I did a reverse commute from downtown(marin/ Montgomery street) to Edison (exit 10) for about 5 years, until 3 years ago. Traffic was almost always smooth and drive was usually about 30 minutes. I wouldn't consider doing the same commute today since the toll payments would probably the equal car payment on a decent car.

You can calculate your commuting costs driving vs NJT

http://www.njtransit.com/sf/sf_servle ... geAction=CommCalculatorTo

I'd be all for the train commute for the reasons everyone has brought up. My only issue is that I need to drive 5 miles to work from the train station and it doesn't appear the monthly permits are available to me from Princeton Junction (long wait list). I guess I could do the daily lot for $5 a day. What is parking like in JC if I didn't get a monthly spot? I may want to keep it nearby over the weekends. Drive to work Monday morning, train commute the rest of the week and drive back to home in JC on Friday evening. Thanks everyone, your comments have been very helpful. Glad I wouldn't be the only one doing such a commute.

I currently commute from grove street to Princeton by train. There are some express trains in the morning, and the PATH and NJ transit trains at Newark are well timed, so I can get from the grove street path station to Princeton junction in about 50mins to 1hr. I'm all for the train, as unlike the car commute, you can read/nap/work/whatever on the train. Its definitely doable though. I'd recommend living as close to a PATH station as possible.

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No worries. I used to live in Ocean Grove. For some meetings, I would go to Morristown from OG. It wasn't too bad since it was opposite commute on the GSP then 287 to 24. Anything is better than the Turnpike. Good luck though.
Yes, I am so grateful for my NYC job. It's such a better lifestyle.

Arcy,

Thank you for sharing your experience. I work in Morristown and I'm thinking about renting out my downtown JC house and commuting from my Monmouth county house while the Pulaski is under construction. Of course your experience has me concerned and anxious about the realities of that commute.

Ugghh. I really miss working in the city.

I used to commute to Ewing for my previous job. It was about 3 hours total a day in my car just commuting. The commute was very taxing since it could either be boring or stressful depending on the traffic conditions. Although I loved that job, I ended up switching jobs to a job in Manhattan since it is so much easier.
Between the tolls, the gas and the car maintenance, I highly recommend the train commute. Christie increased the NJ Transit fares so it's not as much of a cost saver but being able to sleep, read and relax on the train made the commute all the more civilized.
Also, be prepared, in 2014 the Pulaski skyway is closing for construction so commuting in and out of Jersey City will be a nightmare since alternate thoroughfares will be more congested than normal.

I commute to Princeton for work. The turnpike is the fastest and the most expensive way, roundtrip around $15 in tolls. I use rt 1 and enter the turnpike at 11 and exit at 8 then take Princeton Heightstown road into Princeton. Avoid rt 1 from New Brunswick to Princeton at rush hour traffic is slow and heavy. Taking the train will cost you the same $ and will take more time.

I recommend the reverse commute by train if you can. I do it every day out to the Summit area from Hoboken. I tried it 5 years ago to see if I liked it and never looked back.

From Exchange Place to Newark Penn on the Path would be pretty empty, and a nice ride to Newark. But the connection to Princeton might require waiting for a train for up to 20 minutes in the morning.

The total commute time will be longer, as is the case for me by a wide margin, but I make such good use of my commute that I still prefer it to driving.

I used to make the drive everyday to the bridgewater/branchburg area. I went out 78 -> 287 -> 202/206 circle. The only place I would hit traffic would be on 78 where it splits off for rt.24. Other than that its clear sailing.

Anybody do a reverse commute out of JC towards the Princeton area? Considering moving to Exchange Place or Newport area and commuting to Plainsboro (just north of Princeton). Looks like I could do the drive in about an hour or spend a little extra time to make it by train to Princeton Junction and drive from there. I'm curious of any traffic or public transit complications that I'm not accounting for.