[tryingCT]

I have heard Monroe is a pretty town but I have not yet looked into it. The only thing I have heard is that the school district is good. How is the town itself? What do people do in Monroe? Is there a town green area? Are there restaurants in Monroe or do you have to go somewhere else? I'm just going to assume there aren't big box stores there so where do people do their shopping? What do the kids do there? Are there close nit neighborhoods or are the houses too dispersed?

I have been mostly looking into Cheshire or Guilford thus far, I'm assuming Monroe gives a much more rural feel but is it TOO rural? (key Dueling Banjos) Kidding aside I do like a rural lifestyle but I am trying to think for young kids, does it give enough sense of a community? Sorry if I sound too ignorant and apologies if I offended any Monroens.

[tstetinin]

I worked with a family that moved to Monroe with two small children and really love it there. Your best bet it to take a look at the Monroe town community web site and also look into the Monroe newcomers club. These are great avenues to find out more about the town and then make a decision. You are also looking in Guilford that is more of a real town environment with lots of things to do for adults and for children. Good luck in your search.

[andthentherewere3]

Monroe is a very family-oriented town, with a lot of parks and playgrounds. Two of the parks are on several hundred acres. Great Hollow Lake has hiking trails and fishing, along with a playground and several sports fields. It has a beach area at the lake with life guards and a pavilion where you can buy pizza, burgers, ice cream etc. Wolfe Park has an outdoor pool, beautiful playgrounds, tennis courts, hiking trails, etc. There are several evenings of family-oriented dinners planned at the parks throughout the summer, with music, popular children's characters, etc. Webb Mountain has several walking trails for hiking and camping, with a beautiful overlook at the top of the mountain overlooking the Housatonic River.

Sports are very popular in Monroe. And the high school has an indoor swimming pool, and swimming lessons are offered for both children and adults. There are also a lot of activities and camps offered at the local YMCA. And we have a new art studio in town called All About Art which offers all kind of arts and crafts activities, and camps for both adults and children.

Monroe has a town green on Rt. 111, which includes several churches, the Town Hall, Police Dept., and Masonic Lodge. We have a brand new library built near the town green, too. Various craft shows and festivals are held each year on the town green. Monroe also has an annual Memorial Day Parade which begins at Elm Street, and ends at the town green.

There are many, many restaurants in Monroe, such as Italian, Chinese, American, Mexican, and probably more. There is a McDonald's on the Monroe/Trumbull border, and a Duchess on the Monroe/Easton border. There are also small chains such as Dunkin Donuts, Subway, Quizno's, and Starbucks.

While Monroe does not have large malls or big-box stores, it does have several shopping centers along Rt. 111 and Rt. 25. They include a large grocery store (with another to open next year), pharmacies, dry cleaners, a pet store, gift shops, smaller hardware stores, Doctors and Veterinarians, emergency medical care clinics, hair salons, delis, butchers, a toy store, the list is endless. For big stores such as Home Depot, there is one 15 minutes away in Bridgeport, and another 15 minutes away in Derby. There is a large mall and many big box stores in Danbury approximately 20-30 minutes away (depending on your location in Monroe), and also in Milford, about 25 minutes away. Trumbull has a large mall just 15 minutes away. There is also a Target in Trumbull, (with another being built at the Trumbull mall) and a Wal-Mart in Shelton just 15 minutes away.

Most homes are on one or more acre lots in Monroe, but there are a few smaller "cluster developments". Great Oak Farm is a large one, with homes generally on 1/4 acre lots, more or less. It is full of families, and there are regular activities planned there such as an annual fishing derby at their pond. We have friends who live there, and there are always adults and children outside playing and chatting. But even in neighborhoods on larger lots, you will find children outside playing, as Monroe has so many families with children.

So there is no shortage of shopping opportunities in the Monroe area. And there is plenty for children and adults to do, I have included only a sample.

[JayCT]

Just to add to what has already been posted. Monroe is beautful and has many very nice neighborhoods to live in. It does not have a "walkable" downtown area though, just a number of strip type shopping centers along Main Street (Route 25) and on a small portion of Monroe Turnpike (Route 111). Homes are generally on 1 acre lots so there is a bit of a rural/suburban feel to the town. It is a great place to raise children. Jay

[tryingCT]

thanks for the feedback and you have painted a very attractive picture of the town. i'll have to take a drive up there one of these days to check it out. i actually checked out the towns website after my original post and didn't realize the plethera of parks and access to things of that nature.

[kidyankee764]

andthentherewere3 covered a great deal in their post. I will second that Monroe has excellent schools with a superb sports program. I know many kids who went through the Monroe district and went on to some of the best colleges in the country.

