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Hi all! I'm new to to the forums, and I have a quick semi-hypothetical question. I hope I'm asking in the right place, if not, apologies...
I live in White Plains, NY, and I *may* have a job opportunity in the future--unfortunately, it would be in Farmingdale, Long Island.
I'm not really a car commuter (I drive--but mostly locally; I've been a Metro North person for work mainly). Based on the initial research I've done, it seems that public transportation is insanely long (unless I'm missing something). Going via car looks to be around 90 minutes in good traffic. I'd appreciate any thoughts/ information...
My last question is more opinion based: At what point (salary-wise or other) does such a commute become acceptable, if at all?
Hi all! I'm new to to the forums, and I have a quick semi-hypothetical question. I hope I'm asking in the right place, if not, apologies...
I live in White Plains, NY, and I *may* have a job opportunity in the future--unfortunately, it would be in Farmingdale, Long Island.
I'm not really a car commuter (I drive--but mostly locally; I've been a Metro North person for work mainly). Based on the initial research I've done, it seems that public transportation is insanely long (unless I'm missing something). Going via car looks to be around 90 minutes in good traffic. I'd appreciate any thoughts/ information...
My last question is more opinion based: At what point (salary-wise or other) does such a commute become acceptable, if at all?
Thanks in advance for opinions!
I drive over there regularly during nonpeak hours (5 times a month during non-ski season). I think 90 minutes would be longer than average, but during commuting hours you'd certainly have plenty of 90 minute rides. What's worth it? For me, nothing. If the drive were pleasant and easy it might be different. But you've got tolls, traffic, incredibly aggressive, rude and oblivious drivers. I'd move to LI before subjecting myself to that. I actually rather like the north shore in Suffolk.
I don't think its 90 min drive from white plains to farmingdale. Once you get used to that commute, I think you can make it within 75 minutes by figuring out traffic patterns. Even so, I think you should probably move to LI. Its too much an effort of doing 2.5 hour commute drive everyday. How much energy do you have left for family and life?
First of all, thanks--I appreciate the opinions so far!
Moving to Long Island is not an option right now, so that's out. If this job became a reality, I'd either have to drive or find some public transportation option. Again, I'm not a seasoned car commuter, and I'm not exactly good at adapting to traffic issues on the fly. These are all concerns for me.
I'm also wondering at what point someone would say, "for that salary, I have to grin and bear it." ... or perhaps there's no point when that would happen for some people...
Thank you again for your input so far
Last edited by Goldeneye7; 05-30-2012 at 11:57 AM..
Moving to Long Island is not an option right now, so that's out. If this job became a reality, I'd either have to drive or find some public transportation option. Again, I'm not a seasoned car commuter, and I'm not exactly good at adapting to traffic issues on the fly. These are all concerns for me.
I'm also wondering at what point someone would say, "for that salary, I have to grin and bear it." ... or perhaps there's no point when that would happen for some people...
I'd say the job is worth it when the salary affords for you the move to LI to enable a shorter commute. Or, perhaps it is worth it if you have a specific financial goal in mind that this job would help you achieve in a reasonable amount of time (perhaps a couple of years?).
First of all, thanks--I appreciate the opinions so far!
Moving to Long Island is not an option right now, so that's out. If this job became a reality, I'd either have to drive or find some public transportation option. Again, I'm not a seasoned car commuter, and I'm not exactly good at adapting to traffic issues on the fly. These are all concerns for me.
I'm also wondering at what point someone would say, "for that salary, I have to grin and bear it." ... or perhaps there's no point when that would happen for some people...
Thank you again for your input so far
If you don't want to move to LI, could you move to Queens and "reverse commute" the LIRR? If family or friends in White Plains is the issue, Queens is a lot closer to that than Long Island (though you'd still have to go over a toll bridge to see them).
I'm also wondering at what point someone would say, "for that salary, I have to grin and bear it." ... or perhaps there's no point when that would happen for some people...
Thank you again for your input so far
But this is unanswerable. There's too much that's just personal values, not knowing the kind of job, associated stresses, whether it's M-F every day, whether there's other travel involed, possibility of telecommuting, etc.
For me it would have to be well into 6 digits, say $300-400k after all the additional expense associated with the commute. Then I might do it for a couple years and retire. Otherwise it just wouldn't be worth it. I guessing that this isn't a very helpful answer.
At some point they're going to open grand central to the LIRR at which point you could take metro north and transfer.
The arrival date for that keeps getting pushed back. (Fortunately, I might say, for someone who commuted through GCT and isn't interested in it being even more crowded).
First of all, every answer I'm hearing is helpful, so don't think it isn't kletterman! And yes, I knew that my second thought would be extremely subjective--I was trying to get a range of opinions, and you guys are giving me a lot to think about--I'm really glad I asked! It's a bit embarrassing to admit I'm not much of a "commuter driver," but it's true, and factors in--I'm glad everyone's taking that into account. From what I'm hearing, even if I was an "expert," there would be mitigating factors.
This is all speculation, but let's assume the job pays between $90k and $100k. I'm single. I *may* be able to work from home 1 day/week, but I don't want to bank on that. Again, moving out of Westchester right now is not an option for personal reasons, but I appreciate those thoughts!
PS I never heard about this GCT transfer...!
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