Commute Times for In-State Summer Analyst

I’m a 35 minute drive outside the city heading to New York this summer for an IB internship. I live about 20 miles outside the city, and my commute via public transit would be around 65-75 minutes each way. The alternative is getting summer housing at the universities, which would put me 25-30 minutes from the office, but it would cost me $7,500 for the summer.

Trying to decide if it's worth shelling out the cash to live closer or if I should just suck it up and deal with the commute. I know IB hours are brutal, and I don’t want to be dead tired all the time, but I also hate the idea of dropping that much money just for a couple months of convenience knowing I'm right around the area.

For those who have been in a similar situation, what’s the move here? Would the extra time saved be worth the cost in terms of networking, getting more sleep, and just having more energy in the office? Thank you in advance

10 Comments
 

just my opinion, but i think you might be better off staying home. even better would be if you can hunt around a little more for dorms — last year in new york, a colleague was in a similar boat. i think NYU (?) has an option where you can stay in dorms for just a portion of the summer, and he chose to stay for the first 3/4 weeks of the internship. this probably won’t be cheap, but you’ll be saving a lot compared to spending the whole summer in the city and it seems like you’ll strike a good balance with this method. he was able to network a ton at the beginning of the summer but managed the commute for the remainder of our internship, saving him tons of money.  good luck with whichever you choose and enjoy your summer!

 

Was in a similar situation and I’d say don’t stay at home

The hour commute each way will make you lose your sanity and you’ll burn out quicker. Based on personal experience

 

I lived at home last year when I was a summer analyst and honestly didn’t mind it. Similar commute (75 min one way). I saved so much money and don’t think living at home impacted my social life much. I still went out most weekends and was able to stay with friends in the city if going out super late/didn’t feel like worrying about what train I was going to take home. Work wise—I left the office around 8-9pm most days and then continued to work from home until later. I had to work on the train home a lot but it wasn’t a big issue (just connected my laptop to my hotspot). I think this really depends on your group though. If your group is big on face time and being in office super late, living at home may not be ideal.

 

Pathaan

Live in the city. Networking is key, and you can see if you even want to live in NYC.

This. But, if under 21 less opportunities to network. 

"If you always put limits on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them." - Bruce Lee
 

My commute in high school was 90 minutes each way. It was by train though, and I read a ton. My vote is to live at home. 

The only difference between Asset Management and Investment Research is assets. I generally see somebody I know on TV on Bloomberg/CNBC etc. once or twice a week. This sounds cool, until I remind myself that I see somebody I know on ESPN five days a week.
 

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