City or Town near Newark Penn Station (Secaucus, Harrison: homes, school district)
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I used to work for a few years next to Grand Central. If commuting from NJ to Grand Central (i.e., the EAST side of Manhattan, and farther uptown than NY Penn/33rd St.), count on tacking on an extra 20-30 minutes to your commute than the people that work in and around the WEST side of Manhattan down by the 30s.
In my opinion, you should consider the PATH train.
Look into the Newark-to-WTC PATH train. I'd drive to the Harrison PATH station instead of Newark Penn. It's quicker and less traffic to drive into Harrison which is not a mega hub like Newark. A 30-minute drive to the station is much more realistic and reasonable (if you are looking to move to a proper suburb).
The PATH train from Harrison to WTC is 20 minutes. From the WTC, take a 2-minute walk to the Fulton St. 4/5 station and take the 4 Express to Grand Central (another 20 minutes total at most...that's counting the walk to the Fulton St. station, plus having to wait for the 2nd train to pull up to the platform because the 1st one was too jam packed for even Olive Oyl to push & shove her way on).
I personally prefer the PATH to NJ Transit because the PATH is a lot more flexible, fast, reliable and much more frequent (not to mention 24/7). During rush hour the PATH runs every 4-5 minutes, similar to the subway.
Thanks that is what I would be looking for then to be able to catch a train every 4 -5 minutes.
What would be the reason for taking the Newark to WTC Path rather than 33rd where one can hop on the B/D/F to 42nd and Bryant Park and walk to Lexington. Is that commute longer than catching the train downtown?
Does the WTC Path have more frequent trains than the Path to 33rd?
Definitely not interested in a 30 minute drive. I'd do 30 mins on the train to transfer to another train before 30 mins drive to a train.
Thanks that is what I would be looking for then to be able to catch a train every 4 -5 minutes.
What would be the reason for taking the Newark to WTC Path rather than 33rd where one can hop on the B/D/F to 42nd and Bryant Park and walk to Lexington. Is that commute longer than catching the train downtown?
Does the WTC Path have more frequent trains than the Path to 33rd?
Definitely not interested in a 30 minute drive. I'd do 30 mins on the train to transfer to another train before 30 mins drive to a train.
Newark-to-WTC PATH train is analogous to an express subway. It's 5 total stops (4, if you get on at Harrison instead of Newark), and the whole ride from end to end is 20-22 minutes. And there are no transfers. And when you get to the WTC, the walk to the 4 Express is truly a hop (shorter than the walk from NY Penn to the B/D/F/M at 34th/Herald Square). And once you are at Grand Central, you're right at work...you don't have to walk 5 crosstown blocks the way you would if you got off the B/D/F/M at Bryant Park.
The 33rd line is more like a local train. It's a minimum of 8 stops (if you get on the PATH at Journal Square). If you get on at Newark or Harrison, it's 9 or 10 stops, PLUS, you have to get off at Journal Square, and transfer to the 33rd line. You're looking at more like a 35-40 minute ride.
If you are looking into moving to a suburb west of Newark, I wouldn't drive all the way out to anywhere in Jersey City at all. If driving 30 minutes to Newark/Harrison is too much, driving to Jersey City will be even worse. Plus it wouldn't make any sense...you'd be driving past 2 PATH stations on the way to Journal Square.
I prefer the 30 minute drive to Harrison, and taking an Express-like PATH train + an Express subway directly to Grand Central, rather than driving 10+ minutes to a NJ Transit train station that is only 2 miles away from my house (remember...you'd be looking at all 25 mph local roads full of traffic lights, and school buses and garbage trucks stopping every other block...if we are talking about the 'burbs), and then being at the mercy of the NJ Transit train schedule, and stuck on a near hour train ride (and then having to maneuver from NY Penn all the way to the east side and uptown).
You could pick a town on the train line, that way you don't have to drive much if any. Something like Rahway gets you direct into Penn Newark and NYC or switch at Newark to PATH.
Newark-to-WTC PATH train is analogous to an express subway. It's 5 total stops (4, if you get on at Harrison instead of Newark), and the whole ride from end to end is 20-22 minutes. And there are no transfers. And when you get to the WTC, the walk to the 4 Express is truly a hop (shorter than the walk from NY Penn to the B/D/F/M at 34th/Herald Square). And once you are at Grand Central, you're right at work...you don't have to walk 5 crosstown blocks the way you would if you got off the B/D/F/M at Bryant Park.
The 33rd line is more like a local train. It's a minimum of 8 stops (if you get on the PATH at Journal Square). If you get on at Newark or Harrison, it's 9 or 10 stops, PLUS, you have to get off at Journal Square, and transfer to the 33rd line. You're looking at more like a 35-40 minute ride.
If you are looking into moving to a suburb west of Newark, I wouldn't drive all the way out to anywhere in Jersey City at all. If driving 30 minutes to Newark/Harrison is too much, driving to Jersey City will be even worse. Plus it wouldn't make any sense...you'd be driving past 2 PATH stations on the way to Journal Square.
