Hello! Moving to CT potentially...

[Agschmid]

I may be moving to the Milford, CT area within the next few weeks. I am looking for a bit of help from current CT'ers...

A bit about me:
I am 27 year old, single, gay male, with a cat (go figure right)...
Ideally I'd like to keep my rent under 1,000 (but understand that may not be possible)...
I have a new car so commuting is not an issue...

Any thoughts on where I should look to live? Things to know about that area of CT? Anything else just in general?

Let me know, thanks!

[liberal N proud]

1. The company I work for has a facility in Milford

I applied for a position there, have not heard anything yet.

[Agschmid]

2. Well good luck!

I am a very clean roommate... haha!

[liberal N proud]

5. I don't think my wife would go for it.

When I mentioned the job she started house shopping immediately looking for revolution era homes.

[longship]

3. Potential moves are the riskiest, from a quantum physics sense.

You never know where or when you're gonna end up, due to Heisenberg' uncertainty principle. Plus, you risk it with a fucking cat??? That invokes Schrodinger!! You may arrive with either a live, or a dead cat. Worse yet, it could be suspended between the two. (For safety sake, do not transport it in any kind of a box.)

You are playing with universal physical principles here. Do so only with utmost planning and discretion. Unfortunately, it will not do any good. The universe is what it is.

So, have a safe move, and have fun on the way. (But keep the cat out of boxes until you arrive! Just in case.)

[krispos42]

4. Well, my girlfriend lives in the Black Rock section of Bridgeport

That's about 20 minutes from Milford.

You can find 2 bedroom apartments there for your price range. Be advised that the apartment will most likely be in an old Victorian converted into 2 or 3 apartments.

However, Fairfield Avenue in Black Rock has a fair amount of bars, clubs, restraunts, shops, etc. that are trendy. Lots of young up-and-coming professionals live around there, and it's pretty near a nice sound-side park called "Saint Mary's by the Sea".

Avoid living too close to Fairfield Ave, though... a lot of those young professionals drive choppers at ungodly hours on the weekend.

Bridgeport as a hole is a gritty city, but neighboring Fairfield is a pretty affluent place, and Milford itself has tons of shopping. They just built a new commuter train station in Fairfield right at the city line with Black Rock, so you'd have walkable or bike-able access to it.

[bigwillq]

6. You can probably find something

for under 1,000 in Milford.
It may be on the small side, but it's possible.
You can probably find something for that price in nearby Stratford or West Haven.

I live in CT.

What else do you want to know?

[Agschmid]

9. Checking it out, Ill let you know! Thanks! n/t

[VMA131Marine]

7. Commuting in CT

Are you going to be working in Milford or commuting somewhere else? If you can find a way to avoid the daily commute on I-95, you will be happier. I spent 5 years commuting between New Haven and South Norwalk and found it to be a grind. If it will get you where you need to go, MetroNorth has great service along the shoreline. It's also the best way to get into Manhattan. Now I'm near Middletown and commute to Hartford. It's a much easier trip, but I miss being on the shoreline.

[Agschmid]

8. I would be working right in Milford.

I prefer to live close to work but worry I might get priced out of the area...

[REACTIVATED IN CT]

24. I agree with this advice.

We have, IMO, pretty good public transit in CT. I'm in Branford, which is east of New Haven.

[catnhatnh]

10. Just a hit and run....

Was born and raised in Stratford (next town west,just across the river) till I left in 94'. Both Stratford and Milford are good towns and located near some decent cultural centers. As a straight I have no idea of the gay community but see no reason to worry... Just for some local flavor here are two local links:
http://milford.patch.com/

http://stratford.patch.com/

Best of luck! Cat

[Autumn Colors]

11. I agree with avoiding I-95 at all costs ...

If you find you can't afford Milford, try going a little north. Shelton might be a little bit cheaper.

Personally, I would really avoid Bridgeport until you know the area well. It isn't all bad, but it's a city I don't like to get lost in because some parts are really bad.

