commuting brooklyn/queens to LI feasible? (Islip, Babylon: fit in, rent, insurance) - City-Data Forum

rakuk12 · 06-01-2010, 05:14 PM

So I'm going to be working in Farmingdale and a friend of mine will be working in Manhattan near Grand Central Station. I grew up on Long Island and, quite frankly, don't think I'd fit in with the culture. I'm looking to live among other fun, smart, interesting young people, so to me a slightly longer commute and perhaps having to live a bit more cheaply will be worth it, I don't need to have a lot of money to be happy.

So, with a 40k a year salary, how feasible will it be for me to live in Brooklyn or Queens with a commute to Farmingdale of an hour or less? His salary will be 60k a year, plus bonus, so I may be able to convince him to proportion our pay towards rent (he really wants to live with me and came up with the idea of us rooming together). It is likely I'll need a car, but other ways to commute could be possible for me (anyone know about taking the LIRR out and getting a taxi from the station to my office?) My potential roommate already has a car, so he may let me use it for the commute while I save up to get my own and he sells his as he probably wont want to keep it long term.

Anyone got some good advice on the situation? What neighborhoods would make both of our commutes possible, and still be fun, young neighborhoods to live in? Let me know if you need more information.

nyc_sport · 06-02-2010, 07:45 AM

The reverse commute by car is not terrible, particularly if you get an earlier start. The train + taxi thing is not likely to be sufficiently reliable on the taxi side. Don't know where you are working, but some of the larger office parks have bus service from the train. For whatever (dumb) reason, very few of LI's offices, industrial parks, or government buildings are near a train station.

Anywhere in Queens would work, as would many Brooklyn areas. Given your interest in living among youg people, Astoria or LIC would be a good bet. Parking might be easier in Astoria. Very easy commute to midtown.

twingles · 06-02-2010, 08:06 AM

You can commute by train or car - should be less than an hour. There is a girl who was posting on the Long Island forum who was commuting from Brooklyn to F'dale and said the drive was about 45 minutes. Sometimes she'd take the train and her company provided a shuttle to the office. Where in F'dale are you"? I work there too.

Cyclops99 · 06-02-2010, 08:09 AM

I agree that the reverse commute isn't too bad if you get out early...7:00 to 7:30 maybe. I guess the usual Brooklyn areas and Astoria would allow you to hang out with "fun" people. But I think your best bet for a comfortable commute would be to live closer to the Queens/Nassau border. Bayside has some nice restaurants/bars along Bell Blvd. Forest Hills has nice restaurants as well. I mean you can always go out to the city after you get home.
I would say the commute back home if you leave at 5:00 gets kinda heavy at certain spots. I definitely think it gets very heavy if you're going back to Brooklyn. You might get back to Queens in an hour and 15 minutes but it'll take another 40 minutes or more if you want to get farther.

rakuk12 · 06-02-2010, 05:00 PM

I'll be on rt. 110 in F'dale, I can probably actually arrange for arrange for a coworker to pick me up from the train station on his way to work, I asked him about it today and he said it should work out, at least for a bit while I save up money to get a car.

Can anyone give me an estimate on the monthly cost of having a car in Brooklyn? What is the insurance cost likely going to be for a 22 year old with a flawless driving record?

lynn79os · 06-03-2010, 07:24 AM

For two weeks I had to commute from my home in Woodside to West Babylon. I used the LIRR. It took about an hour on the train and when I got close to the West Babylon station I would call the local yellow cab and they would be there waiting for me. Sometimes there was a cab or two at the station, but not very often.

It wasn't a bad commute. The LIRR is a nice, comfy train - I would often nap! And really, it wasn't that much longer than my commute into Manhattan...!

Cyclops99 · 06-03-2010, 08:40 AM

I commute from Queens to Islip everyday. I would use the LIRR but the schedule is wierd, there aren't really any trains around the time I would need to get home. Plus theres the problem of getting from the station to the office. The cabs are very costly...even for a short distance.

I don't know how much insurance in BK will cost but gas will be costly...you should calculate that into your budget...that and maintenance.

You didn't mention what time your work hours are. Driving back into the city from LI can be a pain, there is alot of traffic...don't listen to people who say its a "reverse commute" theres no traffic! I would assume it is much worse if you have to go farther into the city...like BK. The BQE or Belt Parkway get very congested during rush hour...in both directions.

You should probably try the commute a few times before you commit to a new place...the commute can be draining...especially with bad weather.