Commuting to Princeton, Long Valley & NYC - HELP! (Edison: apartment, rent)

[brookieb1080]

I would be so grateful for any advice...

My boyfriend will be going to grad school at Princeton and working in Long Valley part-time. I work in Manhattan and want to continue to take a bus or train - not drive. We need to find somewhere to live that will make this all possible!

So far we're thinking that Somerville is the North/South midpoint bt. Long Valley and Princeton - so we will start out looking at towns along the Raritan train line, going east toward the city.

I work at 2 nonprofit orgs, so am not making the kind of salary that makes a $300+ train ticket easily affordable. Plus he will be working p/t while he's in school, so we are on the poorer side

One thing I thought of - should I try to work in Philly instead?
I really just want to work in whichever city is going to end of having a commute that is more affordable and less time.

Oh, and we will probably rent a dog-friendly apartment to start, maybe eventually buy a condo/townhouse/small house. THANKS!

[syncmaster]

Look into something around Metropark. A monthly train pass to NY Penn will be around 230/month. Your BF can train into Princeton U if he wants, or he can drive. Metropark train station is on a line that goes to both NY and Princeton. The drive to Long Valley will be a little long (about 40 miles) but you haven't said he doesn't like driving so I'll assume that's ok.

[brookieb1080]

Thanks for the idea, I hadn't looked in that area at all yet.

Although I don't think my boyfriend could ever take the train, as he'll have to go to Long Valley every day, and then 2-3 days a week also go to Princeton for class.

He doesn't mind driving (he has been doing an hour each way from East Rutherford for almost 4 years!) but since he'll have 2 locations, we *might* do better in a town along the Raritan line, just to keep his drives a little shorter. But I'll definitely look into Metropark, thanks!

[syncmaster]

Bear in mind the Raritan Valley Line has fewer trains (less frequent and less off-peak coverage) than the Northeast Corridor line does. I highly recommend the NEC if you plan to commute into the City for work. The NEC line goes from NYC to Trenton. Since you're looking for a reasonable train fare and he doesn't mind driving, I recommend Metropark or surrounding communities (Metuchen, Edison).

[brookieb1080]

Oh I see...I didn't realize it would be more frequent on NEC, that is great to know. That is the one train schedule that I didn't pick up yet!

I see online that the timetable shows times from Philly also - so maybe this would be a good location if I am considering working in Philly at some point in the future. I'll have to look into what the Metropark to Philly commute would be like, but at least it seems like I could keep a lot of options open in this location.

Thanks so much!

[syncmaster]

Metropark to Philly would be painfully long. JMHO. Check out the schedules and see for yourself though.

[brookieb1080]

yup, i will check out the schedules now - thanks again.

[brookieb1080]

Does anyone else have an idea where we might live between Long Valley and Princeton, if I were going to consider working in Philadelphia instead of Manhattan?

Thx!