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I'm new to the forum (and soon to NY) and am seeking some advice on commuting. My wife and I are moving to NY and fell in love with the Northport area. I am working in Mineola and am not concerned about my commute, but my wife was just offered a position in Purchase up in Westchester.
We are now questioning how feasible a commute from Northport to Westchester would be. We are entertaining the idea of getting a HOV lane clean pass car, which might help at least for the portion of her commute on 495. How bad is Throggs Neck and 95 where the clean pass makes no difference? She would be able to work from home 1 day per week and could adjust her hours slightly outside the regular 9-5 to help a bit with avoiding rush hour, but probably only an hour or two in either direction.
Alternatively, we are thinking about living closer to the Queens border (Roslyn, Sea Cliff, Glen Head, Pt. Washington, Garden City) or even renting in Pelham / New Rochelle for a year. How would commuting look from these places? We do not want to live in the City and pay City tax.
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You are really looking at a challenging commute, I would actually look in Southern Westchester ( New Rochelle)and have you commute to Minneola for your work day or as you mentioned closer to Queens. Either way definitely rent for a year to get a feel on what will work best for you guys, good luck.
one thing about living in Northport - it takes some time to get to the parkways from there. I'm guessing you are looking north of 25A, so you have to add in time to get to the Sagtikos Parkway/25a interchange . If you're in the village, add 10-15 minutes.
If you can get to the Sag/LIE (exit 53) interchange or Sag/Northern Pkwy interchange by 6:15 am, you will beat the morning traffic rush. After that time, traffic builds and the am commute will take much longer.
Always traffic on the New England Thruway or Hutch by Co-Op city. And construction. Always.
If you leave Purchase at evening rush hour, you will see traffic on the way back. Friday evenings in summer are horrendous. I commuted from White Plains to western Suffolk county for a while, on Friday evenings in summer , three hours was not unusual. Friday would be the day to work from home.
Last edited by lifetimeliguy; 03-23-2019 at 12:01 PM..
Forget it - it is not feasible. Northport to Mineola has the potential to get old quick too. Don't know where you're from, what you're used to, or if you have kids but you're setting yourself up for misery having to cross a bridge every day (not to mention expense, wear and tear on the car and gas).
Thanks for the replies. We are looking north of 25A, yes. I think she'd be able to leave early at about 6 AM, or alternatively, could do it a bit later toward the end of rush hour to get into the office around 10 AM. Obviously, if she's leaving later she'd stay at work past the worst of the evening rush hour, but it sounds like it could still be bad. And good point about working from home Friday.
Any idea on how much time is saved by using the HOV lane on the LIE?
Sometimes looking at an old school map helps - or google or Apple maps on a large desktop screen. Get it so that you are looking at Purchase, Mineola and Northport all at once. Then you will know your proposal will not work well.
You have not noted your budget, which impacts on where you can live, as well as whether or not you will have school-aged kids.
I would look at Pelham. Great town, great schools. Pelham to Mineola will be much much much better than Northport to Purchase, and Pelham to Purchase will be better than Northport to Mineola. A win-win as far as I can tell. Pelham is pricey though, as it should be.
Also note that if you and your spouse are new to the NYC area, you may find lower Westchester more appealing. Above all other suburban NY areas, lower Westchester seems to be where "outsiders" go - upscale people who came to NY for work/school and need a place to settle. LI and other areas are much more "townie-ish". People live there because they always have, or they have a spouse who did. But you already like Northport, so you have that working for you.
People do it. Gets old. Hell, I know someone that commutes to Philly from Nassau. If you like/need money but don't care about quality of life then a long commute may not bother you. But yeah, I know people that commute to Westchester from Suffolk. It will wear you down.
I have been doing Roslyn to Westchester in that area you mentioned for 2 years. Going to work if I leave at 7am or earlier, or 9am or later it takes me 45 minutes. Coming home if I leave by 3 it takes me 50 minutes. If I can’t leave by 3 I will stay at work until 7.
I do not work on Fridays, but if I had to I would want to be heading back home by 2pm the latest. I always leave my office by 2:30pm in November and December because the traffic is the worst all year.
If you are going to do it make sure you wife uses Waze for traffic alters and learns all alternate routes.
Thanks for the replies. We are looking north of 25A, yes. I think she'd be able to leave early at about 6 AM, or alternatively, could do it a bit later toward the end of rush hour to get into the office around 10 AM. Obviously, if she's leaving later she'd stay at work past the worst of the evening rush hour, but it sounds like it could still be bad. And good point about working from home Friday.
Any idea on how much time is saved by using the HOV lane on the LIE?
The HOV lane can back up too, and I avoid it. One lane isn’t enough especially with the buses. But that was during high traffic times.
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