Our Foray into the Suburban Jungle Part III: Darien or Bust

For Tara Giblin and her family, Connecticut went from “too far” to “too amazing to ignore!” With their sights set on CT—and, specifically, beautiful, family-friendly Darien—they set to work in search of the perfect home in the perfect neighborhood for their family. What did she learn during this up and down process? TONS—and, ultimately, found the right place for herself and her brood to call “home.”

When we decided it was time to really buy a house, our minds were flooded. Living in Manhattan, we’d been going to open houses, restaurants, and playgrounds all over Westchester for literally, years—but it was usually “just for fun.” Think a chance to get out of the city for the day. But when our search went from casual to full-on, we speed-dated our way through New Jersey, marveling at the Victorian porches of Westfield, enjoying local treats at the annual Summit street fair, and window-shopping the chic boutiques of Ridgewood. As for Connecticut, we had already done a few “drive-bys” while heading elsewhere (as in, “let’s drive-by that house we saw on Zillow!”) which took us from the narrow streets of Old Greenwich to the Norman Rockwell-esque downtown of New Canaan. Work friends expounded to us on the pros and cons of commuting from every direction—it seemed everyone had an opinion, no matter where our search led.

We needed focus. And we needed it NOW.

Our first call with Patti at Suburban Jungle proved to be more a wake-up call than an informational one. Having reviewed our town wish list, she quickly addressed practical matters like budget, home size and where we worked. The conversation started along the lines of, “You want a four bedroom with a decent yard and garage for how much? Not in lower Westchester!” then moved to, “Your husband’s office is a block from Grand Central and you are actually considering a commute into Penn before having to get across town? So long, New Jersey!”

Patti’s quick psychoanalysis helped us determine that we preferred a small town feel, and poof! Greenwich was history. In less than an hour, we came up with our short list: Irvington, Pleasantville and Chappaqua in Westchester, and Darien in Connecticut.

Just. Like. That.

The next part seemed like fate. We were hooked up with a Darien resident and real estate agent who heard our story and got it. Raised in Jersey and having looked in Westchester before choosing Darien, this agent had walked in our shoes. And besides bringing us to some lovely homes, she showcased why it wasn’t just Darien, but also the people of Darien, that were a fit for us. Residents are active and engaged, and we found the parks, beaches, restaurants and sidewalks filled with young families. The town’s numerous civic organizations are deeply supported by the community, as are its new library, technologically-advanced schools, YMCA, and Nature Center.

And if that weren’t enough, everyone was so nice. Our agent kept telling us that Darien was a friendly town, and she wasn’t exaggerating. At a local playground a couple who had recently moved from New Jersey gave us great insight into why they chose Darien over a similar nearby town (ahem, beach rights!). At the downtown luncheonette we sat at the busy counter while the owner himself leaned over and told us, “this town was made for kids.”

The commute was doable with two in-town train stations that arrived at Grand Central in less than an hour. Layer in the White Plains airport just 25 minutes away and an Amtrak stop in next-door Stamford, and Darien definitely wasn’t the sticks. We found ourselves driving back to the city, giddy with delight from just one visit, and excited for our next one. Despite Patti’s suggestions, we never did go back to Westchester. At this point, it was Darien-or-bust…

For your personalized suburbs strategy session with Suburban Jungle, click here!

Our Foray into the Suburban Jungle Part II: Wish Lists

Tara Giblin and her family continued their hunt for THE suburb to call "home." And, despite their initial feelings about Connecticut (in a word: FAR), the area seemed to check most of Tara's boxes. But wanting NO post-move regrets she continued to scour the region, building her wish list from commute time to public school quality to downtown must-haves. The end result? Lots of looking paired with a healthy dose of home buyer reality which, together, pushed them closer and closer towards the perfect community.

We always knew it was more than just finding a home. When it came to making The Move, we really wanted a community. Even before we were Suburban Jungle clients, we believed in first finding the right suburb, then finding the right house. And being pretty Type A, I felt the need to scour every possibility—I wanted NO regrets post-move.

With all of that in mind—and, of course, based on commuting needs and proximity to family—we quickly honed in on “just a few” spots: Westchester, New Jersey, and Connecticut, specifically. With Long Island and Rockland off the list, that really narrowed things down, right?

From there, we made our wish list based on what we loved about the city. Our town had to have good public transportation (i.e., its own train station—and the shorter the ride to Midtown Manhattan, the better!). We also wanted a walkable downtown with shops and restaurants, engaged residents, easy access to outdoor recreation (so long Central Park, we’ll miss you!), diverse architecture, and reasonable taxes. And, firmly at the top of the list was something we were not guaranteed in NYC: excellent public schools. I spent hours online, finding listings and analyzing town data. My favorite thing to read was the The New York Times Living In article each week.

This wasn’t the first time we’d dipped our toes in the suburban water. Always knowing this move was in the cards, we’d already browsed many Westchester towns that checked our must-have boxes…almost. Most of the towns had the train, schools, shops, homes, playgrounds and running trails along rivers, beaches, or parks. But the taxes that paid for all of that wonderfulness were a bit north of reasonable. In fact, my practical, Midwestern-raised husband simply could not wrap his head around Westchester’s taxes.

With Westchester on the backburner, we turned to New Jersey. Despite what MTV would have you believe, New Jersey has some beautiful towns and taxes are—let’s say—lower than in Westchester. Again we found great places, some with easier commutes than others. But suddenly, it wasn’t enough just to have a train station. We also didn’t want to have to transfer during the AM/PM commute—and we definitely didn’t want to rely on a bus, especially given recent winters! That scratched a few more contenders off of our list, and within a few weeks, we were feeling pretty dejected.

Our next stop? Connecticut...but it seemed so far. While we loved the feel of New England, it was still another geographic region! Beyond that, we’d already experienced I-95 on a Friday night while trekking to visit family in Boston. In short, it was no picnic. Even when we’d jumped off the highway to outsmart traffic—meandering through some idyllic neighborhood straight out of Stepford Wives—we’d snap back to reality realizing we were still a good hour from Midtown. In short, no dice on Connecticut.

Frustrated and a bit aimless, we decided to contact Suburban Jungle. Maybe we were doing this wrong, we thought. Maybe Suburban Jungle would recommend a diamond-in-the-rough-town we had yet to discover.  

As it happened, Suburban Jungle had no diamonds in the rough for this Type A homebuyer.  But what they did have was even more valuable: a dose of perspective and some very good advice…

For your personalized suburbs session with Suburban Jungle, click here!