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My lovely wife and I bought an old perty house in Chester and she will be commuting to Manhattan/Grand Central. I’d love some advice on the best times to go, best route, best stations, transfers, etc.
It looks like Gladstone will be closest station but the 6:35am direct express train might be a little early for her to deal with, but if it’s by far the best option then she’ll buck up and take it of course.
-Is the switch at Summit going to be a pain? Will she get a seat?
-Is traveling to Hoboken and taking the PATH a smarter option or should she go straight to NY/PENN?
-Should she drive to the Morristown (or some other) station and start there?
-Any issues with the return trip? Better alternatives?
It seems people are always complaining about the delays entering Penn and someone mentioned the Hoboken route.
I work from home and she’s worried about the trip (as am I) so I just want to do my best to make it as painless as possible for her.
My lovely wife and I bought an old perty house in Chester and she will be commuting to Manhattan/Grand Central. I’d love some advice on the best times to go, best route, best stations, transfers, etc.
It looks like Gladstone will be closest station but the 6:35am direct express train might be a little early for her to deal with, but if it’s by far the best option then she’ll buck up and take it of course.
-Is the switch at Summit going to be a pain? Will she get a seat?
-Is traveling to Hoboken and taking the PATH a smarter option or should she go straight to NY/PENN?
-Should she drive to the Morristown (or some other) station and start there?
-Any issues with the return trip? Better alternatives?
It seems people are always complaining about the delays entering Penn and someone mentioned the Hoboken route.
I work from home and she’s worried about the trip (as am I) so I just want to do my best to make it as painless as possible for her.
Thanks in advance!
That is going to be a dreadful commute...I hope you have a strong marriage. NJT to Penn Station is a debacle in the winter and then she still has to take the 1, 2, or 3 train to Times Square and then take the Shuttle to Grand Central. It's a three train trip there and back. The bus might be the best way for her because I know there is Lakeland bus that goes straight to midtown. However, she will probably have to get up real early to get a seat. My friend lives in Sparta and takes that bus. She's up at 4:30 a.m. everyday. I moved from Morristown to Jersey City because I was losing my mind doing that commute. I work in midtown very close to Grand Central. From Morristown it took 1.5 hours seat to seat. Chester has to be longer.
That is going to be a dreadful commute...I hope you have a strong marriage. NJT to Penn Station is a debacle in the winter and then she still has to take the 1, 2, or 3 train to Times Square and then take the Shuttle to Grand Central. It's a three train trip there and back. The bus might be the best way for her because I know there is Lakeland bus that goes straight to midtown. However, she will probably have to get up real early to get a seat. My friend lives in Sparta and takes that bus. She's up at 4:30 a.m. everyday. I moved from Morristown to Jersey City because I was losing my mind doing that commute. I work in midtown very close to Grand Central. From Morristown it took 1.5 hours seat to seat. Chester has to be longer.
I think this is spot-on. I think you have to be looking at about an hour and 45 minutes from Chester and could still hit delays.
If taking the train, I think it might be worth the trouble to drive to Morristown or Convent Station so that you avoid the Summit transfer.
I would not consider a 6:35 train too early because you certainly want to be doing the driving part of the trip before there's any traffic. Flexible work hours would be very helpful to go even earlier and leave before the evening rush... telecommuting would be even better.
I think this is spot-on. I think you have to be looking at about an hour and 45 minutes from Chester and could still hit delays.
If taking the train, I think it might be worth the trouble to drive to Morristown or Convent Station so that you avoid the Summit transfer.
I would not consider a 6:35 train too early because you certainly want to be doing the driving part of the trip before there's any traffic. Flexible work hours would be very helpful to go even earlier and leave before the evening rush... telecommuting would be even better.
Agree 6:35 train is not too early for that commute. In fact that is a pretty popular train. I also agree driving to Motown or Convent is the best way to do the train so you don't have to transfer. Plus, if you drive to Motown you have a better chance of getting a seat on the train. My monthly pass (not including parking) was about $360 per month. Another reason that I moved.
Agree 6:35 train is not too early for that commute. In fact that is a pretty popular train. I also agree driving to Motown or Convent is the best way to do the train so you don't have to transfer. Plus, if you drive to Motown you have a better chance of getting a seat on the train. My monthly pass (not including parking) was about $360 per month. Another reason that I moved.
Bottom line for OP: this a commute that does not work long-term for a lot of people. Maybe your wife will love to read on the train or can be productive on the ride to cut down time in the office. But this can turn into close to 4 hours of travel on any given day, which leaves little time to really enjoy that "old perty house in Chester". Try it... live it for a while... but keep an eye out for a plan B (change of job or house location).
Wondering if there are any updates or more opinions on commuting from Chester NJ to NYC? If drive to Morristown is best option, how much is parking?
Also, is Chester good for young families? I have 3 kids under 6 years old.
Thanks! Any advice would be helpful!
As thread starter I can offer some insight-
First of all, yes - the commute is a royal pain. At first my wife started commuting from Gladstone which is about an hour and a half commute to Penn, and then another 30 min crossing town. That got old fast so what we started doing was driving to Morristown which is a 50min commute to Penn but half hour drive from Chester. I work from home so we’d chat and have coffee and spend a bit of time together. Not too bad.
Well as she progressed through her pregnancy (twin boys!) it was actually easier to go back to Gladstone. She was able to work out a flexible schedule so stayed home a day a week and came in a bit late, left a bit early. After the twins came and she was off maternity leave Gladstone remained the best option as she didn’t have a drivers license and driving to Morristown with babies was asking for trouble.
The long and short of it is that unless you work downtown or close to Penn it’s going to be too much for you. She ended up quitting that job (she wanted to anyway) and working for an LA company that allows her to work from home so all in all it worked out just fine. In her words the commute is “unsustainable”.
You may want to look into Summit or even Mendham if you plan on commuting. That said, Chester is a really nice little town and we absolutely love the country life out here. So incredibly beautiful. I miss the energy of Brooklyn, the food (there are quite a few really good eateries out here but it ain’t NY , and the diversity of culture. But watching my kids stare at the full moon in wonder, watch deer, fox, rabbits, coyotes, bear, and wild turkeys run through our yard, as well as soaring bald eagles, hawks, etc. is priceless. And the reason we moved here.
Schools are also top-notch (supposedly) and if you do get an itch to go to the city, it’s not that far.
But too far to commute for most people, I’m sorry to say.
Enjoy your family and Chester! It's a great town.
But not to commute to NYC.
We're in Morristown and even with nj direct trains, it's still a pain.
Luckily, I've had a wonderful 2 mile commute for many years...it really colors the ways you see your work life.
But watching my kids stare at the full moon in wonder, watch deer, fox, rabbits, coyotes, bear, and wild turkeys run through our yard, as well as soaring bald eagles, hawks, etc. is priceless. And the reason we moved here.
That buck's got some good genes-if he makes it a couple years he'll be a slammer-is that a recent picture?
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, and the diversity of culture. But watching my kids stare at the full moon in wonder, watch deer, fox, rabbits, coyotes, bear, and wild turkeys run through our yard, as well as soaring bald eagles, hawks, etc. is priceless. And the reason we moved here.
