I'm talking to some people about a possible consulting gig[1] in Manhattan for a year, but for various reasons my wife isn't going to move across the country so I need to be able to support the house out here and some affordable digs in commutable distance from Manhattan (where commutable is probably an hour each way).

Anybody got any suggestions which areas to look at?

[1] So no budget for relocation that doesn't come out of my own pocket.

Commuting time can be a function of the time of day of the commute, which in turn may depend on the required working hours. It's been a long time since I've been in the area, but there can be a huge difference in commuting time between leaving home at, say 6:00 am v. 7:00 am if one lives outside the city. Same for the return home in the afternoon. Traveling ahead of or after the crowd can make for a significantly shorter commute than traveling with the crowd.

Regards, JEff

"Affordable" and "within an hour's commute of Manhattan" may be difficult to reconcile.

I'd start from wherever your office will be. If it's near Grand Central Terminal, look along Metro-North. If it's near Penn, look along New Jersey Transit or the Long Island Railroad. If it's in the financial district, look along the PATH.

Or if you want to stay in NYC, look for which subway lines run near the office. Bear in mind that depending on your income, you could find that the commuting costs of living outside the city turn out to be less than the New York City income tax you pay if you live inside the city - that was the case with me!

Personally I live in the 'burbs, specifically Sleepy Hollow / Tarrytown which I love, and commute in on the Metro-North to GCT - 35 mins Tarrytown -> GCT on the fastest train. But whatever works for you.

I don't really want/need to stay in NYC, I'm not a big fan of big cities anyway but there's not going to be much of a chance for something else there.

To quantify "affordable" I'd have to find something for less than about 1200-1500 for an apartment, otherwise the financial side of it isn't going to work out at all.

That budget probably rules out most of the boroughs unless you want to share with someone (or two). Jersey? It may really depend on where the office is to make it practical.

Indeed. That budget would be an ask where I live, but I have seen 1-beds advertised for around $1500 here. Jersey can be a lot cheaper because the property taxes there (included in the rent) aren't as out of control as they are in NYS.

The office is on the Upper East Side. I figured I'd either be looking at someplace way up the Hudson River or over in Jersey.

Hi. We commute to NYC from here. You could get a 1 or maybe 2 bed apt in Maplewood, Millburn or South Orange...all nice commuter towns. The train does a quick commute to NYC - about 35 mins direct to Penn station which is hard to beat! But then it could be another 30 mins (3 subway trains) to Upper East Side from there. njtransit and hopstop websites can help with the commute times. I'm a Maplewood realtor. Local expertise with a British accent! . Good luck!

Then lower Fairfield County, CT, might work best -- there are a lot of apartment buildings in Stamford or South Norwalk, for example. The Metro-North train on the New Haven line has a stop at 125th Street and you can then take local subway trains to upper east side locations.

Get a room mate if you can, people are always looking. Look at living in Washington Heights, Indwood at the top of manhattan. Or you can live in brooklyn/queens in an apartment of maybe slightly better stature.

My co-worker rents a studio apartment in Larchmont for $1000 a month so your budget is doable in a good area.

Check out rentals in the Garth Road area of Scarsdale, you should be able to find a 1 bed 1 bath apartment within a 5-10 minute walk of Scarsdale train station for less than $1500 a month. There are many execs that rent/own apartments in that area and stay there during the work week while the family home is further afield. Its an excellent location if you are looking for an easy commute, local amenities and great access to both highways and trains.

A quick search and found these two both in great areas

http://www.randrealty.com/NY/Propert...dale-NY-10583/

http://www.randrealty.com/NY/Propert...ster-NY-10709/

Now compare this one, its in the Trump Tower in New Rochelle 2 minutes from the station in not such a good area in my opinion

http://www.randrealty.com/NY/Propert...elle-NY-10801/