Moving to Philadelphia - question about commute (King of Prussia, Franklin: fit in, apartment)

[aynnotated]

Hello all,

I am moving to Philadelphia in the summer to complete a one year internship at UPenn. My spouse and I are both from Louisiana (neither of us have lived elsewhere). He may be able to transfer jobs for one year to Edison, NJ. I keep reading about the traffic in these areas, and I wanted to know if it is at all feasible that we could live in between these two cities and somehow not have a crazy commute for either of us. It appears Trenton is the best halfway point, but I have no idea if that city has a good residential area. The major problem is that I will be on call and may have to commute to school at a moment's notice. I was told by my advisor that anything greater than 30 minutes may be too much. However, because I will be working crazy hours (usually interns work fairly early to late in the evening), I am hoping traffic will be less congested for me. However, I don't want my husband dealing with a long commute either.

I hear the public trains are expensive (are they?), but is the commute usually shorter vs. driving?

Thank you so much in advance! I am really excited (but also nervous about the snow!)

[jazzy jeff]

If you need to be 30 mins from UC, then look at Jersey close to either the Ben Franklin or Walt Whitman Bridge. Never do it from Trenton. Your spouse can do Edison by car in a about an hour from South Jersey avoiding rush hour.

[drive carephilly]

You could look for a place that's close to both PATCO and I-295.

The only real drawback is that it's gonna make your commute to Penn more expensive . . . because you'd have to buy fare on two different transit systems instead of one. I guess it really depends on how many days a week you have to go in.

Your other option would be to live in Fishtown near I-95. It wouldn't be close to Penn but it would be quicker to Penn than living in South Jersey and certainly cheaper and it would only add about 15 minutes to your man's commute (vs. living near 295)

It makes sense to drive to Edison because the train would be expensive and wouldn't offer a time savings over driving.

It doesn't make sense to drive to Penn. If you're commuting during the day, especially during peak periods, the traffic will seem like the apocalypse compared to anywhere in LA, if you're coming in from NJ there's a $5 bridge toll to contend with and the garages you'll have to park in won't be cheap either.

A one way fare on PATCO into Philly depends on exactly how far out you start but $2-$3 is standard. One way transit fare on SEPTA is $1.55.

PATCO doesn't offer monthly discounts but if you buy a monthly pass on SEPTA it's $83 for unlimited rides on all subways, buses and trolleys and on the weekends you can go anywhere on the whole system - meaning you can ride regional rail out to the suburbs for no extra charge.

I don't work at Penn but I'm gonna guess that it's at least $100 to park there for a month.

So hypothetical one-way trip from Haddonfield, NJ to UPenn by driving - getting to work at 8:30am - it's gonna take you an hour. Transit - will probably also take you an hour if you assume that you're walking to the train station in Haddonfield and walking to your office at Penn . . . but the hassle and expense of driving just isn't worth it.

From Fishtown it will take you about 20-25 minutes assuming a 5 minute walk on either end. Driving would probably take around 40 minutes.

[aynnotated]

Thank you both for your response. Fortunately, UPenn will be paying for my parking.

With the little knowledge that I have about PA, the plan that I formulated since my first post was the following: Live somewhere on the septa rail 7 line (like Cornwells Heights). That way my spouse can take septa to trenton, then switch to the NJ transit line. I was thinking that I could drive to UPenn. Although, it seems that I need to change my perspective on distance. How long do you think it would take me to drive to UPenn from Cornwells Heights?

I will have to research both of your responses, as I am not familiar with the locations of the cities you mentioned or even PATCO! Fishtown definitely sounds like it could be an option. I am hoping that pet-friendly places are easy to come by?

Pending all the information we gather, my spouse and I may choose to live apart for one year. He may stay in LA, while I move up there. In that case, I am assuming the closer I can get to UPenn, the better?

Thank you again. Your insight is invaluable to someone who has no idea what the area is like!

[scosm]

Another option - not the cheapest, but something that could work out - would be to get a place within walking distance of Penn and 30th Street station and then your husband could take Amtrak from 30th Street to Metropark train station in Edison. Amtrak is very expensive per trip, but you can get a monthly pass to make it slightly more affordable. Probably about $1k per month, I'm guessing, as the monthly from Philly to NYC is about $1200. It would be pricey, but you wouldn't have to pay for any commuting cost or even for gas or tolls (or insurance if you got rid of a car entirely - you could still use a car with the car share programs many car-less city dwellers use). And it wouldn't be a bad commute at all for your husband as those trains are miles better than Septa or NJ Transit. If his office is far from the Metropark station, then you'd have to keep a car up there in a garage, which would be pricey. I'm not sure how many trains stop at Metropark every day so you'd have to look to see if the trains make sense.

