NYC to Stamford

I know there is already a couple posts on here about the reverse commute from NYC to Stamford and whether it's worth it or not, but was wondering if anyone with personal experience doing the reverse commute could message me. I'll be at UBS FI S&T and assume I'll need to be on the floor around 6 30 or so?

 

Lots of people do it. The trains are nearly full in the AM.

It's like a stampede of UBS/RBS people walking 2 blocks to their offices from the train.

Unless you get a house with 3-4 other people, you will be paying wayyyyyy too much in overpriced Stamford. The fun of NYC will easily outweigh the commuting time.

********************************* “The American father is never seen in London. He passes his life entirely in Wall Street and communicates with his family once a month by means of a telegram in cipher.” - Oscar Wilde
 
Best Response
new_era:
so unless you have a car, getting to work on time may be an issue

Uhh, where in the commute could you possibly drive? UBS and RBS are about 200 feet each from the train station.

IlliniProgrammer:
Why not just live in Boston or New Haven and catch the Acela to Stamford? Wouldn't that be cheaper in the long run? Remember, we're talking about at least $6-7K/year in tax savings.

Boston? Really? 3 hours away? That alone discredits anything you have to say.

Yes, financially it doesn't much sense, but fresh out of college with and the appetite for fun still a big factor, it is the preferred choice for many new analysts. I believe a couple MD's have mentioned that roughly half of the S&T analysts make the reverse commute.

- Child Please.
 
OchoCinco:
new_era:
so unless you have a car, getting to work on time may be an issue

Uhh, where in the commute could you possibly drive? UBS and RBS are about 200 feet each from the train station.

IlliniProgrammer:
Why not just live in Boston or New Haven and catch the Acela to Stamford? Wouldn't that be cheaper in the long run? Remember, we're talking about at least $6-7K/year in tax savings.

Boston? Really? 3 hours away? That alone discredits anything you have to say.

Yes, financially it doesn't much sense, but fresh out of college with and the appetite for fun still a big factor, it is the preferred choice for many new analysts. I believe a couple MD's have mentioned that roughly half of the S&T analysts make the reverse commute.

No idea what IlliniProgrammer is talking about.

I'm surprised that the number is that low. I would think the vast majority of young analysts would reverse commute rather than live in the boring CT suburbs.

 
OchoCinco:
Boston? Really? 3 hours away? That alone discredits anything you have to say.
On the Acela? More like 2-2.5. I've got coworkers who live in central Jersey who have a worse commute.
Yes, financially it doesn't much sense, but fresh out of college with and the appetite for fun still a big factor, it is the preferred choice for many new analysts. I believe a couple MD's have mentioned that roughly half of the S&T analysts make the reverse commute.
You've gotta be out of your mind to double your rent and taxes to live in NYC. If you're going to do this at the very least, it makes sense to also rent a permanent residence (and spend 183 nights there) somewhere in CT for the tax savings.

The whole point of working at a bank in the Northeast is to save money so you can retire early and spend the money somewhere cheaper. If you don't have to work in NYC, why live somewhere so god-awful? CTers are slightly less unfriendly and there are actually a few living things that aren't people or rats in Stamford (like grass).

 

If you live in NYC and work in CT or NJ, your tax accountant will tell you that you're crazy.

Remember that you're paying an extra 5.5%-9% in state & local taxes for the privilege of living in NYC.

Why not just live in Boston or New Haven and catch the Acela to Stamford? Wouldn't that be cheaper in the long run? Remember, we're talking about at least $6-7K/year in tax savings.

 

GCT to Stamford in 49 minutes.

3 minutes to walk to UBS or RBS.

NYC vs. Stamford is like Chocolate vs. Mud.

********************************* “The American father is never seen in London. He passes his life entirely in Wall Street and communicates with his family once a month by means of a telegram in cipher.” - Oscar Wilde
 

i ran the numbers and on 140k / yr you're looking at ~ 8k more just in taxes to live in NYC. add cost of living and it's looks like 12-15k+ and 2 hr daily commute just for the convenience of living in the city on weekends.

is it really worth it?? once the train closes on weekends how does one get back from NYC to Stamford/Greenwich? Have to wait until next morning?