[Stratford, Ct. Resident]

Nice detail from ATTW3. Monroe is a fantastic town but if you are considering a long-term residency, than you should be aware that the town does seem to be encouraging greater home density. If i'm not mistaken, they've recently removed the "farm" zone designation from their zoning regs. Commercial development seems to have exploded in the last 15yrs. or so, also.
30 yrs. ago this was a boring, bucolic town with wide open spaces and very little commercial development. I'm not sure that i prefer today's Monroe over the old incarnation. Newtown, which borders Monroe, seems to be less actively pursuing agressive development. I'd still agree that Monroe is a great choice, but i personally would prefer Newtown in light of Monroe's push for greater density.

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by Stratford, Ct. Resident

Nice detail from ATTW3. Monroe is a fantastic town but if you are considering a long-term residency, than you should be aware that the town does seem to be encouraging greater home density. If i'm not mistaken, they've recently removed the "farm" zone designation from their zoning regs. Commercial development seems to have exploded in the last 15yrs. or so, also.
30 yrs. ago this was a boring, bucolic town with wide open spaces and very little commercial development. I'm not sure that i prefer today's Monroe over the old incarnation. Newtown, which borders Monroe, seems to be less actively pursuing agressive development. I'd still agree that Monroe is a great choice, but i personally would prefer Newtown in light of Monroe's push for greater density.

What I like about Monroe is how they limit commercial development to one area of the town. You have that one road (25, and a tiny part of 111 near the Trumbull line) and the rest of the town is strictly residential. I give Southbury credit for this also. Other towns like Trumbull, Stratford, Shelton, Seymour, Bethel, etc. are allowing commercial development so close to what are otherwise quaint, nice neighborhoods.

I also think Monroe has 1+ acre zoning to maintain the rural feel of the town, which also says a lot.

[Stratford, Ct. Resident]

Originally Posted by kidyankee764

What I like about Monroe is how they limit commercial development to one area of the town. You have that one road (25, and a tiny part of 111 near the Trumbull line)

Intense commercial development actually extends up to around Cross Hill on 111, beyond that point, i believe it's a mixed zone. My insurance agent has his office legally established in what would look to be a residential zone. Also, far north on 111 is Stevenson Lumber(which is closing).

Originally Posted by kidyankee764

Other towns like Trumbull, Stratford,.... are allowing commercial development so close to what are otherwise quaint, nice neighborhoods.

Trumbull's master plan has always been to place commercial development in their neighboring town's backyard(see: Hawley Ln. Mall and the ridiculous McDonalds, Quarry Rd. Cinemas, Avalon Apts., Trumbull Shopping Park, etc.)

In Stratford, i'm not aware of any commercial expansion. Actually, many(not all) of us feel that there needs to be an expansion to boost the Grand List.

[andthentherewere3]

Originally Posted by kidyankee764

I also think Monroe has 1+ acre zoning to maintain the rural feel of the town, which also says a lot.

Yes, and Monroe's residents want to preserve it's rural character as much as possible.

The town isn't encouraging home density. Home density with it's added children to the school system increases taxes, and the town knows it. What the town is doing is encouraging businesses along Rt. 111 and Rt. 25, leaving the rest of Monroe residential. (there are no business zones past the general area of Rt. 111 and Rt. 110, Stephensen Lumber being the exception) But developers are taking advantage of a Ct. law that allows them to build a large number of homes on small lots, and by designating a small percentage as "affordable housing" they do not have to meet the one acre minimum per home. This happened on West Maiden lane a few years ago. Now we have a "cluster-home" development there. The developer applied to build a small number of homes, and the town rejected the plans. The developer then came back with double or more the number of homes, with a small percentage as affordable housing, and the town was forced to approve the plans. Currently there is another developer who wants to build a 32 unit townhouse style complex on 15 acres on Garder Rd. Developers all over Ct. are taking advantage of this law, which was passed to offer lower-income families the opportunity to own a home. A town must have a minimum of 10% affordable homes available in order to reject such developments. Monroe currently only has a few such developments.

The change in the farm zone would mostly apply to current farm owners, or someone hoping to establish a farm. It has to do with the number of animals/equipment that they are allowed to have, the minimum acreage needed to be classified as a farm, etc. It would also prohibit farm stands, and the number of farm vehicles a farm was allowed. It would place a financial hardship on farmers. It was extremely restrictive, and there was also the fear that current or future farmers would sell out to developers instead of farming with the proposed laws. The town was outraged by the proposed changes, and the farming zone change in it's original form was withdrawn, with the promise of much more lenient changes instead, if any. I haven't heard anything about it in over a year, but I really doubt the original proposal will go through, the outcry was so huge.

I love Newtown, it's one of my favorite Ct. towns. But they have quite a bit of development on Rt. 25 taking place the past few years. They are developing pretty much the whole stretch from Monroe on Rt. 25 to Newtown's flag pole. But most of their town is still residential, I would suggest the OP consider Newtown as well. It's also very family-friendly with great parks and schools.

There are few truly rural towns left in Fairfield County.