Living in New York City costs a small fortune, and this is why we’ve prepared this list of 6 easiest towns to commute to NYC.
Between rent, bills, groceries, transportation and other expenses – you’ll find your available income diminish rapidly in the Big Apple. So, you have decided to move away from majestic concrete jungle called New York and are looking to settle in a nice, little, quiet neighborhood a few miles (or a few tens of miles) from Manhattan. You’ll have to wave goodbye to many great things including picnics in Central Park, off-Broadway shows, strolls through West Village, burgers, bagels and pizzas on almost every corner – you name it. Speaking of pizza, check out this most expensive pizza in New York City list.
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So, what one gets by moving to suburbs? Lower rents for starters. Median 1-bed apartment rent in New York is as high as $3,190 while 2-bed flats cost $3,980 per month on average. This works for a radius of 10 miles around downtown. Needless to say; the closer you are to the epicenter – the higher the rent will be (disregarding the neighborhood price differences). While living costs might differ in and out of the big city depending on your habits, they are largely the same. Basically, it all comes down to a trade; much lower rents for free time spent on commuting.
Apart from lower rents, people in suburbs enjoy different scenery – less noise, crowd, and pollution in almost every single one of 500 or so townships gravitating towards New York. Some of them are better in one category while others are better in another and most important categories when choosing the place of one’s living are commuting time, rent prices (including costs of living) and other personal preferences like the school system, grocery store availability and similar amenities.
We’ll tend to include all these criteria in our results, but lower commuting time and easiest transfer from home to work (in New York) will have to be given an advantage. After all, this is a list of 6 easiest towns to commute to NYC – not a list of 6 best or most affordable towns to commute to Big Apple. Furthermore, New York City stretches across quite a tremendous surface – so extensive in fact that distant parts of the city are much more affordable than Manhattan. However, we’ll only look beyond New York’s traditional 5 boroughs which disqualify neighborhoods like Ditmas Park in Brooklyn, St. George in Staten Island, Sunnyside in Queens and Hudson Heights beyond Upper Manhattan, which are all nice solutions if the subway is your intended commuting partner.
So, only towns and townships beyond the hazy New York borders will be considered. This actually means that only towns along the lines of Metro-North Railroad, New Jersey Transit and Long Island Rail Road are being considered. Of course, you can also take one of many buses to Port Authority or even drive to work yourself, but that doesn’t drastically change the inevitable commuting time losses. In fact, traffic can significantly increase your commuting time, especially during rush hours and on bad days. There, however, are some towns not that well-connected via railroads where bus lines are your best bet. Note also that apartment prices are gradually higher closer to train stations. All in all, there are way too many things to consider when choosing your perfect burb home and this list will be most relevant to those trying to cut their commuting times to a minimum, and even pay a little bit more than they would have in distant suburbs with commuting times upward of one hour. Still, even if directly on the Jersey waterfront opposite Manhattan – rents will be considerably lower than in the city itself.
We have decided to exclude the Jersey waterfront from consideration as it’s basically 10 to 15 minutes from Manhattan via PATH train or ferry. In other words, don’t be surprised if townships, towns, and cities like Weehawken, Hoboken, Jersey City, West New York and Guttenberg don’t appear on our list. They are much closer to Manhattan than most of the neighborhoods in remaining four of New York’s boroughs. Easiest towns to commute to New York City will offer a variety of transportation means and easy commute schedule without transfers. We are aware that commuting times depend on many factors, and we can only consider the bare minimum required from suburb to one of New York’s major terminals like Port Authority Bus Terminal, New York Penn Station or World Trade Center PATH station. The rest is up to you and depends on both where your workplace and home are located.
6. Kensington – Great Neck Estates – University Gardens – Thomaston
I have decided to put these four communities together since they practically surround the Great Neck Train Station of LIRR (Long Island Rail Road) – Port Washington line. That’s not everything there is to it as communities such as Spinney Hill, Great Neck, Great Neck Gardens, Harbor Hills and Saddle Rock too, gravitate towards the same station. Of course, these are slightly further away so a car ride to the station would be advised which creates another problem – parking spot. Port Washington line of the LIRR is probably the best option to commute from Long Island, and these are the closest communities alongside it.
