It's do-able for rugged souls. I did that exact commute and just factored it into my overall life plan. 3 days is probably max. 5 would probably too much.
You'd be surprised how much long distance commuting takes place of the NEC.
Knew someone who moved to Philly during COVID and when things went back in person started commuting, couldn’t stand it, stayed in Philly and got a job in Delaware. It’s possible but it’s definitely brutal while working biglaw hours. If you were 9-5 it wouldn’t be as bad
I did it for a few years. By the end, it got really old. Even when the trains run on time and the wifi works well enough to actually get work done, 8+ hours a week on the train every week is tiring. Plus, the NEC and Keystone routes are always crowded, especially between 7 am and 9 am and 5 pm and 7 pm. A lot of people somehow think they’re invisible on the train and behave in truly unbelievable ways.
Something else to consider, I never felt fully socially integrated into my firm in NYC. I got along with people fine, but it took a decent amount of planning to stick around late for a happy hour or dinner, and even then, I was watching the clock to make sure I didn’t miss my train because it’d be an hour or more until the next one. Attending summer events was even harder because they’d go later into the evening when trains run even less regularly.
I never had any issues with not being barred in PA, but now that I’m at a Philly firm, I do need to be barred here. PA’s cutoff for transferring a UBE score is 30 months from the first day of the bar exam, which I missed by ~2 months. If your goal is to move here eventually and you’re within the transfer window, I’d suggest just getting it done.
I can’t speak to the bar question, but for the commute: I did something like this some years back. I sprung for the Acela and rather enjoyed my time on the train. I assume you’ve factored in the intracity commute bits (e.g., Amtrak to my office was easy, getting to the station in Philly a bit more of a pain).
But internet connection through the Amtrak wifi was (at least at the time) inconsistent. It ultimately worked well enough for me because I didn’t need to grind through those hours, given my practice - some gritting of teeth on the laptop, but mostly just tending to emails - but it may be a bit harder if you’re running a deal or preparing for trial. I also have a strict policy of not taking confidential calls in public, so that’s a dynamic you’d want to consider - again, something I could manage, but may be harder for you.
Yeah, I did this commute as a 1st year associate back in the day for stupid reasons. It’s miserable but Acela and a personal WiFi hotspot make it slightly less soul sucking.
I was a litigation associate, but it sure did suck. The only thing was that there was a quirk to our after hours car policy that I exploited a ton. Before ride share days, we called a designated car service and used paper slips with client/matter numbers on them and the approximate mileage of the trip. Because so many partners lived far out into CT, the max trip was about 5 miles longer than my trip to Philly. So I’d take a train around 8, be in the office by 10, work until 10-11, and sleep in a Lincoln town car for the 2 hour drive.
Where in Philly and where is your office in NYC? My parents live in Center City and my office is in Hudson Yards. I’ve stayed there once or twice and just taken an early train. Sure it would get tiresome 3 days a week but if you lived in Rittenhouse/University City and work closish to Moynihan might be doable.
I did this commute for a month and it was doable but exhausting. To the extent you can get a room or regular hotel stay close to the office, that makes it easier (e.g., go up Monday morning, stay that night, head back Tuesday night, and then have one super commute day Thursday).
definitely possible if you're within fairly close range of the amtrak station in philly. if you have a sizable commute from where you are living to 30th st station, it would be a pain in the ass. center city would be fine though.
fwiw, taking the acela from philly to my big law office in times square took around the same amount of time as my commute from brooklyn on various subway lines.... which is ridiculous but true.
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Depending on what your plans are, might make sense to live in Bucks County and commute via Trenton, not 30th St?
(I can't answer the Bar question but it's a serious one.)
This is what I was going to say. I did this commute for a few months before big law and it was actually faster and cheaper for me to drive to Hamilton station in Jersey and get an express train on NJ transit to nyc, although definitely exhausting and brutal.
Where you live should be an issue (with respect to compliance or tax reasons) if you’re going into the office 3 days a week, but you could also just waive into PA now if you want to get a job there eventually anyway.
I did Philly-D.C. (which is a little less than double the length) twice a week for a semester in law school.
It was doable but difficult. I couldn't imagine doing it now that I'm working, though.
It's do-able for rugged souls. I did that exact commute and just factored it into my overall life plan. 3 days is probably max. 5 would probably too much. You'd be surprised how much long distance commuting takes place of the NEC.
