Looking at another potential spot to relocate for work. Want to tap the hive mind for information about how good a fit it would be for the wife and me. Position in question looks like it would primarily be in Bridgeport, CT, with occasional trips to other associated breweries under a corporate umbrella - primarily Waterbury/Wolcott.
Any one live in or visit the Bridgeport, CT area? What's it like?
The must-haves that it looks like it ticks the boxes for:
- Moderate cost of living, with 3+ bedroom houses in nice areas for under $400k (ideally in low to mid $300's)
- Relatively easy travel to DC metro area (Alexandria, VA) to visit family
- Active Women's Rugby club for my wife to play in
- Skate parks for me
- Nice paths/parks for walking the dog and biking
Weather-wise, I'm assuming it won't be too different from central OH - 4 seasons, I'd expect a bit cooler and less muggy in the summer, probably snowier winters but not Great Lakes blizzards. Looks like houses are frequently older construction and basements and detached garages are common.
I lived in CT a bit ago. Taxes on homes are brutal. Energy costs sky high. Car taxes. It's an expensive place to live. Each town can add their own sales % on top of the minimum from The state. One odd reference is that I've had kids in three states all at hospitals and all
uncomplicated births. Hartford CT was the most expensive place to have a kid hands down. Right to out of pocket max please! Seattle
was the cheapest.
Winters aren't bad at all, relatively mild. The summers are mild as well. The water really moderates.
Ct was the 2nd best place in the US we've lived. MN is the first. You have easy access to mountains in NY and Vermont. NYC is a train ride away. Boston is close. Lots of easy access to cultural things. I'd move back there.
I live in Newtown, CT - about 25 minutes from downtown Bridgeport, hit me up at my username at the g00gle mail service and I can give you a bunch of info over the phone.
You probably won't want to live in Bridgeport. It's been cleaned up a lot since the 80s when it was a mess, but I'm guessing you won't want to live there. It's perfectly fine to go there for events, I've always felt safe there. Obviously some neighborhoods are much better than others.
There are a ton of good towns with a reasonable cost of living in the area. We're in the northeast corner of Fairfield County, once you're out of that prices go down considerably. Taxes are a state-wide problem, although sometimes it can be cheaper to live in a city or bigger down because there's a more diverse tax base. Income Tax, Real Estate Tax, and Car Taxes are the biggest pain points for us.
- Travel to DC is easy, I like to get on the road early to avoid NYC traffic, but we can typically be down there before noon.
- There's a local rugby scene, I'm not sure what's out there for women, but I would guess you could find something local. Here's a local club that practices in town, I'm sure they would be happy to get your wife plugged into the local adult rugby scene: https://www.aspetuckrugby.org/
- We have a pretty good skatepark at the end of our street: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqe9nnJnqvU They just made some minor rennovations since that video was taken. My 15 year old hangs out down there, and says it's a good crowd (he just picked up skateboarding during Covid).
- There are a ton of parks/paths for walking dogs - the Fairfield Hills complex is pretty amazing for that, and there are several rails to trails places around. There's also a dog park in town. We have a ton of parks just in town, Monroe has several great parks, and Shelton has a walking path right on the water that looks pretty good.
- Weather is pretty decent, I've grown to dread winter but it's really not that bad. If you stay south of Rt.15 (Merritt Turnpike) there is less snow that north of the Merritt. The closer you are to the shore, the less it accumulates.
- Housing is all over the map, there are new developments as well as older houses. Garages can be attached or detached, but the older houses tend to have fewer bays and smaller garages.
- There is a good brewery scene around here, with some older, local breweries along with start-ups. https://www.newsylumbrewing.com/ is one in town that's fairly new but has done well
Ask away!
I know taxes add to cost of living and not discounting those, but not overly worried by them. We're double income, no kids, no debt (except mortgage). We live well within our means. We just want to keep things that way. Moving would also come with enough of a raise for me to be about 10% increase in total household income. We could afford to live in a DC suburb, but we don't really want to.
I'll private message about specifics of locations and such. I'm not close to finding a specific neighborhood or house yet. Just looking to confirm that there are nice neighborhoods that would be good for us.
Already have a specific position I've had an initial interview for. The company and position sound like they'd be a good fit and the region clears the basic must-haves to be worth considering. Looking for more specific information to get a sense of how attractive the area will be and how likely it is to move us into a situation that is better for both of us. Judge how good the location is, what salary I'd really need to make it the right fit.
Fueled by Caffeine said:
Ct was the 2nd best place in the US we've lived. MN is the first.
The brief time I lived in MN was very nice. I just wouldn't want to deal with the winters there. If CT compares to that, I'd say that's very favorable.
