commuting from NYCOM-quick poll, please choose

[DKCDO]

Hey folks,

I need some advice as to how I am going to get to NYCOM.
The pros and cons of both commuting options are presented. Please counteract/agree/shed some light to what I am saying.

Suggestions and your two cents will be greatly appreciated.

TAKING THE LIRR TO GREENVALE

PROS:
1. 50 min train ride each way. Follwed by 5 minute car ride to campus.

2. I can get a parking pass for the station ($50.00/yr). The LIRR monthly pass is $154.00.

3. No mileage/damage to my already old car. Save on maintanence cost and gas.

4. Time saved for studying and unwinding!

CONS:
1. The train leaves at 7:41. WHich means I can get to NYCOM at the earliest 8:34. Will that be a problem for classes?

2. Going home, I have not much of an option. Trains leave at 3:28, 4:33, and 6:18. So if classes end early I will have to bum around (or study). Worst yet, if classes end late (have any of you gotten off lab after 6PM?), I will have to drive home, which means the next morning I would have to drive back out. Defeating the point of taking LIRR.

3. Weekends, I MAY not have my car if i want the option of sleeping on the train monday morning. (back to CON#3).

4. Is it safe at the train station? WIll my car still be there in the morning. Nothing worst than getting jacked for my ride!

5. I would have to live near the LIRR in Brooklyn where I would be commuting from (relationship reasons). That just means Park Slope. I hear that place is expensive, but people who live there love it. ANy insight?


DRIVING FROM BROOKLYN

PROS:
1. On occasion, I may get home in under an hour (who can attest to this?)

2. Emergency travel is available. Flexibility as to when I can be home. depending on traffic.

3. I may not be limited to living near Park Slope, just by the Belt Pkway (Rent may slightly cheaper) and closer to neighborhoods I am familiar with.

4. For some driving is a good unwinder from day of school (not sure if this is true for me)

CONS: (even though there are only three, it seems important to consider, don't you think?)
1. Lost of sleep in traffic. Driving can take a lot out of ones concentration. Loss of study time.

2. Potential car trouble. Time lost for fixing car or getting new car.

3. Gas and maintanence of car.

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[oceandocDO]

You're putting way to much thought and worrying into this process. Drive. First of all, the train station is about a bit less than a mile from campus. You'll have to find a way to get to the LIRR from campus and vice versa. A bus may do, but that means more waiting. Walking is possible, would suck in the winter though, and 25A is a busy road without sidewalks on some parts. I wouldnt want to walk on that road everyday. I think you may be able to leave your car at Greenvale for a fee, but this adds up. It's a very safe area.

I know some people who commute from Brooklyn and do fine. They leave a bit earlier in the morning and wait after class and study a bit before leaving so they dont sit in mad traffic on the way home. The biggest thing you'll be losing is sleep and study time.

Next, some classes start at 8am and are mandatory, hence you'll be in attendance trouble if you cant get there until close to 9am after the train gets in and you make your way over to campus. Miss 2 classes for any reason and you fail the class.

The LIRR isnt cheap either. The price will add up to more than the price of gas I imagine.

enjoy.

 

[DKCDO]

oceandocDO:

Did u read ALL of the reasons?

The parking pass is only 50 bucks and i will be driving to NYCOM from the stop.

I thought first year classes all started @ 9AM and that it was optional?

PLease be more specific.

As always thanks for your input.

 

[DrWBD]

I'm a 4th year at NYCOM.

I don't know anyone who actually took the LIRR from Brooklyn, but I do have friends who drove (from Bay Ridge, mostly) and survived the first two years, then did most of their clinical rotations in Brooklyn.

There may be another option: taking the LIRR to another station besides Greenvale and getting a parking permit there. One of the major stations in the area is Mineola, you might have more flexibility in the amount of train service to there rather than to Greenvale. Mineola is farther away than Greenvale, so you'd be driving about 10-15 minutes vs. 5 minutes from Greenvale.

Check the www.lirr.org website for the schedule info.

Wanna_be_DO
MS-IV, NYCOM

 

[oceandocDO]

Sorry I didnt read ALL the reasons. You're a pretty demanding little premed arent ya? When you said get a parking pass for the station, In my haste I thought you may have meant the Brooklyn station.

Anyway, the cost of the LIRR alone will add up to WAY more than the cost of gas. And, yes, there are a fair amount of classes that begin at 8am. Not all are mandatory, but I wouldnt recommend walking in a half hour late to all. Family Practice in the spring definitely begins at 8am, at least it did for us, is mandatory, and the door closes if you're 1 minute late, let alone 30. You'll definitely be marked absent and like I said, miss 2 classes and you fail. Plus, a few tests in first year and many more in second year begin at 8am. Dont think you can be late for those either.

WannabeDo is right, Mineola and even the Westbury stations are more flexible in schedules, but they're farther away and I think they may have less parking there. I know 3 students who commute from Brooklyn right now, I think from the Howard Beach area, and they do alright. They just sleep a little less and have to plan ahead a little more, but they survive.

NYCOM will give you a course schedule on the first day of classes that has ever class and test listed for the entire year and what times they are. You can then look at this and plan a bit more.

is this better?

 

[BrooklynDO]

yea so ive been driving from brooklyn (by the verazzano) to tech/nycom
for 3.5 years.
Its not that bad. the drive is about an hour or less, esp if you live closer along the belt than I do. The train vs. car thing is a no brainer for me : It would even be CHEAPER (yea thats right cheaper) to get a better used car if you feel yours isnt up to it (basically thats what I did).
When I go to school, I tend to get there a few min before class and leaev anytime after 8 or 9. but I usually stay till 10 or later when exams are around.
as per the route youve chosen: DONT DO IT : DONT TAKE THE LIE>>>> DEATH AND TRAFFIC NIGHTMARE~!!!!
take the northern state... its better faster and less hassle, and never as much traffic (even when there is an accident or whatnot)
just my 1 cent
feel free to message me for exact directions via northern.