owlwoman

I've been commuting to NY on and off for the past 20 years, when I stopped working in the city for a period of time I didn't think I missed it, until a job opportunity took me back in '95. I love working in Manhattan and I love going home to my house and backyard, could never afford the same square footage in Manhattan and have no desire to live in a "little box" where you feel you need to go out all the time. (If I were a multi-millionaire w/a penthouse on Central Park West, that would be another story).

So be it, my husband and I come into Manhattan at least once a month on the weekends to see a play, go to a comedy show, museum, etc., he'll meet me once in awhile in the city on a Fri. night for dinner, he works in Queens. I love the energy of Manhattan and feel like I have the best of both worlds.

So, to answer your question, no, commuting from the suburbs does not squash my desire to go back to the City for pleasure.

steviegene

owlwoman how long is your commute?
I think that is the real question. If the commute stays under an hour, it might be ok. But over an hour is where things start to get really difficult.

LoveItaly

I agree about the hour. In fact due to this thread I got thinking last night that it took one hour to get into SF from where I lived for decades.

Since I have moved it takes two hours each way so instead of being in SF at once every week or at least once every two weeks as I use to it is more like once every two months and less then that during the stormy winter months.

JJ5

lisettemac, and I was kind. Beautiful women for the most part, looked like they were coming from the trenches. Of course having it raining and 40 degrees doesn't help. But honestly, the shadows under the eyes and drawn anorexic look! Believe me, there are no fatties doing this commute.

And Chicago's commute is especially heinous. If you add a 55 minute average TO THE STATION, and then another 10 to get your car out and home. Well, even at an hour, that is an 11 hour depart to arrive back.

I'm doing a little study of my own for a prof. and asking these commuters when they go to bed.

Believe me, there hasn't been one Jay Leno watcher yet. And they have someone else doing the great majority of their food and cooking chores, if not all in that category. And not one does any meditation or calming exercise. It always gets a laugh, actually, because they say when they stop, they fall asleep.

cruisin_tigger

"And Chicago's commute is especially heinous. If you add a 55 minute average TO THE STATION, and then another 10 to get your car out and home. Well, even at an hour, that is an 11 hour depart to arrive back. "

Guess I'm lucky - from my front door to my desk its about an hour, which includes driving to the train station, a 1/2 hr express train ride, and then a 5 min. walk from Union Station. And you're right, lol, no Jay Leno for me, but I'm up at 5am to get in a 45 minute workout each day, and then after some wine at dinner, I'm done for.

Suerich68

I think that unless you can walk to your job, you pretty much have to commute from anywhere you live in Manhattan, or certainly from even one of the boroughs, where, I understand, it can take an hour to get into Manhattan.

Local subways & buses don't always run the way they are supposed to, and that can add time as well.

Again, unless you can walk to work, you're a commuter.

LoriNY1

Hi STW, I commute an hour and a half door to door from LI to NY for my job. I love the city, but I gotta tell you, you do think twice about coming in on the weekends. Especially if it is the standard 2 day weekend. But DH and I make the effort since we both love NYC, sometimes we just walk around, other times we come in for events or museums and the like. We do find at the end of the work day we just want to go home, particulary on Fridays, so we don't stay much after work. Good luck with your decision.

owlwoman

My commute is around 1 hour 15 minutes door to door. Metro North is only 35 minutes or so, I then have to take two subways to get to my job, that's the stressful part. I did change my hours to 8 - 4, which has made a world of difference in quality of life. I have to leave by 6:30 am, but am home by 5:30, which is not too bad.

steviegene

Being home at 5:30 is key.
I work 8:30-5:30.
Leave home at 7am...Not home until 7pm.

razzledazzle

After reading all this, and taking my own neighborhood poll, we all would STILL relish the opportunity to have the option to leave the driving to someone else. The driving is quite exhausting.

All this work in the city-live in the city is silly. It's no where near that simple, or to say at the least, affordable. My house in SF would be worth about 1.2 million, which in itself is absurd-PLUS many of the jobs
folks who live here excel at do not exist here.

Yet, I am pondering opening a Books On Tape drive-thru next to the
Coffee To Go place over by the freeway
on ramp...

R5

Suerich68

So do I, Steviegene, and that's life in the big city!

Dohlice

Razzle - I live 7 miles from my office in Manhattan and it takes me AT LEAST 45 min to get in in the morning. If I attempt to go home during rush hour it takes well over an hour. The grass just always looks greener - sometimes I wish I was stuck in my car where at least I'd be alone and the crazies couldn't get at me!

lizziea06

My door-to-door commute in the city usually takes 35 minutes, but runs up to 45-50 if the trains aren't running smoothly. It's usually the days when it's pouring rain, the subways are hot, humid and packed, and people are cranky and shoving that I wish that I could sit in my dry warm car and drive home.

JJ5

Boy, did that uncomfortable nasty "feeling" come home to me yesterday packed in that train, Almost everyone was wet- and being poked by backpacks and satchels/carrying cases/laptops from every side. And the mad dash to get to their cars at the end!! You could definitely make a short film. The scowls evident- they sure did NOT look like happy campers.

My drive commute of 45 minutes with music and books on tape, looking at beautiful landscape and country roads instead of railyards, grey concrete and cityscape backyards of ghetto's. Well my drive home- it sure looks rosy to me today. I'll not complain of my 45 minutes per, ever again.

razzledazzle

Well folks, for me it WAS greener when I lived in the East Bay of SF and took BART-
at least you have options !

R5