Commuting as a First Year Associate Forum

[Anonymous User]

Looking to hear from people who had/have over a 40 minute commute (1 way) during the early years of their [biglaw] career. Found a great place outside NY that will make my commute into the city+subway just about an hour. I assume late nights will be difficult given that trains out of the city stop running at a certain time.

[Anonymous User]

Looking to hear from people who had/have over a 40 minute commute (1 way) during the early years of their [biglaw] career. Found a great place outside NY that will make my commute into the city+subway just about an hour. I assume late nights will be difficult given that trains out of the city stop running at a certain time.

If you're working past 8:30 most biglaw firms will give you a car home. Are you working in biglaw? Also, PATH/MetroNorth run pretty late.

[dixiecupdrinking]

I wouldn't do it. It may be doable, as some firms/groups are more amenable than others to working from home and the like, but it's hard to say until you start. If you're in the office til 11 every night and then traveling back to Westchester or whatever, you'll be unhappy. That said, if there are personal circumstances for why this is important to you (school system, etc.) then go for it. It will more likely than not be fine 90% of the time.

[thesealocust]

I do a 45 minute walk and really enjoy it, but it's also not winter.

Short commutes are good, but reliability, comfort, and flexibility matter a lot more than total time. An hour on a train that's always on time and has room to work on a laptop will be MUCH better than 30 minutes on an over-crowded subway with frequent disruptions of service.

[ymmv]

I do a 45 minute walk and really enjoy it, but it's also not winter.

Short commutes are good, but reliability, comfort, and flexibility matter a lot more than total time. An hour on a train that's always on time and has room to work on a laptop will be MUCH better than 30 minutes on an over-crowded subway with frequent disruptions of service.

Wish I could find one of these magical trains. I generally love Amtrak, but even the Acela occasionally runs 30-60 minutes behind, which means you always have to plan to be extremely early to work or risk being extremely late. Even the more reliable regional train services I've commuted on still have all sorts of unforeseen problems and delays, so you wind up having to do the same thing when you're looking at commuting over long distances.

Which in short is why it always comes down to having work in walking or brief subway distance for me, even if it means a smaller living space. Biking is the best of all worlds if you live somewhere reasonably temperate and with no formal dress requirements.

[Anonymous User]

Difficulty of taking LIRR from Manhattan into Nassau County late (9p-12a)?

[toothbrush]

Difficulty of taking LIRR from Manhattan into Nassau County late (9p-12a)?

http://lirr42.mta.info/

play w/ the schedules for your destination

really depends where you are headed and flexibility for when they change the schedule at night.

[Anonymous User]

I commute about an hour door to door from New Jersey into Times Square. Doesn't bother me much, but here are a few factors that may determine whether this ends being pleasant or miserable:

1. Location of your home: If you have to drive to a train/bus station you will have to factor in the headaches of getting a parking permit, traffic to the station, and looking for a parking spot. There is also the annoyance of having to go back to the parking lot even if you get a car home from your office when working late.

2. Location of your office: I work in Times Square, so I take a bus to Port Authority and walk about five minutes to work. In the likely scenario that you don't work near Port Authority or Penn Station, you need to consider the added cost, time and chaos of taking the metro to your firm. Also, you have to accept the fact that there is no such thing as a "just about an hour" commute to NY that doesn't frequently take much longer.

3. Your firm's policy on rides home: I have seen at least one post on TLS where a firm had a policy of not covering the cost of rides home outside of NYC. I don't think this is common, but you should double check before deciding to live too far out.

4. Your ability to get up early despite working late hours. I have to leave my house the same time everyday regardless of what time I got home the night before. I have workmates who don't come in until closer to 11:00 because they can get to the office in 15 minutes flat if needed. That is not an option for commuters. Also, there will inevitably be days when you are asked to come in super early. I can't count the number of times I have had to be in the office by 8:00 despite going to sleep around 4 a.m. The extra time spent commuting is almost unbearable when it comes at the expense of 1/3 of your night's sleep.

5. Finally, your previous experience. I commuted before and during law school as well, so it is just part of reality for me. If you have never been a commuter before I would recommend against it until you have been working for a couple of years. I'm not sure how many of my fellow junior associates could handle the type of life I live as a commuter at a big law firm.

[XxSpyKEx]

If you haven't commuted these types of lengths on a daily basis before, don't underestimate how truly awful commuting is. Spending 2 hours a day (10 hours a week, assuming you never work a single weekend) out of your life commuting to and from work is pretty fucking miserable. For the average person, that turns a 40 hour week into a 50 hour week. In biglaw, it's basically going to turn those 70+ hour weeks into a nightmare (during the limited number of hours you'll actually get to sleep).