By: Jordyn Tilchen//
If you’re anything like me, you celebrate those rare moments when your favorite artist books a show at a super local venue like The Paramount in Huntington or The Space in Westbury. Of course, this all depends on how famous the artist is and how big of crowd they draw. Typically we don’t have this convenience and we find ourselves making the trek to Brooklyn, Madison Square Garden, or worse… the Meadowlands.
When traveling to a local show on Long Island, nothing beats the convenience of driving 15-20 minutes from your house and parking close to the venue, but the same convenience does not apply to the Barclays Center or MSG. In fact, if you were thinking of driving to either of those venues, I beg you to think again. Parking in Brooklyn is nearly impossible, and I don’t know a single person that doesn’t relentlessly try to avoid driving into midtown Manhattan at all times.
Although I understand the temptation of taking the car rather than the train, the Long Island Railroad provides transportation directly to both arenas. For once, the LIRR got it right when it came to planning their concert exit strategies, and the convenience of having the LIRR directly outside of both venues makes traveling to and from concerts simpler than ever (just remember that you may have to transfer trains at some point on your journey!).
The convenience pretty much ends the second your favorite musician announces a show at Metlife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Yes, it’s extremely close to the city, but if you’re sticking with public transportation it can turn out to be a giant hassle. In order to take the train to Metlife you would have to take the LIRR to Penn Station, the New Jersey Transit trains from Penn to Secaucus, and then transfer again at Secaucus to go to the Meadowlands. Your other option is taking the subway from Penn Station to Port Authority Bus Terminal, and then a bus to the meadowlands. Either way it’s complicated, and in my opinion not worth it at all. If you’re able to, I highly recommend driving from Long Island to Metlife Stadium. Unlike Brooklyn and Manhattan, there’s plenty of parking and you’ll probably wind up saving some money in the end despite the price of parking!
Transportation is an important thing to consider before you venture out to a concert. How you get there is determined by sheer convenience, and depending on the location of the venue you must consider whether it’s easier to go your own way or to stick with public transportation. Regardless of how you get there, the most important thing is that you arrive safely and have an awesome night!
