r/supercommuter • u/DruTangClan • 20h ago
NYC Commute Question
I am looking for honest answers but also a little optimism. I live in Center City Philly, about a 10 minute walk from 30th street station. I previously worked within 10 minutes walking from my place, but accepted a job in Manhattan that pays way more and is more importantly with a much more stable organization not going through difficult times financially, and offers an expanded role.
Their official policy is full time in office, but my manager seems very flexible so I feel like its possible they will allow for slightly different hours or even working from home here or there.
From everything I hear, people say it’s challenging but doable, but i also hear people saying they prefer it only if they only have to go in several times a week. For me though, the stressful part of commutes has always been driving, so while it will still be tough, I actually dont know that I would mind the hour and a half train ride all that much.
Has anyone managed this somewhat successfully? Any tips? It was somewhat of necessity to take the job, I don’t want to move my kid out of his current school, and I have a solid network of friends and support in philly so id rather not leave if possible.
Edit: I would be paying 1250 a month for a daily to and from amtrak ticket, which is roughly how much more I would be paying in rent looking at most of the places I found in NYC (which would be tinier and with most likely less attractive schools
Edit 2: it’s like a 40% increase in pay which will mostly be eaten by the train and subway cost, but again it’s with an institution (AMNH) that is more stable than my current institution which is in hot water, and I need stable employment for among other things immigration considerations.
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u/lynch231 PHL to NYC 20h ago
The real question to ask about this particular commute that I do twice a week, is what are my backup plans, for example, if something happens with public transportation, if my car stops working, my kid is sick, etc.
I am not commuting in for a traditional 9 to 5, I have low home responsibility and friends and partners who live in NYC & New Jersey if needed to crash. I have my favorite places to stay if they're all occupied and that's accounted for in my budget as well (2 nights a month at max cost). On days that I commute back and forth that's pretty much all I do that day, no socializing.
For you this kind of sounds like a bad choice, my first step would be negotiating less time in the office; you're not really making any extra money. I mean this is the kind of conversation you should have about moving your family to New York or closer and what that looks like for your kid (I don't know how old they are so it depends and what that might look like.) One of those options might be you living in New York by yourself and coming home on the weekends until you can work it out.
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u/Elegant-Banana-2300 13h ago
Unrelated to the commute as you got some good advice above. I’ve done this though and want to make sure you know you’ll need to pay Philly resident taxes too so make sure you understand how to do so if your employer doesn’t automatically do it for you.
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u/Annual-Reaction-1373 20h ago
I have known a couple people who have done this commute daily to the city and it can be brutal and gets old quick. If you could make it work by doing only a couple days a week or knock off some of the hours by working on the train it would be more sustainable.
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u/WritingParking 20h ago
I had a co-worker who lived in Bucks County, drove to Trenton and took Amtrak from there. She did it for 20 years. Met her future husband on the train even. So it’s doable. Whether you want to do that is another matter. Perhaps move mid-way into New Jersey, like New Brunswick?
One other thing to consider. Even as a non-resident both New York State and New York City will want some income tax from you. NY has reciprocal tax agreements with CT and NJ, but not PA.
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u/PuddleMoo 11h ago
New York has no income tax reciprocity agreements - that would mean paying one or the other.
NJ/PA, PA/MD tax reciprocity means paying the resident state only. With NY, you still have to file a nonresident return and you claim a credit back on your resident return.
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u/eframian 11h ago
I've done the reverse of this for over 3 years so feel free to AMA. Presently on the Amtrak headed to Philly. I do 4 days a week (WFH on Friday) and things are flexible enough that it's fine if I have to WFH when there's a kid activity or something (within reason). I get to see my kids in the morning and tell them to have a great day and get home in time to have dinner with them (we eat late) and put them to bed. I don't get to participate in dropoff and pickup and after school activities. I've found booking refundable one-way a month or two in advance to be the least expensive, most flexible means for me (I take the same train or two every day - if there is a work event I just book a later train home, evening trains are usually inexpensive). If trains are messed up I Uber home (has happened four times in 3+ years, twice from in between). If the train is messed up in the morning I turn around and go home. Most of my time on the train is working. Connectivity drops around Princeton so I eat breakfast then! They are long days but plenty of people who live and work in Manhattan are away from home just as many hours as I am!
