Commuting Trumbull to Danbury (Bridgeport, New Haven: house, movies, high school)

kate4nyy · 06-02-2010, 08:54 AM

Hello,

I have searched the posts but only see comments on commuting to Stamford or NYC. My husband will be working in Danbury. We were originally looking at Newtown, Bethel and Brookfield but I would like to be in more of a "suburban" area nearer to shops, restaurants, etc. so we are thinking about Trumbull and Monroe (looking to spend under $525K and have very good schools).

What would the commute be like from Trumbull or Monroe to Danbury? Any other town suggestions?

I read about some issues in Bridgeport and was wondering if it is not as safe living in Trumbull as in the previous areas I mentioned? Where we live now (in Georgia) we have left our garage door open overnight, front door unlocked, etc. and have had no issues. I just want to make sure the area would be safe.

Thank you very much.

jdhall1 · 06-02-2010, 10:38 AM

Brookfield is pretty suburban. There is a lot of shopping along Federal Road with stores including Costco, Shoprite, Raymour & Flangan with on the Danbury side having Home Depot, Lowes, Best Buy, Loews Movies, Stew Leonards and more. You can get a pretty house home in Brookfield, Bethel & Newtown in your budget.
From Trumbull, you would be going againist traffic heading to Danbury until about you get into Bethel. I would take Route 25 North to Hattertown Road then Route 302 east into Bethel. I-84 into Danbury from Newtown is usually busy people that commute in to Danbury or further down the line like Somers or White Plains.

UconnHusky1 · 06-02-2010, 11:21 AM

You are better off in Brookfield or Newtown....Trumbull is nice, but most of your retail shopping will reside at the Trumbull mall, which is basically Bridgeport and a dump...I guess you can shop in Stratford, but that town does not have much to offer. I would prefer to live in Newtown/Brookfield and do my shopping Danbury (safer mall, Lowes, Home Depot, BB, Stew Leonard's, Costco's, larger variety of restaurants).
Also, the commute from Trumbull to Danbury can be quite long, route 25 and/or 302 can be a pain in the morning.

JayCT · 06-02-2010, 01:08 PM

Trumbull is about 25 miles from Danbury but it is all backroads and will take about 45 minutes to an hour depending on where you live and where your husband works. Plus Trumbull is kind of a pricey town. I believe you would get more for your money in Brookfield or New Fairfield. As others noted, there is a lot of shopping along Federal Road and personally I think the Danbury Mall beats Westfield (or whatever the name of Trumbull Shopping Park is this week by their obnoxious owners) by a mile. As for schools, New Fairfield and Brookfield schools are very good. Their test scores are generally higher in some categories than Trumbull or Monroe.

As for Bridgeport being close to Trumbull, not all of Bridgeport is bad. In fact most of it is pretty nice. Generally I would say to stay north of the Merritt Parkway when looking for a house in Trumbull or if south of the parkway stay west of Main Street or Frenchtown Road. again though you will get more for your money in the Danbury area. Jay

Slipperman · 06-02-2010, 01:50 PM

"the commute from Trumbull to Danbury can be quite long, route 25 and/or 302 can be a pain in the morning."

i did that.. i used to commute from New Haven to Danbury which is even further than Trumbull (36 miles) and man was it a pain in the rear. no direct way to get there. 34 is no treat because of the lights thru Orange and Derby and the rest out to Newtown/84 being a 1 lane back road (not to mention the ridiculous traffic thanx to the high school being right there). alternately, i would take 34 thru Derby than go over that little bridge to Shelton, took 110 into Monroe, got on Fan Hill Rd over to 25 then got on 302 from there and took that to Milwaukee/Hickock then turned right onto Wooster which brought me up to Shelter Rock Ln where i worked. sheesh. a big pain either way.

kate4nyy · 06-02-2010, 02:09 PM

Thanks for the comments. Newtown, Bethel and Brookfield seem a bit rural to me - I'm originally from Northern NJ and living in Cobb County, GA where there's an abundance of stores and restaurants all around. That's why I was looking more south - closer to the areas of Westport, Stamford, etc. where there appears to be more amenities - and more than just the standard box stores of Walmart, Best Buy, etc.

UconnHusky1 · 06-02-2010, 02:57 PM

In that case, I would definitely consider Fairfield....the commute to Danbury might actually be preferable over Trumbull since you can take route 58 & 53 against traffic. Actual commuting time would depend on whether the job is located north or south of I-84 & west or east or route 7.

Stratford, Ct. Resident · 06-02-2010, 04:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kate4nyy

Thanks for the comments. Newtown, Bethel and Brookfield seem a bit rural to me - I'm originally from Northern NJ and living in Cobb County, GA where there's an abundance of stores and restaurants all around. That's why I was looking more south - closer to the areas of Westport, Stamford, etc. where there appears to be more amenities - and more than just the standard box stores of Walmart, Best Buy, etc.

The thing is though, Brookfield and Bethel really aren't any more "rural" than Trumbull. The vast majority of Trumbull's commerce is located at the town borders. Away from the town borders, Trumbull is almost exclusively residential.

renovating · 06-02-2010, 05:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stratford, Ct. Resident

The thing is though, Brookfield and Bethel really aren't any more "rural" than Trumbull. The vast majority of Trumbull's commerce is located at the town borders. Away from the town borders, Trumbull is almost exclusively residential.

Yes, as is Monroe.

Personally, I would want to live where the commute is the shortest for higher quality of life.

Danbury has all the shopping you could want. Bethel, Brookfield, and Newtown are convenient to it all. My pick would be Newtown or Bethel. Beautiful towns to live in.

UconnHusky1 · 06-02-2010, 06:18 PM

A couple of years ago I hung out with friends at their home in Trumbull. Although great schools and very nice, I found it to be the most frustrating town with regards to shopping, entertainment, and dining.

A small selection of retail and restaurants to the point we had to drive to Bridgeport to hit up a fast food chain or drive to Fairfield/Shelton for a nice dinner. I think we had to drive to the Home Depot in Bridgeport for lawn stuff....I think this was before the Derby HD was built.

If you want a "suburban" town near shops and restaurants, I would definitely stay away from Trumbull. Anyway, in addition to Brookfield, Newtown & Fairfield, maybe Ridgefield?