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I may be moving for a year to the NY/NJ area. The company I'd be working at is in Parsippany. Is is crazy to live in Manhattan and commute? I am also thinking of Hoboken and just going to Manhattan on weekends etc. Currently live in San Fran- lived in LA for a long time, so traffic would not be a shocker (nor rents etc). Any other suggestions welcome as well.
I may be moving for a year to the NY/NJ area. The company I'd be working at is in Parsippany. Is is crazy to live in Manhattan and commute? I am also thinking of Hoboken and just going to Manhattan on weekends etc. Currently live in San Fran- lived in LA for a long time, so traffic would not be a shocker (nor rents etc). Any other suggestions welcome as well.
Thanks!!!
MMP
I don't think it would be crazy per se to live in Manhattan, but if you're looking for mass transit, your options may be limited since you'd be doing a reverse commute (there would be buses, but maybe not as frequently). Check NJ Transit or Lakeland Bus. Hoboken is a good choice, and much easier and cheaper if you're looking to drive everyday (as opposed to Manhattan). You probably will hit some traffic on the Turnpike, but if you've lived in LA, it's probably nothing you couldn't handle.
Morristown is another good option if you're looking for some nightlife - and very close to Parsippany, and much less expensive than Hoboken or NYC.
How do you plan on doing this? There is no rail connection, only the buses from the Port Authority that run along Rt 46/I-80. Is the company you are looking at near one of the bus stops?
Do you plan on driving? If so Hoboken/Jersey City would probably be a better choice, but the commute is going to be rough.
There is another thread that discusses driving from the Hoboken/Jersey City area to Parsippany. IIRC the gist of it is that it can be a bit trafficky and you are looking at a 40-45 minute drive. But you might want to do a search and see if that's correct.
I do a reverse commute (driving) from JC and find it manageable, but I really don't think it would be if I were driving from Manhattan and had to take a bridge/tunnel in and out.
Does your employer have a shuttle from an NJ Transit station by chance? In that case it might be more manageable. Or you can see if there is an NJ Transit bus stop somewhere close to your exact work location.
I did this for almost four years. The first week I did it, I wasn't sure I'd last, because getting home the way I got to work (through the Lincoln Tunnel) would take me almost two hours. Then I found that the GW Bridge (but ONLY if the Yankees weren't playing) was better: 45 minutes from Nutley to the Upper West Side.
Parsippany is another story entirely. I wouldn't even consider it. Not if I wanted any kind of life.
Thanks all. That's exactly the info I needed. This is all very preliminary- The job is a possibility at the moment (only). Its GREAT to have this kind of information!
One thing to consider if you take the job is that you will absolutely need to live near whatever bridge/tunnel you take to get out of Manhattan, as the traffic in Manhattan is far worse than anywhere in NJ most of the time.
I would NEVER use the Lincoln Tunnel as part of a commute--its just far too busy and backed up most of the time. The Holland Tunnel might be better, but it backs up a bit too and you are then probably looking at living near Tribeca which is currently the most expensive area of Manhattan. The GW Bridge is probably the best option (usually not terrible traffic and you will have a good choice of places on the UWS). But when there is a problem on the bridge or an event like a Yankees game, a 45 minute delay on the bridge is not uncommon.
I went to work at 6:30 in the morning: at that time of day, leaving NYC through the Lincoln tunnel is a snap - two minutes and you're done. It's getting back to NYC that's the real nightmare.
The Village, Tribeca, SoHo and UWS are probably the most expensive, excluding the Gold Coast (Fifth and Park Avenues in the 60s and 70s).
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