line with easy access to i95 or rt 15 to 91.

Mapnut · Dec 9, 2010

When you say you work in New York, do you mean Manhattan? If you drive to work it could be a different story, but if you work in NYC full time it would be crazy to let ski drive time be a bigger consideration than commuting, even if you ski 50 days a year. Greenwich and Stamford are by far the best commute, express trains, no changes, reliable service, lower fares than further out. Yes housing is expensive, but especially in Greenwich property taxes are low (half what they are elswhere in the metropoitan area) and town services are good. Also real estate holds its value, or appreciates, better than anywhere else. I find the people materialistic and not friendly, but I don't know how that compares to elsewhere. I think a 45-minute commute 220 days a year more than compensates for an extra half hour on a ski trip 50 times a year.

There's no ski area conveniently close. I made a chart once and found there's almost a linear relationship between driving distance and vertical drop. For instance 1 hour = 400 vertical feet (Thunder Ridge, Mt. Peter); 1:45 = 600 feet (Mohawk, Sundown); 2:30 = 1200 feet (Belleayre, Jiminy, Berkshire East); 3:30 = 1800 feet (Mt. Snow, Stratton) 4:00 = Killington (whatever you call their vertical).

severine · Dec 9, 2010

Mapnut said:
When you say you work in New York, do you mean Manhattan? If you drive to work it could be a different story, but if you work in NYC full time it would be crazy to let ski drive time be a bigger consideration than commuting, even if you ski 50 days a year. Greenwich and Stamford are by far the best commute, express trains, no changes, reliable service, lower fares than further out. Yes housing is expensive, but especially in Greenwich property taxes are low (half what they are elswhere in the metropoitan area) and town services are good. Also real estate holds its value, or appreciates, better than anywhere else. I find the people materialistic and not friendly, but I don't know how that compares to elsewhere. I think a 45-minute commute 220 days a year more than compensates for an extra half hour on a ski trip 50 times a year.

There's no ski area conveniently close. I made a chart once and found there's almost a linear relationship between driving distance and vertical drop. For instance 1 hour = 400 vertical feet (Thunder Ridge, Mt. Peter); 1:45 = 600 feet (Mohawk, Sundown); 2:30 = 1200 feet (Belleayre, Jiminy, Berkshire East); 3:30 = 1800 feet (Mt. Snow, Stratton) 4:00 = Killington (whatever you call their vertical).

The cost of real estate in the Greenwich area is out of reach for a lot of people. Not everyone, but that in part is why I offered the other alternative. Granted, not all of Danbury/Ridgefield is all that inexpensive either but it's less expensive than the biggies in Fairfield County... and again, if you take the train from along the 684 corridor in NY, it's really only 15-20 min further of a train ride but a substantial savings in real estate cost, and there is the bonus of being closer to skiing.

Greenwich has a super low mill rate because the real estate values are so high. It's all proportionate. Municipal mill rates are a calculation of money needed to run the town divided by the total taxable assessments of real estate, business personal property, and motor vehicles in that municipality. The higher that taxable assessment base,the less the overall burden would be as expressed as a mill rate. What you need to keep in mind though is that while the mill rate is lower, your real estate taxes overall are probably similar to other areas once you multiply that rate times your assessment (70% of the market value). A $400,000 house at a mill rate of 12 versus a $200,000 house at a mill rate of 24 is the same in taxes. And a $400,000 house in Fairfield County isn't necessarily a house that is twice as big or anything like that--just costs more because of the location.

Mapnut · Dec 9, 2010

severine said:
The cost of real estate in the Greenwich area is out of reach for a lot of people. ]QUOTE]

That's what I thought when my wife first suggested Greenwich, but we were able to afford a starter house and it has worked out well. When I said property taxes were half of elsewhere, I was thinking about other areas within similar commuting distances like Westchester and Nassau Counties, NY and Bergen County NJ. There, I think a house like mine would have twice the taxes and a house for the same tax I pay would not exist. I don't know about taxes in Ridgefield and Danbury, but I think house prices in Ridgefield are nearly equal to Greenwich. And to me, an additional 20 minutes on a daily commute would be huge. I think it would be woth Lerops' time to at least take a look.

severine · Dec 9, 2010

Mapnut said:
severine said:

The cost of real estate in the Greenwich area is out of reach for a lot of people.

