Re: willingness to commute

I am in a situation right now- were my commute is going to effect where we live (if we stay here) I work in Stamford and the commute from bayside is about 1 hour with NO traffic or accidents

it is slowly killing me- I used to say I would rather drive over the train- but I take that back

so I can either get a new job- easier said then done- or we really have to rethink where we are going to live-

my DH doesn't have to be at work until 10:30- so where we live doesn't effect him as much- but he works till 9pm- so moving closer to CT is not going to work either

Re: willingness to commute

I moved to NJ and commuted to NYC for 2 years. Hated it. It was so draining. Now I work 15 min from my house. I def. miss the city vibe but I love being able to jump in the car.

Re: willingness to commute

I hear what you're saying and I think the responses will vary on individual basis, what kind of work the person does, whether or not they have children, etc etc. Before I got pregnant, I totally saw myself commuting 1.5 hours each way every day...now that perspective has totally changed. I have to think about my work, my child, working out childcare arrangements, etc. We want our child cared for by our family members, thus we decided to stay in the close proximity of our families. We also want to spend more time with our child, thus another reason for staying closer to the city...it all depends on an individual and the position they're in.

Re: willingness to commute

Re: willingness to commute

I loathe commuting.

I lived and worked in NYC for 8.5 years and was able to walk to work for about 6 of those years. When we decided to buy an apt because we wanted more space and a car (!!) in summer 2005, we knew we were confined to a couple of different areas-- since we still wanted to be close to Manhattan, in order to have a shorter commute.

For me, walking and subway/PATH... it has to be under 45 mins with as few transfers as possible. I have a 35 mins commute door to door-- walk half a mile on both ends, and take the PATH one stop.

We have a 2BR, and will be able to have a kid in our apt, but when the time comes to get a house, I will no longer want to work in the city because of my commute.

In my job-- I work long hours-- and to have another 2 hours tacked onto that will just not be worth it to me. I'd be willing to work out of Manhattan and take a pay cut for a better quality of life.

Re: willingness to commute

Its interesting to hear all the responses. Hey its not that I love commuting an hour and a half each way. When I was living with my parents, I had job that was a 20 minute (driving) commute. I hated hated the job and was miserable even though I was home right away. Today I have an hour and a half (door-to-door) commute but am happy in my job. So that makes a difference too, I guess.
DH and I ride the train together. When kids come into the picture, I am not sure how we will arrange that. I am hoping I will be able to work from home a few days a week.

Re: willingness to commute

Message edited 5/11/2007 2:13:35 PM.

Re: willingness to commute

Posted by chikita315

Posted by missus-hbradio

Posted by ChrissynRicky

I wouldn't want the commute and having lived through 9-11, the Blackout, the Transit Strike, I love being able to get home thorugh some means w/out relying on PT.

I want to touch on this since during the blackout for example, I walked over the 59th St Bridge to Queens...what did the people who live on LI do? They had to stay with a coworker or friend who lives in the city - no thanks.

I actually went through all 3 and lived on LI.

9/11 - the LIRR was running out of Jamaica (walked over the bridge then took a subway)
Blackout - I walked over the bridge and somehow I got on a Hampton Jitney that took me all the way home
Transit strike - LIRR was the only way to get to NYC from LI

I know I got lucky w/ the blackout, but the other two instances the LIRR got me home.

Re: willingness to commute

I think this is a great topic and I love hearing everyone's perspective on it!

As for myself, DH and I both work in Manhattan and live in Forest Hills. We both work 10-12 hour days on average (any many times longer) so having a short commute was very important to us. We would have loved to have stayed in Manhattan, but we also wanted more space then we could afford.

We ultimately bought a 2 bedroom in co-op in Forest Hills. We have a great commute - about a half hour on the express bus, plus we also have the subway and the LIRR. Plus, I think we are more "city" people. I couldn't see ourselves in the suburbs right now.

Ultimately, I am not sure where we are going to wind up. We may go back to Manhattan or stay in Queens. Western Nassau would probably be the furthest east we go.

