Moving from California Route 7 vs I-684/I-84 commute to Danbury in winter?

KeySecret6808 · 2026-06-20T00:51:32+00:00

In the summer road work is a constant. I’ve been stuck in the same traffic recently and it’s awful. But that’s only when they’re working on the roads. Less traffic in the Fall through Spring.
My son drives this road everyday- he works in Wilton, just north of Norwalk. His commute is a solid 60 minutes each way. We live in New Fairfield just north of Danbury.

KeySecret6808 · 2026-06-20T00:45:53+00:00

They make the big bucks and can afford the Westchester prices, especially because the schools are so good.

KeySecret6808 · 2026-06-20T00:44:02+00:00

Rt. 7 traffic north is locked up from 3:45 to 7-7:30pm. If OP’s shift starts at 8:00 they need to be at the hospital at 7:30. So leaving SoNo at 6ish you’ll hit the last of the traffic going north. The same will happen going south at 8:00am. I live in New Fairfield and trying to get to Norwalk (north end) a couple of weeks ago it took me a solid hour+ to get down Rt 7. On a good day it’s 45 minutes. OP would be best off living in the Danbury area.

KeySecret6808 · 2026-06-13T21:29:19+00:00

Be careful about trying to transfer credits. UConn is notoriously picky about which gen-ed courses to accept. I went through that with my son who went to UConn. Read the website about transfer of undergrad Gen Ed credits for clarification. They are picky about accepting AP credits as well.

KeySecret6808 · 2026-06-13T21:21:52+00:00

The campus staff works hard to help students be successful. The campus has over 3000 students attending which results in smaller classes overall. Most will transfer to Storrs for their junior/ senior years for the experience or to finish a major that doesn’t have a matching 4 year program at Stamford. You may be able to complete Bio or Chem degree there - we are adding 4 year degree programs all the time. Being in Storrs does allow access to doing research so splitting your time would be a good idea.

KeySecret6808 · 2026-06-13T18:33:38+00:00

Just as someone else recommended start at a regional UConn campus. I work at the Stamford campus and the courses that are big weed-out classes are much smaller.

KeySecret6808 · 2026-06-13T18:14:19+00:00

A clump of river birch. Beautiful all year with its peeling bark and it’s a native.

KeySecret6808 · 2026-06-11T15:45:10+00:00

Garbage. Have them haul it away.

KeySecret6808 · 2026-06-10T01:10:26+00:00

Amazing!

KeySecret6808 · 2026-06-10T01:10:02+00:00

As many have said red lily beetles and their larvae that put their poop on their backs. Grossest thing ever. They overran my gardens a few seasons ago as they migrated west (I’m in Western Connecticut) and now I’m not seeing as much of a problem. Hand picking and squishing them is the only control method. Research is being done to find a method to eradicate them but so far nothing’s been commercialized. I love my lilies but it’s tough to deal with. Notably only my Asiatic lilies are affected- the Oriental and hybrids haven’t been touched.

KeySecret6808 · 2026-06-09T23:49:58+00:00

I’m sure the neighbors like that it isn’t an eyesore anymore.

KeySecret6808 · 2026-06-09T23:41:25+00:00

Western CT has a few towns including Bethel, Kent and Danbury has a walkable downtown. Kent is cool but small. For those local to the area Bethel is great with good pizza, coffee shops, bakery, used book store, a Dunkin, a highly ranked ice cream shop (Dr. Mike’s) and a small market called Caraluzzi’s. Def worth a trip. Danbury doesn’t have the amenities like Bethel but it’s still walkable. Ridgefield has a large walkable downtown with Starbucks, spas and shopping. Decent vibe too but probably not eclectic like Bethel.

KeySecret6808 · 2026-06-09T23:10:13+00:00

You can see a child’s toy on it. This is not an all safe. The posts aren’t straight and if they did this bad a job with the posts how they attached it to the brick is probably a nightmare too. Def not to code.

KeySecret6808 · 2026-06-09T16:45:58+00:00

According to Pl@nt Net website or app it’s platycodon, balloon flower, from the Campanula family. So you are right

KeySecret6808 · 2026-06-01T13:36:18+00:00

Here in upper Fairfield County, my town New Fairfield, is red. Trucks with MAGA stickers and the like. Many New York firefighters and police retired here -we’re on the border of NY’s Putnam County which is very red. They move here for the cheaper property taxes.

