If you work in the great city of New York, but you’re also not too thrilled with the high cost of living and bustling city life found there, you might be interested in our list of 11 best places to live right outside NYC with the easiest commute.
New York City certainly has a lot of hype, but living there is not as exciting as it may seem. There’s living in cramped apartments, squeezing through large crowds and dealing with tourists year round. Not to mention the extremely high cost of living, compared to the cost in surrounding cities.
But is there really an alternative if you work right in the city? If you don’t mind commuting a little over 30 minutes, there are plenty of alternatives. Sure, you’ll have the commute to worry about. But other commuters say they have an opportunity to ease into the work day or recharge afterward. It’s the perfect time to listen to an audiobook and relax, especially because commuters to NYC usually never have to drive. Public transportation is readily available in these surrounding towns and cities, and if not, they’re in close proximity to it. So why continue to live in a city that’s stressing you out? Instead, try living in one of the towns listed below which reside in New Jersey, Connecticut, and of course New York. These are some of the best places to buy a house near NYC, and many of them are much more affordable suburbs.
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These towns were recommended by the following sources: Apartment Therapy‘s The Best New Jersey Neighborhoods Close to New York City, Trulia‘s What’s the Best New Jersey Town within 45 Minutes Commute to NYC, Curbed‘s NYC Commuter Towns, NJ Family‘s Top NJ Transit Commuter Towns, Quora’s What Town in Connecticut is the Best for Commuting to NYC, and Neighborhood‘s Top 5 New Jersey Cities with the Easiest Commute to NYC.
To rank our surrounding towns and cities, we first used the above sources and counted the number of times a certain city was repeated among the lists. Every time it was, we gave it a point. Secondly, we ranked them by commute time. Because no one wants a 2-hour work commute. By typing each city into Google Maps with NYC as the destination, we took the time it would take to travel the shortest possible distance between the two. To suburbs outside of NYC with commutes that were under 40 minutes, we gave 4 additional points. Cities with anywhere from 40 to 50-minute commutes received 3 additional points, and 51 to an hour commutes granted 2 additional points. Cities with anywhere between 1 hour and 1 1/2 hours only received one point and any commute above 1 1/2 hours got no points. And we formed our points system from there. This ensures that the best and fastest NYC commuting cities are listed below, but keep in mind that the exact commute time depends on the specific location of your living space within the surrounding city and the specific location of your workplace within NYC. We just used the distances Google Maps indicated.
And if you’re interested in more similar articles to this one, see our lists of 10 Best Commute Towns in NJ to NYC and 6 Easiest Towns to Commute to NYC.
So here’s our list: 11 towns with easy commute to NYC. Start planning your move immediately. We are starting off our list with the last one, out of eight best places to live right outside NYC with the easiest commute, which share the 4th spot on our list.
4. Carlstadt, New Jersey
4 points
Once you can figure out how to say and spell its name, this is a wonderful town near New York City to take up residence in.
4. Yonkers, New York
4 points
This town is right behind NYC, Buffalo, and Rochester as the most populous city in New York.
4. New Rochelle, New York
4 points
New York City isn’t the only New in New York, and this one’s only a short 33 minutes away.
4. Madison, New Jersey
4 points
Browse homes for sale in this beautiful town here.
4. Westfield, New Jersey
4 points
Many of these surrounding towns have their own transportation systems just like NYC, so no need for a car.
4. Denville, New Jersey
4 points
Check out this list of 50 things to do in Morris County, where Denville is located.
4. Rockville Center, New York
4 points
This town on our list of 11 best places to live right outside NYC with the easiest commute, located in Nassau County, is so quaint it’s characterized as a village. Who doesn’t want to live in a village?
4. Fairfield, New Jersey
4 points
Fairfield, located in Essex County, can be almost characterized as a small town, which will be a refreshing change from the bustling city of New York.
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And now, let’s see the top three best places to live right outside NYC with the easiest commute.
3. Chatham Township, New Jersey
5 points
The nice thing about commuting to NYC is that in most cases public transportation is available. That means no scraping the ice off your windshield every winter morning.
2. Stamford, Connecticut
6 points
This town is actually on the coast, so residents get close proximity to both the city and the beach life.
1. Greenwich, Connecticut
7 points
Also on the coast, this beautiful town takes the first spot on our list of 11 best places to live right outside NYC with the easiest commute. Thanks for reading!