 

I like to sleep in (doesn't help that i'm in S&T). Get a place close to work and save on the commute and taxes. In your first year, you'll be tight on cash and the Metro North gets pricey (reverse commute trains are still peak trains).

I don't think you'll be partying every single weekend and both Friday and Saturday. On the days you party in NYC - get a hotel off of hotwire ($149 for a 3.5 star in SoHo this saturday). The amount of money you'll save on NYC taxes and commuting will more than pay for the hotel. You're also not locked to partying in NYC, you can party in Vegas or the CT casinos. (I might have a gambling problem.. but it's only a problem when you lose).

 

stamford=terrible, there is no way around this. i am also deciding between NYC and Stamford but being from CT, I really don't want to live in Stamford (people are downplaying how bad it is).

also ubs has a bus that gets to the office around 6:30, so you will get there earlier than the earliest train at GCT.

 

I have done the "live in Stamford, go to NYC on weekends thing."

It sucks.

You are bored out of your mind during the week.

I would go to work, maybe go to a happy hour, work out, run errands, make dinner, read/tv/movies. Rinse and repeat.

Although, when I was in Stamford- I had a house with 4 other guys. I paid $650 per month INCLUDING utilities. I saved a ton of cash.

********************************* “The American father is never seen in London. He passes his life entirely in Wall Street and communicates with his family once a month by means of a telegram in cipher.” - Oscar Wilde
 

vertias- where did you intern and were you there just for the summer? would you say people who lived in stamford wished they live in NYC? the commute seems pretty bad.. but living in stamford is pretty bad.

 

Okay folks.

If you are just a summer analyst, LIVE IN STAMFORD. It's just a summer and your goal is to kick a$$ and get that full-time offer. Find some other SAs and rent a house or a 3 BR apartment (that's where the price points start to pay-off). Do NOT rent a studio or 1 BR- they are wayyyyyy overpriced. Try to avoid 2 BRs if you can, they are decent but 3 or more people gives you a lot of rental power.

Stamford summers are marginally more tolerable than the rest of the year. Stamford is a commuter town. All the finance professionals show up in the morning, work, then go to happy hour- so it's decent during the week. But the weekends are terrible (go visit your friends in NYC). There are also weekly Live at 5 concerts which were fun, but now they are kinda overrun with shady characters (Bridgeport).

For full-time:

Stamford option: Rent a house. Don't mess around with apartments. Get 4 analysts together. I paid $650 per month including utilities when I was in a house. My commute was a 3 mile car ride. It was great for my sleep, my bank account and for my gym time. Living with a bunch of people made it a bit more fun, but I still went to NYC a lot on weekends.

NYC Option: If you can handle waking up EARLY, then reverse commute from NYC. Get something in Murray Hill/Midtown east. You will have more 10000x more fun. (DUH) You should factor in the increased taxes for NYC and the monthly Metro North ticket. (pay pretax through employer)

Tradeoffs.

********************************* “The American father is never seen in London. He passes his life entirely in Wall Street and communicates with his family once a month by means of a telegram in cipher.” - Oscar Wilde
 
Dirrty:
Ehh tough call. I had some friends that interned at UBS S&T and were getting into the office at 5:45-6:00 everyday so they had to live in Stamford, but I know that most stamford based banks have shuttles from NYC that leave early in the morning.

Yea, the bank I am interning at don't have a shuttle. I have to take the train or drive (but parking would be an issue I assume)

Anyone else? What to do? I would cancel my housing in NYC but they would not give a refund ($3000+).

 
Dirrty:
Ehh tough call. I had some friends that interned at UBS S&T and were getting into the office at 5:45-6:00 everyday so they had to live in Stamford, but I know that most stamford based banks have shuttles from NYC that leave early in the morning.

BTW, HR did not tell any of the interns about the time to get into the office depending on the desk. Strange they just assumed that an intern would know to live in Stamford if they were interning on the FX desk. Am I screwed?

 

i'd contact HR and/or one of the analysts and tell them your situation so they can recommend something....i bet this happens often; they won't make you loose your deposit if theres another option.

You can also contact NYU or whatever other dorm you picked and talk to them, cause they have huge waitlists of people who want housing--so financially if they took a bit of money in the form of a cancellation fee from you and took someone else also they be better off

 

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