Phedre

Hey all,
I did my undergrad at Yale, and I NEVER felt unsafe there, but I would highly encourage people to take the mini bus (it's free! and you can call for door to door service!) If you want to go bar-hopping late at night, try not to walk back alone. Other than that, as long as you're not stupid about partying/going out, you should be fine.

i loved living in New Haven-- there is always some sort of theatre/concert/opera going on, the city has some of the best dining in the States (I'm living in Paris now, and i can honestly say I would trade new Haven restaurants for food here) and the summers are magical-- concerts on the green, etc. The library is *ridiculous* and you can literally get your hands on a ocpy of virtually any document in the world if you want ot order it... not to mention the illuminated manuscripts or langston hughes letters that you can simply ask for and touch.

I would recommend living near Wooster Square or in the "grad ghetto" (which isn't really a ghetto, just abit far) like near Church street, etc. Living "on campus" (on chapel/crown/elm) is of course more pricey, but much more convenient.

made a list of my favorite restaurants for a friend who recently was accepted...

best coffee: Willoughby's on Whitney avenue
great food:
BAR pizza (get the mashed potato pizza! they brew 6 beers in-house, the Toasted Blonde is a hit. On Thursdays the drinks are like a dollar befrore midnight)
Pacifico (upscale, but GREAT drinks and spanish food)
Bentara (malaysian food) in the 9th square
Blue Pearl (for fondue & drinks)
Nikkita (drinks)
Miya's sushi (Howe st)-- after 11 PM on Thursday and Friday (I think, those are the days) you can go and order 5 giant pieces of sushi for only $2.50!! You can't pick what pieces you get-- it's sort of a chef's choice but it's ALWAYS delicious and fun to be surprised. they are sort of nouveau-sushi, like he will use artichoke and korean Kimchee and white tuna or something. but it's always delicious.Try the firecracker sake too... spicy! On Wednesdays they have like a ridiculous 10-course sushi dinner (again chef's choice) for a prix fixe. Great splurge.
Mamoun's on howe st. (obviously. late night necessity! study snacks! middle eastern food)
LITTLE KNOWN BUT AWESOME CHINESE RESTAURANT: on Whitney, it's way way up, past the career services building. I think it's called Great Wall or something. it looks like a grocery store,but in the back is a Chinese restaurant. And the food is unbelievably delicious and so cheap. the menu is in chinese, so the best thing to do is point and guess. Or else they have a buffet where you get great heaps of food for only like $5. Totally worth it
Pot-au-Pho (vietnamese restaurant next to the Chinese place) totally affordable.

other obvious ones:
claire's on Chapel (vegetarian... tomato pesto pizza is awesome!)
Atticus on Chapel (i pine after the black bean soup... sometimes I have dreams about it)
Scoozzi on Chapel (ditto for their seasonal risottos)


PM me if you have questions!
good luck, J

Hey all,
I did my undergrad at Yale, and I NEVER felt unsafe there, but I would highly encourage people to take the mini bus (it's free! and you can call for door to door service!) If you want to go bar-hopping late at night, try not to walk back alone. Other than that, as long as you're not stupid about partying/going out, you should be fine.

i loved living in New Haven-- there is always some sort of theatre/concert/opera going on, the city has some of the best dining in the States (I'm living in Paris now, and i can honestly say I would trade new Haven restaurants for food here) and the summers are magical-- concerts on the green, etc. The library is *ridiculous* and you can literally get your hands on a ocpy of virtually any document in the world if you want ot order it... not to mention the illuminated manuscripts or langston hughes letters that you can simply ask for and touch.

I would recommend living near Wooster Square or in the "grad ghetto" (which isn't really a ghetto, just abit far) like near Church street, etc. Living "on campus" (on chapel/crown/elm) is of course more pricey, but much more convenient.

made a list of my favorite restaurants for a friend who recently was accepted...

best coffee: Willoughby's on Whitney avenue
great food:
BAR pizza (get the mashed potato pizza! they brew 6 beers in-house, the Toasted Blonde is a hit. On Thursdays the drinks are like a dollar befrore midnight)
Pacifico (upscale, but GREAT drinks and spanish food)
Bentara (malaysian food) in the 9th square
Blue Pearl (for fondue & drinks)
Nikkita (drinks)
Miya's sushi (Howe st)-- after 11 PM on Thursday and Friday (I think, those are the days) you can go and order 5 giant pieces of sushi for only $2.50!! You can't pick what pieces you get-- it's sort of a chef's choice but it's ALWAYS delicious and fun to be surprised. they are sort of nouveau-sushi, like he will use artichoke and korean Kimchee and white tuna or something. but it's always delicious.Try the firecracker sake too... spicy! On Wednesdays they have like a ridiculous 10-course sushi dinner (again chef's choice) for a prix fixe. Great splurge.
Mamoun's on howe st. (obviously. late night necessity! study snacks! middle eastern food)
LITTLE KNOWN BUT AWESOME CHINESE RESTAURANT: on Whitney, it's way way up, past the career services building. I think it's called Great Wall or something. it looks like a grocery store,but in the back is a Chinese restaurant. And the food is unbelievably delicious and so cheap. the menu is in chinese, so the best thing to do is point and guess. Or else they have a buffet where you get great heaps of food for only like $5. Totally worth it
Pot-au-Pho (vietnamese restaurant next to the Chinese place) totally affordable.

other obvious ones:
claire's on Chapel (vegetarian... tomato pesto pizza is awesome!)
Atticus on Chapel (i pine after the black bean soup... sometimes I have dreams about it)
Scoozzi on Chapel (ditto for their seasonal risottos)


PM me if you have questions!
good luck, J

Hey all,
I'm a current grad student-- just a quick note: Maplewood is overpriced and rather sterile (think hotel room type furniture, etc) and not as close as you would think.

Most of the grad students live downtown, in fall creek, or south hill-- I actually found a wonderful house on the edge of South Hill and downtown, and I absolutely love it.

I would also highly recommend having a car, but just because I don't bike and I'm lazy. But in the winter, it's especially nice, or for getting up the hill late at night after the buses stop.

Hey all,
I'm a current grad student-- just a quick note: Maplewood is overpriced and rather sterile (think hotel room type furniture, etc) and not as close as you would think.

Most of the grad students live downtown, in fall creek, or south hill-- I actually found a wonderful house on the edge of South Hill and downtown, and I absolutely love it.

I would also highly recommend having a car, but just because I don't bike and I'm lazy. But in the winter, it's especially nice, or for getting up the hill late at night after the buses stop.