If it is just you and it sounds like you are in some sort of medical internship, it probably would make sense to be close to Penn and not plan to drive for everything. Your main two options would be to live in University City or across the South Street bridge in the Southwest Center City/Rittenhouse Square/Fitler Square areas. Then you could walk or bike to Penn (or take public transport).

[aynnotated]

Scosm - your post sounds like the perfect plan! Although, I am cringing at the thought of $1,000 per month. Stress-free commutes come at a high price!

When exactly is "rush hour?" If I am driving at 6am and 7pm, is traffic still terrible? Obviously we are going to plan a visit up there soon to get a feel for everything. I cannot wrap my head around how congested the interstate must be.

[aynnotated]

If we still lived in between 30th street and UPenn, could the option of my husband taking septa, transferring to NJ transit at trenton to edison not be too bad? I used the websites online and saw that the commute (in total) would be about 1 hr and 30 minutes (excluding walking, and assuming trains were close in time). Monthly passes for both lines would be less than $200. But, I read above to avoid Trenton. Do most people fit in the trains, or is it so congested that you are not guaranteed to make it? I am presenting this option because we may have to weigh what we value more... time (and sanity) or money.

[scosm]

Originally Posted by aynnotated

If we still lived in between 30th street and UPenn, could the option of my husband taking septa, transferring to NJ transit at trenton to edison not be too bad? I used the websites online and saw that the commute (in total) would be about 1 hr and 30 minutes (excluding walking, and assuming trains were close in time). Monthly passes for both lines would be less than $200. But, I read above to avoid Trenton. Do most people fit in the trains, or is it so congested that you are not guaranteed to make it? I am presenting this option because we may have to weigh what we value more... time (and sanity) or money.

Yes, that would work too. Not sure why I didn't think of it earlier. There would certainly be more trains and I know the schedules often line up so one is leaving when the other departs, though I don't believe that is always the case. It is less of a smooth ride than Amtrak of course. I've ridden both those lines many times and they get crowded, but not for rush hour commuting so I couldn't answer precisely. The northeast corridor line on NJ Transit is a very highly traveled commuter line into NYC, but the trains are largely new. I don't think there is ever a time when he couldn't get on - he just would have to stand in the aisles. I think he might be able to get a seat most times because of the way his route lines up and the fact that he'd either be getting on at the first stop or after the train let off a bunch of people (for picking up the NJ Transit train out of Metropark in the afternoon). On Amtrak, you are guaranteed a seat nowadays (I believe that is true, don't quote me on that).

I said that you would have to live "in between" 30th street and Penn in my earlier response but that is not really precise. I would just say you should live within a short walk to 30th street to make it easier on your husband. There are a couple of apartment buildings on either side of the river so you could live in Center City, say at around 22nd and Market, and both of you would have a pretty easy walk.

[drive carephilly]

SEPTA + NJTransit is certainly doable. He wouldn't have to stand or miss a train because it was too crowded because he would be boarding both trains at the beginning of the route when they aren't very crowded. Also, Amtrak would cost more like $800 or $900 a month. There's a real premium for going through the tunnel into NYC . . . and $900 would be well worth it. I know someone who currently commutes from Woodbridge, NJ to King of Prussia and gas & tolls costs him ~$950 per month and he's a zombie (he's moving in a few weeks).

So . . . Edison is a large township and the Edison train station is on the far south end of the township. Metuchen is the borough in the middle of Edison and there's another station there. Then at the far northern end of Edison is Metropark station . . . but Metropark isn't actually in Edison. It's in Iselin.

In order for the train ride to be an option he would need to work within walking distance of the station or at least have a shuttle there that would take him to his office building. You'd want to confirm this before picking a place to live based around proximity to the northeast corridor line.

I say this because there aren't a lot of office buildings around Metuchen or Edison stations. Metropark is a huge office park but if his job was there he would be saying Metropark - no one would call it Edison because it isn't in Edison.

[FrankInPhilly]

Originally Posted by aynnotated

Hello all,

I am moving to Philadelphia in the summer to complete a one year internship at UPenn. My spouse and I are both from Louisiana (neither of us have lived elsewhere). He may be able to transfer jobs for one year to Edison, NJ. I keep reading about the traffic in these areas, and I wanted to know if it is at all feasible that we could live in between these two cities and somehow not have a crazy commute for either of us. It appears Trenton is the best halfway point, but I have no idea if that city has a good residential area. The major problem is that I will be on call and may have to commute to school at a moment's notice. I was told by my advisor that anything greater than 30 minutes may be too much. However, because I will be working crazy hours (usually interns work fairly early to late in the evening), I am hoping traffic will be less congested for me. However, I don't want my husband dealing with a long commute either.

I hear the public trains are expensive (are they?), but is the commute usually shorter vs. driving?

Thank you so much in advance! I am really excited (but also nervous about the snow!)

You should also post this question to //www.city-data.com/forum/new-j...-philadelphia/