mariadelmar

Hey cloverhinge. I actually created this account just so I could reply to this, because it seemed important to me. First of all, you don't sound ridiculous or like a 'huge chicken'. I don't know if I'm correct in assuming you're a woman; I am (a woman, that is, not correct), and even though I've lived all over the world in the last few years, I don't really have any female friends who don't seriously ask themselves these questions about walking down the street in even really "safe" cities, let alone in a city that has the kind of reputation New Haven has. Whether you're a woman or a man (or don't identify as either), the stories that come out of that town are scary sometimes, particularly if you're not from an urban area originally. I'll give you some context: I first spent time at Yale as an undergraduate (a while ago now), and when I was trying to decide whether to head there I got told these (untrue) horror stories about a chain-link fence surrounding the campus and, despite being from a huge city, I was super uneasy. When I visited, and eventually moved there, I found New Haven to be a town with huge income and race divides. What this means in practice is that there is a 'heart' of campus (in which HGS sits) that is very safe, with "blue phones" (to call campus police) every few yards, solid foot traffic even later at night, and stores that sell hipster coffee and polo shirts, but you can turn the corner and boom, you're suddenly in a pretty seedy part of town. In terms of safety, what this means is that you need to be aware of where you are, and be sensible, and also be aware that Yale is a bubble of mostly super privileged people living in a city that has serious issues with poverty, where many people are struggling. That's true of lots of college towns. I spent a year at Yale as an undergrad (long story; I transferred out to pursue the medievalist track at Oxford), but I have always loved the university and the city. I've been back there to take summer courses four times since I was an undergrad, including courses in 2014 and 2015. I have always lived off-campus when taking summer courses: in the 'grad ghetto' (a misleading and crappy name) in East Rock, on Dwight Street some years ago when it wasn't as nice as it is now, and on Chapel and Howe (both of which are off-campus but pretty central). My anecdotal experience is that Yale is an amazing school with amazing faculty and resources, and that you can live safely in New Haven if you make sound choices and don't make the mistake of forgetting about the privilege bubble. The last two years I have run at night/dusk a few times, avoiding the areas that I know I should not wander into after dark, and I have not felt unsafe. I realise as I'm reading this that it probably doesn't sound very reassuring, but I guess what I want to say is: 1. New Haven is a cool, diverse little city. Yale works hard to make its central campus safe and invests a fair amount in making the city safe for students generally. 2. Familiarity with the city and a clear-eyed view of its makeup are important tools for staying safe: you won't have these tools immediately upon arrival, but other students can help, and it's a small enough place that you'll get the hang of it quick. I have lots of friends who have lived there safely for years without any of the kinds of incidents described in the article to which you linked. 3. HGS is kind of grotty, yes, but it has charm and is a good community space. In terms of expenses, most people don't love the meal plan, and some of the rooms are small, but it isn't dreadful. It might be a good option for living your first year, as you find your feet in the city. Alternatively, the grad area up near East Rock also has a good community feel. The shuttles run up there, and there are plenty of services you can take advantage of if you find yourself needing to make your way home at night, including making plans with buddies who live in the same area to go down to the central libraries and get back at a certain time. I'm sure if you called the services "every day" they'd try to find a way to make you more comfortable, but I also know they wouldn't mind: that's what they're there for. 4. There's Uber in New Haven! Obviously not something you're going to use very often as a poor grad student, but always an option for an unusual evening where you're out late and nervous about it: door-to-door service. (I keep making reference to night-time because New Haven in daylight is a friendly, navigable, lovely little city (and, again, I would argue the same about nighttime in some neighbourhoods). 5. The security situation has improved. Ten years ago there used to be abandoned buildings downtown where homeless people would take shelter, for example; those buildings now house Chipotles and running gear boutiques. New Haven does have a large population of homeless people: many of them will become familiar to you if you live there a little while (some are kind of campus personalities). It is possible to respectfully avoid them if you wish, but I happen to know a few of them from short conversations over the years, and it's also perfectly possible to respectfully interact with them and keep on your way. I just accepted my Yale offer and am moving back to New Haven this August, and I have no more concerns about my safety than I would living in my current city, or moving back to New York, where I also lived for a while, or to any of the major American cities I know. I plan to live in East Rock, probably. 7. I have the sense from a mini-bout of stalking that we might be headed to the same department, and I have to tell you: the faculty is amazing. The resources are incredible. The students that I know are all very cool. The professors I have interacted with all genuinely care about your development and many of them will care about you as a person; it's not a faceless department of academic celebrities (which some people worry about). New Haven isn't Chicago or New York or Boston--or even, you know, Houston--but it's full of culture and amazing bright people doing creative, boundary-pushing things. I saw a play two years ago in which one of the MFA actors put on such a powerful performance that I spilled out onto the street, shaken and shaking, and when I saw the guy at a bar later I couldn't believe he was there drinking in the corner instead of dead in the (fake) hospital bed where I'd left him. The Green is glorious in the summer; the Beinecke is glorious always. I won't tell you it's the safest city in the world, because it's not. But it's a city you can absolutely live in, in my opinion, and if you feel Yale is your best option for a program, I would heartily encourage you to take up their offer for a place like the proselytising psycho I sound like at this point. Anyway. Those are my two cents (if you account for heavy inflation). Always happy to take this to whatever private messaging feature this site has, too, if that will help; I'm just not familiar with it yet. Good luck with your choice!