Submitted by ItalianResearcher t3_10hf20f in StamfordCT
Hello everyone! I will start soon a postdoc position and Yale and my partner (if everything goes as expected) should have a position in NYC. Therefore, both were thinking about commuting to work and living in the middle between NYC and New Haven. From my research I saw the opportunity of the URBY apartment complex. Has anyone had any experience? Is the area around URBY safe? We also have a dog that requires a lot of walking.
Thank you! I’ll write to you privately! Apartments are furnished?
There may be a few furnished units available, but generally no.
Urby is nice and expensive. There's a lot of dogs there, you can bring them to the courtyard on a leash. The area is safe too, within walking distance of all the restaurants downtown. The facilities are super nice, they have activities for the residents, cafe downstairs... Rent is just high. Also I'm not sure where Yale is, but New Haven is about an hour from there (at least to the Ikea) and to NYC it's an hour train ride. If it wasn't so expensive considering how much space we had in the actual apartment we'd probably still be there.
Are you still in Stamford and renting the apartment somewhere else? Can you give some suggestions? What about the noise in the area at Urby, especially at night/weekends?
We bought a house in Norwalk so can't help you there. Noise level at night wasn't bad. Actually it was worse during the weekdays. We had an apartment with a view of a construction site (the new building) but I'm sure that's winding down. There were some nights where there were some loud college age kids in the hallways, but other than that it was pretty quiet.
If you are commuting by train, check out 121 Towne. It’s a 10 min walk to the train. There’s also a new building nearby that, called Hazel, that has studios and 1 BDs.
Agreed on that section of town. Close to the train station, and close to harbor point but not TOO close to the nightlife/park events. Good area for walking the dog and close to the harbor point dog park
121 towns is a dump surrounded by an abandoned super market, an active scrap yard, shuttered restaurants, a men’s homeless shelter and a converted industrial apartment complex that is sinking into the ground.
Just a stones throw from the sewage treatment plant and borders Henry street - the highest ranking street in stamford for violent crimes per mile of roadway since the 90s.
Don’t move to 121 towne.
Urby area is definitely safe and I’ve heard good things about Urby. As others have suggested you may want to check out Harbor Point since it’s even closer to the train (Urby is not that far either) and also a great place to walk a dog. Good luck!
We lived at Summer House in downtown and we really loved it. We were there on similar circumstances, my partner was getting her doctorate in Fairfield and I commuted to NYC. They have a shuttle service for the morning and evening hours, even then walking to the train is a short walk (i did it many times if i missed a shuttle).
Yes it’s considered safe. Not as close as most would like if you want to closer to the downtown scene though. If you don’t care about that then you’re fine. Aside from busy roadways which is most of Stamford then you’re A okay. Urby is pretty sought after but if you’d rather be in a “safer community” then you should check out Harbor point if you really want a community feel. You have a market, plenty of restaurants and a dog park.
Urby is literally 2 blocks from Bedford street, harbor point is drastically further away from ‘downtown’. Urby is also more of a retail/office area so would be drastically more quiet than harbor point, and Harbor point directly abuts TERRIBLE neighborhoods. There are like three half way houses 2 blocks from it.
I would consider Urby drastically safer and quieter than anything in harbor point.
Everyone has their own opinions. I currently live on Bedford Street and it is beyond noisy and if someone is a light sleeper then you’ll be up half the night. So I suggested Harbor point for somebody who has a dog and wants a safe area for them to walk, and they have a place for them to play as well. And it is much quieter at Harbor point than it is on Bedford Street or Urby. Also, I said if you don’t care much about the downtown area than Harbor point is also a good choice.
Safe? With shootings on the surrounding streets every month?
https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/Stamford-shooting-harbor-point-17454606.php
https://www.greenwichtime.com/local/article/Police-Stamford-teen-shot-multiple-times-in-16390107.php
Safe with shootings inside the apartment buildings and restaurants?
Safe with hammer wielding psychos attacking people in apartment lobbies?
Safe with street stabbings at 9am?
Yes Harbor Point is safe lol. It's amusing to me as someone who's moved here from a larger city, how "unsafe" people think Stamford is. I guess if you've grown up relatively sheltered then sure, HP is "dangerous". Been here for a year and a half with zero problems. Drive through the surrounding areas all the time. Nothing. Just because someone looks at you a certain way or is of a different...ahem...color than you, doesn't mean in general the place isn't safe.
To be fair, it’s gonna happen literally anywhere you go. It can happen on Bedford Street, it can happen over in Glenbrook, it can happen at Harbor point. Anywhere you go is not 100% safe.
I’m not claiming everywhere to be 100% safe. But at some point you need to start looking at the frequency of incidents and accept that some areas have a higher chance of violence occurring than others.
