Questions about commute from nepa to nyc??? (Scranton, York: 2014, renting)

[rlny]

Is this commute really that hectic??? I reading mixed reviews on this. I planning on moving out to this area. I am not sure on exactly were yet but i would like to be at least 15-20min from the bus. For the people that do this commute daily, is it really that bad. I use to live about an hour away from my work and that in rush hour traffic was hectic. Sometimes it took me 2 hours to get to work but i was driving a manual sports car in that traffic lol. I am thinking with commuting from pa to nyc i might just be able to watch a movie or two on my ipad and that should pass the time. Can anybody that actually does this commute give me some insight on this.

[Wells5]

You're not getting responses to your post because this topic has been debated 'ad nauseam' this forum. If you value your sanity, stay where you are. But check out a typical thread linked below.

https://www.city-data.com/forum/north...ed-locate.html

[smm5628]

If you can work from home 3-4 days a week and only be in New York 1-2 days a week it can be done easily. My brother currently has been doing this for 2 years and loves it. Cheap housing, expenses, good schools, etc and he is still able to take home 5x the median income of Scranton.

[Sarge621]

Bus commute is expensive. Many people have told me they have on occasion sat broken down on route 80 for several hours. To me totally unacceptable. Sitting in traffic sucks whether your a passenger or driver. Bad weather, stay home it's not worth it.

I bought a house in Tobyhanna. I commute but drive myself to work, 103 miles one way. I start 5am and get off 1pm so my commute time is good. I drive a Prius back n forth and buy my gas in NJ $1.75 a gallon. I pay roughly $270 monthly fuel and oil changes. The first week I commuted I knew it would kill me. Now that I have found a way to trick my mind into not thinking of the whole commute I broke it down into sections. My house to route 380 be there no later then 340:am. 380 to route 80 exit 4 Columbia by 4:05am. Exit 25 by 4:20am, route 280 by 4:40am n then the home stretch the last 20 mins. I found it made my commute less stressful by breaking it down in my head.

I am also able to switch shifts with people. Right now I am currently working weekends double shift Saturday and double shift on Sunday. I take a vacation day on Mondays n have other people working for me Tuesday through Friday giving me Monday-Friday off. Though I love it I find myself getting bored and after a few months of this schedule I switch back n work Mondau-Friday again lol. I'm lucky to have options because if you don't it won't be so easy but people do it... Good Luck!!!

[fisheye]

Originally Posted by Sarge621

Bus commute is expensive. Many people have told me they have on occasion sat broken down on route 80 for several hours. To me totally unacceptable. Sitting in traffic sucks whether your a passenger or driver. Bad weather, stay home it's not worth it.

I bought a house in Tobyhanna. I commute but drive myself to work, 103 miles one way. I start 5am and get off 1pm so my commute time is good. I drive a Prius back n forth and buy my gas in NJ $1.75 a gallon. I pay roughly $270 monthly fuel and oil changes. The first week I commuted I knew it would kill me. Now that I have found a way to trick my mind into not thinking of the whole commute I broke it down into sections. My house to route 380 be there no later then 340:am. 380 to route 80 exit 4 Columbia by 4:05am. Exit 25 by 4:20am, route 280 by 4:40am n then the home stretch the last 20 mins. I found it made my commute less stressful by breaking it down in my head.

I am also able to switch shifts with people. Right now I am currently working weekends double shift Saturday and double shift on Sunday. I take a vacation day on Mondays n have other people working for me Tuesday through Friday giving me Monday-Friday off. Though I love it I find myself getting bored and after a few months of this schedule I switch back n work Mondau-Friday again lol. I'm lucky to have options because if you don't it won't be so easy but people do it... Good Luck!!!

I wondered what happened to you - the commutes killing you!

Just out of curiosity; what kind of money makes this commute worth it? Are we talking about over six figures? Many claim that you cannot make money in Monroe - but there are some decent jobs if one really looks. I was making $75K a year as a truck driver (of course I was driving 100,000 miles/year). However, doing a 100 mile commute also stacks up the miles and the company does not always pay for the vehicle. Anyway; I'm glad that I am partially retired!

[Gettingouttahere]

You asked for specifics, here they are:

Bus commute is doable, if you do not have regular day hours. If you do, you are crazy to try it.

I did it for 6 months, starting work at 10:30, and thought I'd die. It's one thing to spend an hour and 20 minutes on a bus going 65-70mph. It's another thing entirely to spend 2 hours-plus, each way, on the same bus, barely moving in traffic. I know people who take an 8 am bus into the city because they start work at noon, and there is no later option that'll get them to work in time. Then they take a 10 pm bus home (because after rush hour, the buses are only once an hour) and get home at 12:30. That's no life.

Now I start work at 7. Take a 5:20 bus. Am always 15 minutes early. I beat the rush home. I see my kids as they get out of school. The only downside is going to bed earlier than I'd like, but really, it's not bad.

