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jt91isles wrote:I am starting at a big law firm in NYC in October (office is downtown if that helps). I am curious whether it would make more sense to commute from my parent's place on western L.I. (around 50 mins to Penn) for the first year or pay NYC rent? I am around 110K+ in debt and would love to starting paying down chunks on that loan as soon as possible. Would I be at a significant disadvantage having to commute everyday given the demands of big law?

Isnt that a door to door commute of over 90 minutes each way? I don't know anyone who did this. I wonder if the firm would pay car service that far out, but that would still be tough.
My feeling is no,that far away from the office is a bad idea.

I can answer this for you. I'm on the border of queens/LI and I have to do the commute everyday. When you say NYC rent do you mean downtown rent? Astoria rent? Where do you want to live? And tell me which town on LI you live.

Car service? The firm will laugh at you. Also, it probably takes much longer if you drive into Manhattan every day. Parking in Queens somewhere, say Forest Hills, and taking the subway, however is a different story. LIRR is expensive af. Subway is not a bad idea - you can park somewhere in Queens in a garage.

LionelHutzJD wrote:Car service? The firm will laugh at you. Also, it probably takes much longer if you drive into Manhattan every day. Parking in Queens somewhere, say Forest Hills, and taking the subway, however is a different story. LIRR is expensive af. Subway is not a bad idea - you can park somewhere in Queens in a garage.

Not sure why anyone would laugh. When I was working in NY I commuted from Short Hills NJ and took car service home every night. No one ever said a word. People also took it to Connecticut and pretty far out in L.I. I know of a few firms that limit car service to the city, but I don't think that's the norm.

A car service for your everyday morning commute from LI?? I understand a late night at the office and they pay a car service for you - but not everyday commute

LionelHutzJD wrote:A car service for your everyday morning commute from LI?? I understand a late night at the office and they pay a car service for you - but not everyday commute

Who said anything about car service for morning commute? The comment was regarding whether firms would pay for car service that far out. The answer is most likely yes, just as it would pay for car service within the city. Of course it is subject to whatever the firm's policy on time and hours billed, but that is what "car service" is typically understood to be when paid by an employer.

For what it's worth, being able to use car service after 8:30 is what made the commute bearable for me. I was always busy enough to use the service and could generally be home in a reasonable amount of time.

Your firm's car service will almost certainly extend that far, it's up to you whether you feel comfortable taking it as a matter of course though. It will show up as a ~$100 charge on the bill to the client every time you do it, while your peers living closer will be on there for <$40 and at some point you may be asked about it. That's a pretty brutal commute regardless though, I think it would effect your quality of life in a worse way than the $2k or w/e savings would help it.

Working in FIDI you could live in NJ, still save the city tax, and live by yourself for like $1800 or something. You would cut your commute by 2/3 that way.

Probably not worth it.

As an aside, it might be quicker to take LIRR to Atlantic than Penn. But assuming the same general commute length... Nah.

I would seriously consider Jersey City. Your rent would be pretty affordable, your commute would be quick, you wouldn't have to pay NYC taxes, and Jersey City is pretty awesome. I lived there for 3 years while attending law school at NYU and loved it. By the time I left, they were opening up cool restaurants, bars, and fun spots left and right. I would love to move back there one day, especially if I worked downtown. The commute to WTC area is literally 10 minutes. PATH train is clean, about the same price as subway, and runs every 5 min during rush hours (and runs 24 hours).

LionelHutzJD wrote:I can answer this for you. I'm on the border of queens/LI and I have to do the commute everyday. When you say NYC rent do you mean downtown rent? Astoria rent? Where do you want to live? And tell me which town on LI you live.

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Anonymous User wrote:

LionelHutzJD wrote:Car service? The firm will laugh at you. Also, it probably takes much longer if you drive into Manhattan every day. Parking in Queens somewhere, say Forest Hills, and taking the subway, however is a different story. LIRR is expensive af. Subway is not a bad idea - you can park somewhere in Queens in a garage.

Not sure why anyone would laugh. When I was working in NY I commuted from Short Hills NJ and took car service home every night. No one ever said a word. People also took it to Connecticut and pretty far out in L.I. I know of a few firms that limit car service to the city, but I don't think that's the norm.

