[Boston & Cambridge, MA]

I'll spend next year in Harvard as a post-doc. I'm very much a city person (Berliner) - I don't drive and I love both to drink my after-work beer (preferably in a pub with regulars) and to buy my organic bio-food for cooking at the very same block where I live (or anyway, not too far). Suburbs make me depressed. I'm also vegan. and art-lover (esp.contemporary art). and left-wing. and unfortunately, I don't have too much money. I've been told that two good places would be lower allston and JP. two questions:

1. If I move to Boston at the beginning of the year (9/1 as you write it at the other side of the ocean), when should I start looking for an apartment? I've seen over the internet that there are already apartments for September, which made a bit in panic. when would it be TOO late? or is it already on the verge of too late?!

2. if you were in my place, where would you live? are lower-allston and JP indeed the best options? what are the main differences in atmosphere, demographics etc.?

thanks a lot in advance for any relevant information or insights,

your Gasttheoretiker

First, welcome to Boston!

Sounds like you'd fit in well in JP. I don't know much about lower Allston but I currently live in JP and it seems to fit your criteria well enough. I live in a very large one-bedroom at the top of a quiet hill and I'm within a five minute walk of two pubs and one of the only food co-ops in Boston (the other is in Cambridge). I also only pay $550 a month in rent. I'm very aware though that I am extremely lucky with my living situation because rent around here is usually twice that. However, if you look hard enough you find little gems. The other great thing about living in JP is transportation. The bus runs pretty regularly and brings you through Huntington Ave (Northeastern, MassART, Wentworth, Harvard Public Health, Longwood area hospitals, etc.) and into Copley Square. For a fast trip to downtown Boston you can hop on the Orange line. My favorite, though, is the Southwest Corridor Parkway. It's a flat green space with bike path that stretches from JP to Copley Square, about 5 miles passing through the Huntington Ave destinations I just listed. It's a great option for the warmer months and it gets me to my office near the Garden and Common in about 20 minutes.

The JP crowd is pretty diverse. People characterize it as a lesbian enclave, and it may well be. It's also very family oriented but youthful. There is a fair mix of Haitian, Dominican, African American and Puerto Rican families, mostly from adjacent neighborhoods. It's a pretty solid middle class neighborhood that is well-suited for outdoors types and for people who like to stroll through the neighborhood on good weather days. Restaurants are great, with awesome organic and vegan options. People are very friendly, if not overly politically correct. The neighborhood association is very active and protective - there's currently a campaign to stop a Whole Foods from moving in. There have been some isolated violent crimes recently - but it's hard to escape that in any metro area.

With all that being said, the commute to Harvard's main campus in Cambridge is not ideal. Though, I'm not sure how different it would be from lower Allston. If you'll be based at HSPH in the Longwood area then JP is perfect...

I'm going to miss it (

[U Mich Ford School]

After seeing your note, I went and logged in, and mine is only showing loans as well. Maybe I'm being wishful, but I didn't get the feeling it was updated for the merit-based grants. It all seemed need-based, judging by the "Eligibility" link, the comment: "Please note summary may not reflect your official award", and no 'messages' under that tab. At least I'm not losing hope yet... seems possible they haven't finalized the funding yet, or at least haven't updated the system.

Email that was sent out today noted that information about fellowships will be sent out by the end of this week.

[News from NYU Wagner MPA?]

I also got accepted, but without funding. I have some other offers that I'm seriously considering, but I was wondering if those who find Wagner particularly appealing could explain to me why they like it over other programs.

I'm just looking for some insight... thanks in advance!

I've visited the campus several times and attended an information session and found the program to be pretty solid. There doesn't seem to be the level of group cohesion that you'd find among cohorts at smaller programs and the city, for me, is definitely a distraction. I believe the program to be a better fit for people actually interested in public administration and less a fit for those more interested in policy analysis or research. So, if you're interested in management positions at a non-profit or public agency then this is an awesome program. Otherwise, give greater consideration to your other programs before committing to two years of abject poverty. NYC isn't as fun without a discretionary budget.

[News from NYU Wagner MPA?]

Received acceptance letter via email this evening. I will probably decline this offer.

[U Mich Ford School]

in a response to my query about a possible missing transcript it was noted that they hoped to get final decisions out this week.