I prefer the 30 minute drive to Harrison, and taking an Express-like PATH train + an Express subway directly to Grand Central, rather than driving 10+ minutes to a NJ Transit train station that is only 2 miles away from my house (remember...you'd be looking at all 25 mph local roads full of traffic lights, and school buses and garbage trucks stopping every other block...if we are talking about the 'burbs), and then being at the mercy of the NJ Transit train schedule, and stuck on a near hour train ride (and then having to maneuver from NY Penn all the way to the east side and uptown).
Got it thanks for your insight. Its very helpful.
So basically for a train ride from Harrison or Newark to WTC 22 mins then 15 mins to Grand Central. That's good, shorter than my current commute door to door. I can definitely do that.
Suburbs would be a new world for me I don't want to be too far out from convenience but not a crappy area either. I live in the Bronx and for me my area isn't bad relative to what other areas are like. If it takes 30 mins for you to drive what areas or towns/ city's do you pass through on your drive. More than likely those would be there areas I'd look into.
You could pick a town on the train line, that way you don't have to drive much if any. Something like Rahway gets you direct into Penn Newark and NYC or switch at Newark to PATH.
Other towns too, just putting that out there.
I checked the times on the train schedule for those direct trains and they don't seem to have may options within one hour. Maybe like 2 or 3 trains tops and hour isn't going to cut it form my liking. Of course I could adjust which I don't want to have to do much of, but having more options is more preference for me.
Why are towns with midtown direct train service not being considered by you? Do you really need frequency greater than 2-3x per hour during peak service?
Also, since Grand Central is not easy to get to from Penn, you could also consider bus options to PABT and then the easier shuttle train to Grand Central.
Hi from what I've seen on the schedules if I were to miss one train at say 8 am, the next one that comes would not get me at Grand Central on time for work. So having a 2 or 3 trains in an hour is very different from an MTA NYC train where you can catch a train almost every 5 mins or less.
Something close to the Secaucus Junction train station might work. It's a major NJ Transit hub and you'll be able to catch a train to NYC with far more frequency compared to your random train station. Make sure you account for cost/availability of parking.
Alternately, you can commute by bus from the North Bergen Park & Ride.
You can also try for coastal towns such as Weehawken and take the ferry in. I don't recall ferry frequency being as great as Path, but it should be better than NJ transit trains.
Not that you asked my opinion, but personally I wouldn't make this the primary reason for selecting a community, and making adjustments will be a lot easier than you think. Becoming a slave to a train time table is a sacrifice, but it really opens up number of communities up for selection and it's a decision I'm glad I made (though not as a good a decision as leaving the NYC metro area, but that's another story!)
Something close to the Secaucus Junction train station might work. It's a major NJ Transit hub and you'll be able to catch a train to NYC with far more frequency compared to your random train station. Make sure you account for cost/availability of parking.
Alternately, you can commute by bus from the North Bergen Park & Ride.
You can also try for coastal towns such as Weehawken and take the ferry in. I don't recall ferry frequency being as great as Path, but it should be better than NJ transit trains.
Not that you asked my opinion, but personally I wouldn't make this the primary reason for selecting a community, and making adjustments will be a lot easier than you think. Becoming a slave to a train time table is a sacrifice, but it really opens up number of communities up for selection and it's a decision I'm glad I made (though not as a good a decision as leaving the NYC metro area, but that's another story!)
Nice I just looked at the times for Secaucus and they are very often if its true to schedule and arrival times.
Reason I initially asked for short distance drive was in case driving is the only option to a train line. If driving isn't needed than that would be much better. I'm not familiar if there are nice locations I can walk to train station and still get to work on time if I left at say 8am. I'm hoping for parking to not be my concern if my wife could drive and drop me at the station, so the less she has to drive, the better. Buses I'm kind of scared of due to Rush hour traffic. I live near on a Express Bus line and it took me approx. 30 mins more of a commute at peak Rush hour in the morning, and I said never again.
Not primary location but a preference as I'm not familiar with locations in New Jersey. I just want to have the simplest transition for transportation for me and my family as we will all be affected so location and access is key for our desires. The traveling distance equates to a sense of happiness as the longer I have to travel the less I get to spend time with my kids. Not a sacrifice I'm willing to make in exchange for a nice suburban home.
So I got Secaucus area, and Harrison. Any coastal towns I'm sure are very expensive.
So basically for a train ride from Harrison or Newark to WTC 22 mins then 15 mins to Grand Central. That's good, shorter than my current commute door to door. I can definitely do that.
Suburbs would be a new world for me I don't want to be too far out from convenience but not a crappy area either. I live in the Bronx and for me my area isn't bad relative to what other areas are like. If it takes 30 mins for you to drive what areas or towns/ city's do you pass through on your drive. More than likely those would be there areas I'd look into.
If you choose Hudson County, it's not really a "suburb."
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