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1. Rent- $1,000 shouldn't be a problem. I currently pay $1,075 a month in rent and have a large bedroom, decent sized living room, EIK, when I was looking I did find some decent apartments in the $1,000 range, so that shouldn't be a problem.
2. The 30 minute or so trip from Babylon to SBU would only be by car, no way can you do that by train, since they are on different lines.
3. The trip from Babylon to NYC. It would be a bit longer than that by train, it would be about an hour (if express) to hour 15 (if local) to Penn Station or Atlantic Ave, and a bit more time to Bensonhurst. The trip by car can be done in 45 minutes, but that is if you hit little or no traffic, add traffic to the mix it could very easily be double that and very frustrating.
4. As far as just learning how to drive. First off your commute from either Babylon or Huntington, I grew up in Massapequa (which is a little further from SB than both Huntington and Babylon), a number of people from my H.S dormed at Stony Brook (as I did) while others commuted. To some the commute wasn't bad and they were fine with it, despite not having much driving experience, others found it a bit more difficult and agonizing, and the same is true for those I know that commuted from areas a bit closer to Stony Brook than either Babylon or Huntington. Obviously, the more experience you have the better, but if not it really comes down to the individual themselves.
As far as going to Brooklyn 2 and 4 times a week, that could be quite a headache. I'm sure quite a few people do it from Babylon and Huntington, but they probably think it sucks, and likely have more experience behind the wheel. If you wind up making that trip into Brooklyn that often, she better be more than just a friend or at least a friend with 'benefits'
The roads would really be so bad that the money saved by driving wouldn't be worth it?
So I should use a car for driving to school, but take the train when going to Brooklyn?
And I wouldn't be able to use a CA licence?
Not if you don't already have one. You said you don't know how to drive, so I assumed you don't currently have a license in CA?
I think you would need to change the license over, I'm not sure about that, but if you bought a car in NY and registered it here, you would definitely have to change it over. You wouldn't need to take another road test but you would need to apply for a NY license...I think.
The roads would really be so bad that the money saved by driving wouldn't be worth it?
So I should use a car for driving to school, but take the train when going to Brooklyn?
In my opinion, yes. Do you know what happens on the belt parkway when there is an accident? ......you will be sitting in a parking lot for over an hour. An inexperienced driver on those roads...I can't recommend it, sorry. I hope this is a good friend you're moving here for.
It isn't so much that driving to Brooklyn is unsafe, especially cuz the traffic rarely exceeds 45MPH, but it just really SUCKS. Coming from out on LI, you're either taking the Belt Parkway or Brooklyn-Queens Expressway....both are terrible and constantly packed with traffic. Accident delays take hours, people drive like morons, etc. Most parts of Brooklyn were designed without cars in mind and the major roads were just an afterthought. I have to drive there for work frequently and there have been times it's taken an hour to go two exits, or taken me three hours to get back home at night. It's also real easy to get lost....it took me years of driving to figure out BK streets.
Out on LI, driving is no problem...especially driving from Huntington or Babylon to SB. Traffic is generally very light except rush hours, but even then it isn't anywhere near as bad as the BQE.
Driving from Babylon to SB isn't a bad option at all, especially because Babylon has excellent LIRR express service to Brooklyn and Manhattan....but if you're doing that many miles daily you need a somewhat decent car. You could survive in Huntington with some $500 piece of junk off craigslist that you just drive to the train station each morning, or to a part time job if you get one. If it breaks down, you can call a cab or hop on the bus....no big deal. The train ride from Huntington to SB isn't even that much longer than driving there. Also, instead of going to Bensonhurst you could meet your friends in Manhattan....that's what a lot of people do anyway since there are so many more bars/clubs/restaurants/etc. It's only an hour into Penn Station from Babylon and a little more than that from Huntington.
1. Rent- $1,000 shouldn't be a problem. I currently pay $1,075 a month in rent and have a large bedroom, decent sized living room, EIK, when I was looking I did find some decent apartments in the $1,000 range, so that shouldn't be a problem.
2. The 30 minute or so trip from Babylon to SBU would only be by car, no way can you do that by train, since they are on different lines.
3. The trip from Babylon to NYC. It would be a bit longer than that by train, it would be about an hour (if express) to hour 15 (if local) to Penn Station or Atlantic Ave, and a bit more time to Bensonhurst. The trip by car can be done in 45 minutes, but that is if you hit little or no traffic, add traffic to the mix it could very easily be double that and very frustrating.
