OT: Commuting into NYC
- Thread starter JL23
- Start date
I worked in NYC for 15 years and have commuted all the ways - bus, train, ferry, PATH. DO NOT DRIVE - way too stressful and unpredictable and more money than you would think. Take the most direct route with the fewest number of transfers. Definitely bus - that early should be quick. Get headphones and Ipad and chill (post a lot on Scarlet Nation). I drive 35 miles up the GSP every day and, believe me, that's very stressful.
Thank you all for of the advice. Since I get a company car (they won't pay for bus pass) and they pay for gas, coupled w/the fact that they'll pay for monthly parking, tolls (I think, I have to 2x check that as it's $10.00 per day through the tunnel), I'll be leaving by 530 am (and leaving the city by 300 pm), as well as staying in the city 2x per week, I'm thinking driving in and parking at PA would be the best option. Unless I can convince them to give me $$$ for the bus instead of the company car (they take out $$$ for car from each paycheck and bus stop is 2 miles from my house). How much is monthly parking at PA, or any of the nearby garages ?
8 hours working, 8 hours sleeping, 3 hours commuting,5 to yourself(if family, nevermind).
Theres 24 hours, five days a week.
I commute from the bus depot at 8A park & ride.
5:50am - Get up
6:50 - in my car
7:30 - on a bus
8:40 - at Port Authority
(Walk from there to Grand Central)
9:10 - at my desk
4:30pm - leave work (employer is merciful)
4:45 - at Port Authority
5:00 - on a bus
6:10 - at 8A park & ride
6:30 - in my front door
10 - sleep
It's not so bad.
Sleep, podcasts & Kindle go a long way.
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Yeah, it mostly goes for the 'if family' part of the equation. Still, even without that increasing your free time during the week by 10-15 hours is a lot. It makes a real difference in your life.
Plus, I doubt it's straight 8 hours at work, 0 time getting ready in morning, etc. Think of it this way, you're putting in 15-20 hours extra a week of work, so you better be making at least 50% more to just break even, forgetting about increased commuting costs and not even worrying about the marginal value of lost time.
If i could get 9:10 to 4:30 I would defiantly entertain a longer commute.
I always here on 101.5 at 6:05 am traffic that Lincoln Tunnel has 20 minute backups already, do the busses have separate lanes to go through there? Also, does anyone know how much a monthly parking pass is at Port Authority or any of the other parking garages near there? Another idea would be to park at Newark ($110 per month parking) and train it in from there, but seems like a lot of work
It's not too bad.
The job itself isn't very stressful, the people I work with are great, and they have a good track record of advancing folks who produce and fit the culture.
It's quite literally the exact opposite of my prior situation where my commute was 7 minutes.
If you're going to park and ride in, Newark is the last place I'd recommend. Secaucus and Harrison come to mind. The car traffic in Newark is pretty horrific.
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What sucks is there's that rail line that runs right through Freehold, and even has the old ticket office there, that's used now as the bus terminal. With so much of NW Monmouth and Northern Ocean county built up, I'm really surprised that "just only Freight line" isn't brought back online for passengers.
I hear you. I worked in Edison for 28 years and drove in from various towns in Middlesex County. For about 3 years I drove in from East Windsor and hated it. Sold the house and moved to Woodbridge. Other than a few days on business trips to NYC I worked every day of my working career in NJ. Now that I'm living on Staten Island I see commuters waiting for the Express Bus to Manhattan on the corner near my house before 7am and I know they won't be coming home until after 7pm.
someone here posted the rule of thumb if you have a family is that you need to make at least $150K a year to justify the grueling NYC commute.
Using that rule of thumb if your employer lets you work 9:10 - 4:30 and you make scratch like that sign me up. I work in NYC, do the commute and make a tad more than $150K but I need to work late a good chunk of the year and my normal hours are still until 6pm like most people that work in NYC. you get home at 8pm on an early day and 11pm on a later day. it's blood money but jobs in NJ i've found are tough to come by and people never leave them so there is minimal turnover.
Using that rule of thumb if your employer lets you work 9:10 - 4:30 and you make scratch like that sign me up. I work in NYC, do the commute and make a tad more than $150K but I need to work late a good chunk of the year and my normal hours are still until 6pm like most people that work in NYC. you get home at 8pm on an early day and 11pm on a later day. it's blood money but jobs in NJ i've found are tough to come by and people never leave them so there is minimal turnover.
Bro, more power to you - that's not as easy as you make it out to be. When I lived in Marlboro, I did the bus from Union Hill. In north NJ, I drive to Harrison and take PATH. If you have an easy path to the PATH, it is the best transportation by a mile (predictable, cheap). If not, bus is best IMO.
OP: As you can see, there are many differing opinions. There is no right or wrong, it depends on the individual and his or her preferences, location, flexibility, finances, whether you have kids yet, etc. Try different ways and form your own opinion.