Newtown, Brookfield or Fairfield? (Stamford, Norwalk: housing, rent, travel)

[Arghh]

My wife and I have decided (finally) on where we want to live (geographically at least!). We loved Newtown on a recent visit and you can get quite a nice house for 500-600k. (With a household income of only 170k, Trumbell and other areas are out of the question).

The more we talked about it, Newtown's 'downtown' area is really just some old houses with a deli, flagpole and a realtor so that isn't that big of a deal when looking for little town.

I am going to be working probably in Stamford, Norwalk area for an Investment Bank / Private Equity so I realize I have a 1 hour drive ahead of me every morning, but that is better then the 1.5 hour train cram in followed by the nyc subway which just drains the life out of you.

my question is, why choose Newtown, Brookfield or New Fairfield over the other? Brookfield seems a bit further away and would add 10 minutes to the commute, but that isn't bad. And the cost of houses in Brookfield are very low. And you get access to the beach as well (the water is probably not really safe due to the mercury levels, etc...).

Any thoughts on which to choose?

Thank You!

[andthentherewere3]

Hmmm, the towns are a bit different from one another, so it really depends on what you personally need from a town. From what I've heard, while Brookfield has good schools, Newtown's are even better. And Newtown has great parks and children's programs, and sports for kids, it's a very family-oriented town. I think out of the three towns I'd choose Newtown for that reason alone, although all three towns have really good schools. While in Newtown you might have to drive 15 minutes or so to Danbury for any major shopping trips, but that still isn't too bad. Housing in Fairfield is the most expensive of the three towns. Of course Fairfield has a lot of shopping, and would be the fastest commute. Brookfield's homes would be a bit lower than Newtown, but your commute would be the longest. Have you looked at what you can afford in Fairfield? Were you happy with it? If not, that puts you back to Newtown and Brookfield. Have you found a home in Brookfield or Newtown that you really loved? And I think your estimate of Brookfield adding a mere 10 minutes to your commute might be a little low---you should test the commute one morning/evening to get a more accurate idea before making your final decision. Commutes can be really long during rush hour.

[jdhall1]

You should consider Bethel. The New York Times recently ran an article on it a few months ago. The home prices are very similiar to Brookfield. It is an easy commute to Stamford and Norwalk. The downtown does have more business than Newtown's and there is easy access to shopping on Federal Road in Danbury/Brookfield as well as the Danbury Mall. Good luck!

[JayCT]

Newtown, Brookfield and New Fairfield are between 35 and 40+ miles from Stamford but the commute from all three would be about an hour without traffic. With traffic it would be significantly more (as much as an hour more). All three are beautiful somewhat rural towns with very good to excellent schools. I am sure you would like any of these towns to live in.

I find it interesting though that you do not think that you could afford a home in Trumbull on $170k per year. Most people that live there do not make anywhere near that amount. The median household income is $97k and the median home price is $455k. Trumbull is closer and would take significantly less time to travel to Stamford (about 30 minutes without traffic) and would offer the option of commuting on Metro-North. Personally I would prefer that to driving into Stamford on a daily basis. Maybe you should reconsider Trumbull or even Fairfield (median home price $570k) to keep your commute more reasonable. JMHO Jay

[kidyankee784]

I would suggest Monroe over any of the towns mentioned. There is easy access to the Merritt Parkway, the Trumbull Mall, metro north and the schools are excellent. The commute from Danbury would be a pain on Route 7, and that's even before you hit the Merritt or 95 which can be worse in Darien or New Canaan. It will take you close to an hour during the rush from Danbury to Stamford.

Trumbull or Fairfield would also be good options, but Monroe seems to be more similar to the communities you're currently considering (Newtown, Brookfield and New Fairfield.)

[deermee64]

I currently live in Newtown now for almost 6 years (we moved from queens ny but I am originally from L.I) Out of the towns you mentioned I would pick Newtown as someone else had mentioned just for the schools alone they are really good. I have a 4 year old son with special needs and their program is really great he has come a really long way!!! They do have many programs for children and the library is lovely. However if I had to do it all over again I would pick Bethel because I love there downtown and their one pizza place is the BEST. Its very family oriented there as well and I think the homes might be alittle cheaper. My husband commutes from Newtown to ny city. Good luck with your venture!!!!

[reason180]

Originally Posted by deermee64

My husband commutes from Newtown to ny city. Good luck with your venture!!!!

Does your husband take the train into the city? If so from which train station and on average how long is the drive to the train?

Thanks.

[flavorPacket]

Newtown has by far the best schools out of the towns you mentioned. Only Wilton, Ridgefield, New Canaan, and Westport are better. It is a quiet town, but that never really bothered me: if you want to be stimulated, excitement is never more than a short drive away.

If you take the back roads, you can make it to Stamford in 50-60 in the morning depending where you live in town. If you're in Sandy Hook, it'll be a bit longer.

If you have kids though, I feel you should know that Newtown has a teen drug abuse problem that NOBODY talks about. People may say that it's just typical of Fairfield County, but I think it's worth mentioning. I'm not saying that your children would be involved, but they WILL be exposed to it.

Also, Newtown is considered an upgrade from Trumbull (lived in both towns). I wonder where you got the idea that it's more expensive there?

[flavorPacket]

Originally Posted by reason180

Does your husband take the train into the city? If so from which train station and on average how long is the drive to the train?

Thanks.

The quickest way is to drive to Golden's Bridge or Purdy's in NY and take the train from there. The drive can be anywhere from 30-90 minutes.

[Arghh]

Originally Posted by deermee64

I currently live in Newtown now for almost 6 years (we moved from queens ny but I am originally from L.I) Out of the towns you mentioned I would pick Newtown as someone else had mentioned just for the schools alone they are really good. I have a 4 year old son with special needs and their program is really great he has come a really long way!!! They do have many programs for children and the library is lovely. However if I had to do it all over again I would pick Bethel because I love there downtown and their one pizza place is the BEST. Its very family oriented there as well and I think the homes might be alittle cheaper. My husband commutes from Newtown to ny city. Good luck with your venture!!!!

What is the door to door commute time from Newtown to NYC?

I am a consultant and my wife is a VP at a bank and we are having a very hard time finding jobs that are 'commutable' from Newtown... The only major firm up there seems to be GE and with my salary of about 170k and hers about 110k, we just can't find anything.... Ideally, we would love to find jobs that are nice 30 minute drives at most from Newtown, but I don't think that is possible, unless we take a SERIOUS paycut