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Commute Time — Brooklynian

Commute Time

operatics
operatics
edited November -1 in Brooklyn and Beyond
Hello everyone,

My two friends and I are students in Manhattan. We're planning on moving out of our current places and getting an apartment together. We've been looking on Manhattan, but we're discovering that you have to pay a sh*t ton for a sh*t little, and so have been considering moving to Jersey or Brooklyn. There's always Inwood, but if I'm going to live out of the way, then I'd rather it be a place with fun stuff to do. Like Brooklyn.

I was hoping you guys wouldn't mind answering a question for me...

If our schools are on the upper west side, what kind of commute can we expect?

It'll be different, I realize, depending on the day and hour, so, what about on a normal weekday morning? Evening?

Thanks in advance,

Operatics

Comments

  • anastasia beaverhausen
    anastasia beaverhausen
    I live in Sunset Park. I worked on 74th and West End for a few months. I left my house at 7:45 to be at my office by 9 AM.
  • whynot_31
    whynot_31
    It takes 50 min on the 2/3 from Eastern Parkway to 96th + Broadway.

    ...unless it is a weekend.
  • operatics
    operatics
    Thank you.

    ...And what if it is a weekend? Not that going to Manhattan during the weekend would be necessary...
  • whynot_31
    whynot_31
    The MTA has made movement between boros unpredictable on weekends.
  • raw
    raw
    Apartments and groceries on the upper west side of manhattan are cheaper than they are in park slope. Sunset park would take a very long time for you to get to from the upper west side. Queens would be a better deal if you were determined to leave manhattan. You could take the 125th street bus from Astoria to the upper west side -- a much faster commute to the upper west side than a subway from brooklyn.
  • raw
    raw
    whynot_31 wrote: The MTA has made movement between boros unpredictable on weekends.
    Agreed. On weekends be prepared to pay a car service at least $20 to get from Brooklyn to Manhattan. Sometimes the subways don't have full service and the mta tries to pacify riders with lame shuttle buses. If you need to get some where fast on weekends, a car service is your best bet.
  • operatics
    operatics
    Really? The upper west side would be cheaper, also?

    Hm. Well, maybe Inwood would be a better option.

    Thank you, Raw. We were originally looking for a 3 BR on the west side somewhere between Lincoln Center and Columbia, but we've been to some open houses recently and everything in our price range is absurdly small.

    So, either we have to find a good deal, or decide on a different neighborhood.

    Thanks a bunch.
  • tybur6
    tybur6
    You guys go to Columbia? or somewhere else up in those parts? That's hike from Brooklyn! But if it's not a daily commute and just for, say, 3 days you have class or whatever.... parts of Brooklyn could work.

    I currently live and work in brooklyn (walking distance), so the idea of getting up before 7:00 and spending over an hour commuting to work is plain horrible to me. :-)
  • tybur6
    tybur6
    I agree with above -- Astoria might be a better option.
  • sweet tea
    sweet tea
    the gf commutes every day from PH/CH (franklin stop) to columbia. it's not so terrible. 45min-1 hr. yes, that is longer than it would take if you lived in the UWS, but while PS rents _might_ be more expensive than those on the UWS, PS rents are also considerably more expensive than those in surrounding areas of brooklyn.

    getting there on the weekend generally sucks eggs, though. seems like the 2/3 is local in manhattan at least every other weekend. i've only run into shuttle bus issues once, but nevertheless, i'd count on at least 1.5-2x the normal commute. so find a friend to crash with up there on occasion.
  • MOD
    MOD
    From Park Slope to 81st street UWS stop was 50+ minutes during commute time. Man it sucked. Glad I'm not doing that anymore! Though you do get a lot of reading done.
  • operatics
    operatics
    The idea of an hour commute doesn't sound too horrible to me, because of the nature of my major.

    My three friends and I are music majors in three different conservatories: Juilliard, Mannes, and Manhattan School.

    I'm not really too big a fan of Astoria. Seems like there's less of a music scene. But I should go back and take a look around before making any lasting judgments.

    Our budget for rent per month (only rent) is $3,100 if there are three of us and $2,100 if there are just two. One of my friends isn't sure yet.

    How realistic is this budget for monthly rent in Brooklyn?

    Thank you, everyone.
  • sweet tea
    sweet tea
    you can do that budget near where i live (PH/CH border) no problem.
  • tybur6
    tybur6
    You could do that in a lot of neighborhoods... if you can find a 3-br in Park Slope, that would probably be doable there.

    It's cheaper per person as you add bedrooms. 2-br for 2100... a little tougher, but I paid that only a year ago in Prospect Heights (don't get a place to close to Washington Ave... closer to underhill or further into Crown Heights. Washington Ave is just terrible for many reasons)

    And then there's Williamsburg, of course. That's probably the best for music and the L-train bringing you cross-town.

    Oh, and rent is getting a bit more competitive... what wit this, we're all gonna die economy.
  • the psycho-ologist
    the psycho-ologist

    Subject: RETHINK Sunset Park. Think circa

    Hi.

    Re-Think Sunset Park.

    If you are on 4th or 5th avenue close to 36 street, your commute to the upper west side should be 45 minutes to 1 hour MAX. I live near 36 street and I commute to a medical center in the 100's up in the west side of Manhattan. If I leave my house by 8 am I usually get to my job by 9 am. If the weather is bad 915-930.

    Now if you live on 6th avenue, or all the way in the 50's things get kind of slow there. The train starts crawling after 36 street. In fact on the weekends, the R and N usually run in two shifts terminating at 36 street. So your weekend commute is even worse if you live beyond 36 street. If you think Sunset Park, think proximity to the 36 street station.
  • carnivore
    carnivore
    You might consider Washington Heights (Manhattan north of Columbia, south of Inwood). It's not Brooklyn, but there's definitely a lot going on over there. It's not as gentrified as Park Slope, but that's not really a bad thing. And your commute would be totally easy and predictable.
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