I don't have any firsthand experience with living conditions, but can safely say that the stretch of 95 from new haven to the NYS border is Satan's B-hole of a road and I'll actively drive several hours out of my way to avoid it. If I had to touch or cross that road for any commute, I'd be a hard hard hard pass.
golfduke said:
I don't have any firsthand experience with living conditions, but can safely say that the stretch of 95 from new haven to the NYS border is Satan's B-hole of a road and I'll actively drive several hours out of my way to avoid it. If I had to touch or cross that road for any commute, I'd be a hard hard hard pass.
How so? Traffic? Road conditions? E36 M3ty drivers?
Wouldn't be commuting on that length regularly, but it would be the obvious choice for road tripping to visit family in VA, unless we are able to get some kind of regular Amtrak pass to go between Newhaven and DC.
Beer Baron said:
golfduke said:
I don't have any firsthand experience with living conditions, but can safely say that the stretch of 95 from new haven to the NYS border is Satan's B-hole of a road and I'll actively drive several hours out of my way to avoid it. If I had to touch or cross that road for any commute, I'd be a hard hard hard pass.
How so? Traffic? Road conditions? E36 M3ty drivers?
Wouldn't be commuting on that length regularly, but it would be the obvious choice for road tripping to visit family in VA, unless we are able to get some kind of regular Amtrak pass to go between Newhaven and DC.
Constant construction, day and night, bad tarmac depsite the constant construction. The lanes are narrow and the road itself is windy, and people drive like lunatics on it from my persoective, so there's constant accidents. Plus it's perhaps the most traveled thorooughfare in the country, with it basically connecting Boston and NYC.
I've driven that road probably 50 times in both directions, and I've never, not once, driven that stretch without a traffic backup. 2am on a Saturday, or 5pm on Friday... It doesnt matter on that road stretch.
In reply to Beer Baron :
You don't want to live in any of those three cities, but most of the surrounding towns are pretty nice.
You can avoid a good part of I-95 by taking 84 to New York, as long as it's not rush hour.
I would also say that I think that 84 is a better representation of the rain/snow border than 15 is.
Parts of New Haven are fine. I wouldn't touch Bridgeport although there might be edges of it where you're still technically in the city but it "feels" like somewhere else. No opinion on Waterbury. I lived in West Haven for a year and liked it okay. If I moved back to the area I would personally look there, maybe around Orange or Milford. Each specific little section or neighborhood is different and should be looked at that way.
Easy travel to DC? Take the train. I really like the train service out there. Same with going to NYC.
The drivers out there are sociopathic.
I liked it okay there but I don't know if I would go back. It's overly costly in general in my opinion and there's a weird thing about the population density that seems like an in-between situation where there's not enough people in the area to feel like a real city but it's not rural either.
Woody (Forum Supportum) said:
In reply to Beer Baron :
You don't want to live in any of those three cities, but most of the surrounding towns are pretty nice.
Particular reasons against them? Like, how far away from those make things nice?
Job I'm looking at would be in Bridgeport most of the time and occasionally at the other associated breweries. Of those, the one I'd be visiting most would be in Wolcott.
Beer Baron said:
Woody (Forum Supportum) said:
In reply to Beer Baron :
You don't want to live in any of those three cities, but most of the surrounding towns are pretty nice.
Particular reasons against them? Like, how far away from those make things nice?
Job I'm looking at would be in Bridgeport most of the time and occasionally at the other associated breweries. Of those, the one I'd be visiting most would be in Wolcott.
are you talking about OEC by chance?
With Bridgeport especially but also parts of New Haven, it's a general crime & blight situation. I can't speak to Waterbury on this one. Bridgeport reminds me of some of the not great parts of Baltimore. Or really any major American city and trouble spots that exist in many of them. I think New Haven does have nice areas and there's much more to do there; I don't really remember Bridgeport having many redeeming areas. They have a nice train station but that's about all I can remember there for positives.
I lived in "The Valley" most of my life before moving to FL. Grew up in Shelton, went to Trumbull High, returned after college and lived in Ansonia and Oxford till moving to FL '09. Owned the biggest skateboard shop in SW CT for about 25 years.
Since you mentioned Wolcott you'll probably want to look along the Rt.8 corridor, Shelton. Derby, Ansonia, Seymour, and maybe up into Beacon Falls or Naugatuck depending on how frequently you have to go to Wolcott. Had an bike mechanic employee for many years that lived in Wolcott and it was an easy commute to my Shelton store he worked in. My stepkids (late 40's now) live in Ansonia and Naugatuck in the type homes mentioned. PM me if I can answer any questions.
In reply to Beer Baron :
High crime rates in Bridgeport and Waterbury, less so in New Haven.
But you only need to be 5-10 minutes outside any of them to be in a much nicer area.
pres589 (djronnebaum) said:
With Bridgeport especially but also parts of New Haven, it's a general crime & blight situation.
Aha. Looking up crime statistics...
Geez, Bridgeport has a comparable violent crime rate /1000 residents as Columbus, OH. And Columbus is a big city with areas that are significantly more or less violent than others. That does not bode well.
However, it seems like regions like Trumbull or Shelton might have potential though.
