Essex sits just east of Burlington in the Winooski River valley, with Mount Mansfield rising beyond its eastern edge. The town grew around Essex Junction, where the rail lines and highways meet at the Five Corners intersection, and around the older village of Essex Center to the east. VT 15 runs through both, connecting Winooski and Burlington with Jericho and Underhill. VT 2A runs north-south through the Five Corners toward Colchester and Williston, VT 117 follows the Winooski River east toward Jericho, VT 128 heads north toward Westford, and VT 289, the Circumferential Highway, crosses the town east to west. I-89 is a short drive away in Colchester and Williston.
For a mobile mechanic, Essex is easy to get around. Most homes have driveways and garages, and the main routes connect every neighborhood. The busiest spot is the Five Corners, where traffic bunches up at rush hour, and VT 15 and VT 2A carry heavy commuter traffic between the town and the interstate. Farther east and north, roads toward Jericho, Underhill and Westford turn rural, with some gravel stretches that get rough in spring. The Circ makes cross-town trips faster, and most addresses are reached in minutes from the Five Corners.
Passenger trains stop at the Essex Junction station, Green Mountain Transit runs buses toward Burlington, and Burlington International Airport is a short drive southwest. The Champlain Valley Exposition grounds host the big summer fair and other events, and the large semiconductor plant and business parks bring shift workers from across the region every day.