Happy 2008! Response to a readers question in re NYC-Philly commute
A reader recently posted this question to me:
"You give a positive impression of the commute Philly-NYC. I am personally considering undertaking NYC-Philly commute 4 times a week for 2 years. For instance, are there are lot of delays? Can you take the express train with the monthly commuter pass?"
I'll give my comments on each part of his question. I get similar questions a couple times a month so I'd like to go into detail
Comment: "You give a positive impression of the commute Philly-NYC"
Response: Yes, Philly-NYC commuting via Amtrak I thought was perfectly fine. Lots of other professional do it though less now since a monthly pass is expensive (over $1,000/month).
Comment: "I am personally considering undertaking NYC-Philly commute 4 times a week for 2 years"
Response: 4 days a week is certainly is doable but if you can get that to 3 days a week you'll be even better off. I found when I commuted 3 days a week or less I was less tired at the end of the work week and a bit more energized during the week. And if you're able try not to do 4 commuting days in a row as I found this to be overly tiring. Maybe go up Mon and Tue, stay at home Wednesday, then up again Thursday and Friday.
Comment: "For instance, are there are lot of delays? "
Response: There are delays but it's quite tolerable overall. It was rare I had delays of more than 20 minutes. You'll have to take 10-15 minute delays in stride though.
Comment: "Can you take the express train with the monthly commuter pass?"
Response: No. Only regional trains. This means you cannot take the Acela trains with the monthly pass. You can upgrade to an Acela train with a monthly for $20 but you have to do this at the teller window, and thus wait in ungodly long lines.
"You give a positive impression of the commute Philly-NYC. I am personally considering undertaking NYC-Philly commute 4 times a week for 2 years. For instance, are there are lot of delays? Can you take the express train with the monthly commuter pass?"
I'll give my comments on each part of his question. I get similar questions a couple times a month so I'd like to go into detail
Comment: "You give a positive impression of the commute Philly-NYC"
Response: Yes, Philly-NYC commuting via Amtrak I thought was perfectly fine. Lots of other professional do it though less now since a monthly pass is expensive (over $1,000/month).
Comment: "I am personally considering undertaking NYC-Philly commute 4 times a week for 2 years"
Response: 4 days a week is certainly is doable but if you can get that to 3 days a week you'll be even better off. I found when I commuted 3 days a week or less I was less tired at the end of the work week and a bit more energized during the week. And if you're able try not to do 4 commuting days in a row as I found this to be overly tiring. Maybe go up Mon and Tue, stay at home Wednesday, then up again Thursday and Friday.
Comment: "For instance, are there are lot of delays? "
Response: There are delays but it's quite tolerable overall. It was rare I had delays of more than 20 minutes. You'll have to take 10-15 minute delays in stride though.
Comment: "Can you take the express train with the monthly commuter pass?"
Response: No. Only regional trains. This means you cannot take the Acela trains with the monthly pass. You can upgrade to an Acela train with a monthly for $20 but you have to do this at the teller window, and thus wait in ungodly long lines.
posted by Guy in NYC at
Happy 2008! Response to a readers question in re NYC-Philly commute - 11:25 AM
3 Comments:
Hi--Just found your blog. Thinking of moving from Bklyn to Philly (can't afford to buy a house here plus really do like Philly). But worried about the commute--is it doable? How much $$$? Am I crazy? Thanks--Riodej
By
Anonymous, at 7:15 PM, January 09, 2008
Hi, nope, you're not crazy, lots of people do this. Where in Philly are you looking? I was in Center City (loved it) and did the commute to NYC for nearly 2 years and found it very doable. The cost for commuting via Amtrak is huge now, about $10,000/yr (for me it was about ~$6,000, high but more reasonable). Going via NJ Transit is cheaper (don't have an estimate for this for 2008, working on getting this..) but will take longer and you'll need to get to Trenton from Philly (drive or Septa).
If you can afford the Amtrak option and only have to go up 3 or 4 times a week, I'd say you can do it and adapt quick. But if you have to commute to NYC every day of the week that would be tough and you need to think pretty hard before commiting to this.
By
Amtrak Track, at 4:38 PM, January 10, 2008
I live down in Wilmington, Del., and no quite a few people who go from WIL-NYP every day. It's doable, especially now that laptops can make the time on the train into work time. I also know a few people who ride up on Monday and stay all week, returning Friday. That's a lot harder on the family side of things, obviously.
By
Ran Barton, at 10:55 AM, January 11, 2008
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