Submitted by grizzlby t3_11pw64h in StamfordCT
I moved from the car-centric south to Philly in 2017, so my NE train experience is very limited.
If I have a great job opportunity in Stamford that would require 2, maybe 3, days in the office is the Amtrak / Acela wifi good enough that I could I get away with billing for my commute from 30th St Station or Trenton up to Stamford? Does even the idea of this raise red flags for somebody more familiar with this trip?
Well shit. Glad I asked! Exactly the “keep me grounded” insight I was looking for.
Happy to help.
This is insane, I live in Stamford and am from Philly. If the job is good enough, move to CT. When I go to my parents in NW Philly, it’s a 3-4 hour drive, easy for weekend visits.
Why would you make that commute though
Significantly more money than my Philly suburb job and a niche job role / industry.
If that’s the case, you should move to Connecticut then. You’ll waste ALOT of $ on traveling and hotels, if you stay in Philly and work in Stamford
I’m still deliberating a few different options (including cutting this job option loose entirely) but to play devil’s advocate the cost of housing within 45min driving of Stamford looks pretty insane. $450k houses for the Philly suburbs are going for $700+ in CT / NY.
I would not move here. Rents are ridiculous. I Def know people that commute and stay in hotels to avoid the rent
That’s stupid considering most hotels here would be at least $150 a night for a decent hotel. If any cheaper than that’s where all the drug addicts hang out And you have to take food and transportation in mind. He will be spending at least 1k a month doing so I would say
All I'm saying is I know people that do it. There's some sort of net positive in it for them. Also, get in on a friend's and family discount and the hotel doesn't have to to be that bad. Some Hiltons I go to are ~$60 a night with it.
The only affordable hotels within commuting distance to Stamford are not great to bordering dangerous. Not like ‘you will definitely get shot/robbed’ but… there’s a decent chance someone might.
We have people coming into Stamford internationally a lot to visit and some of the people come from rougher countries. A small group from Colombia came to visit and stayed at La Quinta in Stamford. They were sure it would be fine, they’re from Bogota, so not strangers to crime, they changed hotels and told us we were right for having warned them not to stay there.
CT is pretty insanely safe by any standard, so it’s not horrific, but it’s definitely better to not stay at any hotel that isn’t 90+ a night, really 150 is probably the bottom for Stamford.
My experience is mostly from the reverse commute to yours. Here’s what I can share.
There isnt always an Acella and sometimes you need to switch from a Metro North train to an Amtrac train in NyC, which means leaving Grand Central and traveling across midtown to Penn station mid-journey.
Also, you cant arrive back to Philly from Stamford by train before 10:30am should you ever wish to.
Traveling business class on Acella costs more but you get to pick a seat. Non-business class is no reserved seat. Sometimes I have trouble finding one or finding two together etc.
Stamford is a nice place to live anyway, just move if the job is worth commuting all that way lol
I live in PA about 2h15m West of Philly. I drive up to CT Sunday nights and drive back Tuesday. Used to live in Stamford but life changed and my employer worked with me on it. Still pays better than any job I could get out where I live and my commuting costs + living expenses are still less than my living expenses were in Stamford with no commute.
Oh wow; thank you for this additional perspective. Yeah, relocation from where I am now is not an option but I’ll have to work up a number for them that would make this worth it to me.
It's about a 4 hour drive each way for me but I listen to audiobooks and podcasts so I feel like it's at least a productive drive. I think it would be less from Philly, the key is to drive at off times. I usually leave Sunday by noon and Tuesday by 6ish. I also take the TZ because the GW is miserable no matter what time it is. Good luck!
Aside from time, also look at the cost. I looked into taking the train to Philly once for a weekend trip and it was $100+ each way. Can't imagine that making financial sense.
Makes no sense. Surely you can find a good job in Philly or NYC?
That would be over 4 hours of commute every day you have to go to the office.
I rode from greenfield MA to Baltimore. Three different trains, some of it was business class. The wifi was okay for emails but not much else. If you need to do wifi calls or use any online apps, like google docs or teams, I wouldn’t count on it. That’s my one limited experience though.
PlaneStill6 t1_jc076sl wrote
WiFi isn’t really reliable. Certainly not reliable for client meetings.
That’s a minimum 6 hour round trip commute, assuming all goes well. If there’s bad weather or any type of delay around NYC, expect to lose hours and hours.
I’d do that commute every 2 weeks, 2 days only (and find an overnight crash pad in Stamford for one night).