[Princeton, NJ]

I'm wondering if anyone on this website has some insight on off-campus housing for someone who is trying to not live without roommates?

Specifically, are there any nearby towns/neighborhoods that I should avoid or that graduate students tend to gravitate towards? I've heard many live in Plainsboro, but I'm seeing a lot of options in towns as far as 15 minute drives away like Pennington and Hamilton.

Also, when is the best time to start looking for off-campus housing in Princeton? I've found some decent options price-wise nearby but I have heard that housing goes quickly here.

[Princeton, NJ]

On 11/18/2016 at 5:10 PM, Bleep_Bloop said:

Sorry, I should have mentioned my field above. I'm in the humanities, in a language department. I've taken classes listed in various language departments, comp lit, english, history, art history, etc. The period I study (20th and 21st century) might also be relevant.

Living in Princeton is not great, nor is it awful. I have mixed feelings. Princeton is a phenomenal place to work. Firestone (which I'm assuming you'll have at least limited if not full access to) has absolutely amazing collections and will get you whatever you need. Princeton is quiet and cute and there aren't many distractions. This makes my time here EXTREMELY productive.

At the same time, Princeton gets stressful and lonely and tiresome. It's the price you pay, I suppose. There isn't much to do in town, there's no community outside your home department, the food is pretty bad, everything is expensive (think NYC prices without any of the fun or excitement of the city). Also, don't underestimate how awful of a state New Jersey is.

That said, I don't necessarily regret coming here to study. It can be a cozy place, though difficult to get to know people or find things to do besides studying. It's what we're here to do, after all, but you really do feel like you're living a monastic life as a graduate student here. I'm leaving Princeton at the end of this semester for Philly or NYC because I'll finally be done with my coursework and teaching. I've been waiting for this moment for a long time, though I can't say I don't have a few fond memories of the place. Do you have specific concerns?

As a current PhD student here I think this is a really good description of what grad life is like here. It works out nicely for me because I am kind of a homebody anyway and am pretty used to NJ from having lived here for many years prior to studying at Princeton. But I can see how this is really boring for people who enjoy a bit of night life and going out to eat. There aren't many bars, and all the food accessible near-ish to campus is too expensive for me to want to go to on my stipend. And this is even taking into consideration the relatively generous stipend we get here. At least there's the Wawa which is nice because it's open 24 hours and has reasonably priced food/snacks, so I do appreciate that.

People often tell me you don't *need* a car to live here, but personally I would feel very trapped without one. NJ is not the easiest place to get around without a car. I've spent time on campuses where you can get by pretty much fine with just the public transit system, a bike, and just walking around, but I would not personally consider Princeton to be one of those places. The bus system is actually pretty nice around campus, and there is a shuttle available for late-night transportation, but if you ever want to leave the university then you'd have to look beyond the complementary TigerTransit (to my knowledge, at least). PhD is soul-crushing enough as it is, so I would recommend a car to anyone who feels that it help them feel even just a bit more like a real human.

All that said, I really do overall enjoy studying here. My home department is really nice and the office/lab/study spaces avilable are really pleasant. There are tons of opportunities for seminars from really influential invited speakers, an absurd abundance of free food pretty much daily around campus if you know where to look, and the campus is beautiful to walk around. The proximity of the train station is definitely convenient for people who need to travel frequently. So the work day is generally an enjoyable experience - at least as far as the roller coaster of PhD life can be enjoyable.

[What Did You Do Instead of Being Productive?]

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