Importance of commute time when signing a lease in Oct 2020

I've heard MBB consulting firms are potentially WFH until Q2 2021, and could easily be pushed later as things progress. If I'm signing a one-year lease do you think it'd be worth getting a cheaper place in an area I'm perfectly happy living in (say Clinton Hill or JC or UES) in exchange for a 30-40 minute commute to work (way downtown)? I'm assuming we won't go back more than 3 months before the lease would be up and even in that case, I'm not sure how much people really commute to the office? Aren't consultants usually on cases - i.e. going to the client site? If people agree (1) it's likely WFH will be extended through the spring (2) even if WFH ends consultants will only have to commute to the office once or twice a week, then it'd help a lot in my apartment search. Thanks!

 
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Dude, especially if you are going to have to move anyway, will be WFH, and the city will be dead for the next 6-9/mo, GTFO. NJ automatically saves you the 3.5% NYC wage tax, and your NY state taxes will probably wipe out NJ income tax. Things vary a bit in Westchester/LI. Any train line that goes through Newark Penn is a good option, since you can hop on the PATH from there and be at WTC in ~20 min.  Driving to the lots in Harrison or JSQ could be an option, but traffic can be risky and parking isn't cheap.

Don't get me wrong, I love NYC.  Dealing with it right now with everything closed and having so much less living space than anywhere else is just a drag.  It's a social space. If you take that away you're basically stuck in a nicely appointed prison cell. (and you probably have cell-mates too)

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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