Question?

[astoryandasong]

So say if you were living in Jersey, what would be the nearest college? Would it be a feasible commute to go to college in New York but live in Jersey?

I am at that stage when writing fic where you realise that you have plot holes sixteen yards wide, and nobody is going to psychically guess what you mean.

Comments

[quinn222.livejournal.com]

It all depends on where in New Jersey they live. Southern NJ would not go to school in New York but might in Pennsylvania, Northern New Jersey might go to school in NY. But finances play a part too, if it's a state school then they would likely stay in state because it costs a fortune to attend as an out of state resident.

[heynderyckx.livejournal.com]

Ewwwww Jersey? If you...must...eeeugh *shudder*

Rutgers and Princeton are the two best colleges in NJ and probably the only recognizable ones. Otherwise you'd have to tell me which city in NJ, as there are hundreds to choose from.

As for commuting from NJ to NY...NY is a huge state so I'd have to know where in NY, but I'd estimate you're looking at a commute time of 2 hours each way by car or 3 hrs each way by public transportation. There are many people who actually do this, I just don't think you'd want to have your poor characters subjecting themselves to it! Unless sex on the bus/train is a major plot point. Ahem.

I could help you whittle down cities/colleges if you give me more info - are you picturing a small liberal arts school in the suburbs? A huge science & tech school in the city? A romantic commute into the city on the train each morning, or a more true-to-life bump and grind (har!) commute on congested highways, complete with gripes about fuel prices? More info please! *is a secret beta-er*

[(Anonymous)]

WOO NEW JERSEY!

Commuting from Belleville to NYC on public transportation wouldn't be too difficult. You'd have to have your character(s) take a NJ Transit train into New York (Penn Station) by way of Newark, NJ (about 30 minutes) and take the Newark Light Rail to get back to Belleville (about 20 minutes). And then, of course, the subway to get to wherever the school is in New York.

As for New Jersey, Belleville to Rutgers University is about an hour drive (by car, not bus, and not counting the ridiculous traffic). I'd also mention William Paterson University (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Paterson_University), which is about a half an hour from Belleville in Wayne, New Jersey. Also, there's Montclair University (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montclair_State_University) and that's about a fifteen minute drive (again, not counting traffic). They're all public liberal arts universities.

But you could always use your creative artistic license. You wouldn't be the first person to shorten some distances for a story. Either way, I'm excited for college!fic. :)