where to go and still hit nyc (Scranton, Milford: lease, motel)

[flyboy367]

im a nyc ironworker, currently where i live in NJ i pay rent where i could own just outside nj. my work time is on jobsite working at 7am and off at 2pm usually. i dont mind a 1-1.5 hour commute on a bus or train. im usually up early enough and to tired after work i sleep the whole way. my daughter will be 3 in a few more weeks, and out lease is up in november. were looking for a nice new place with good schools. im also a volunteer firefighter and would love to keep doing that as well so a volly community would be great. suggestions would be wonderful. thanks
Don

[ff18wife]

First off, are you looking to rent or buy? Secondly, what kind of house are you looking for?

From what I understand the Route 80/Pocono area is 1 1-1/2 hrs to NYC BUT is getting very city-ish with all of the NJ/NY people who are moving out there.

Then there are those of us who go a little further (Milford area) and get a lot more for our money, good schools and quiet, safe areas to live. I am in a very rural area BUT I have a lot more room, good schools for my kids and it's safe. My husband commutes from here to Saddle Brook, NJ and he says w/o traffic it's about 1 hr 45 mins.

Stick around on the board here and ASK, ASK, ASK lots of questions. Take daytrips to check out potential areas.

Good luck.

[flyboy367]

well definitly buy. i hate homeowner associations so nothing like that. i like to decided what to do with my home. im very handy so something a little older isnt bad for me. i would definitly like 3 bedroom and 2 bathrooms. preferably full bath since my wife takes her time getting ready and i can tell my daughter will follow her footsteps lol. i would love a garage since im always building or taking apart something with cars, and a basement for my safe haven would rock. i would love to find something close to a train station or bus that i could walk to. i dont mind the commute as long as i can sleep. if i have to drive it myself it will never work since by the time my day is up i usually have moved and installed a few tons of steel by hand and am pretty tired.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by flyboy367

well definitly buy. i hate homeowner associations so nothing like that. i like to decided what to do with my home. im very handy so something a little older isnt bad for me. i would definitly like 3 bedroom and 2 bathrooms. preferably full bath since my wife takes her time getting ready and i can tell my daughter will follow her footsteps lol. i would love a garage since im always building or taking apart something with cars, and a basement for my safe haven would rock. i would love to find something close to a train station or bus that i could walk to. i dont mind the commute as long as i can sleep. if i have to drive it myself it will never work since by the time my day is up i usually have moved and installed a few tons of steel by hand and am pretty tired.

Your best bet then would be to move to somewhere in Pike County near to the I-84 corridor and then take I-84 East to Port Jervis, where you can pick up a train to NYC. There's been discussion for nearly 30 years now about re-establishing a commuter rail line between Scranton and NYC, but that likely won't come to fruition for another decade due to all of the red tape between NJ and PA over land easements.

[flyboy367]

i was just looking at the short line bus info, it says commuter fares from milford pa to port authority for a 40 trip ticket is $365.70 i take that as 40 round trip tickets. if that is true then its only costing $85 more then what i pay now from old bridge nj to port authority for a monthly. its about 2 hours which isnt so bad since depending on the driver it takes me an hour now. and at 4am im sure there isnt that much traffic same as going home around 3pm.

is milford a paid or volunteer fire department? i found some homes online for good prices and it looks like a nice area. maybe have to take a drive up for a weekend.

[ff18wife]

Milford is volunteer as are most of the towns surrounding it. That would be Sta 33 (Milford Fire & EMS - Coming to your first due). Hubby is also a vol fd w/Shohola Vol Fire & Rescue Sta 41 (Station 41, Squad 41 ). Let me know if you look into the Shohola area. I know FD definitely could use another guy. Good luck!

Milford FD responds to anything on 84 in their area. I think they've already been out on the highway a few calls today due to weather.

PS-Don't forget daytrips and ask lots of questions around here!!!

[flyboy367]

i just did a quick search of Shohola. just at a glance is that near milford? i feel that could definitly be a point of interest cause the bus even though cutting it close runs there and the train isnt far away. i definitly will be joining a company when i move. i love firefighting, just have to get used to not having my ladder truck since there arent highrises lol

[jjj]

I honestly think the best way to figure out how commuting from Pa to NYC is to actually do it your self in a test run. Get a motel in the area where you want to live or stay at an Inn . Then drive to the bus or train and take it into the city. This is the only way to see what its like I myself commuted from pa to close to NYC and know of many people who go from Pa into NYC. Yes you can get from the Pa border to NYC in an hour and a half but there is the commute time from your home in Pa to the bus, then your wait to get into the city and to your job site. Every day there is a problem on RT 80 or Rt 78 in NJ delying this process not counting traffic through the tunnels into NYC. Of course if you ar commuting at 4am if possible the traffic is less then if you left at 5am. You are looking at a 2 hour 15 min commute to 3 hours each way . Snow and even rain brings the major routes in NJ to the city to a slow crawl. Not trying to be negative but this is a reality.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by jjj

I honestly think the best way to figure out how commuting from Pa to NYC is to actually do it your self in a test run. Get a motel in the area where you want to live or stay at an Inn . Then drive to the bus or train and take it into the city. This is the only way to see what its like I myself commuted from pa to close to NYC and know of many people who go from Pa into NYC. Yes you can get from the Pa border to NYC in an hour and a half but there is the commute time from your home in Pa to the bus, then your wait to get into the city and to your job site. Every day there is a problem on RT 80 or Rt 78 in NJ delying this process not counting traffic through the tunnels into NYC. Of course if you ar commuting at 4am if possible the traffic is less then if you left at 5am. You are looking at a 2 hour 15 min commute to 3 hours each way . Snow and even rain brings the major routes in NJ to the city to a slow crawl. Not trying to be negative but this is a reality.

This is the best piece of advice yet. I'm currently taking a career planning course here on my campus, and our professor has told us to take a "dry-run" to the job site a day before the interview to gauge how traffic, delays, etc. will factor in to commute times so you won't be late for the interview. The same could be said for your existing job in NYC. Take a vacation day on some weekday and utilize that time to do a test run from Pike County into the city; doing this on a weekend won't be very advisable because naturally congestion tends to be lower on weekends than during the morning rush.

[flyboy367]

i agree good advise. im currently not working due to having shoulder surgery so i might take a dry run just with my car. i was actually thinking maybe busing in during the spring summer and fall and taking the train in the winter. i know 80 can be a pain in the butt once the white stuff hits and maybe the rail would be easier.