Shelton has some shabby parts, but has some nice parts as well.

Here's a real estate agency site that has a search engine for rentals:
http://www.raveis.com/propfind.asp?rental=Y&STATE=CT

If you click on New Haven County, it'll bring up a little map of the towns so you can see where they all are in relation to Milford.

Some of the coastal towns got hit pretty badly during hurricane Sandy, so potential future flooding is another thing to keep in mind.

EDIT: Actually, to find rentals in Shelton, you'll need to click on Fairfield County. It's just to the west of Derby (on New Haven County map).

[Agschmid]

12. It's funny everyone keep saying no to "Bridgeport" so I'll stick with that! n/t

[VMA131Marine]

13. As with every city there are parts of Bridgeport to avoid

And also parts that are perfectly fine. New Haven and Hartford also have some sketchy areas. The area up around Trumbull is nice, and might not be too expensive. But, you should have no problem finding something reasonable in Milford.

[Agschmid]

14. Eh.. Milford seems to be nice but it's all single family units.

Honestly (and oddly) those are not my thing. I like being in a managed apartment complex where you know the maintenance people are around 24/7.

I will look in Trumbull, thanks for the advice!

[catnhatnh]

15. Most towns nearby are mostly single family...but plenty of rental apartments.

Here's one I remembered the name of in Milford with price and availability: http://www.apartments.com/Connecticut/Milford/Robert-Treat-Apartments/70502

[Autumn Colors]

16. Says cats must be declawed

That might be a game changer for OP. I would never, ever declaw my cats even though they are 100% indoor only.

[Chan790]

18. That's interesting.

When I left CT about 5 years ago, a lot (most, even) of vets were just starting to refuse to perform declawings and there was a push to ban the procedure statewide. I just assumed it had happened either legally or simply via de-facto reality of no vets being willing to perform declawings.

It's an unnecessary procedure. It takes 10 minutes and the right tool to teach a pet owner how to maintain a cat's claws so that they're not sharp. Once taught, a person can trim their cats' claws in about 2 minutes every other week...it takes longer to cut my toenails than to blunt the furniture-destroying power of my cat's claws.

Also, if my building manager asked...I'd lie. It's not like they going to check...and a trimmed cat is going to do about as much damage as one without claws so they'll never know.

[catnhatnh]

17. In Bridgeport...

http://us2.campaign-archive2.com/?u=a534ec2587fe173ce3e859773&id=d933801703

[Agschmid]

19. Wow!

Love the loft conversion feel thanks I will give them a call.

[catnhatnh]

20. I'm sure there are others similar...

My daughter,who is also gay, lives in Bridgeport and loves it. I had a home there for about 5 years and know it well. It is in all ways what you expect from a post industrial city. Beware the bad and you just might find yourself loving the good. Cat.

[Autumn Colors]

22. Problem is ...

If you are completely unfamiliar with the area, how are you to know where the bad even is ... until you accidentally find yourself lost there ... or until you make some friends who point the areas out on a map, etc.

[Agschmid]

23. It is hard to do it...

I have now moved "cold turkey" twice and it was a challenge since I did not know the area.

Google has been a god send, especially with street view you can almost get a feel of an area without being there.

Thanks for the tip and I think I am leaning toward new haven due to the feedback so far.

[Autumn Colors]

21. Please drive around the area first

I used to have to drop my ex off at the train station down there a few years back and my recollection of the area not too far from the station was not one I'd want to walk around alone in at night (buildings with boarded up windows, etc.) It's great people are renovating buildings, just do be sure to drive around all of the sidestreets in that neighborhood.

Be careful if you get lost in that city....

[wordpix]

25. Welcome to our state! Love it we're getting another Dem voter

Just wish you were moving to my (repug) town.

[Atman]

26. Ugh...Milford?

You're moving to the busy, gritty, noisy part of the state. As others have said, I urge you to look around. Connecticut has lots of beautiful farmland. Maybe you like hustle and bustle, but with a state this small, live in the boonies. Boston and NYC are never far away!