jmazz77 Posted January 29, 2011 Share #1 Posted January 29, 2011 Hey guys/gals.. Just wondering.. how many of you have extended commutes to get to/from work everyday? I have heard of numerous employees that come from PA & parts of upstate NY to go to work in the city.. Just wondering if anyone here does it? If so, can you tell me how many miles & hours you travel each day and roughly what it costs you per month to do so?? Trying to decide if it is worth it for me. I live in brooklyn right now, but I hate living in nyc. I have family in Sullivan County NY. I lived there for a few years then came back here for work reasons.. But once I get called back to transit, I am considering buying a house upstate and commuting into Manhattan if I can pick work there. It is roughly 100 miles each way. Commuter books with Shortline/Coach costs $460 per month from Monticello,NY to manhattan & back. From Monticello it is another 15 minute drive to where I want to live.. plus once I reach manhattan the travel would extend whatever time it takes to get from the Port Auth. to my depot. I have thought about driving.. It would cost roughly the same, maybe a few dollars more.. But that's ALOT of wear and tear on my car. 1000 miles per week.. plus I run the risk of falling asleep at the wheel coming home from work late at night. It's a 2hr drive. Just wondering what some of you guys/gals do & think... Am I crazy to consider this? My reasons are mainly living in the country, being able to buy a house with land for under $100k and have a better quality of life for my family. Yeah it'll be a little rough on me, but if I can take the bus, I can sleep on my way home so I dont think it would be that bad.. Whatcha' think?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donald Posted January 29, 2011 Share #2 Posted January 29, 2011 So your going to buy a house a million miles away from NYC that you will rarely see. And does your commute time account for traffic and bad weather? I would not do it. There are plenty o f places you can get the "country" life stlye closer to NYC (ie: Rockland, Suffolk, Bergen Counties, etc.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmazz77 Posted January 29, 2011 Author Share #3 Posted January 29, 2011 yeah, if you want to pay $500k for a house and $10k+ a year in property taxes. I can't see how anyone can afford that make $30/hr.. I'm just thinking right now, and looking for opinions from the people that do do it, if there are any on here. that's all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
553 Bridgeton Posted January 29, 2011 Share #4 Posted January 29, 2011 I wanted to get away from NYC also, couldnt stand it anymore, my parents thought I was crazy. Spending all my life in NYC it was time to leave and I dont regret it. Anyways before I moved to South Jersey, I was still living in Eastchester and my garage is located in Egg Harbor Twp, NJ and the commute was about 3hrs. I did that for almost a year. My mom helped me get the house(No shame in a parent helping). As for a commute the only thing I had to pay for was the to Grand Central and to Times Square, then the 319 to AC which I ride for free. I got tired of that trip, so I decided to drive back and fourth. Gas was a pain in the ass and I stop driving because I would be super tired after work to drive back to NYC. I ended up going back to the 319 until I got the house. Once I left NYC I was one happy person. Most of my family still resides in the Bronx/Queens/Long Island and its just me down here in the South. If thats what you want to do man, do you. There is nothing wrong with a commute trip. If im not mistaken Pelham Bay Dave lives in Bucks County, PA and thats a good trip between NYC and PA. There is another T/O when I would work the 319 I would see him getting on the 139 and that doesnt make any stops untill Route 9, its easy to say he lives somewhere in Monmouth County, NJ along that Route 9 corridor. Thats about a 1 1/2 trip daily. There is also another MTA Worker, not sure is he is a B/O or T/O, but I used to him at Trenton Transit Center(Maybe that was Pelham Bay Dave) since Bucks County isnt that far from that point via SEPTA from the Trenton Transit Center. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amtrak7 Posted January 29, 2011 Share #5 Posted January 29, 2011 The farther away you live, the more expensive the commute would be in both time and money. I, for one, would never move somewhere that would require me use long distance buses like Coach USA for my commute. If one must move out, I'd try to live near a rail line! There are people who commute via Amtrak, that's why they sell monthlies, but they're super expensive. Some people do Shore Line East to Metro-North from OSB to NYC, that's 3 hours one way. I think I read somewhere else on this forum that Pelham Bay Dave drives to/from the city. 553: That must be odd using the route you drive as your commute! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donald Posted January 30, 2011 Share #6 Posted January 30, 2011 Eastern Suffok is quite affordable. Just try to get as close as possible to the LIRR. If your going to commute long distances, I would only do so if there was a train. Buses make for horrible long distance commutes due to traffic and rush hour delays. I commute 25 minutes via an NJ Transit bus and even on that short of a commute, huge delays in the Lincoln Tunnel are common. And commuting on off peak hours and weelends is horrible because the buses only run once an hour. And as luck has it, I usually miss the bus by 2 minutes... