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Continue working in NJ vs NYC for 20% raise + 'promotion'?

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dont do it. the traffic during rush hour for lincoln tunnel is just horrible! i deal with it a few months a year but I worked in NJ instead.

PATH + subway is more doable.
 
I'd ignore the salary difference as at that range, there isn't much more you can gain until your differences are much higher.

Focus on the quality of life differences. If the new job is what you REALLY want to do, it may be worth the change. But for me, no way I'd have an 80min commute one way. I have better things to do with my time than live in my car (obviously wont be your car in this case, but still) for almost 3hrs/day 5days/wk 50wks/yr. From a % perspective, that is 1/8 of your day and over the next however many decades of work, could be 1/9 of your LIFE in commuting.

Maybe I'm drastic, but it is one of my biggest considerations when looking at opportunities. If that extra $30k/yr is worth something tangible to you (like a vacation house/boat/etc) that will bring a lot of enjoyment to your life then maybe consider it. Otherwise, I know I'd pass if I was happy with my current job.
 
20% wouldn't be enough to get me to commute into Manhattan, especially if it sounds like you'll have to take a bus + subway.

I'd need at least 50% to get me to deal with the Port Authority Bus Terminal on a regular basis.
 
Maybe I should've been more clear that this isn't just $ vs $ comparison.

Becoming a Sr PM is a great path vs doing random BA stuff in NJ.

Thanks for all your input so far. I guess I'll take a more serious look at it if I even get this NYC position.
 
I look at it like this...

Best case you are working 42.5 hours (8 + lunch break). But lets be real. It's going to be closer to 50 hours a week. That's 10 hour days. Plus 3 hours of commuting. That's a 13 hour day.

That means every day you are getting up 5:30, to catch the bus/train by 6:15 to be in to work by 8:00AM. Working until likely 5:30. And getting home again at 7:00. That gives you a good 2-3 hours to catch up on anything you need to do and collapse in exhaustion. Rinse. Repeat x 5 days a week, 50 weeks a year.

Have fun keeping a spouse or family (that won't hate you) in that situation.
 
Zeze said:
I make $62/hr as an IT Production Support Manager- this is good as I’m getting some managerial experience. I’ve been billing at 45~ hour a week, so effectively my take-home is similar to making $70/hr~.

What are your thoughts?
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my thoughts are that your math is LOL.

no, you're takehome is not similar to someone making $70/hr working 45/hr a week. your takehome is similar to someone making $62/hr working 45/hr a week.

:hmm:

and not a chance i would take a job where i have to commute 80/mins each way on public transportation.
 
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Id only go to NY if moving to NY was part of the plan... My guess is that any more income you would make in NY, would just go into the high cost of buying a house in NYC vs NJ.
 
Zeze said:
- Commute will suck- 45-50 min bus into the city + subway to work. That’s $125 subway pass + $154 bus monthly (WTF). 75-80 min each way.
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Personally, this is a deal breaker for me. If I can't get to work within an hour (public or car), it's not worth it for me. You could maybe do a dry run,.. because NJ / NYC can be a NIGHTMARE when things go wrong. My commute is 45 min (a train, a bus and then a ferry boat), but it can easily hit an hour and half when accidents, traffic and missed connections happen.

Zeze said:
- So how much is the NYC city tax? Is there a chart I can look up?
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Sounds like you will come into the Port Authority. And, with another 30 min on the subway to get to work,.. that is easily a $25 taxi cab ride. You may want to Uber, but, even then,.. if it's $10,.. that's $20 a day - $100 a week, $400 a month! That is easily a car lease and insurance.

Zeze said:
- Hinders with home ownership, we have to buy a home where it’s accessible to NYC.
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You can look into moving to Hoboken, Weehawken or Jersey City. But, the prices are in the millions frankly.
 
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How old are you? I need to find an IT job that is $70 an hour 😱

I thought my 40/hr was good :'(

Anyway, I vote staying in NJ because that money is not worth the NY hassle, and it doesn't sound like you need anything 'extra' on your resume if you are already making 70/hr.
 
Newell Steamer said:
You can look into moving to Hoboken, Weehawken or Jersey City. But, the prices are in the millions frankly.
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any of the towns along the Northeast Corridor train line wouldn't be too bad either... sit on the train, take a nap, watch last night's tv shows on your tablet, etc and then just hop onto the subway from Penn Station.
 
loki8481 said:
any of the towns along the Northeast Corridor train line wouldn't be too bad either... sit on the train, take a nap, watch last night's tv shows on your tablet, etc and then just hop onto the subway from Penn Station.
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That works as well (I am not familiar with anything other than those 3 I listed).
 
loki8481 said:
any of the towns along the Northeast Corridor train line wouldn't be too bad either... sit on the train, take a nap, watch last night's tv shows on your tablet, etc and then just hop onto the subway from Penn Station.
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Until Amtrak has to shut down the north river tunnels one at a time to repair Sandy damage at an indeterminate point in the coming years. Two years without NJT rail service into Manhattan should be interesting.
 
loki8481 said:
any of the towns along the Northeast Corridor train line wouldn't be too bad either... sit on the train, take a nap, watch last night's tv shows on your tablet, etc and then just hop onto the subway from Penn Station.
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Yeah but it gets to be a long commute whether you go north or south. To get out of the metro pricing belt going south you have to get past Red Bank or so. North I'm not sure. Stamford or Bridgeport maybe? Anyway it's probably an hour-plus train ride.
 
Markbnj said:
Yeah but it gets to be a long commute whether you go north or south. To get out of the metro pricing belt going south you have to get past Red Bank or so. North I'm not sure. Stamford or Bridgeport maybe? Anyway it's probably an hour-plus train ride.
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I was looking seriously at Metutchen and Rahway when I briefly thought I might land a job in NYC (would have been close to a 75% pay raise, but after 9 interviews with the fucking company, at the last minute they decided not to fill the position 🙄 )

would have been about 40 minutes on the train plus whatever commuting time inside Manhattan.
 
OP, where in NJ would you be commuting from? I commute by bus everyday from 07003. The bus ride is about 40 minutes and then I walk to Times Square from the Port Authority.

IMHO, I'd take the NYC gig if:

1. it was definitely more money in the bank
2. I didn't have kids

Personally, I don't understand all the negativity about commute times in excess of 40 minutes. Perhaps, it's because I've just gotten used to it having commuted into NYC from NJ since the 1990's but I've always considered that time to be free time during which I can read, listen to music/podcasts/npr, watch movies or sleep.

DaWhim said:
dont do it. the traffic during rush hour for lincoln tunnel is just horrible! i deal with it a few months a year but I worked in NJ instead.
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There is a bus lane at the Lincoln Tunnel. It is open ONLY during rush hours. There are rare occasions that a bus breaks down in the bus lane but typically the bus lane helps alleviate any traffic during rush hour.
 
The only reason you are considering this job from the sounds of it is that you want to do PM. And its earlier in "the plan" for that switch than you'd like. I'd just keep looking for a PM job closer.

But I'm probably not the person to ask, because I'd probably rather milk cows than ride a subway for 3 hours a day or whatever that expedition of a commute you laid out entails.
 
From a cursory glance, not worth it.

You're barely getting more which will be offset by more expensive lunches, transit cost and commuting time.
 
Why wouldn't you also move to somewhere in the city? Who the hell wants to do 2.5 to 3 hours of commuting every day? I wouldn't do that for all the money in the world.
 
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