Somewhere to live between Philadelphia and New York?
December 10, 2019 9:15 AM   Subscribe

Is there somewhere between Philly and NYC where we could live and each have reasonable commutes (under 1.5 hours, maybe)? My husband may be taking a job in Philadelphia. My job is in New York. He will only need to go into his place of employment 2-3 days a week. It's possible I could negotiate a similar arrangement. Personal experiences with this type of set-up would be appreciated! More details/requirements below.

Standard for a "reasonable" commute being based on not having to do it every single day, and also for NY doesn't require a car (I don't mind driving in NYC but I don't want to commute into midtown with a car).

We're in our late 30s and have a young child. Both professionals, currently living in Brooklyn. We will also consider continuing to live in NYC and husband commuting, or living in Philly while I commute. But should we also explore living somewhere in between? We love living in the city, and while we have no illusions about the differences between suburban and urban life, we could consider living somewhere a little quieter, if it still offers interest--a walkable downtown, for example. We've been to Lambertville/New Hope and that may be the vibe we're looking for--though it doesn't offer much in the way of the commute (looks like the trip to NY would involve going into Philly to the Amtrak station or maybe driving to Trenton?)

Happy to take all thoughts as we're still in the very early stages.
posted by CiaoMela to Travel & Transportation (13 answers total) 4 users marked this as a favorite
 
Princeton might be a good option. NJ Transit has trains to Penn Station and to Philly's 30th Street Station.
posted by HeyAllie at 9:21 AM on December 10, 2019 [2 favorites]


Yes, take a look at a NJ Transit map and pick any town along the lines. A lot of young new families have been moving from Brooklyn to South Orange and Maplewood lately. From there it’s about an hour and 45 to Philly. I myself live in Montclair, which is a shorter drive to Philly and a 45 minute train ride to Penn.
posted by ejs at 9:36 AM on December 10, 2019


Septa Trenton line goes from Philly to Trenton, njtransit runs from Trenton to nyc.

I wouldn't recommend njt->septa for a regular commute, miss the connection and you are waiting quite a while for the next train.

You need to live accessable to a train into NYC(not necessarily north east corridor, but most likely) and he needs to be able to drive to work, Trenton, or another outlying septa station.

Crazy option b is Amtrak to Philly and stay in NYC, but that's expensive. Monthly pass is $$$$
posted by TheAdamist at 9:38 AM on December 10, 2019


Best answer: Metuchen, NJ is what you want. A bit closer to nyc than philly.
posted by pyro979 at 9:40 AM on December 10, 2019


Just to give an idea, New Brunswick is 90-100 minutes to Philly and 60+ minutes to NYC via NJ Transit. So far as I know, every commuter train station in the Boston-DC corridor has parking issues.
posted by SemiSalt at 10:26 AM on December 10, 2019 [1 favorite]


I'm by no means recommending this, but a few jobs ago, I had a co-worker who took a two hour bus ride each way from/to Philly. So there are alternatives to Amtrak, but honestly, find something on an NJT line after determining driving/train times you're both comfortable with.
posted by Hactar at 10:43 AM on December 10, 2019


Best answer: Woodbridge NJ. You can walk to the train, express trains to NYC during rush hour. If you want to take the train to Philly you’ll have to transfer. It’s a 2 minute drive to either the Turnpike or the Parkway. Plenty of schools, just named one of the country’s safest towns, and a lot cheaper than Metuchen :)
posted by lyssabee at 10:47 AM on December 10, 2019 [2 favorites]


Response by poster: Thanks for the responses--plenty to research here. In addition to the commute, I'm also hoping for recommendations of towns that have a little something going on and what you like about it. Metuchen seems like a good option along those lines, and Woodbridge too. Thanks!
posted by CiaoMela at 12:57 PM on December 10, 2019


Best answer: Seconding Princeton. Not inexpensive but a good quality of life with a walkable downtown and decent access to trains to New York and Philly. I raised my kids there and can attest that it was great for them. Lots of cultural events, Arts Council, public pool, stuff at the University, all within walking distance if you live downtown. Memail me if you have more specific questions.
posted by 6thsense at 1:50 PM on December 10, 2019


I have some friends/family who live in Metuchen, and while it’s a bit quiet, if I *had* to live in the suburbs it would definitely be a contender. We love in Philly and it’s really not a bad drive.

But I would encourage you to try to make staying in NYC work - maybe Jersey City? My bff lives in JC and works in Manhattan, taking the PATH. When she comes to visit, she usually takes the PATH to Newark and then takes the Amtrak from there. BoltBus also runs out of Newark.
posted by DoubleLune at 2:32 PM on December 10, 2019


This is probably the wrong answer but just want to mention: have you considered living in Manhattan, closer to Penn Station or buses? My sense from traveling between NYC and Philly a ton is that a lot of the travel time gets eaten up just getting to and from the train/bus station. I have also traveled between Princeton and NYC/Philly and while that was my first thought, too, I feel like you don’t gain as much on the Philly commute as you might wish compared to going direct from NYC on Amtrak or bus.
posted by ferret branca at 7:35 PM on December 10, 2019


I lived in Princeton for a long time, and I liked it, and you have reasonable train access to both Phialdelphia and New York. But honestly, I grew up in the suburbs and liked that. If you like being parents of a young kid in Brooklyn, and especially if you grew up in the suburbs and didn't like it, you might not like Princeton, because that's what it is.

My friends who are parents now and are city people and have a one-parent-in-Philadelphia/one-parent-in-NYC work situation live in Manhattan, the parent who works in Philadelphia arranges his schedule so he's gone 3 days a week and has a very small spare place to sleep there, and they're happy as clams.

Somehow I feel like a half-as-long intercity commute is more than half as draining as a full intercity commute, so it's better for one parent to suffer the whole burrito and the other not at all, and compensate in other ways, than it is for both parents to have to work in a different state from where they live.
posted by escabeche at 8:25 PM on December 10, 2019


Do explore living in philly. Having one long commute in a family is inch better than two long commutes. And Philly is much more affordable.
posted by Miko at 5:07 AM on December 11, 2019


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