Posts: 6,550
Threads: 0
Joined: Aug 2011
Reputation:
66
Commuting from NJ to NYC for work
09-18-2013, 02:31 PM
Does anyone here commute from NJ to NYC for work? If you want to make any kind of real money all the good paying jobs are in the city.
I'd like to stay in NJ if I can to be closer to family and friends but I'm getting lots of job offers coming my way to work doing programming in Manhattan. The money is almost double of what I can make in NJ.
My commute would be about 60 to 90 minutes each way by train to downtown near 21st street.
Has anyone done the commute for a significant amount of time? What are your experiences, Good vs Bad?
Team Nachos
Posts: 1,789
Threads: 0
Joined: Mar 2012
Reputation:
78
Commuting from NJ to NYC for work
09-18-2013, 03:18 PM
What are your thoughts on Hoboken, NJ City, or Weehawken? I feel like that would strike a balance for what you're looking for.
Posts: 1,357
Threads: 0
Joined: Sep 2012
Reputation:
17
Commuting from NJ to NYC for work
09-18-2013, 04:02 PM
Parlay, don't do it.
You could be commuting three hours a day.
True, commuting by train to New York for an hour and a half isn't remotely as bad as driving even half that time down traffic logged roads in this part of the country. But it still sucks and eats up your day.
Of course, you can't put a price tag on being around family and close friends, but you could instead commute to them once or twice a week rather than do the train shift up to Penn Station Mon-Friday.
Posts: 330
Threads: 0
Joined: Apr 2012
Reputation:
5
Commuting from NJ to NYC for work
09-18-2013, 05:39 PM
I commute every day from Westchester to GCT.
I used to commute from Hoboken to Park Ave.
If you're going to do it, I would look into taking a bus, which a lot of people do in the NJ burbs. The NJ trains are notoriously late and always full. You're going to have commuting nightmares all the time.
I have one colleague who lives on the Shore who takes the ferry from Highlands. He loves the commute.
If you have a wife and kids that you want to get away from, the commute is the best part of your day.
It sounds like you're a divorced dad with a teenage son. That means, your life is not super complicated or you're not being nagged daily by wife, kids, dog, etc. Thus, you're going to hate your commute because it'll complicate your nice life even more.
Money is not worth it unless you want to get away from your family. This doesn't sound like it's the case.
Posts: 492
Threads: 0
Joined: Aug 2013
Commuting from NJ to NYC for work
09-18-2013, 08:25 PM
Get an apt in NYC.
Get an apt there for the weekdays and if you want to go to NJ for the weekends keep your place there. It's not like you're going to be able to hang out with your family/friends during the weekdays anyway with that commute. Pretty much wake -> work -> eat -> sleep.
3 hours a day is 15 hours a week, damn that's a lotta time sitting on a train.
Posts: 1,833
Threads: 0
Joined: Apr 2012
Reputation:
37
Commuting from NJ to NYC for work
09-18-2013, 08:56 PM
Is driving in an option? If you pick up people at the gw bridge plaza you become a car pool person and only pay $4 rather than $13 for the tool. Little loop hole I found.
Posts: 2,816
Threads: 0
Joined: Jun 2013
Reputation:
55
Commuting from NJ to NYC for work
09-19-2013, 10:30 AM
My dream was to buy a house in Glen Rock. After my divorce it just made sense to get an apartment and stay in Manhattan. My daughter lives here too, and I am close to 50/50 time with her, so if I move to NJ that will become a lot more costly, and pretty unlikely. I have a great apt that I found a good deal for on the UES. Most of my sr. colleagues commute from NJ, CT, LI, SI and Brkl. Yes the money is worth it. If you can earn $100K more working in the city, I would do it. I hate to say it, but even if you spend a little less time with your child, you will be giving them a much more financially stable home, plus possibly a college education and legacy by earning more. I face that fact every day.
Posts: 6,550
Threads: 0
Joined: Aug 2011
Reputation:
66
Commuting from NJ to NYC for work
09-19-2013, 10:54 AM
How much are we talking per month for a NYC apartment? I'm looking to work downtown.
Team Nachos
Posts: 2,036
Threads: 0
Joined: Apr 2013
Reputation:
42
Commuting from NJ to NYC for work
09-19-2013, 05:00 PM
I commuted for years to NYC - from Hoboken to Greenwich to the Upper West Side (ha ha no joke, used to live up by Columbia and it took me longer to get downtown than it did from Hoboken!).