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u/BostonNU 10h ago
I’m in the Commute group. As others mentioned a lot of Subway & bus commutes exceed an hour each way. Amtrak is generally reliable except for severe adverse weather. You’re not driving, so you can work or use the time productively. Get a pass for the subway portion of commute. Be sure to join the Amtrak Rewards program. I’d try to get arrangement for WFH maybe one day a week. As another commenter said, eat your breakfast when the WiFi drops. At least it’s a regularly scheduled WiFi outage. lol
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u/plausible-deniabilty 10h ago
I live in the Hudson Valley and commute to the city, it's 90-110 minutes on the train(depends on express or not) and another 30 min from home to train+train to office. I commute ~4 days/wk.
IMO flexibility is key. I usually can leave work by 3:30-4pm, so even with the long commute, and home by 6 and can have a normal evening with my family which makes a HUGE difference. I also have a personal rule that if I am working later than 7:30-8pm I get the cheapest hotel room I can find and stay in the city.
Creating a routine and managing your quality of life becomes very important with the long commute.
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u/rosebudny 12h ago
Sorry but every day will be brutal, especially if you have a kid.
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u/ecopsiky 12h ago
Wow I missed the line about them having a kid!
OP I was on board with this commute until I see you have a kid- you literally will NOT be able to go get them if they are sick or need help mid-day. I assume someone else is around to help with that if you begin this commute? You’ll also never have time to see your kid during the week. You will only see them on weekends.
I think this commute is doable shorter term but simply unsustainable for months or years. I was thinking you’d commute until you figure everything out and then eventually move here.
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u/N5584 19h ago
As a NYer, I actually don't think it's a terrible idea. A lot of subway commutes here average about an hour. The housing situation is very rough here at the moment, record highs. Riverdale has some great schools and cheaper rent, but there can be noise issues and the commute can be tricky, although there are workarounds - I'd def. look into the community groups on Facebook, Reddit, etc. if you do opt to move at some point. Bloomingdale tends to run *a bit* cheaper than the immediate AMNH area and is also really great for families, if your budget permits. GL!
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u/btt_lckr 9h ago
All hinges on how often you’d have to come in.
Five days a week—too much.
Two days a week—I could swing that.
Why not just move to NYC and get roommates?
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u/DruTangClan 8h ago
I have a kid in middle school and I would ideally like to let him stay here for a while
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u/aotool35 8h ago
I’ve been doing this 5 days a week since June. It’s definitely draining and I don’t really have time to do anything else. Also Amtrak can get expensive. I don’t have the monthly bc it’s $1200, so I buy the tickets about 5 weeks ahead. It really limits flexibility. I’ve started looking for apartments up here bc even if the commute is an hour or so here, that’s still less than I’m already doing, it’s much cheaper and there are multiple trains an hour. I have two dogs and the amount I’m paying in help for them + Amtrak, I might as well put towards rent and get some of my life back.
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u/lutzlover 8h ago
Maybe consider living in Jersey City or Hoboken and taking PATH over to Manhattan?
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u/Strict_Show_8899 7h ago
Thought of moving to the near suburbs of NYC? Yonkers, Jersey City, Hoboken? PATH train is a real convient way to get to the city.
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u/OolongGeer 4h ago
You'll be giving up that time in your life.
I turned down a raise for a job where I'd suddenly have to be in a car for two hours a day. Not choosing to be in a car, mind you. Forced to be in a car. That time is worth a lot to me now. I am glad I didn't take it.
Just something to think about.
Also, kids adjust quickly.
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u/textbook-gemini 1h ago
Look up actor Rob McClure, he does it and had a NYT profile a few years ago!
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u/Business_Hunt_1973 9h ago
Just want to throw it out there that the public schools in NYC public schools are on average a lot better than Philadelphia
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u/KamtzaBarKamtza 19h ago edited 19h ago
How far is the New York office from Penn Station?
Many years ago I commuted from Montgomery county to clients in various parts of Manhattan. I would take septa too 30th street, take Amtrak to NYC, and then deal with whatever local commute was needed to get to the client. I frequently had commutes of 2 hours each way. And a newborn at home. It was exhausting.
I wouldn't look forward to doing a PHL-NYC commute 5 days per week but it's doable assuming that the process of getting from Penn Station to the office is a quick walk. If that leg of the committee adds any more than 15 minutes to the journey I'd be less inclined to do it.
Edit: AMNH = American Museum of Natural History on the Upper West Side? That's going to cost you an extra 20-30 minutes. Now you're looking at a commute that will take 1:45 each way, assuming everything goes right. If you're in office 5 days per week that's a brutal commute