IT'S TRUE! YES, YOU CAN OWN AN ISLAND JUST TWO HOURS FROM MIDTOWN MANHATTAN!
There are weekend homes...and then there are weekend islands.
Imagine spending mid-spring through mid-autumn on one of the legendary Thimble Islands off the coast of Branford, Connecticut. Your own private island retreat sits only two to two-and-a-half hours from New York City's Times Square or Boston's Faneuil Hall, yet it feels as though you've crossed into another century.
The soundtrack? Gulls, gentle waves and the occasional boat passing in the distance. Your morning view? Three hundred and sixty degrees of Long Island Sound.
A typical Friday might look like this: Catch the train from Grand Central or South Station to New Haven. Retrieve your car from the station garage, stop in Branford for groceries and a favorite bottle of wine, then head to the marina. Minutes later, you're aboard your own boat or a water taxi, gliding across the Sound toward your own island.
By sunset, the city has become little more than a rumor.
The weekend unfolds at an entirely different pace. Morning coffee on the dock. Afternoon swims. Lazy barbecues. Cocktails as sailboats drift by. Friends arriving by boat. Evenings under a sky crowded with stars instead of skyscrapers.
On Sunday afternoon, you make the short trip back to the mainland and the train carries you home. By Monday morning, you're back at your desk, wondering whether the island was real or simply the world's best daydream.
The remarkable part is that it wasn't a dream at all. It was simply another weekend at your home in Connecticut's extraordinary Thimble Islands.
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| Belden Island - available for $1,650,000 |
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| Potato Island - available for $4,339,000 |
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| Rogers Island - available for $29,995,000 |
If you're reading this, chances are you've already imagined life with a weekend home. The only question is where. You've probably considered the Hamptons, the North Fork, or the Catskills. For many buyers, though, Connecticut turns out to be the sweet spot: charming shoreline towns, historic villages, scenic countryside, remarkable value, and an easy drive or train ride from New York.
For nearly twenty years, I've helped people discover that the best weekend home isn't necessarily the farthest away. It's the one that's close enough to become a habit.