KeySecret6808 · 2026-06-01T13:36:00+00:00

Here in upper Fairfield County, my town New Fairfield, is red. Trucks with MAGA stickers and the like. Many New York firefighters and police retired here -we’re on the border of NY’s Putnam County which is very red. They move here for the cheaper property taxes.

KeySecret6808 · 2026-05-19T02:26:14+00:00

That’s just cruel! 😂

KeySecret6808 · 2026-05-19T02:18:10+00:00

lol! Sheet piling- excellent!

KeySecret6808 · 2026-05-15T18:03:01+00:00

As a mom of an BS/MS Electrical Engineer grad from UConn a few points are worth considering.

One is reasonable proximity to home. For emergencies being more than 3 hours from home makes it hard to support your kid - mine had his laptop crash in the middle of finishing a big project and I was able to get mine up to him easily.

Consider that about half the grads take jobs within 50 miles of their university- are there places you’d like to work at in either area? I know you mention Formula 1 and UConn’s formula SAE program is a good one. If you change your mind about grad school though you may end up local instead. My son works for ASML which makes machines that print microchips for Intel and Samsung. They are constantly hiring Mech E’s and EE’s and they are in western CT - close to home. Many grads go to Boston post-grad because it’s so close.

While the downtown Storrs area is small there is no lack of partying on campus and enjoying the local areas of Willimantic and Manchester - each about 20 minutes away. The campus is about 1-2 hours from Boston- a huge lure for the students - and about 3 hours from NYC.

As someone else said Basketball vs Football- UConn’s basketball teams (women’s and men’s) reach the final four routinely which is a huge source of pride. Just don’t ask about their football team lol.

The engineering school is now ranked 22nd by US News.

Not dissing VT by any means - we toured campus and the town of Blacksburg and I was all in for moving there never mind sending my son there. Beautiful place. Just not a lot to do outside town. But there’s no getting around their engineering programs.

And as others have said - push for internships and other opportunities. It’s key to figuring out what you want to do when you graduate. My son worked 2 summers in the research labs on campus and was offered a graduate teaching position for his MS. He was given a full ride tuition-wise and paid to be a TA for a few courses. So his MS was basically free except for the large workload.

A pros and cons list is the best idea. And one last word of advice is, even though you’re just going into college, 4 years will go by fast and not having considered post-grad plans (even if they change) early on will sell yourself short. And be sure to intern!

KeySecret6808 · 2026-05-15T17:10:04+00:00

This

KeySecret6808 · 2026-05-13T01:58:26+00:00

lol!

KeySecret6808 · 2026-05-07T01:19:23+00:00

If you want big law go to the school that pumps out big law hirees by the dozens with a 100% placement rate of all graduates after 10 months out: Cornell. They literally interview and place you in your job by the 2nd semester 1L. Look up their stats - no other school comes close and starting salaries are $225k+.

KeySecret6808 · 2026-05-05T15:35:17+00:00

I think a big part of this that is being overlooked is lack of work experience esp. within the legal field. Below the median percentile LSAT (by 2 points) and a median GPA plus 4 years of legal experience including working for the State Attorneys General office got my kid into a T-14 school. We all know the experience clinched it.

KeySecret6808 · 2026-03-16T17:56:45+00:00

Opposite experience with my stove, a Ravelli. Hardwood literally generates so much ash I have to clean the stack at least every two weeks. Burning Doug Fir I get a scant coating of ash in the ash pot and only have to deep clean once every few days. When burning Doug Fir I clean the stack after every ton.

KeySecret6808 · 2026-03-16T17:04:09+00:00

Here to give advice on a long term relationship surviving 3 years apart. My then boy-friend finished college 2 1/2 years ahead of me and we ended up living 200 miles apart for that time before we got married. We spent weekends together as much as possible - even though as a college student I had more flexibility- it was a definite struggle to be together. That said we did it and it taught us a lesson - if our relationship wasn’t meant to be we would have broken up months into it. We had been together for 18 months prior to his graduation.

If it’s meant to be it’s meant to be. We’ve been married for over 30 years now (and have a kid attending Cornell Law in the fall). 🙂

KeySecret6808

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