4. As far as just learning how to drive. First off your commute from either Babylon or Huntington, I grew up in Massapequa (which is a little further from SB than both Huntington and Babylon), a number of people from my H.S dormed at Stony Brook (as I did) while others commuted. To some the commute wasn't bad and they were fine with it, despite not having much driving experience, others found it a bit more difficult and agonizing, and the same is true for those I know that commuted from areas a bit closer to Stony Brook than either Babylon or Huntington. Obviously, the more experience you have the better, but if not it really comes down to the individual themselves.
As far as going to Brooklyn 2 and 4 times a week, that could be quite a headache. I'm sure quite a few people do it from Babylon and Huntington, but they probably think it sucks, and likely have more experience behind the wheel. If you wind up making that trip into Brooklyn that often, she better be more than just a friend or at least a friend with 'benefits'
1. $1075 seems really good for a room like that, it shouldn't be a problem to find a cheaper one if I don't care about room size? Does the $1075 include heating, internet, etc?
2. That should be ok.
3. What is express and local? Express costs more?
4a. What kind of problems would there be on the road from Babylon/Huntington to SBU? Would the driving be bad enough that I should just choose Huntington so that I could use the train even though the LIRR schedule isn't very accomodating? For going to Brooklyn, do you think I should just take the train instead of driving?
No, I wouldn't have "benefits"...lol. It's just that I want to be able to help her in real life, and I can't do that if I stay in Cali.
Thank you very much for your advice
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jdawg8181
Not if you don't already have one. You said you don't know how to drive, so I assumed you don't currently have a license in CA?
I think you would need to change the license over, I'm not sure about that, but if you bought a car in NY and registered it here, you would definitely have to change it over. You wouldn't need to take another road test but you would need to apply for a NY license...I think.
I am planning to get a CA licence before I move. Applying for a NY licence would be easy if there is no tests involved, right?
Quote:
Originally Posted by dman72
In my opinion, yes. Do you know what happens on the belt parkway when there is an accident? ......you will be sitting in a parking lot for over an hour. An inexperienced driver on those roads...I can't recommend it, sorry. I hope this is a good friend you're moving here for.
Is it so bad that I shouldn't even attempt it once?
Quote:
Originally Posted by sean sean sean sean
It isn't so much that driving to Brooklyn is unsafe, especially cuz the traffic rarely exceeds 45MPH, but it just really SUCKS. Coming from out on LI, you're either taking the Belt Parkway or Brooklyn-Queens Expressway....both are terrible and constantly packed with traffic. Accident delays take hours, people drive like morons, etc. Most parts of Brooklyn were designed without cars in mind and the major roads were just an afterthought. I have to drive there for work frequently and there have been times it's taken an hour to go two exits, or taken me three hours to get back home at night. It's also real easy to get lost....it took me years of driving to figure out BK streets.
I think the crazy drivers would be the biggest problem for me. There wouldn't be much point of knowing all the rules when no one obeys them. So you would agree with the other people who say that I should forget driving and just take the train to Atlantic Station?
Quote:
Originally Posted by sean sean sean sean
Out on LI, driving is no problem...especially driving from Huntington or Babylon to SB. Traffic is generally very light except rush hours, but even then it isn't anywhere near as bad as the BQE.
Thats good to hear.
Quote:
Originally Posted by sean sean sean sean
Driving from Babylon to SB isn't a bad option at all, especially because Babylon has excellent LIRR express service to Brooklyn and Manhattan....but if you're doing that many miles daily you need a somewhat decent car. You could survive in Huntington with some $500 piece of junk off craigslist that you just drive to the train station each morning, or to a part time job if you get one. If it breaks down, you can call a cab or hop on the bus....no big deal. The train ride from Huntington to SB isn't even that much longer than driving there. Also, instead of going to Bensonhurst you could meet your friends in Manhattan....that's what a lot of people do anyway since there are so many more bars/clubs/restaurants/etc. It's only an hour into Penn Station from Babylon and a little more than that from Huntington.
Would a $1500~3000 car be sufficient for driving from Babylon to SBU?
Meeting in Manhattan would probably be more convenient, but my friend has no money and her parents won't give her any either... so I have to do the travelling.
1. $1075 seems really good for a room like that, it shouldn't be a problem to find a cheaper one if I don't care about room size? Does the $1075 include heating, internet, etc?
2. That should be ok.
3. What is express and local? Express costs more?
4a. What kind of problems would there be on the road from Babylon/Huntington to SBU? Would the driving be bad enough that I should just choose Huntington so that I could use the train even though the LIRR schedule isn't very accomodating? For going to Brooklyn, do you think I should just take the train instead of driving?
No, I wouldn't have "benefits"...lol. It's just that I want to be able to help her in real life, and I can't do that if I stay in Cali.
