moving2nyc

Hi All,

We've just spent a week in Greenwich looking at Greenwich High and Eastern middle, both very good schools. We then spent time looking for houses and were a little disappointed on what you get for your money

We have funds to $6k per month and looked in Greenwich, old Greenwich, Riverside and Cob Cos

We then popped over to some friends in Stamford (Shippan) and saw their great big stonking house for similar budget. They also told us Stamford High School seems a good school. Some of their friends have children their who seem very happy. However, looking at Greatschools.org it doesn't get good reviews.

We like the Greenwich area because of the good schools, beach and easy commute to Manhattan.

Does anyone have any info on Stamford High (we have 15 and 11 yr old girls). Or could recommend other areas we should check out.

Thanks as always

Nutmegger

Wherever you look, don't forget that the part of town you live in dictates which school your children attend. There is more than one high school in Stamford, and some are more "inner city" than others and have lesser ratings.

As to other towns to consider, it depends how long you're willing for the commute to be. Look along the New Haven line of the Metro-North RR to see the towns. Norwalk is a decent area and an easy commute; then there are the towns up the Danbury branch line -- a longer commute, but very good school districts in Wilton, Redding, and Ridgefield. There are direct trains to/from Grand Central during peak hours.

Does your company not have a relo person to work with you? They can be really helpful in your circumstances.

moving2nyc

Thanks for the reply.

We're going to look at one of the high schools in Stamford next week to get a feel for it.

Don't want to be any further north as I will need to be in Manhattan most days of the week. The 40mins express train to Stamford or Greenwich is ideal but longer than that might be a pain

Bob

Kind of the price you way, got to way your priorities...

Size of house, school district, length of commute...something might have to give.

Nutmegger

Just don't forget when you start looking at houses, it is the location of the house which will govern which schools your children will attend -- you don't get to choose.

Rete

If you are only set to live in Connecticut then this won't help at all. But look at house prices in Somers, Prudies, Purchase, Armonk, all of which are close to Connecticut. If you want water views, try Sleepy Hollow, Irvington, Dobbs Ferry, Hastings, all of them are along the Hudson and easy access to Metro North. Guess a lot depends on how upper crust you want to be, the type of home you want (old vs new built), etc.

Greenwich, Old Greenwich, Bryam are older fluent towns where money talks and nobody walks, literally. Not only are homes expensive but so are the stores in the area.

Patrick Hasler

Stamford is a nice place to live better than NYC anyway. Good comuter rail service to and from the city.

How the fupp can anyone live in NYC on $6k a month ?

Englishmum

I think he meant that his employer will cover rental costs of up to $6k per month (intra-company transfer L1/L2 visas).

I'm surprised the O/P is now looking at NY/CT suburbs as he and his family were apparently very impressed with the public school system in my NJ township (#1 for the State) when they came out for a visit late last year, with a 35-45 min commute into NYC...

moving2nyc

Hi Englishmum,

We did indeed have a look at NJ and loved many things about it. The draw to CT was based on having a chance to live near the water and have a bit of beach life.

Bob

how much beach life will you have freezing your knackers off though?

Mummy in the foothills

Rete

It is no better or worse than the beaches south of Boston during the July and August heat waves. If beachlife is of that great an interest in you and you don't mind a short drive to one, you can look a bit further north of you in Fairfield County. Candlewood Beach is beautiful. Also south of Greenwich in Westchester County, NY you have Rye which I understand has a good school district and their beaches are just as good as those in Connecticut.

Nutmegger

And don't forget that you don't just sail up to a beach in CT and stake your spot! You can purchase a permit for the beach of the town in which you live, and you can get day passes to some others, but the beaches along the sound aren't as open as in the UK. In recent years there have been lawsuits from people trying to get access to closed town beaches, such as those in Greenwich.

penguinbar

More than half the people who live in NYC live on much less than that! I am from NYCand live and work on the Upper East Side and you can definately live here on 72K a year! Also rents have come down considerably! If the 6K a year is for rent only than they can do extremely well. If they have a family areas of Brooklyn like Carrol Gardens and Park Slope have good deals on rents and very good public schools as well.