Ticket prices depend on whether you’re using the train during peak or off-peak hours. Of course, if you’re a 9 to 5 person – peak is what you’re looking at, and prices, in this case, are $11.5 for a single ride or $252 per month. The trip usually lasts around half an hour. If you take 7:47 AM train, expect to arrive to NY Penn Station in as little as 24 minutes. 7:06 train, on the other hand, travels as much as 40 minutes, but crowds are much less of an issue that way. Rents for 1-bedroom – 1-bathroom apartments in the area usually stand between $1,500 and $2,000 a month, while 2-bedroom – 2-bathroom apartments for less than $2,500 are almost non-existent.
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5. Floral Park
Another Long Island town – Floral Park is a home to more than 16,000 people. It is serviced by a couple of LIRR train stations along the Hempstead line (Floral Park and Bellerose). Traveling time during peak hours usually lasts between 31 (8:20 train) and 40 minutes (6:54 and 7:52 trains). The only downside of traveling this way is occasional transfer at Jamaica station. Like in the previous instance, tickets cost either $11.5 for a single ride or $252 for a monthly pass. The good thing about Floral Park is that both 1-bedroom and 2-bedroom apartments can be found for around $1,500 per month or even less in the former instance. But, the troubles here are Nassau County property taxes which tend to increase rental prices. If you’re planning on getting your own home, it might be better to do that someplace else. Still, LIRR rides are perfect for book reading as they are neither short nor long if you’re living in western Nassau. Oh, and forget about driving to the city yourself as you might lose as much as a couple of hours each way.
4. Bloomfield
Bloomfield is one of the most popular Jersey side choices among commuters. It is a liberal, diverse and thriving township of close to 40,000 people neighboring Montclair. Bloomfield might not be as vibrant as Montclair, but being in close vicinity – its 50,000 inhabitants don’t have to walk far to enjoy everything Montclair has to offer. Another upside are much lower home prices since 1-bedroom – 1-bathroom homes can be rented for around $1,000 while 2-bedroom – 2-bathroom homes don’t have to be much more expensive than $1,500 a month. Commuting options are diverse and include both trains and buses. New Jersey transit lane from Glen Ridge or Montclair to Penn Station should take you there in little over 30 minutes while prices are $6.75 for one trip or $184 per month. Buses can be tricky during peak hours which raises commuting time significantly, but 192 express bus should take you to Port Authority in half an hour. The only problem is that it rarely happens so. Bus prices are $8.55 for a single ride or $167 a month.
3. Mount Vernon – Pelham
These are Westchester County city and a village bordering one another. They are coming in the pair since they feature similar rental prices and commuting times, but offer something entirely different to their inhabitants. While Mount Vernon is a large city with around 68,000 residents, Village of Pelham doesn’t have much more than 12,000 inhabitants. Pelham is generally more appealing community, but Mount Vernon has its advantages as well. Proximity to Bronx means that you can drive to the nearest subway and take it into the city. There’s also an option to take the -Metro-North Railroad, which travels around half an hour to Grand Central station (add around 4 minutes more for Pelham). Mount Vernon has both Line New Haven and Line Harlem options across three different train stations. All these lines cost $10.5 per ride or $231 per month. Apart from being close to the city, Mount Vernon, and Pelham make this 6 easiest towns to commute to NYC list thanks to already mentioned low property prices. In both instances, 1-bedroom apartments go for between $1,200 and $1,700 per month while 2-bedroom apartments usually start where 1-bedroom ones have left off.
2. Harrison
Harrison, NJ is neatly tucked inside Passaic River’s bend. What’s more important, it’s straight on the PATH line which connects Newark Penn Station and World Trade Center. That way, you’re in Manhattan in 20 minutes flat, and this treat will cost you $2.75 per ride or only $89 per month. If you decide to take your chance here, you’ll save plenty on rent since 1-bedroom – 1-bathroom apartments usually go for between $1,500 and $2,000 a month. 2-bedroom apartments are usually $500 more expensive, but can be found for less as well.
1. Secaucus
Secaucus is a no-brainer and deserves number 1 spot on our 6 easiest towns to commute to NYC list. Apart from neighborhoods just across the Hudson, Secaucus is basically the closest thing to NYC you’re going to get. Official timetables state that train ride from Secaucus Junction to Penn Station last between 13 and 20 minutes, and what’s handy – you can hop onto almost any NJ Transit train. Proximity to Manhattan means that you can drive there yourself, but buses can always take the express lane while you might get stuck in traffic. While bus costs less, the train never gets stuck and still costs only $126 a month or $4.25 per ride. Rents might not be as low as in more distant neighborhoods, but 1-bedroom apartments can still be found for less than $1,500 per month. 2 and even 3-bedroom apartments can be rented for less than $2,000 per month, and sheer time savings are incomparable.