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NYCTSignals Posted January 30, 2011 Share #7 Posted January 30, 2011 I dont understand how pple live so far away from work......i just think its not a good idea.........2 guys i work with live upstate....they do 2 hrs by car every nite and when it snows they either stay at work and dont go home or they dont come in.............it takes me 1 1/2 hr to get to work at nite and i take a bus,ferry and a train......and thats because its all free......otherwise if i were to drive it would take me no more then 1/2 hr !.......im thinkin of moving closer to a subway ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmazz77 Posted January 30, 2011 Author Share #8 Posted January 30, 2011 honestly, I've never really liked Long Island. LIRR is horrible as far as reliability & expensive. And taxes are still high. Higher than upstate ny & you get less property. I can get a house upstate right now that is a foreclosure.. 4bd, 1.5 bath, 6.77 acres of land for $60k.. Market value is $180k.. It's worth it to me.. My wife isnt crazy about living their.. That's the only reason I haven't pulled the trigger. As far as commuting by bus, yeah it's a lot of time spent.. but look at NYCTSignals.. travels 1 1/2 hrs from SI to manhattan. I'm only looking at an extra 30-45 min to get my country home. And I can vouch for those commute times b/c I have lived on staten island. When the weather is bad, I would just take my car into work so I don't have to rely on the bus. But how often is that.. ? not that often. thanks for the opinions and info guys. Appreciate it.:tup: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tim66 Posted January 30, 2011 Share #9 Posted January 30, 2011 jmaz i think its a great move i wish i never purchased my house in newyork!!!!!!i live in a decent area but i paid way to much for my house!!!!!i have a friend who paid half what i paid (he lives in pa 90 min commute)and he has a castle!!!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpikeMauler Posted January 31, 2011 Share #10 Posted January 31, 2011 I live on L.I. but a lot of guys I work with travel from N.J. I remember some years ago I worked with a guy that used to commute from Middletown N.Y. He used to drive about two hours each way a day to get to work(Chambers St). I asked him once if he ever thought of moving closer because of the commute. He said no, that he loved living there and that he bought a house there for a great price that had lots of property and good schools. The commute didn't bother him. I also worked with a couple of guys that lived in PA. One stayed somewhere in Queens(with his sister) during the week and traveled home(PA)on weekends. The other guy used to commute three and a half hours each way everyday by bus and train. Eventually the commute got to him... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pelham Bay Dave Posted January 31, 2011 Share #11 Posted January 31, 2011 I commute from Pa to NYC just about every day. I use to live in the Poconos where I had to drive. That was wearing on me doing it for almost 10 year. Now I moved to Buck county which is between Phila and Trenton so now I ride NJ Transit Northeast line. I love my new community and the commute is well worth it. However I also own a Coop in Manhattan where I stay when the weather gets bad or I don't feel like going home. I'm engaged so I really try to make it to PA but I'm keeping the Coop. Commute wise by car it's 1 hour 1/2. Going by train have to add 1 hour unless I work AMs and ride the Express then it 2 hours to work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FatBoy1169 Posted February 15, 2011 Share #12 Posted February 15, 2011 i do the commute not everyday but i love to be able to go home to a nice quiet home in the poconos sure it a long trip but i been doing it almost 10 years and love the lay back style down here and would not trade it for a home in nyc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
553 Bridgeton Posted February 15, 2011 Share #13 Posted February 15, 2011 . 553: That must be odd using the route you drive as your commute! Yeah it was odd & annoying! Because at that time I was working the 319 5 days a week. They gave it to me because they knew I lived in New York and it was easy for me and when I got back to the garage I hitched back on another 319 to New York when my shift was done. They kept me on the 319 for a while until I learned most of the Local Routes. Thats one of the reasons why I dont want to go back on the 319. I usually only do it as a extra when needed. But its like now, I dont want to be anywhere near a 319 l0l. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Locomotion69 Posted February 15, 2011 Share #14 Posted February 15, 2011 i do the commute not everyday but i love to be able to go home to a nice quiet home in the poconos sure it a long trip but i been doing it almost 10 years and love the lay back style down here and would not trade it for a home in nyc That is someplace that I can see myself retiring to one day. I like the small town of Honesdale which is about 32 miles from Scranton. Even though I don't ski or go hiking I love the scenery of the mountains. