[dexters]

I had an earlier thread asking for help on narrowing down which FF town we should look at relocating to. I hope it isn't a violation of the boards that I am posting a new thread with a few more specific questions..?

We are relocating to the area from London in September. My husband's job is in White Plains. We were originally looking at Stamford & Putnam County, but have pretty much ruled those out for various reasons.

The relocation company we are working with has suggested both Newtown & Ridgefield. From my research on the net, these both look like wonderful towns for familes with young children with much of what we desire (friendly community, suburban area, lots of families, etc.).

We can get more for our money in Newtown. The relo agent is telling us the commute to WP is 50-60 minutes. Is this true, even with traffic? Or is that going to stretch into 1hr20 each day? It actually looks like it might be easier than Ridgefield, since you can just hop onto the 84 and then on down the 684, right?

Ridgefield also looks very nice and is closer to WP, but the houses are more. We are looking to spend no more than $650K. What about the surround areas like Redding, Weston & Georgetown & Easton?

Can someone advise me on the public Pre-K programs in either district? I can not find any information on either district's web page. Do they exist? Is everyone eligible?

Furthermore, what about preschools? I have contacted both Ridgefield Montessori & Fraser-Woods Montessori in Newtown. Are there other preschools in Newtown?

Thanks so much!

[JViello]

Ridgefield would have a much easier commute to White Plains. From Newtown, you have to either make tracks South to RT15 and/or I84 through Danbury to 684 South. Both routes get congested.

From Ridgefield you can even drive West a few miles and hit the Harlem rail line into White Plains if you wish.

As for the rest of the info, I'm sure others can help more then I.

[jdhall1]

You can also get more house for your money in New Fairfield, Bethel & Brookfield than you would in Ridgefield.

[dexters]

JViello-Thanks for the input. That is what I was afraid of WRT the Newtown commute. I didn't realize there was a train line from Ridgefield though, that is very valuable to know.

JDHall1- I had not even considered north of Danbury. What do you think the commute would be like from those areas? Are they similar in feel to Newtown & Ridgefield (family friendly, safe, etc.?) I just did a few quick searches and the houses in all three look very nice in our price range. If the commute is reasonable, those might be a very viable option.

[MetsNY]

People do the commute, but it will be difficult. This area is one of the most highly congested areas in the country. I-84 gets heavy through Danbury and 684 does as well as you make your way closer to the city.

Someone mentioned the Merritt, but forget that. The Merritt Parkway and I-95 is a parking lot in the mornings and plus depending on where your live in Newtown getting to the Merritt could be a pain.

You wouldn't be able to hop on 84 in Ridgefield like in Newtown so that is a slight advantage. Basically, I'm going to say no matter where your live, Ridgefield or Newtown your commute will most likely change only by 20-25 min.

[Slipperman]

both Danbury and Ridgefield have bus service to different Metro train stations. here's links to the HART schedules..
http://www.hartct.org/RailLink_D-B_MECH_4Web_HART.pdf
http://www.hartct.org/RailLink_R-K_MECH_4WEb_HART.pdf

also, if you're gonna drive i know of a back road route that brings you down to 684 at a point (around the Goldens Bridge stop) that is south of where most of the congestion is. from 84, i took exit 21 and got on rt 121 off of that. took that south to either 138 or 35 and took that over to the entrance to 684. this should allow you to bypass most of the congestion.

[JayCT]

Newtown is about 50 miles from White Plains which would take just over an hour drive without traffic. With traffic figure at least 1 hour and 15 minutes. New Fairfield, Brookfield and Bethel are all about 45 miles and would take just under an hour without traffic, about an hour with traffic. Ridgefield is the closest to White Plains, about 30 miles or around 45 minutes.

Ridgefield is one of the states nicest towns. It has excellent schools and a small charming downtown area. It is pricer than the other towns though but for convenience and quality of living, it is hard to beat.

The train from Ridgefield mentioned does not go to White Plains. It goes south to Norwalk where it connects to the New Haven Line. To get a train into White Plains, you would have to drive into New York and catch a train on the Harlem Line. Note that the train ride from Southeast Station in Brewster to White Plains is about a 45 minute ride. You would have to add travel time to the station from home and then the time from the train station to his office to the trip.

I don't want to discourage you from moving to Connecticut but I would suggest you consider living in Westchester or Putnam Counties in New York to minimize your husband's commute. Good luck, Jay

[JayCT]

I forgot to add that there is now a shuttle from New Fairfield to Southeast Station in Brewster. This will make it easier to commute to White Plains from that area. I am not sure how long it takes but I am sure it will make the trip a bit easier.

I also forgot to add links to the information on schools in the commutities mentioned:

Strategic School Profiles by District

Strategic School Profiles by School

[jdhall1]

Originally Posted by dexters

JDHall1- I had not even considered north of Danbury. What do you think the commute would be like from those areas? Are they similar in feel to Newtown & Ridgefield (family friendly, safe, etc.?) I just did a few quick searches and the houses in all three look very nice in our price range. If the commute is reasonable, those might be a very viable option.

New Fairfield is the only town I mentioned that is north of Danbury. Brookfield is to the northeast of Danbury & Bethel is to the south east of Danbury. In New Fairfield, you can cut down Milltown Road to Route 22 in Brewster & pick up I-684 in about 10 minutes from the center of town. With Brookfield, you have exit 9 on I-84 plus Route 7/Federal Rd for commuting,and you would pick up I-84 at exit 7. There is no direct highway access in Bethel (kind of near exit 8), but most peole would pick up I-84 at exit 3 or the Danbury Airport Exit on the little portion of the Route 7 expressway south of the mall.

New Fairfield has a Vermontish feel with the a lot of woods & you have a few communites along Candlewood Lake. There are a few stores in town, but everything is pretty much in Danbury. Bethel does have a charming small downtown with local stores, eateries & places of business. Brookfield offers a variety of different neighborhoods on Candlewood Lake & homes on about an acre or so lots. There is a lot of shopping in Brookfield, including the area's Costco & furniture stores.

I can't say if the towns are family friendly per licensing laws. I would suggest driving around and seeing what towns or areas in towns you feel the comfortable in.

Jon

[elle423]

Hi dexters: I live in New Fairfield (west side of town) and commute daily to Stamford. Door-to-door on AVERAGE it is an hour commute -- 55 minutes on a good day; 1 hr. 10 minutes on a heavy traffic day (most days are good though ). White Plains would be a similar commute, however, it would take a little less time than mine -- I would say 50 minutes is a fair estimate.
From the center of town or the west side of town, it takes 10 minutes to get to I-684. Once you're on 684, it's a straight ride down to White Plains, and when there are no accidents on the road, 684 is a VERY fast moving highway!! You completely avoid I-84, which in my opinion is a horrible road with HEAVY traffic during rush hour. If you can, I would choose a town/area where you are not dependent I-84 to get to work.
New Fairfield is a small town with about 14,000 residents -- it's a bedroom community with lots of families. In town you can find your essentials: supermarket, Starbucks, 2 dry cleaners, butcher, bakery, pizza, a few sit down restuarants (nothing fancy), toy store, library, liquor store, hardware store, nail salons, post office. For retail chains, movie theaters, and shopping malls you will need to go to Danbury which is about 10 minutes away. Danbury also has lots of restaurants, etc.

There are two preschools in town that I can think of off the top of my head: Bright Beginnings and First Steps. I have no personal experience with either so I cannot comment other than to say I have heard good things about both