How bad is this commute?

amother

Purple

Mon, Jul 27 2015, 6:31 pm

How terrible would a commute between the Five Towns and Washington Heights be? I know in theory it's not that far, but you hit all the bad roads and at rush hour, I could see it getting really ugly. Has anyone or their husband done it? Or is it just crazy?

amother

Forestgreen

Mon, Jul 27 2015, 6:48 pm

pesek zman wrote:

I would never consider it. I work in WH and would never move to the 5T partially for this reason. When we have to go for a Shabbos (simcha) it's hell. Don't do it

While I've never tried it, I agree. H3ll on earth. You're going to be stuck in all of the traffic from Long Island to Manhattan, with no real option for public transit.

pesek zman

Mon, Jul 27 2015, 6:55 pm

Thing is you can, and I have, do subway to LIRR, but it's ridiculous. 30 minutes (if you're lucky) from WH on the A to penn and then another 45 on the railroad. And you're rushing like a mad person to make the one train to get you home at a decent tjme (or for Shabbos!) my Husbad says that LIRR takes years off his life every time he takes it and wholes he's a bit dramatic he's not wrong! Unless you work in midtown near penn, 5t is too darn far from most of the city to reasonably commute evey day

amother

Purple

Mon, Jul 27 2015, 7:36 pm

Yikes. Thing is, I've been out of work for awhile and I finally have an offer. I feel like I can't turn it down just because of this and go back to the drawing board for who knows how long. Maybe I can put up with it for a year and then find another job? I will have an easier time finding something else if I'm already employed. Also, the job is at YU, so maybe after some time, I can transfer to the midtown campus. Can I survive it in the short term?

Rebesq

Mon, Jul 27 2015, 7:46 pm

I'm going to be honest with my thoughts ..and others may disagree. when you're trying to get back into the workforce you do whatever it takes. Especially if nothing else is on the horizon. It stinks but a miserable commute for a job is better than no job at all. There are a number of people that commute to YU from 5T. can you reach out? Also please don't count on going to Beren campus unless you know that is an option. The 2 have very separate operations and most of the administrative YU positions are in WH. FYI - YU has horrible maternity leave (0 weeks paid!) and fairly good benefits although they just raised the premiums/copys etc..

nicole81

Mon, Jul 27 2015, 8:20 pm

Rebesq wrote:

I agree with this.

but I also want to ask: will you have parking available as an employee? parking in washington heights is awful. I commuted last year once a week from brooklyn to wh and as if the drive wasn't bad enough, the endless circling and doubled the time it took to get in. if you take the job, consider the commuting and parking time, commuting expense, possible parking expense, and weigh it against taking the LIRR and subway. neither is ideal, but I'm not sure which is the worse of the 2 evils.

amother

Chocolate

Mon, Jul 27 2015, 8:29 pm

I did this commute for a while - but I was working only 20-30 hours a week. Its hard, but not entirely undoable. (I was commuting from the 5T to Columbia on 168th St)

If you take the LIRR and A, it should take you on a good day, an hour and 20 minutes and on a bad day up to an hour and 40 minutes.

This in for the way there.

The way back is trickier because you can't know exactly when the A will come (with the LIRR there is an exact time schedule), so it takes longer.

I drove sometimes. If you are not driving during rush hour, it takes 45-50 minutes, which is pretty good. But parking, well, some days it takes 5 minutes, and some days, 45 minutes. (If you can park where you are working, all the better)

If you drive home after 9 pm, it's usually a breeze-would take me 40 minutes.

I'd say, if you an drive during non-rush hour times, that's your best (and probably cheaper, as the railroad is expensive) option.

amother

Purple

Mon, Jul 27 2015, 8:42 pm

Thanks for all the info. I would have discounted parking available. I would also be working about 30 hrs a week with somewhat flexible hours, so may be able to avoid rush hour for one way. This particular position is transferrable to midtown if something opens up there. I guess maybe the thing to do is check Waze every morning and decide day to day whether to drive or take the train. I guess the thing to do is use this as a stepping stone to other opportunities rather than think of it for the long haul.

cooksallday

Mon, Jul 27 2015, 10:25 pm

It's rough when you have been looking for a while, and there is no easy answer. I've been in similar situations, it depends how much you need the money/job. An almost 2 hour commute each way will take a huge toll on your life, just keep that in mind. I did a 2 hour commute for a student placement for 2 months, and it was beyond brutal, but keep in mind I was using public transit (4 buses). I stuck with it because I had no choice. Your situation is a little different if you would be driving, but it is a lot to think about. I know how frustrating it can be when you are in the job market and not finding anything. Also think about this, once you have a job, even though you may say you will look for something else, the truth is, you will be so exhausted from the job/commute, you will not have proper time to devote to finding a better job. This almost happened to me last year and I was very glad I stuck it out and found something in my field (different problem but just as an example).
Take your time thinking it through, and hatzlacha with your decision!

amother wrote:

spring13

Tue, Jul 28 2015, 12:22 am

My SIL does a similar trip in reverse (WH to LI) and it's pretty brutal even at non-rush hour times (she's a night shift nurse). But she needs the job, has no kids yet, and has plans to move to Queens in the future to make things easier. I would never want that commute l'chatchila, but I know what it's like to be desperate for a job in a competitive field. If there's a possibility of switching to midtown at some point...

Be realistic about how much time you'll be spending out of the house. If you have kids, will you need to pay for more childcare? Will you need to spend more on prepared foods or cleaning help, and will the salary be enough to defray those costs? If you work there for a year or two, will it improve your ability to find a better job (either at YU or elsewhere)? Is this a good career move or just something to hold the demons from the door? Are there other staff members in your area (or just other people who travel to the Heights) you can carpool with?

amother

Purple

Tue, Jul 28 2015, 8:39 am

Spring13- I don't think it'll make much difference. I always have lots of cleaning help, so that won't change. Most kids are in school, the one who isn't can commute with me and have childcare there. I don't need the money right now so much as I need to advance my career. I can still look for another job nights and weekends. At least having this will mean a) not unemployed and B) experience in a field I'm still fairly new to (the job I lost was my first job).

MamaBear

Tue, Jul 28 2015, 9:06 am

I did that type of NY commute for a year. I could have gone longer but I didn't like my job. On a good day it was 1 hr 20 min - bad day 1 hr 45 min. Two things that were hard were bad weather (slowed everything down somehow) and early morning meetings (leaving so early was really hard and meetings are more important than a regular work day for punctuality)

If you consider it a short term thing in your mind, I think you'll be ok for a while. Especially if you have household help and your workday itself won't be very long (mine was over at 5:30 so I was generally home by 7)