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I know my other posts were about areas like Garden City and Port Washington, but we are also looking at places a bit further out. Cold Spring Harbor got on our radar after we found out that it has a direct express train to Penn Station, stopping only in Syosset. One of us works in the city while the other works (nearly) full-time remotely.
Are there other people that used the CSH station for a daily commute to Manhattan?
1. Are the trains and schedules generally reliable from that station?
2. Does the parking lot fill up very early or can you get a spot even if you show up after 8 am?
3. Are there good full-day daycares/preschools that cater to working parents' schedules? (not just nurseries and preschools that close at 2 pm or earlier). Are there waiting lists for these?
I know my other posts were about areas like Garden City and Port Washington, but we are also looking at places a bit further out. Cold Spring Harbor got on our radar after we found out that it has a direct express train to Penn Station, stopping only in Syosset. One of us works in the city while the other works (nearly) full-time remotely.
Are there other people that used the CSH station for a daily commute to Manhattan?
1. Are the trains and schedules generally reliable from that station?
2. Does the parking lot fill up very early or can you get a spot even if you show up after 8 am?
3. Are there good full-day daycares/preschools that cater to working parents' schedules? (not just nurseries and preschools that close at 2 pm or earlier). Are there waiting lists for these?
Thank you!
1. I commuted from that station for close to 20 years and getting a seat was no problem, unless the train was short a few cars (rare then); Syosset is another story - often not enough seats then. The CSH train station was five minutes from my house - very convenient! (I no longer commute.)
2. Ever since they expanded the parking lot, parking has gotten easier, but after 8:00am could still be an issue, depending on the possibly lasting work-from-home effects due to the pandemic. A lot has changed since the effects of the pandemic; many companies don't require full-time NYC attendance from their employees anymore, especially on the executive level.
3. Don't know of any in CSH, definitely easier in Huntington.
I did a similar commute for a couple of years out of college. It is soul sucking. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if you had to do it only 2 times per week.
- It would be debilitating if you had to do it five times a week. It would crush you before too long. As stated by another poster, two days a week would be doable. Maybe even three, for a while. Also, most trains don’t stop in just Syosset. It’s far more likely you’d end up on one that stopped at every station on the line. It would be difficult to consistently time your commute to coincide with the express train.
- Parking started to get difficult around 8 in pre-pandemic times, but the true state of this situation won’t be known until after Labor Day, when workplaces and schools have finalized their in-person protocols. My guess is that you would find a spot, but far in the back.
- No all-day day care in CSH, as far as I know. There really isn’t a need, as most moms are at-home. Huntington has several, including one on East Main St. that provides well-regarded care from early am through the dinner hour. It’s not cheap, though, and you would need to factor this into your housing costs. You also have to realize that traveling from CSH to Huntington and back would add time to your commute - probably about 20 minutes each way, considering traffic and the time it would take to unload/load the children and their things. Each way, you’d be heading in the opposite direction of where you want to go and backtracking. Syosset is in the other direction and must have child care centers — it’s also one station closer to NYC. There too, you’d have to contend with things like parking and high care costs.
Don't do it. I know the CSH area is very attractive with great schools to boot. But as others have mentioned, the train service is awful. I don't know if the pandemic passenger rout is still in effect, though I'm sure the LIRR want's the FEDs to think so, the trains out of Huntington are usually packed and ridiculously so on the return trips at night. Despite one of the posts on your thread, trains are often delayed, short a car or two or three and filthy.
Maybe you'll be fine dealing with this soul-sucking commute for the first three months, maybe the first six. But soon you'll be as angry as your fellow commuters and that's not a good thing. Do a search on twitter and you'll find all sorts of topics about the LIRR dysfunction, disgusting fellow commuters and the abyss the Suffolk to Penn Station commute is.
DISCLAIMER: The above post is based on this former-commuter's experience over 30 years of doing this commute. Your experience may or may not be very different.
I live in the area and just started going back to the office a couple of times a week. The express trains are fine. If you have flexibility with work, I would catch the 7:15 am express that gets you in at 8:10 am. Then preferably, you can catch the 4:19 pm express home. Pre-COVID, there were usual LIRR issues, but the Huntington/Port Jeff line has enough express trains that don’t stop at Jamaica that it truly is only an hour train ride to CSH.
In regards to the area, Compared to Nassau, the quality of life in north western Suffolk is tremendous. Nature. Can drive into the city on a weeknight or weekend in less than a hour. Be out east to the north or south fork in an hour and 15 mins. Tons of parks. However, you’re close enough to 110, nassau, and Jericho that you still have access to everything you need.
The main drawback to CSH is the housing stock is hit or miss. Lots of gut/Renos out there.
The childcare issue is a problem. CSH has limited options there. However, that is something that is a problem anywhere you live. Kids do grow up, which so many homeowners forget. Obviously, today you have childcare needs, but tomorrow they may be very different.
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