Family friendly living on LI w/ commute to time square?

[sean sean sean sean]

Originally Posted by I_Love_LI_but

I always chuckle at the people who post things to entice others to buy/rent in a certain community like "the commute to NYC from ______ is only 1 hour" who only go by what the LIRR schedule says because that tells me right there that the person probably never commuted to NYC and does not know what they are talking about. Especially the ones posting about communities in eastern Suffolk County. For some reason people are always trying to foist Suffolk County off on those who clearly post they want A LIMIT OF A 1 HOUR COMMUTE INTO NYC. You will not get a 1 hour commute into NYC from Suffolk County. Forget Huntington, Babylon, etc. (and those are the Western parts in Suffolk County), if you want a limit of a 1 hour commute to NYC! Plus, the further out you are, the more expensive the monthly train ticket is. To find the true total commute time you have to take the following into account for your situation:

1. Distance from home to train station and how you will get there (walkable, drive and park easily, drive and park and circle like a vulture for 10-15 minutes each day to find a legal parking spot, be dropped off, take the bus, etc.). Add anywhere from 5 minutes for walkable on up, depending on where the train station is in proximity to your home.

2. LIRR does not usually run on time. What they consider officially "on time" can be up to 5 minutes later than what is on the schedule. Always add the 5 minutes.

3. Regarding Penn Station, just getting upstairs from the tracks can take a good 5-10 minutes during rush hour because of the crowds. At Flatbush Avenue it is more compact, but certain subway lines are a bit of a walk, including marching up and down several staircases. Hunterspoint Avenue only has 1 train available (the 7 train, great if you work midtown east side). Add a minimum of 10 minutes to get you to your next leg of your commute, or if you go to Penn Station and are lucky enough to work right in Penn Plaza.

And finally,

4. The LIRR lets off during rush hour in only 3 places: Penn Station (Manhattan, around 32-34th St and 7th-8th Ave), Flatbush Avenue Brooklyn, and there are a few trains you can change to at Jamaica that go to Long Island City. If you do not work right at one of those areas (and most commuters do not), naturally you will have to commute further, usually using the MTA subways or buses. Add a minimum of 30 minutes of additional transportation time to get you to your office. In your case (going to Times Square) it is either a very short 1-stop subway train ride from Penn Station or you can walk.

Good luck and remember the total commute is not what it says on the LIRR schedule is the "start" and "end" time. That is just the beginning!

Haha this is all very true. I'd give you rep points if it'd let me...

Don't forget that if you're going to Flatbush Avenue on the Babylon, West Hempstead, Long Beach or Far Rockaway Branches, I think you ALWAYS have to transfer at Valley Stream, Lynbrook or Jamaica and I'm not sure if the transfers are always synchronized with one another. I'm also pretty sure the LIRR only runs one or two trains to Long Island City daily, and either only at night or in the morning, going one way. The station is in the middle of nowhere.

There are millions of other quirks to it. If you're east of the Meadowbrook Parkway on the South Shore, you're not really getting there in under an hour. If you live anywhere that is serviced by the Oyster Bay Branch - you're never getting there in an hour. Basically only the western half of Nassau is a true 1-hour commute.