Thank you very much for your advice
The $1,075 I pay for includes everything except for internet & cable. I had the option of $975 + utilities, or $1,075 with utilities included except for cable & internet.
As far as the difference between express trains vs local. Local trains will make virtually every stop on the line (can be 16-20 depending on the time) express trains will make far fewer stops, some of them will take you directly to Penn in either zero stops or one stop. You don't technically pay more for express trains than local trains, however it is more expensive for peak trains (rush hour) than off-peak trains and express runs more during rush hours than off peak. The difference is typically 15-20 minutes.
As far as driving or taking the train to Stony Brook. You are better off driving than taking the train, as the train schedules can be a pain. Driving from Babylon or Huntington really shouldn't be that much of a problem, though it can be a pain in the ass from time to time. As far as going into Brooklyn, I would say at first you are better off taking the train until you get more familiar with driving. Even at that point I would say at first you would be better off only driving to Brooklyn during the weekends or off times when the traffic will typically be lighter (though that is far from always the case). I do not think it would be a good idea to drive into Brooklyn during high traffic times until you are a bit more use to driving and familiar with the route.
It's also real easy to get lost....it took me years of driving to figure out BK streets.
The streets in Brooklyn do not line up because each of the 2 cities and 6 towns that once existed in Kings County were independent municipalities and purposely decided to create street grids with different naming systems that did not line up with the adjoining city or town. The Town of Gravesend was the only town where the streets run long north-to-south, all other cities and towns ran their streets long west-to-east. Gravesend was the only English town, all the others were Dutch.
The streets in Brooklyn do not line up because each of the 2 cities and 6 towns that once existed in Kings County were independent municipalities and purposely decided to create street grids with different naming systems that did not line up with the adjoining city or town. The Town of Gravesend was the only town where the streets run long north-to-south, all other cities and towns ran their streets long west-to-east. Gravesend was the only English town, all the others were Dutch.
The $1,075 I pay for includes everything except for internet & cable. I had the option of $975 + utilities, or $1,075 with utilities included except for cable & internet.
As far as the difference between express trains vs local. Local trains will make virtually every stop on the line (can be 16-20 depending on the time) express trains will make far fewer stops, some of them will take you directly to Penn in either zero stops or one stop. You don't technically pay more for express trains than local trains, however it is more expensive for peak trains (rush hour) than off-peak trains and express runs more during rush hours than off peak. The difference is typically 15-20 minutes.
As far as driving or taking the train to Stony Brook. You are better off driving than taking the train, as the train schedules can be a pain. Driving from Babylon or Huntington really shouldn't be that much of a problem, though it can be a pain in the ass from time to time. As far as going into Brooklyn, I would say at first you are better off taking the train until you get more familiar with driving. Even at that point I would say at first you would be better off only driving to Brooklyn during the weekends or off times when the traffic will typically be lighter (though that is far from always the case). I do not think it would be a good idea to drive into Brooklyn during high traffic times until you are a bit more use to driving and familiar with the route.
Keep in mind, OP, generally when an apartment posting says "all utilities included" it is illegal. NOT always, but there are a lot of apartments on LI that are illegal. Most don't get caught, but if you do, you will be kicked out and your landlord will be fined.
An illegal apartment is essentially a scenario in which something wasn't meant to be an apartment is turned into one...example a basement. I wouldn't be incredibly worried and you shouldn't let it deter you, but generally if all utilities are included, it's illegal. A legal apartment would have seperate utilities, ie. a 2-family house. (Obviously any kind of building/complex would also be legal).
1. $1075 seems really good for a room like that, it shouldn't be a problem to find a cheaper one if I don't care about room size? Does the $1075 include heating, internet, etc?
2. That should be ok.
3. What is express and local? Express costs more?
4a. What kind of problems would there be on the road from Babylon/Huntington to SBU? Would the driving be bad enough that I should just choose Huntington so that I could use the train even though the LIRR schedule isn't very accomodating? For going to Brooklyn, do you think I should just take the train instead of driving?
No, I wouldn't have "benefits"...lol. It's just that I want to be able to help her in real life, and I can't do that if I stay in Cali.
Thank you very much for your advice
I am planning to get a CA licence before I move. Applying for a NY licence would be easy if there is no tests involved, right?
Is it so bad that I shouldn't even attempt it once?
I think the crazy drivers would be the biggest problem for me. There wouldn't be much point of knowing all the rules when no one obeys them. So you would agree with the other people who say that I should forget driving and just take the train to Atlantic Station?
Thats good to hear.
Would a $1500~3000 car be sufficient for driving from Babylon to SBU?
Meeting in Manhattan would probably be more convenient, but my friend has no money and her parents won't give her any either... so I have to do the travelling.
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