It's usually a bit of a nightmare no matter where u are doing it from. I'd say NJ is ok, but if you are younger and want to enjoy the nightlife in NYC it sucks getting home late night, it just does. The work week is ok. But if you are out late on the weekends or even Thursday night it's not that convenient. Sure it looks close, but I can't tell you how many times I was cursing the PATH trains late night, or sitting in traffic for over an hour in a $60 cab ride home home in the Holland Tunnell at 4am, wishing I lived in Manhattan. That gets old fast.
2015 RVF fantasy football champion
Posts: 6,550
Threads: 0
Joined: Aug 2011
Reputation:
66
Commuting from NJ to NYC for work
09-19-2013, 05:02 PM
I didn't realize the trains were so bad. I figured its on rails and there's no traffic. Should always be on time.
I have a phone interview tonight at 7. I'm hoping they have a part time telecommuting option. 2 days a week would be killer. It's programming. No reason why you couldn't work from home.
Team Nachos
Posts: 2,036
Threads: 0
Joined: Apr 2013
Reputation:
42
Commuting from NJ to NYC for work
09-19-2013, 05:04 PM
Quote: (09-19-2013 05:02 PM)Parlay44 Wrote:
I didn't realize the trains were so bad. I figured its on rails and there's no traffic. Should always be on time.
I have a phone interview tonight at 7. I'm hoping they have a part time telecommuting option. 2 days a week would be killer. It's programming. No reason why you couldn't work from home.
The PATH blows...those trains come so infrequently/randomly late night. Commuter rail is ok during peak hours though, but late night you're on an hourly schedule for the most part I'd think. The Metro North line to CT sucks even more for commuter rail I'd say.
Won't this kill your logistics on the weekends? Or do you already have a pretty sweet harem/logistics setup??
Man, I miss NYC sometimes...just writing about this bring back a lot of good memories...
2015 RVF fantasy football champion
Posts: 69
Threads: 0
Joined: Sep 2013
Reputation:
1
Commuting from NJ to NYC for work
09-19-2013, 06:23 PM
Lived in the Greater NY area a few years ago and had several friends in NJ, so I'm familiar with the trains. Here's my breakdown:
If you live in and around Jersey City, Harrison or Newark, take the PATH. Its relatively fast and pretty convenient. Its most useful during rush hours. ~$60 for a 30 day pass (when I was there, probably more now).
If you live anywhere else in Jersey, take the NJT. Not as good as PATH and certainly not nearly as frequent or reasonable (no x days pass, you have to pay ~$6 per trip, probably more now). But I wouldn't worry about commuting. I know of I-Bank MDs and top-notch traders who use NJT, so its definitely better than driving.
And you can always use buses to get to the stations. Just memorize the schedule for both trains and buses and you should be good.
NYC is expensive and so are rents. If you want to see your son regularly, I'd stay in North Jersey, its not too much of a hassle.
Hope that was helpful and hope the gig in NYC goes well.
Posts: 102
Threads: 0
Joined: Aug 2013
Commuting from NJ to NYC for work
09-20-2013, 11:09 AM
I second the NJ buses. The NJ Transit rail sucks. I'm from Queens but have used both the buses and trains to chill with chicks from NJ. My commute from Northeastern Queens is about 20 min both ways during express trains and 30 min during regular hours to Penn Station. Including the subway, I commute about 90 minutes a day, sometimes more depending on how long everything takes to arrive and if there's problems on the rail or in the tunnels. It sucks, but this is what everyone does in NYC unless you have the money to live in Manhattan, Western Queens or Western Brooklyn. If you wanna stay in NJ, check out Hoboken though, has its own scene and is very close to the city. I also second that living in the outer boroughs and suburbs sucks when you are partying and need to get home. The LIRR only runs once an hour at night time, and I think the NJ Transit and Metro North is the same. It's also hard to swoop girls and get them to travel all the way back home to you, which is why I tend to stay in Queens a lot. Logistics for ONS's are just better.
Posts: 6,550
Threads: 0
Joined: Aug 2011
Reputation:
66
Commuting from NJ to NYC for work
09-20-2013, 12:37 PM
Man if I didn't have a kid this would be a no brainer.
Take the job. Move to the city. Fly out to remote
locations on the weekends.
Team Nachos
Posts: 3,852
Threads: 0
Joined: Nov 2011
Commuting from NJ to NYC for work
09-21-2013, 08:50 AM
I know an investment banker guy who's young but married and does the Jersey City to NYC commute. He takes the ferry in the am. Then if he doesn't get off late from work he takes the ferry back. But if he's putting in a long day, then his firm sends a car to take him home.
He had the same dilemma as you but ultimately chose NJ or NYC because he's planning to have a kid. So him and his wife have a 2br apartment in a new building with a gym and concierge for only 3500/month. In the city, the same setup would probably be 6500/month and a 1br would be 3500.
From JC, NYC is just a stop away.