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Messino Posted February 15, 2011 Share #15 Posted February 15, 2011 NYC and the outskirts are garbage, no quality of life. Who wants to live in sh1t for their whole lives? THis is why people move out of nyc and commute to work 1.5+ hours every day. You can buy a bigger house with less money, get more for you tax dollars, way better schools for your kids, nicer neighbors who take care of their property and you dont have to see the trolls that make up nyc when you want to go home and relax. Its bad enough you have to see the animals in the subways all day long, who wants to go home and deal with them in the stores, movies, etc.. I guess when you grow up in garbage and never travel anywhere else or know anything better, you can be happy living in it. Thats why people with class and money or just plain ol want of a nicer life live "where the buses dont run" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Via Garibaldi 8 Posted February 15, 2011 Share #16 Posted February 15, 2011 Hey guys/gals.. Just wondering.. how many of you have extended commutes to get to/from work everyday? I have heard of numerous employees that come from PA & parts of upstate NY to go to work in the city.. Just wondering if anyone here does it? If so, can you tell me how many miles & hours you travel each day and roughly what it costs you per month to do so?? Trying to decide if it is worth it for me. I live in brooklyn right now, but I hate living in nyc. I have family in Sullivan County NY. I lived there for a few years then came back here for work reasons.. But once I get called back to transit, I am considering buying a house upstate and commuting into Manhattan if I can pick work there. It is roughly 100 miles each way. Commuter books with Shortline/Coach costs $460 per month from Monticello,NY to manhattan & back. From Monticello it is another 15 minute drive to where I want to live.. plus once I reach manhattan the travel would extend whatever time it takes to get from the Port Auth. to my depot. I have thought about driving.. It would cost roughly the same, maybe a few dollars more.. But that's ALOT of wear and tear on my car. 1000 miles per week.. plus I run the risk of falling asleep at the wheel coming home from work late at night. It's a 2hr drive. Just wondering what some of you guys/gals do & think... Am I crazy to consider this? My reasons are mainly living in the country, being able to buy a house with land for under $100k and have a better quality of life for my family. Yeah it'll be a little rough on me, but if I can take the bus, I can sleep on my way home so I dont think it would be that bad.. Whatcha' think?? If you can stand commuting for a long period of time then it's not bad at all. I commute from Staten Island to Midtown everyday practically via the express bus and it doesn't bother me at all. I take my normal nap, or if I'm the mood, I'll pull out my laptop and data card and relax and do some surfing on line. The key thing is to have a commute that is as non-stressful as possible. If I had to continue to commute everyday via the bus, ferry, subway set up, I would've been burned out by now. Too stressful and too many connections. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lilbluefoxie Posted February 15, 2011 Share #17 Posted February 15, 2011 Nassau is quickly becoming the 6th boro, just in the congestion, the overdevelopment and the people Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zman Posted February 18, 2011 Share #18 Posted February 18, 2011 I know a few people who commute 2+ hours per day (two guys live in Monticello). In fact, one C/R I know commutes 3 1/2 hours ONE WAY from the northern Poconos...every day. That's nuts, but he's only doing it for two years then he's retiring. The drive, and you will definitely be driving, isn't too hard if you work odd hours. If you try to commute during the rush hour it will kill you; but, if you work 3 am to 11 am or 4 pm to 1 am, then the traffic will definitely be doable. You'll also need to pick a depot out of the West Bronx or Upper Manhattan. If you try commuting by ShortLine, it will only be a matter of time before that Lincoln Tunnel makes you regret your decision. Finally, don't put all of the miles on your good car. Many people who drive from the Poconos and Upstate buy beat-ups and put the miles on them; 207th Street Yard is loaded with beat-ups. Oh, and try to arrange something so that you can sleep over in the city when the weather is really bad (i.e. heavy snow). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hawk Operator Posted February 18, 2011 Share #19 Posted February 18, 2011 If it makes you happy and you can do it, then it is worth it. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amtrak7 Posted February 18, 2011 Share #20 Posted February 18, 2011 On the news during a light snow last month, a reporter interviewed a woman who commuted by train from Montauk who was leaving early. That's 3 hours one way, plus the high potential for LIRR delays on a diesel line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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