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2014 wrote:Your firm's car service will almost certainly extend that far, it's up to you whether you feel comfortable taking it as a matter of course though. It will show up as a ~$100 charge on the bill to the client every time you do it, while your peers living closer will be on there for <$40 and at some point you may be asked about it. That's a pretty brutal commute regardless though, I think it would effect your quality of life in a worse way than the $2k or w/e savings would help it.

Working in FIDI you could live in NJ, still save the city tax, and live by yourself for like $1800 or something. You would cut your commute by 2/3 that way.

That's definitely a solid option. Assuming I had a roommate and decided to live downtown, what price range would I be looking at per month?

jt91isles wrote:

2014 wrote:Your firm's car service will almost certainly extend that far, it's up to you whether you feel comfortable taking it as a matter of course though. It will show up as a ~$100 charge on the bill to the client every time you do it, while your peers living closer will be on there for <$40 and at some point you may be asked about it. That's a pretty brutal commute regardless though, I think it would effect your quality of life in a worse way than the $2k or w/e savings would help it.

Working in FIDI you could live in NJ, still save the city tax, and live by yourself for like $1800 or something. You would cut your commute by 2/3 that way.

That's definitely a solid option. Assuming I had a roommate and decided to live downtown, what price range would I be looking at per month?

18-2100 for a one bedroom within 10-15 minutes of FiDi or midtown (path runs to both). But you also save 700+ in NYC taxes a month. You will still pay NY state tax but you will get a credit on NJ tax for it an end up not paying anything on NJ tax. You could even go one or two stops farther out (journal square) and save a bit more.

Don't mean to hijack thread but I figured this was a good place to ask a similar question. Anyone have an opinion on a biglaw first year living in the North Bronx (Fordham area)with a door to door commute of 50 mins - 1 hour? Rent is 400/month, so some pretty substantial savings. Debt is 120k.

Anonymous User wrote:

jt91isles wrote:

2014 wrote:Your firm's car service will almost certainly extend that far, it's up to you whether you feel comfortable taking it as a matter of course though. It will show up as a ~$100 charge on the bill to the client every time you do it, while your peers living closer will be on there for <$40 and at some point you may be asked about it. That's a pretty brutal commute regardless though, I think it would effect your quality of life in a worse way than the $2k or w/e savings would help it.

Working in FIDI you could live in NJ, still save the city tax, and live by yourself for like $1800 or something. You would cut your commute by 2/3 that way.

That's definitely a solid option. Assuming I had a roommate and decided to live downtown, what price range would I be looking at per month?

18-2100 for a one bedroom within 10-15 minutes of FiDi or midtown (path runs to both). But you also save 700+ in NYC taxes a month. You will still pay NY state tax but you will get a credit on NJ tax for it an end up not paying anything on NJ tax. You could even go one or two stops farther out (journal square) and save a bit more.

Agree with the above (I'm the Jersey City anon). You could get a real solid apartment in the nicest part of Jersey City for around 2,000, or probably even less. Not having to pay NYC tax will also save you thousands per year, and your commute would be a breeze.

The choices shouldn't be NYC rent (assuming you mean Manhattan) v. Commuting from LI. Look into Queens - Astoria/Woodside/Sunnyside/Long Island City. All will provide a 30-45min commute to downtown Manhattan. I currently live in Astoria -- one of the best decisions I ever made. It provided a 25min commute to my V20 office in midtown (and for fraction of what most in my firm class were paying).

anon919 wrote:The choices shouldn't be NYC rent (assuming you mean Manhattan) v. Commuting from LI. Look into Queens - Astoria/Woodside/Sunnyside/Long Island City. All will provide a 30-45min commute to downtown Manhattan. I currently live in Astoria -- one of the best decisions I ever made. It provided a 25min commute to my V20 office in midtown (and for fraction of what most in my firm class were paying).

I moved to LIC 2 years ago. Such a good place to live. Literally in my office within 20 minutes, and I pay under 3K a month for an 800 sq foot apt in a luxury high rise. Couldn't ask for much more (aside from a few more retail amenities, but that is slowly coming).

