Reverse commute to northwest Bergen County

Where do you live now?
Your office,

From UWS midtown it's about 8 miles to get across the GW onto 80, 95, GSP, whatever. If you live downtown, it will take you longer than that to get there because once you get out of Holland Tunnel, you are only in Jersey City and have to get onto the Turnpike (with it's extra tolls) at exit 14 go up to exit 18 and still head further north to get there. Try the reverse commute from both places and see what it's like and whether you can handle the extra distance. If you love living downtown, then maybe the extra time commuting is worth it to you. Only you can decide.

you have to consider what you will be doing. if you want to have a car, anything below Upper will cost you a significant amount in garage fees and in time/tolls. have you considered bus/train to get there? that maybe your best choice.

i'm confused when people want to live in Manhattan and pay the crazy rents/taxes/etc and work in NJ. the time it takes to travel will not leave any time for social life during the week. so the only time left is the weekends and you can easily get into the city in the morning and park the car and be a Manhattanite for a day. Get a cheappy hotel and it's for the weekend.

>Get a cheappy hotel

what do you have in mind?

Unfortunately for most reverse commuters public transit really isn't an alternative. You can often take a bus or train to the town your job is located in but then getting to the office from the station is problematic. Some large companies with many reverse commuters run shuttles to the station but unless you job offers that amenity, driving may be your only option.

Also pay attention to the locations of major construction sites in NY and NJ.

Holland Tunnel - Beginning Feb 2014, shortly after Super Bowl, Pulaski Skyway will undergo major rehabilitaion for 24 months. That will be 2 full years. The northbound direction of the Skyway will be completely closed during the whole time. Imagine all those traffic need to spill over to nearby roadways. Your afternoon trip back home thru Holland will not be present.

Lincoln Tunnel - Around the same time, The Helix will be reconstructed. At least traffic will be maintained during day time.

GWB - The Alexander Hamilton Bridge connecting the GWB and the Bronx will undergo westbound construction for the next 5 months. There may be other GWB construction here and there too. Generally will be a better bet commuting

"Some large companies with many reverse commuters run shuttles to the station but unless you job offers that amenity, driving may be your only option."

Any company that also offers free parking to employees should be *required* to offer that amenity.

It'll never happen, but I can't think of any other majority in 21st-century America that's treated with such blatant favoritism as automobile drivers.

The problem with taking the Holland Tunnel is once you get to NJ, you may be fighting with the regular commuters as you will be driving north past the Lincoln Tunnel and the GWB and traffic can easily back up on the roads leading there.

I've done the reverse commute going out to clients in both Bergen County, Westchester and Central NJ, so I've taken every route out of the city and as long as you leave before 730/745am, there usually isn't traffic anywhere leaving the city. I've rarely run into traffic getting to the Holland Tunnel in the morning or on the roads leading to the NJ Turnpike and barring an accident, I generally didn't run into traffic on the GWB either. The bigger issues related to the West Side Highway or the FDR/Harlem River Drive up to the bridge, as one accident or breakdown will stop you in your tracks. This is especially bad on the the FDR, as there are fewer exits than on the West Side Highway.

What ab_11218 said.

The one person I know who did the commute from the UWS said the only regular major problem was caused by the small cloverleaf interchanges. I think Route 17.