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I currently live in Forest Hills near the Kew Gardens border. Right now my commute to my job in Garden City on LI isn't bad... I'd say about 25-35 minutes depending on traffic. I would really like to relocate to Astoria as the area seems a bit more, well enjoyable, for those of my age level (mid-twenties). Does anyone have a commute from that area to Long Island? I guess my biggest concern is what that section of the Grand Central Parkway between the Queens Blvd exit and the 31st St exit is like during rush hour.
I lived in Astoria and would commute to LI sometimes to see my family or my boyfriend. During rush hour, it can be a real *****. I'd say about 40 minutes-1 hour.
I currently live in Forest Hills near the Kew Gardens border. Right now my commute to my job in Garden City on LI isn't bad... I'd say about 25-35 minutes depending on traffic. I would really like to relocate to Astoria as the area seems a bit more, well enjoyable, for those of my age level (mid-twenties). Does anyone have a commute from that area to Long Island? I guess my biggest concern is what that section of the Grand Central Parkway between the Queens Blvd exit and the 31st St exit is like during rush hour.
Any insight is GREATLY appreciated.
The further the distance you have to commute the more chances there are for problems - road construction, accidents, bad weather etc. Also if you move to Astoria you will pretty much haveto take the Grand Central even in bad conditions (the LIE near Lefrak City/Corona area can be a nightmare).
When you are in Forest Hills, if the Grand Central is backed up - you can go around it on Union Turnpike or even Hillside Avenue (runs into Queens Blvd). You also can take the LIRR to Garden City depending where your job in GC is.
So my advice in your case is to not move to Astoria. You will be commuting 5 days a week twice a day back and forth. You can go to Astoria in your free time when you are not in a rush.
Thanks for the advice. You bring up a good point, which is that since I work in GC I will continue to have a car, so Astoria is only a 10 minute drive during the times that I'd want to be there (i.e. NOT rush hour).
Plus I can't really complain about where I am, the express E/F a block away probably gets me where I need in the city faster than the N/R does on average anyway, and the parking is great near me considering the zip code.
My girlfriend and I lived in Astoria last year, and she used to commute to Rockville Centre. It was a nightmare. There's a special place in hell for whoever designed that 31st st/GCP intersection, which is a disaster area regardless of time of day, but during rush hour, it's unreal -- it regularly took 20 minutes to get from our apartment onto the GCP, and we lived 2 blocks away. We drove out to the island regularly for non-work purposes as well (our families live there), and there's no question that the part of the drive between Forest Hills and Astoria was the most stressful and traffic-prone.
If it were me, I'd stay put. But I'm probably biased, as I recently moved from Astoria to Forest Hills.
My girlfriend and I lived in Astoria last year, and she used to commute to Rockville Centre. It was a nightmare. There's a special place in hell for whoever designed that 31st st/GCP intersection, which is a disaster area regardless of time of day, but during rush hour, it's unreal -- it regularly took 20 minutes to get from our apartment onto the GCP, and we lived 2 blocks away. We drove out to the island regularly for non-work purposes as well (our families live there), and there's no question that the part of the drive between Forest Hills and Astoria was the most stressful and traffic-prone.
If it were me, I'd stay put. But I'm probably biased, as I recently moved from Astoria to Forest Hills.
Hehe, I think you have a good answer here VisualXstereo!
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