[millennialjack]

My fiancee and I will be moving to Newtown in late November--I will need to commute to New York City three days per week. The realtors have variously told us that Metro North stations at Redding, Bridgeport, Danbury, Brewster and Golden's Bridge are my best bets, so it's apparently not such a straightforward proposition.

I don't mind driving to the train for 30 to 45 minutes, if necessary, as long as there's parking, and if permits are required, they must be available to buy now, not in three years.

Finally, the commute to and from the city should be direct, with no trouble finding seating so I may work on my laptop. Does anyone have that elusive answer? Thanking you in advance for your informed thoughts. Jack

[JayCT]

The problem is that Newtown s pretty far from New York and there are many options for you to get there. I think you have twow options, head west on I-84 into New York to catch the train or head south to the coast. I believe that most people in that area drive to Southeast station and park there. If you do drive south, Bridgeport would probably be your best bet. There are a number of parking garages there and many trians to choose from. Jay

[arielmina]

I think from Newtown your best option will be to drive to Southeast or Brewster. Brewster always seems to have parking, however I honestly don't know about the pass status. I've parked there when I go in for the day, and just pay the meter. It will be about an hour on the train if you get the express to Grand Central and then of course if depends on where you need to go from there how much time that will add. I'm thinking this is going to be 90 mins to 2 hours one way.

Oh and you will definitely get a seat in the morning as Southeast is the "end of the line" so even if you're on at Brewster, there should be room,

[TeaJay]

I live in Brewster and don't know about passes. It seems like lots of people are picked up/dropped off from that station. Parking seems to be limited. If you wanted to stay on 84 for another exit, the Southeast stop might be a better bet. There is a large lot with metered parking. That station is also closer to the highway exit- with Brewster you have to drive through the village and deal with traffic lights, so going to SE likely does not take significantly longer even though it's a further exit.

[millennialjack]

Southeast seems to be the winner (although it's a 45 minute drive from the new house according to MapQuest--which is a bit of a bummer--I was rooting for a lesser drive before the lengthy train shlep that follows). Thank you all for this information. Jack

[Huskyz]

It also depends on where in Newtown you start. Our house, north of 84, was consistently 4 minutes to 84 at exit 9. Southern Newtown can be a lot longer.

[HelloSam]

I live in Brookfield close to Exit 9 and I always drive a bit further south from Southeast to Golden's Bridge. Never a problem finding a parking spot in the North Lot, though sometimes metered spots are gone and you take a chance on getting a ticket. If you get a parking ticket, it's only $12 (which is less than it costs to park all day in Stamford, as I recall).

[7 Wishes]

It is really long and rough but if you're really going to only do it 3 days/week, it may be OK.

Ironically, I'm kind of considering the same thing in reverse for now; I may soon have something temporary where I'd have to drive from southern Westchester to New Haven (NOT during rush hours), but only 2-3 days/week. It may be worth it to me as it may go perm in a year and then I'd relocate; I wouldn't do it if it were 5 days/week, but when I went to the interview (which was during a time of no traffic) it took me just about an hour (to my surprise).

[webdevbrian]

I go to the southeast train station (brewster) and hit the train to grand central. Every day, from the waterbury area. It's a through train and takes 1hr : 10mins or so. If you have a laptop it's actually really nice. Beating the traffic? You can't top it.

Also my commute to southeast is about 30-35 minutes depending on I84 traffic.