Commute to Columbia University?

Is there any decent way to commute from SO to Columbia University?  How long would it take on a typical weekday?  It seems like it might be hellish... are there any family-friendly parts of NJ that have good access to that area of NYC, either via car or public transportation?

Go to Penn Station, take the 2 or the 3. Switch at 96th to the 1. Shouldn't be that bad. Probably a little over an hour.

There are two regular commuters to Columbia U from South Orange (I am not one of them).  It does take a little over an hour but basically fairly easy.  

Living in an area like Fort Lee would make the commute very driveable.

Not any more hellish than any other commute to the city. NJ Transit railroad and a subway ride.

It depends on what time you go and whether you drive or take the train. If you want to drive, you can avoid the midtown nightmare by going over the GWB and then down the west side highway. If you avoid rush hour it wouldn't be bad at all. Taking the train wouldn't be terrible either, just take the 1 to 116th or the 2/3 to 96th and then switch (or walk on a nice day). It would be less than half an hour on the subway most days if you go express. I've done that trip from father out on the midtown direct line many times and it's easy. I wouldn't consider moving to another town to be more driveable to Columbia than we are in Soma. Unless you have a real aversion to the trains, they are less of a crapshoot than bridge traffic, and those tolls + parking would add up...

Yes, this. I commute a few days a week to the University's Medical Center, 50 blocks north of the Morningside Heights campus, and while it's a longer commute than to midtown, it's the same process. And the subway music, dancing and soapbox preaching between 125th and 168th tend to be more interesting than the midtown ones.

shoshannah said:

Not any more hellish than any other commute to the city. NJ Transit railroad and a subway ride.

Nearby Jersey towns with easy access and generally decent schools would be Ft. Lee and Edgewater. You'd pretty much be driving that that point as the public transit is mostly based around getting to Midtown. There are 'shuttles' to the 175th St. Subway station, but there you wouldn't really be much better than at Penn Station.

Traffic would still be bad going down the West Side and to park reliably you'd likely have to pay and I wouldn't expect that to be cheap.

Prior to moving to South Orange last year I spent 9 years up in Washington Heights (and before that was about 7 years not too far from Columbia), so I know the area well. Just so you know what the deal with city neighborhoods along a sensible commute, Washington Heights is a good family friendly neighborhood around Bennett Park and Ft. Washington Park, but getting more than 1 bedroom was getting pretty pricey, which is why we started looking elsewhere. Further up the 1 train is Kingsbridge in the Bronx which doesn't have as desirable of an elementary school zoning. The various sections of Riverdale have good schools, but are less connected to the Subway and people there generally rely on Metro North for commuting.

This reminds me that I believe one of my childhood piano teachers spent just about her whole adult life commuting from S.O. to Morningside Heights. I believe she went to Barnard for undergraduate (although I don't know if she commuted from the family home in S.O.).  Then she probably got a graduate music degree at either Columbia or Juilliard, which at that time backed up to Broadway at 122nd. St. Then she taught at Juilliard for many years while living in the family home in S.O. and giving lessons at her home to New Jerseyans.  Then, when Juilliard moved down to Lincoln Center and sold their building to the Manhattan School of Music (which is probably still there at Claremont Ave. and 122nd. St.), she elected to be hired by the Manhattan School and stay in Morningside Heights.

Do you absolutely need to stay in NJ? While a grad student, I commuted from southern Westchester into Morningside Heights, and it was an easy drive - sometimes just 20 minutes. Yonkers, Dobbs Ferry, Ardsley all have some beautiful homes. Not that I would want to leave SOMA, I get that, but if you are thinking of moving, maybe NJ doesn't have to be a requirement?  From here to Columbia area always takes me over an hour. 

And, chopin, Manhattan School of Music is still at 122nd and Broadway. When I lived on Claremont Ave., I loved it when MSM students left the windows open on the practice rooms - beautiful music on the street always!

As noted, it's less than an hour on mass transit.  Here's the trip showing a 10AM arrival at Columbia as an example.  

https://citymapper.com/trip/Tm3jddd

I also think driving would be the least appealing option, though it's worth considering if you'll be there past 8:30PM, when Midtown Direct becomes hourly.  Much to my surprise, I see there's actually reasonable parking nearby.  

http://www.parkwhiz.com/columbia-university-parking-2/?start_date=2%2F8%2F2016&start_time=9%3A00am&end_date=2%2F8%2F2016&end_time=8%3A00pm&location_id=

Like finnegan, I commuted from southern Westchester during my first semester of grad school. I didn't have a car, so I took the train to 125th St and the bus crosstown (don't tell my Mom, who thought my cold blooded mugging/murder was assured merely attending Columbia).  I see that was about a 70 minute trip, so a little longer than from SO.  I got Columbia housing after that, but don't recall the commuting being that much of an ordeal.  

My spouse does this commute daily. It is rough. Definitely more than an hour each way, though that's door to door. I have the sense that time of day matters a lot; the 805 into Penn is regularly delayed, and the transfer from the 2/3 to the 1 is another weak spot. Coming home on the 5:18 is better; spouse generally makes it home by 6:10. Of course, on the days that there's drama on NJT, all bets are off - the detours through Hoboken can make that commute close to 2 brutal hours.   

I WISH my commute was about an hour each way. I used to feel very sorry for myself until I came to the realization that there a LOT of people that travel long distances for long periods of time for work. Also, I got used to it, for the most part. 

Once you get there, you get to see things like this

(Photo: Guido Verona)

apple44 said:

Once you get there, you get to see things like this

(Photo: Guido Verona)

I miss that view!