I'm the same guy who lived in Jersey City before, btw. Never saw a reason to live in Manhattan itself, and still don't.

OP can you clarify how you intend to use the firm car service? Would you ask to bill client for each morning commute from LI? That sounds a little ridiculous, however, i'm not so familiar with Biglaw so if they are willing to do it, more power to you. You are still risking sitting in horrendous LIE traffic and tunnel traffic getting in to the city.

You dont necessarily need to pay Downtown rent - it is very expensive. As above poster said, Astoria is a much better option. You can hop right on the subway and be at work in a half hour.

If you decide to live at your parents, LIRR isnt a bad commute either, but like I said, it is expensive per month.

LionelHutzJD wrote:OP can you clarify how you intend to use the firm car service? Would you ask to bill client for each morning commute from LI? That sounds a little ridiculous, however, i'm not so familiar with Biglaw so if they are willing to do it, more power to you. You are still risking sitting in horrendous LIE traffic and tunnel traffic getting in to the city.

You dont necessarily need to pay Downtown rent - it is very expensive. As above poster said, Astoria is a much better option. You can hop right on the subway and be at work in a half hour.

If you decide to live at your parents, LIRR isnt a bad commute either, but like I said, it is expensive per month.

No one familiar with Biglaw would even contemplate this. "Car service" in this context always refers to service home late at night.

You don't bill a car service for your morning commute. If you want to take a car in each morning, thats totally fine. But you would be footing the bill. As for evening car service, you only bill it through to a client if you are at work late specifically because billable client work kept you there (and even then, your firm may have strict guidelines for how late you have to stay in order to use this benefit, what types of services you can use, what is the max that can be billed, etc.)

No way will they just let you bill through to the client for every ride home unless you plan to stay late each and every night doing client work, such that the charge is justified.

jt91isles wrote:

2014 wrote:Your firm's car service will almost certainly extend that far, it's up to you whether you feel comfortable taking it as a matter of course though. It will show up as a ~$100 charge on the bill to the client every time you do it, while your peers living closer will be on there for <$40 and at some point you may be asked about it. That's a pretty brutal commute regardless though, I think it would effect your quality of life in a worse way than the $2k or w/e savings would help it.

Working in FIDI you could live in NJ, still save the city tax, and live by yourself for like $1800 or something. You would cut your commute by 2/3 that way.

That's definitely a solid option. Assuming I had a roommate and decided to live downtown, what price range would I be looking at per month?

If by downtown you mean on the island you are looking at 2000-2500 even with a roommate. Downtown isn't necessarily materially cheaper than other trendier areas, you just get more space or amenities for the same cost. You also then pay NY city tax. If you want to live alone good luck finding anything much less than like 2700.

Jersey is definitely the compromise between living way the hell out on LI for free and paying Manhattan prices.

If your office is close to the train station and your commute wasn't much over an hour, I would totally live with the parents in your situation, as long as your parents are reasonably chill

In other parts of the country 1 hour commutes are the norm for everyone, e.g., california

ballouttacontrol wrote:If your office is close to the train station and your commute wasn't much over an hour, I would totally live with the parents in your situation, as long as your parents are reasonably chill

In other parts of the country 1 hour commutes are the norm for everyone, e.g., california

I'm agreeing to this. Save the rent money. Western LI commute is not so bad.

Anonymous User wrote:

anon919 wrote:The choices shouldn't be NYC rent (assuming you mean Manhattan) v. Commuting from LI. Look into Queens - Astoria/Woodside/Sunnyside/Long Island City. All will provide a 30-45min commute to downtown Manhattan. I currently live in Astoria -- one of the best decisions I ever made. It provided a 25min commute to my V20 office in midtown (and for fraction of what most in my firm class were paying).

I moved to LIC 2 years ago. Such a good place to live. Literally in my office within 20 minutes, and I pay under 3K a month for an 800 sq foot apt in a luxury high rise. Couldn't ask for much more (aside from a few more retail amenities, but that is slowly coming).

I'm the same guy who lived in Jersey City before, btw. Never saw a reason to live in Manhattan itself, and still don't.

Dudes, please keep LIC/Astoria a secret, tyia. Don't want it to fill up with biglaw strivers