Cost, to NYC from Delaware Water Gap on the Martz, is $526 for a monthly pass. $25 for parking pass. If you cannot afford the lump sum, you can buy weekly tickets, but they are $170 or so, so you get a big discount by buying monthly. You can get a pretax savings by signing up with Commuter Check Direct; they send you a Mastercard with the amount you specify preloaded each month. $240 or $250 (I forget exactly what the amount is) is pretax when you have it deducted from your paycheck, so you save a little more than way. Also, it's much less painful to have it deducted.

To drive yourself into NYC, factor in the daily tunnel/bridge toll -- $13 now, I think, plus the $1 toll back to PA. Plus gas, monthly oil changes (as you will put 3,000 miles a month on your car) and tires and brake pads every six months. The intangible -- stress -- is priceless. I don't care now about rain or ice or snow, whereas I used to have callouses on my hands from gripping the steering wheel, and spent countless hours stuck in various weather-related situations. And I *like* to drive.

The bus is way cheaper. It works out, with the monthly commuter pass, to $26 a day. You would not be able to drive for less, unless you carpooled.

As far as what to do on the bus: There is WiFi, but it's bare-bones. Video sites are blocked. Most people sleep at the hours I go in. A few do what you suggested, and catch up on TV from the night before. The buses are generally comfortable, but you have to wear layers, because on any given day there can be too much air conditioning or not enough heat. It's random.

That said, we could not afford to live closer, so for us, it's what works.

I always recommend coming out here and renting for a year to see if you can handle the commute. Things are very different here: everything is a long drive, the roads are crap, there are fewer shopping options, the traffic can be horrific. Housing prices are depressed, sure, but in many areas the taxes are no bargain. You pay for extras, like garbage pickup or water or sewer, that you may have gotten free in your NJ municipality. Gas is more expensive, but insurance is generally cheaper.

HTH

[charmed hour]

I drive into the Bronx from Jim Thorpe (Carbon County) 2-3 times a week- 125 miles each way. I leave around 5:30am and hit my parking spot at work by 7:15-7:30a on a good I80/GWB day. If I leave later than 6am I generally don't get in until closer to 9a.

The GWB is $13, with EZ pass before 7am is $9.75. I always stop in Jersey for gas on the way home. I paid $1.89pg this past Friday evening. Closest station to home in PA is at $2.29pg.

80 thru Jersey can be and usually is a horror show, especially near Denville/Rockaway. It's generally bumper to bumper crawling in that area. An average commute home at 4pm takes me about 3 1/2 hours, factoring time to cross the GWB and stopping for gas. Holiday weekends; forget it. Last Memorial Day Friday it took me over 6 hours to get home leaving the Bronx at 1pm.

Days where I need to be physically at work back to back I generally will crash at my parents house. Who wants to get home around 8p and get back up at 4a unless they must?

I've taken Martz a few times. Since I work in the Bronx I still need to take an additional ride by train or express bus into work. It saves me no time or money. In fact, it generally costs me more to do a single round trip on Martz/ NYC transit than it would be to drive in the 2-3 times each week.

ETA: Re: wear and tear on vehicles. I bought a new truck about 6 weeks ago. Between commute to work and running around at home I already put over 4500 miles on the car. When I lived in the Bronx I had my old vehicle close to 6 months before I raked up the first 5,000.

[Magritte25]

Originally Posted by fisheye

I wondered what happened to you - the commutes killing you!

Just out of curiosity; what kind of money makes this commute worth it? Are we talking about over six figures? Many claim that you cannot make money in Monroe - but there are some decent jobs if one really looks. I was making $75K a year as a truck driver (of course I was driving 100,000 miles/year). However, doing a 100 mile commute also stacks up the miles and the company does not always pay for the vehicle. Anyway; I'm glad that I am partially retired!

I'm curious about this too.

Anyone willing to spill the beans on money?

[charmed hour]

Originally Posted by Magritte25

I'm curious about this too.

Anyone willing to spill the beans on money?

I'll share...
I'm close to 75k, unionized, pension and 100% employer funded health insurance. Plus 6 weeks of vacation, 2 weeks sick and 7 personal days per year. Vacation I can carry 3 years worth of time.

Not finding that in PA!

[Sarge621]

Originally Posted by fisheye

I wondered what happened to you - the commutes killing you!

Just out of curiosity; what kind of money makes this commute worth it? Are we talking about over six figures? Many claim that you cannot make money in Monroe - but there are some decent jobs if one really looks. I was making $75K a year as a truck driver (of course I was driving 100,000 miles/year). However, doing a 100 mile commute also stacks up the miles and the company does not always pay for the vehicle. Anyway; I'm glad that I am partially retired!

Commute is not killing me at all. I have and knew I had options in my schedule to let me switch up as I wanted to. It was all included with my plan and time I need to spend with my daughter. I make a little over $120k a year and have no problems getting up and doing what I have to do. I actually work some 16 hour shifts and still commute cause the extra shift is about an extra $620 take home pay. I love Monroe!!!