I live in Whitehouse Station with my wife and 3 children. We all love it. My boys can walk to the lake and go fishing - great change from when I grew up in NYC. With that said I think if you are doing it daily you should look at another town - like Summit, Westfield, Montclair or something closer. I used to live in Westfield and liked it very much.

When I go to NYC - about two to four times a month - I drive to Newark, Park and take the path downtown, or NJ Transit to mid-town. Takes about about 45 minutes from my garage to parking in Newark and then another 30 minutes to NYC. Then its a question of whether its 5 or another 30 minutes when you exit the Path/NJ transit. So all in all about 1.5 hours door to door. Not bad for an occasional trip but definitely not something I would do every day.

Good luck and welcome to Whitehouse Station.

Hi Jennifer - if you're moving back here - you know how beaurtiful it is - You can take the park and ride in Clinton - it is a direct route right into the city. It should take about an hour or so to get in... Of course Molly's post gives you the train routes too. - they are not express..... If you need any help - give me a call (908) 892-8025 -- I'd be happy to help you....

There are many people from the Whitehouse Station area (and points further west....Lebanon, Annandale, Clinton, High Bridge) who make this commute into NYC. It is a long commute, but at the end of the day...you are coming out to a beautiful part of New Jersey that offers so much more than other parts of the State. For more information on the train line into NYC, visit this website: http://www.njtransit.com/pdf/rail/r0060.pdf

Being a tireless commuter myself. Before I drive into Jersey City and park. (Which will cost $$ in parking fees and make you nuts in traffic) I would...
1. Search out the web for any express commuter busses in your area. These would be faster then trains if they're express.
2. Before going to White House station. Check out the possibility of parking at one of the train stations with more parking Raritan, Bridgewater etc. and going in to the city from there. (Lots more trains.) http://www.njtransit.com. Parking at NJ transit train stations usually involves some sort of permit or fee. Even ol' White House lot is probably at capacity during the day.
Raritan is pretty much the last stop on that line. Anything west of that will have few and far between trains from 8-9ish till 5AM.

I think if you must live in the Whitehouse area, your best bet to commute it to take your car to the PATH trains in Newark or Jersey City. The Whitehouse train station is far out on the Raritan Valley line so taking that all the way in will be a long haul. By combining the dirve and PATH, you give yourself some flexbility in your schedule and your route. All in all, though this will not be an easy commute to the city. There are althernatives to Whitehouse Station that offer better commutes and a somewhat similar environment.

It's going to be a long and beastly commute, whether by train or car. 78 is impossible in the morning, with frequent construction and accidents making it even worse. There are no alternates. I personally would not live that far away from NYC if I had a job that required enduring the morning and evening rush. Too much wear and tear on the soul. The train is not much better, at least an hour and 45 minutes each way. People do it, but they look 55 by the time they are 40. And they never see their kids, at least not awake.

Is there any chance of you picking someplace to live that is closer to your job?

There is the train station in Whitehouse Station. You can check out njtransit.com it will give you point to point times.