![]() The train takes about an hour and 20 minutes, during which I usually read. 7:27 a.m.: I take the 180 Northeast Regional to Penn Station, which now feels like a luxury after spending the summer catching the train at 6:39 a.m.During Penn Station’s #summerofhell in 2017, the altered train schedule meant waking up at 5 a.m. I carpool with my wife on her way to work, and she drops me off at 30th Street Station. Tuesday: I wake up and try to head out the door by 6:30. to get to work on time.” Photos by Kevin Hagen/Getty Images and Spencer Platt/Getty Images My weekly commuting schedule now looks something like this: “During Penn Station’s #summerofhell, the altered train schedule meant waking up at 5 a.m. I expected to fall into a commuter’s rhythm, and I have, to a certain extent: I’ve memorized Amtrak’s timetables and take the same trains like clockwork. (Amtrak pro tip: I occasionally just buy single-ride tickets, which are even cheaper than the 10-ticket rate when purchased far enough in advance.) My room, coupled with buying a 10-ticket pass for $594 ($760 in 2019) saved me about $200 a month. ![]() It was a closet-sized space with no window to the outside world, but the rent was right: $650 a month. I went on Craigslist and found a room in a Williamsburg loft. Mark Weldman Photography and Spencer Platt/Getty Images “I still find myself enthralled by the interior of 30th Street Station.” Photos by H. After getting over the initial sticker shock, I realized it would, somehow, be cheaper to rent a room in Brooklyn for the week and commute home on the weekends. (Since then the price has increased to $1,580). I know there are people who do this every day of the week, but even for me, this wasn’t going to work.īut I was faced with the reality that commuting between Philly and New York on Amtrak is not a cheap habit-in 2017 a monthly, unlimited pass on Amtrak cost $1,339 monthly. That week, the entirety of my time at home was spent getting an inadequate night’s sleep. The bus got me home past midnight, and I would have to wake up at 6 a.m. ![]() Every morning I took the Amtrak to New York and the BoltBus home to Philly to save money. My first week on the job, I super-commuted between New York and Philly before I even knew “super-commuting” was a thing. A 2012 NYU study found that Philly has the fifth highest rate of super commuters among big cities it had a 50 percent increase of these travelers between 20 alone. They make this trek as little as once or twice a week to every day Monday through Friday. ![]() Someone who works in one city or metro area, but lives beyond its boundaries and has to travel long distances to get to work. There’s even a term for it: Anthropologist Marc Auge called these them the “non-place,” like airports, train stations, and bus stops. But most of all, I’d be able to spend time in my favorite place on earth, which is really no place at all. There were books I would finally read, podcasts I’d immerse myself within. ![]() I sent off my resume not planning to relocate, but with fantasies of the commuter’s life. Still, I couldn’t quite quit New York, and my best job prospects seemed to be a 1.5-hour train ride north. It took me an excruciatingly long time to fall in love with Philly, but gradually we formed a circle of friends, established our lives, bought a home. As much as we liked Philly, it was a place we had come to out of circumstance rather than choice. But by this point I had settled in Fishtown with my then-fiancée, now-wife. When I started the post-grad school job hunt, it made sense that I would look move to New York. I rode the Amtrak for the glimpse of the Philadelphia Museum of Art across the Schuylkill River and the TRENTON MAKES, THE WORLD TAKES bridge for the time spent writing papers in the cafe car, where ideas just seemed to flow easily. When I was studying art history in graduate school near Philly, I'd often make the trek to New York to visit its museums and galleries-partially as an excuse to take the train. My love affair with New York has always been intense and passionate. If I had to describe my relationships with Philly and New York, I’d put it this way: Philadelphia is my wife, New York is my mistress. Some parts of the piece have been updated to reflect new information about ticket prices and travel costs. ![]()
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