Analyst at Goldman said they were commuting from Ridgewood and I asked how long the commute was and was surprised it was just 30 minutes. They take the L train and then transfer to the 1,2,3. The crazy part was they pay half the rent amount I pay. Has anyone been looking into this area?
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If you're okay prioritize saving money above convenience, comfort and quality of life, Ridgewood is a fantastic option. Hell, so is New Jersey/Harlem/Queens/etc.
Where most of us come out on this is that we're okay shelling out the money for the convenience and pleasure that living in a cool Manhattan neighborhood entails. Personally, if I'm going to work 60-80 hours/week cranking my gabagool off, I want to live a charmed life in exchange. Obviously there's a balance to be struck between making money, enjoying your money and saving your money. Everyone is different in where they come out on that spectrum. If you're a chronic saver though, by all means check out Brooklyn/Queens/Jersey/Harlem
Only an investment banker would think Manhattan is cooler than BK/Queens lol. That isn't to say Manhattan isn't more convenient / is better at certain things but especially from an analyst perspective living in Murray Hill / Kips Bay is definitely not cooler than BK.
The best neighborhoods in Brooklyn may be better than the most dull neighborhoods in Manhattan (Queens I wont even humor), but if you're taking Brooklyn pound for pound over Manhattan you're some type of drug dealer or slum lord. Tribeca, West Village, parts of UWS/UES, hell even parts of Harlem are waaaay cooler than gay ass Williamsburg.
Queens in pretty cheap, planning to live there once I start, commute is like 20-30 min 7 train
This is where you see the split between the transplant population and NYC locals. Grew up in UES and myself and almost all my friends from across all the boroughs are living at home because we are used to the commute and really is not that big of a deal if you grew up in NYC.
That commute is fine at 9am but is tougher on weekends, the L runs like every 20-30 min on Sat or Sunday so that becomes a pretty long commute. Ubers are expensive and can easily be an hour or more trip.
IMO it's fine if your friends live in the area, you can make that your home - but if you are single and your friends live in Manhattan you will struggle with your social/dating life. Meeting a friend for drinks on a non-workday becomes a whole production to get there.
Personally I would go for a very cheap living situation in Manhattan (3 roommates or something) before I would live way out like this as a new grad. That changes as people grow up and want more space, maybe your friend group starts moving to Brooklyn and this makes sense. But I would at least start in Manhattan for convenience and QOL
20-30 minutes on weekends just means checking google maps before heading out and managing time better. I don't see that as an inhibitor for weekend travel. It's not like the L train becomes much slower on weekend but just runs less frequently which is understandable.
Google and Apple maps both show weekday schedules. Really sucks when some trains literally run on the hour.
I've been hurt before :-)
Lol what? The L does not run every 20-30 mins on Weekends, try every 5-6.
They might have more frequent trains now, but last year they were every 20 minutes and the MTA website still says that. My friend in BK moved because the L was such a hassle
The L is definitely better than most trains on weekends. I take the L pretty frequently from Union Square and it’s 5-7 mins between trains
If you're open to living outside Manhattan check out Long Island City. Not cheap, but cheaper than Manhattan and the apartments are nicer. Commute to Midtown East is 10-20 minutes depending on where you live and where your firm is. E and M trains run every 2 minutes on weekdays and 10-15 on weekends.
Was born and raised around Ridgewood/Bushwick. It's incredible how much that area has changed, but at night time it can still be sketchy. 30 min commute is possible but I can definitely see it being around 40min+ on average. L train tends to have issues and is not too reliable. I don't know what kind of apartment he's in but it can't be too nice. Rents in ridgewood/bushwick have shot up big time. L train also runs seldomly and after 11 pmish, you might have to wait 20 min to catch a train. L trains tend to be packed..
What makes you think my co-workers apartment isn't too nice? It's fully gut renovated and he is also client-facing and dresses the par. Idk about L train having issues since they run so frequently if you look at their schedule. Perhaps this was before they said they shut down the L train?
Just looked up prices for fun. 1 bedroom is around 3000 - 3100, studios are in the same price range as Manhattan. Unless he got some super sweet deal, he's still paying a ton for his apartment. His apartment quality might be better than what he can get in the city, but it's still not that cheap.
30 minutes is complete cap. Did he mean 1 hour and 30 mins?
Y’all are capping about the L train lmao. Have lived off of it for 12 years. Weekends they run every 6-10 minutes, it’s only past 1am it becomes every 10-20.
Outside of the complete overhaul of the tunnel in 2019 it’s been fine. One of the only train lines that can run every 2 minutes in rush hour because of its sensory technology vs old rail track sensory system.
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