Agreed. You couldn’t pay me to live in Harbor Point because of the slums that immediately surround it
Like this: https://www.111harborpoint.com/ ?
Yup! Just like that. There are a few other buildings around it as well with different names but if you do a little bit more research about them they’ll come up. All luxury living:) hope I could help a bit.
Thank you a lot! I was a little worried about URBY because of the noise risk in the area (both my partner and my dog are very sensitive and may not sleep well at URBY!)
Yes, Harbor point will probably suit you much better. If you want something quieter, maybe don’t get an apartment right next to sign of the whale which is pretty popular bar in the Harbor point area but other than that anything around there will be much quieter than anything in the downtown area of Stamford
See my comment above
I lived in harbor point for a year (Allure) until I bought a house in Stamford and loved it. There are a couple dog parks and plenty of happenings in the spring and summer time. Super safe - walked around at all times of day. I’ve also grown up in Stamford (25+ years) and it’s safe for a city. Legit never had an issue. I’ve also lived in New Haven for university and that was not safe. I lasted about 4 months and sublet my lease and commuted. Best of luck with the move!
we moved the the area recently and considered urby, but found the units really small compared to other buildings with similar prices (after touring). it depends on what you’re looking for! the units are well designed, but like i said, small. we ended up going with summer house like another person mentioned, and have been happy with our decision!
Love living at Urby, I’ve never felt unsafe walking my dog at night. I walk to the train everyday for work to commute to the city and it is a quick 10-15 minute walk (also feels safe at all times of the day) and a 40-58 minute train ride. Highly recommend Urby, best luxury building I’ve lived in
I'm in an Atlantic Station apt and I'm pretty content except that you can't seem to escape the construction noise anywhere downtown. Easy access to Metro North and 95 which will take you to NYC and New Haven.
I’ve moved in Urby with my dog and boyfriend for a year and a half and we love it and it’s super quiet, although I think it depends what floor you’re on and what you face.
I have read on the website that there is a woof garden! Do you have any photo to share?
They did a really great job with Urby in Stamford. Great facilities, their pool and gym are fantastic, great grounds, most of the residents there have dogs. Very relaxing gardens and barbecue area. It is very expensive for the size of the apartment space, but extremely convenient for commuters like you. The area is safe, and although it is on the intersection of two very busy streets, while in the apartment, you don’t hear much noise.
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I'd also throw out the Waterside area as an option if you're concerned about noise and don't care about being near nightlife. It's across the water from Harbor Point. We live at Harbor Landing Apartments and mostly like it.
Our unit is close to the street and there's some noise from traffic but it's not too bad (I'm also a very sensitive sleeper) and certainly much less traffic than downtown. Units towards the back should be pretty quiet. There are also more buildings further down the street. Baypointe is nicer, more expensive and a bit further from the street as well but you also get further away from the train station so it's a trade-off.
I think the best part about the area is it's great for dog walking. There's a boardwalk that goes all the way from our building along the water down to a (small) park. Overall this side of the water seems to be a bit cheaper than Harbor Point.
Are you planning on leaving your dog at a day care while you're out at work? Then you might want to consider that location as well.
Everywhere in Stamford is safe. Urby is nice but very expensive. It is roughly equidistant from New Haven and NYC, but just about anywhere in Stamford would be as well. For what it's worth I think you can get a place just as nice for less, but there's nothing wrong with Urby and it's in a pretty stellar location downtown.
I live at the Classic on Forest Street. Decent for what it is but no more shuttle to the train. Personally from what you are saying about the train check out the Smyth which is being finished now. While I am sure the apartments are renting for a premium once that building and the adjacent buidling with Life Fitness are finsihed, they along with Atlantic Station will be best for commuters and really never heard much negativley on 75 Tresser Street which has a nice gym and great common areas and courtyard type pool.
The Smyth looks like it was built really well with a lot of attention to detail by Lennar Homes (newer developer to stamford virtually every other building was either FD Rich, Mario Capelli or RMS Construction. Tons of amenities not sure if they will eventualy get the retail fillled but we are in desperaton mode for a walkable supermarket. Maybe, just maybe the space in the retail for the Smyth becomes a food market. Fresh Market? That would be great.
agelaius9416 t1_j59uan0 wrote
I live at URBY and commute to New Haven by car twice a week, it’s an easy 45-60 minute reverse commute. I’d definitely recommend taking the train if it’s feasible. Living at URBY has been great, management and maintenance are very responsive and rarely needed, but it is very expensive. I’m happy to answer questions about URBY.
I feel like you’re getting some misleading advice here. My impression is that the buildings just off of downtown, like URBY, are much quieter than Harbor Point. The biggest noise problem at URBY is the construction, I get very little road noise in my apartment. On safety, there really isn’t any area of Stamford that’s unsafe and the people complaining about halfway houses and “slums” around Harbor Point are being racist.