Knew someone who moved to Philly during COVID and when things went back in person started commuting, couldn’t stand it, stayed in Philly and got a job in Delaware. It’s possible but it’s definitely brutal while working biglaw hours. If you were 9-5 it wouldn’t be as bad
I did it for a few years. By the end, it got really old. Even when the trains run on time and the wifi works well enough to actually get work done, 8+ hours a week on the train every week is tiring. Plus, the NEC and Keystone routes are always crowded, especially between 7 am and 9 am and 5 pm and 7 pm. A lot of people somehow think they’re invisible on the train and behave in truly unbelievable ways. Something else to consider, I never felt fully socially integrated into my firm in NYC. I got along with people fine, but it took a decent amount of planning to stick around late for a happy hour or dinner, and even then, I was watching the clock to make sure I didn’t miss my train because it’d be an hour or more until the next one. Attending summer events was even harder because they’d go later into the evening when trains run even less regularly. I never had any issues with not being barred in PA, but now that I’m at a Philly firm, I do need to be barred here. PA’s cutoff for transferring a UBE score is 30 months from the first day of the bar exam, which I missed by ~2 months. If your goal is to move here eventually and you’re within the transfer window, I’d suggest just getting it done.
I can’t speak to the bar question, but for the commute: I did something like this some years back. I sprung for the Acela and rather enjoyed my time on the train. I assume you’ve factored in the intracity commute bits (e.g., Amtrak to my office was easy, getting to the station in Philly a bit more of a pain). But internet connection through the Amtrak wifi was (at least at the time) inconsistent. It ultimately worked well enough for me because I didn’t need to grind through those hours, given my practice - some gritting of teeth on the laptop, but mostly just tending to emails - but it may be a bit harder if you’re running a deal or preparing for trial. I also have a strict policy of not taking confidential calls in public, so that’s a dynamic you’d want to consider - again, something I could manage, but may be harder for you.
Yeah, I did this commute as a 1st year associate back in the day for stupid reasons. It’s miserable but Acela and a personal WiFi hotspot make it slightly less soul sucking.
I can’t imagine making it work as a first year corporate associate. It really must have been awful…!
I was a litigation associate, but it sure did suck. The only thing was that there was a quirk to our after hours car policy that I exploited a ton. Before ride share days, we called a designated car service and used paper slips with client/matter numbers on them and the approximate mileage of the trip. Because so many partners lived far out into CT, the max trip was about 5 miles longer than my trip to Philly. So I’d take a train around 8, be in the office by 10, work until 10-11, and sleep in a Lincoln town car for the 2 hour drive.
Where in Philly and where is your office in NYC? My parents live in Center City and my office is in Hudson Yards. I’ve stayed there once or twice and just taken an early train. Sure it would get tiresome 3 days a week but if you lived in Rittenhouse/University City and work closish to Moynihan might be doable.
I had a colleague who did it and basically spent all the time on the train working. It's doable but challenging.
I did this commute for a month and it was doable but exhausting. To the extent you can get a room or regular hotel stay close to the office, that makes it easier (e.g., go up Monday morning, stay that night, head back Tuesday night, and then have one super commute day Thursday).
definitely possible if you're within fairly close range of the amtrak station in philly. if you have a sizable commute from where you are living to 30th st station, it would be a pain in the ass. center city would be fine though. fwiw, taking the acela from philly to my big law office in times square took around the same amount of time as my commute from brooklyn on various subway lines.... which is ridiculous but true.
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I'd do 2 nights a week in a hotel
Depending on what your plans are, might make sense to live in Bucks County and commute via Trenton, not 30th St? (I can't answer the Bar question but it's a serious one.)
This is what I was going to say. I did this commute for a few months before big law and it was actually faster and cheaper for me to drive to Hamilton station in Jersey and get an express train on NJ transit to nyc, although definitely exhausting and brutal. Where you live should be an issue (with respect to compliance or tax reasons) if you’re going into the office 3 days a week, but you could also just waive into PA now if you want to get a job there eventually anyway.
I did Philly-D.C. (which is a little less than double the length) twice a week for a semester in law school. It was doable but difficult. I couldn't imagine doing it now that I'm working, though.
Me, I did the Amtrak, doable but it sucked.