Re: willingness to commute

Re: willingness to commute

Re: willingness to commute

I've done both, lived in NYC and commuted 20 mins to work, and lived on the Island and take the LIRR.

For me it all depends on what stage you're at in your life. We were done with NYC after living there together and apart for 7 years. Now, I love coming home to my apartment in LB each night, and don't mind the train ride at all.

Re: willingness to commute

im in the middle. for my industry, i will always be working in the city. just the way it is and now that i've been doing this for 4+ years, i don't mind it. I really don't even think about it all that much. i can sleep or read...no traffic to drive in. It could be worse.

I just moved to east rockaway from long beach and even though it's the same train line, the commute is a lot shorter....37 minutes on good days and no longer than 45 minutes. If timed right, I can make it door-to-door in a little over an hour each way. that being said, i'm almost 100% positive that i would sacrifice a big piece of land for a good commute. though if i could get both, that would be awesome.

Re: willingness to commute

Re: willingness to commute

Re: willingness to commute

. but for the size house we bought, its worth the extra half hour in the car.


a half hour is one thing- but for me an half hour gets me to Roslyn or Mahannsett if I am lucky- not anywhere near suffolk yet

My DH is moving offices to Sysosett as we speak- so westchester is getting further and further from his job

I think the best thing for me is to find a job in NYC- then it wouldn't really mattered where we buy a house- if we stay in NY-

not having to drive is rush hour makes such a big difference- Jake came home from work early one day 2 weeks ago- and he couldn't believe that his 15 minute commute took him almost an hour-

Re: willingness to commute

My commute is a minimum of 1 hour in the am & 1 hour or less at night.
My commute only bothers me when the weather is really bad, just because I'm a nervous driver.
My DH spends almost 2 hours a day this time of year getting out to East Hampton, but outside of moving to the hamptons there is nothing we can do to change that. there is only one way in & too many tradesmen trying to get there in the AM.

we live in eastern Suffolk-exit 68 on the LIE. I am a total country bumpkin & I would never consider living in the city because we don't work there and I really only like it in small doses.
Although my job is in Nassau county we never considered looking there because we prefer a more rural setting, wide open spces & a slower pace.
I would rather travel further for to be in an area that I love.
If our children were little I would get a job closer to home.
I think a 1 hour each way commute is the average on LI.

Re: willingness to commute

I don't commute into the city. I drive from Nesconset to Farmingdale each day. Which being a HS teacher I can make it in he morning in 30 minutes but in the afternoon it can be longer if I stay and tutor after school. If I leave at 5 pm it takes me an hour.

But to me that was a long enough commute because I don't want to spend most of my day in the car. Also, when we have children I want to be able to be around home in 30 minutes in case I need to pick up a sick child from school or something like that.

I honestly love my drive in the morning, it is nice and easy and the afternoon isn't too bad either.

But like others have said, we got a much nicer house with more property for the money where we are. Also we are closer to DH's family who live further east. So it works for us.

Re: willingness to commute

To me commuting is HUGE deal, to the point that I would not take higher paying jobs that would make me drive longer, or would consider relocating to avoid it.

Right now my commute is 30 min by car, 45 on a heavy traffic day and I HATE it. I would not be willing to go further, it is my limit.

Re: willingness to commute

I would never want the commute no matter how great the job is. And either does DH that is why we moved as far west as we could because he drives into Queens and NYC almost everyday.

For me I rather spend 15 mins driving to and from work and have that extra time to spend with Andrew and DH.

Re: willingness to commute

I personally would not want a big commute. I did this already when I was working in Babylon and living in Queens. Now my commute (my job is in Queens now, is 12 minutes). I couldn't handle the large commute (plus the worries about weather).

My DH on the other hand commutes 45 minutes to work in Westchester. I don't know how he does this everyday.

If it was a commute by train, well it would depend on what train and how long it took to get to the place and how many transfers.

Message edited 5/11/2007 6:44:19 PM.