I'm getting the impression that it would be a case where, if the next round of interviews goes well, I'd want to take a trip out there to see what I think of the region.
We took the boat from Bridgeport to Port Jefferson NY for lunch a few weeks ago.
I dropped my family off, parked the car, literally ran back to the ferry terminal, and spent most of my lunch hoping the car (and its catalytic converter) would still be there when I got back.
While we were sitting in Port Jeff, I wondered out loud, "Why would anyone ever take the boat from here to Bridgeport unless they had to?"
I will say, though, that Bridgeport (especially around Steele Pointe) is getting nicer.
I used to work on boats. Bridgeport Yacht Club is the only yacht club that I've ever been to that had razor wire on top of the fence.
New Haven has some nice areas and there is a lot to do there. I wouldn't want to live within the city limits, though.
Waterbury has little to offer.
Aside from that, Connecticut has a thriving (and expanding) micorbrew scene. There are many, many nice towns withing an easy drive of the places that you mentioned. I have lived here for most of my life and have spent a lot of time in all three of those cities.
From my son who works from home in Norwalk, his wife commutes to Westport:
"Bridgeport is in process of gentrifying so certain neighborhoods are better than others. Housing in the $400k range is doable, but with some work or concessions more so. Trumbull, Stratford and surrounding areas are a good place to look as well."
We were casually looking at Trumbull & Monroe area, Ian told me to stay away from -------- (I don't recall), it;s a triangle near 95 full of commuters with a high turn over in housing and schools. Crazy traffic. I will ask where that was.
Following this as we thought about relocating, but for a 2BR $400,000 house to save two hours of driving? Maybe not.
Dan
914Driver said:
We were casually looking at Trumbull & Monroe area, Ian told me to stay away from -------- (I don't recall), it;s a triangle near 95 full of commuters with a high turn over in housing and schools. Crazy traffic. I will ask where that was.
Dan
I'm guessing that Ian was talking about Stratford.
Also, Milford is very nice.
I lived just west of the Yale Bowl (it should have been inside New Haven, not West Haven) and that area of New Haven is nice in my book. Shelton seemed boring. Trumbull has its better and worse areas. My workplace was technically inside Trumbull but it was kind of out in the woods.
This all goes back to my previous comment; it's very neighborhoody there, the towns are all grown together (besides when a river or something separates them), so the smart move is to just scope areas out and to some degree ignore who's city limits you're standing in when you look at places to live. If I went back again I would rather be closer to the Sound vs. farther away because there are some nice beaches there and I liked being able to go to them without it being a long haul. Another reason why I'd probably look in West Haven first though I may be in the minority on that one. To me West Haven seemed like the best average of all of the towns around there without too much of the blight (though they have some bizarre self-induced issues like the housing seized to build a mall that never happened...) and you're between Amtrak stations in New Haven and Bridgeport with a nice regional train station in West Haven itself (I don't belive Amtrak stops in West Haven).
The idea that someone would pay $400k to buy a house in Bridgeport is kind of a shocker but I know that prices are not what I'm used to coming from the Midwest.
Woody (Forum Supportum) said:
While we were sitting in Port Jeff, I wondered out loud, "Why would anyone ever take the boat from here to Bridgeport unless they had to?"
Have you ever driven around? I took my C-1500 & 22ft. trailer around, there's a reason I don't have a gun permit.
pres589 (djronnebaum) said:
The idea that someone would pay $400k to buy a house in Bridgeport is kind of a shocker but I know that prices are not what I'm used to coming from the Midwest.
I'd rather not pay $400k. That's sort of our upper budget that I'm using when searching on Zillow.
Would ideally like to be somewhere that $300 - $350 gets a nice 3+ bed, 2+ bath house. Since my wife works from home, she needs a nice home office space.
What we'd be willing to pay depends a lot on the area, too.
Beer Baron said:
pres589 (djronnebaum) said:
The idea that someone would pay $400k to buy a house in Bridgeport is kind of a shocker but I know that prices are not what I'm used to coming from the Midwest.
I'd rather not pay $400k. That's sort of our upper budget that I'm using when searching on Zillow.
Would ideally like to be somewhere that $300 - $350 gets a nice 3+ bed, 2+ bath house. Since my wife works from home, she needs a nice home office space.
What we'd be willing to pay depends a lot on the area, too.
I'm not gonna tell you that that's impossible, but in this market, along the 95 corridor in CT, a 3+/2+ for $350k is gonna either be a super fixer-upper, in a poor neighborhood, way out in the woods, or some combo of all.
A friend just bought in Milford, and a run-of-the-mill 3br/2.5ba with small office, 2 car garage, on a 1/2 acre lot for $490k.
This link may be helpful as you look into CT towns -- > 2022 Best places to live in Connecticut
Have lived in CT for quite a while; much prefer towns that are a little outside the immediate rte 8 / Naugatuck river valley area.
Check Monroe, Oxford to see if they fit what you're looking for.
-- Pete
