Trungy

I am not too familiar with East Cambridge. I know that the neighborhood you're looking at is nearby Cambridgeside Galleria, which is your run of the mill mall, but aside from that, I do not have much to say about that area. If the rent at those apartments are affordable and tolerable, then go right ahead and put it at the top of the list. If you think you may struggle with rent, then perhaps you should search for other apartments away from that area and closer to the red line. From 6th and Spring, you are already roughly a mile away from the edge of MIT's campus, so the hike from.. say.. a Harvard Square apartment, or even a Porter or Davis Square apartment isn't too far of a reach. I'd definitely say I can get to Kendall/MIT train stop a less amount of time than if I were to walk from 6th and Spring to MIT (but that doesn't take into the account of the actual commute from the train stop to where you need to be at MIT. My friends and I joke that Harvard and MIT takes up two-thirds of Cambridge). But I'd suggest taking a look at the T map to see where else you'd like to look. I don't want to say you have to rely on the train station to get around in Boston, but believe me, a lot of students do. There are also a ton of bus routes that takes you all over the city in a short amount of time, so check out the bus routes on mbta.com as well. (this map is also helpful for those who are looking at Boston University for grad/undergrad school) I'm sure the area that you've looked at are closer to other MIT students, so keep that in mind if you want to stay closer to fellow MIT students.

Bank of America is almost at every corner you turn. Citizens Bank is also a popular bank, but that bank does not appear as frequently, and from my own experience, I like Bank of America much better. That is similar to what I am doing. I go to a school nearby Northeastern, but I decided to live outside of Boston to save some money. I live in Somerville, MA nearby the red line, and the commute can be anywhere from 35 minutes to a little over an hour (during rush hour), also depending on how lucky you get with the trains. For the most part, the commute isn't so bad, especially if you pick up the Globe. The only thing to really keep in mind are when the T (the train) stops running after midnight. Cambridge is also a good place to live, but prices will depend on where exactly you're looking. Brookline would probably be an easier commute, and you'll be around a lot of BU, BC, and COF students.

Thanks grad cafe, About three weeks ago, I was searching for an available room somewhere in Boston, and I had been searching for months (to put it in perspective.. I've been searching for a place to live since December). I spent most of my time on craigslist as I was determined to find someone renting off a room for a year's lease, but I either found roommates who were too impersonal or roommates who were just downright weird. As I was casually surfing this forum, I came across this thread. I went onto roommates.com, and thought, "Oh what the hell.. it is only $10, and I really do need a place to live and people to live with." Within days, my account was put into use, and I found a great apartment (spacious and cheap!) with great people who I'm excited to live with. And to think.. this all happened accidentally.

Whether it is something you want to look into, I'm not sure, but finding an apartment in Cambridge is not only easy, but rather cheap (in comparison to Boston.. but then again, any city is cheaper than Boston). If you don't have any means of transportation, then finding an apartment along the red line is easy and simple. If you do have a vehicle or something similar, then you practically have the entire city of Cambridge to search through. The question is whether or not you have the money to pay for an apartment at the moment. I'm sure some of you grad applicants are either still in debt with loans or just don't have the kind of luxury to pay for off-campus housing. Dorm rooms are very constricting.