Click to expand...

That's what I thought when my wife first suggested Greenwich, but we were able to afford a starter house and it has worked out well. When I said property taxes were half of elsewhere, I was thinking about other areas within similar commuting distances like Westchester and Nassau Counties, NY and Bergen County NJ. There, I think a house like mine would have twice the taxes and a house for the same tax I pay would not exist. I don't know about taxes in Ridgefield and Danbury, but I think house prices in Ridgefield are nearly equal to Greenwich. And to me, an additional 20 minutes on a daily commute would be huge. I think it would be woth Lerops' time to at least take a look.

Taxing is actually an interesting thing to add... unlike NY, in CT, your school, fire, etc. taxes are all wrapped up into one municipal real estate tax paid to the city/town twice a year (but likely would just be included in your monthly mortgage payment anyway). If you have city sewer, that will be assessed a separate fee, payable in July and January. On top of that, motor vehicles are taxed annually as well. Tax bills that went out in June 2010 and were due July 2010, for example, were based on 70% of the NADA average retail value of your vehicle on October 1, 2009 multiplied times the mill rate. If you register a vehicle after October 1st, you'll end up on the Supplemental list first, which is billed in December and due in January--after that, you'd only be taxed once a year for your vehicle.

A lot of people don't know this when they move to our state, so now you're a step ahead.

To Mapnut, my dad works in the Bronx (via Stamford--has to go there first) and lives in Torrington. What's an okay commute distance to some may not be to others, but it works for him. Housing is much cheaper up here.

Mapnut · Dec 9, 2010

Holy crap, he commutes from Torrington? That's longer than my drive to Mohawk.

severine · Dec 9, 2010

Mapnut said:
Holy crap, he commutes from Torrington? That's longer than my drive to Mohawk.

Yup. He drives from Torrington to Stamford to pick up the truck at work, then drives from Stamford to the Bronx and drives around the Bronx all day. Reverse at the end of the day. He likes driving though.

SKIQUATTRO · Dec 9, 2010

i used to commute to NYC from Glastonbury...45 min drive to new haven, 2hr train ride in....repeat on way home.....

marcski · Dec 9, 2010

Westchester county taxes are extraordinary. Our commute is quite good..as are our town services and schools. Housing costs are definitely high. My town happens to have a bunch of open space....compared to most any other southern west. Co. Town. From what I understand, the overall tax burden in ct. Is definitely less than NY.

Sev. Your dad is nuts!

my home in westchester to my office on li is 40 miles each way, plus I usually Erive to the city, Brooklyn or queens on the way in first. But it still isn't a bad commute time wise.

severine · Dec 9, 2010

marcski said:
Sev. Your dad is nuts! my home in westchester to my office on li is 40 miles each way, plus I usually Erive to the city, Brooklyn or queens on the way in first. But it still isn't a bad commute time wise.

Did I mention he has to go to work at something like 3AM? He doesn't hit the bad traffic, at least.

I'll probably be looking for a job in the city when I graduate so this commuting from CT to NYC thing is something that's been on my mind anyway. But I won't be doing it from Torrington. :lol:

crank · Dec 9, 2010

One of the reasons I settled in Wilton was because I figured I might need to work in NYC and this was about as far out as I was willing to go and commute in. Another was the taxes which are much lower than Westchester's but have still managed to creep upwards over time.

Severine, I can't believe your father commutes in from Torrington. He must spend at least 4 hours a day on the road!

I also agree with mapnut's philosophy. I'd rather be closer for my daily commute and drive farther for skiing. I find it hard to get excited by the skiing that is less than 2 hours away and if I'm going to go that far I usually go farther to get somewhere I really like. If Sundown or some similar area was 20 minutes from my house I would get a season's pass and take a few runs a few evening a week, bu to drive 45 - 60 minutes for 600 vertical of OK skiing is not worth it to me...maybe if I was a bumper.

Where to live in CT?

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