ElusiveMuse

Yeah, but then you'll live in Bloomington. They have to have affordable housing there because that's pretty much all you've got to work with. When you live in a city, you're paying to have it be your backyard, essentially. That's how I see it.

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I am doing really nice mugs and gourmet coffee or tea, depending on the prof's preference. I say give the professor what you bought. I am sure even if it isn't the awesomest scotch, the gesture will be appreciated.

It is sort of evil how this soul-sucking process coincides with the necessity of writing MA theses, doesn't it? I emotionally detached from my waitlisted schools a while ago.

Um...well I hate to be the one to tell you but nothing is going to change. You have to sit down and make a decision. What exactly is it that is preventing you from choosing?

I am definitely a coastal girl through and through but I have always enjoyed my time spent in the Midwest. Now I'm very sorry to say that for the most part, the South gets little love from me. It has its awesome enclaves to be sure, but on the whole, F-.

I've never been to Columbus, but I think it's true what they say about Cleveland- it rocks! Of course, I wouldn't want to ever try to get a job there. But as a grad student, you could do worse. Also, it is not necessarily true that humanities grad students don't need a big city. Try being an art historian in a city without a major museum. I will humbly submit Los Angeles as a great city to be a grad student. Everyone commutes, so it is entirely possible to live away from where you work. There is something for everyone in terms of stuff to do and networking for your career.

I don't think that would be appropriate. You should visit Penn if you think you would go if you were accepted from the waitlist, and if you don't...well at least you know for next time.

Could you imagine how participating in this could come back to bite you on the ass, if you say the wrong thing about the wrong person and it gets printed?

I would say that in this economy all bets are off. I'm in the same position, so I feel your pain! I have a Plan B lined up and I have been psyching myself up for it.

I don't think it's any more of a problem than any other moderately sized city. I feel perfectly safe parking my car, sleeping with my window open, walking at night. Certainly there are neighborhoods that are not as nice as others. But on the whole I don't think crime is something you should worry about overmuch, or at least any more than you would in any other city.

Hunter the best advice I can give you is to try and find something close to the 60, 91, or 215 freeways, but not too close to campus or you'll be dealing with undergraduate BS all the livelong day (and night :roll: ). Downtown Riverside is actually pretty neat, you could walk to a bunch of coffee houses, pubs, and the like, plus there are art galleries and the Riverside Art Museum. And if you wanted to use public transportation it's a straight shot down University Ave. to the campus on the bus. So if you look for places that are within walking distance to University that could be a start.

I think for some people, a small loan at the onset is inevitable. It isn't free to pick up and move to a new location. Besides the expense of the move itself, there are deposits and things you have to consider.

I've lived in some pretty dismal places, when I was married to someone in the military. Twentynine Palms, California. It's literally one road, a few miles long, with a few fast food places and tattoo parlors. And the very tiny base. And a lot of sand. I ended up working for the Red Cross, making some lifelong friends, and dancing with a civic ballet company. It was awesome. I guess what I'm saying is that sometimes you live somewhere that feels like the wrong place for you. Chances are, as an academic, this will not be the last time you're faced with this sort of situation. So my advice is that if you can't be happy, be as happy as you can. Sometimes going into a situation prepared for it to utterly suck is a blessing in disguise, because you start to find yourself pleasantly surprised at every turn. If you don't mind saying, what are your geographic options?

If you can afford it, I'd go with option 3.