michpc

Unless you're planning to take your bike regularly on public transit or something, why a folding bike? Seems like a hybrid would be a better choice...a little more rugged and comfortable than a road bike, but will be much nicer to ride on those longer trips than a folding bike.

If the place on Corinthian is further south near Fairmount Ave, I'd probably go that route. I love that area, and ended up finding an apartment in the grad hospital area, but we looked at some places near that (19th and Wallace) and really liked that spot, just not the apartment . Don't forget to check reviews on those high rises, if you choose to go the center city route.

If you do take the buses and have an Android phone, get Boston Bus Map(s?). Awesome app.

Also a note: September 1 is only really bad in Boston proper, I think. I've moved twice on the 1st in Somerville and Cambridge, and really haven't found it to be very bad at all. However, if you go across the river and check out areas like Fenway, you'll find hordes and hordes of Penske trucks and UHauls EVERYWHERE.

I don't know much about either program, but based on what you mentioned as your wife's interests previously, it seems like the Georgia State program might be a good fit. You said that she was possibly interested in working in a museum, and their program seems to have an emphasis on things like interpretation, while also having more general preservation training.

I am planning to move everything over, but in my case this is because I don't have any plans to come back to MA after graduation unless I find some overwhelmingly awesome job here. But in general I'm ready for an adventure and trying new places and don't really want to come back any time soon. I'm treating this like a real move, not like a temp thing as it was in undergrad, where I came home to my parents' house every summer and winter break. Another thing to note: I'm not sure if this is the case for where you're going in MI, but this may be something to take into consideration for others: if you are moving with your car to a city, many residential areas have permit parking. Where I live currently (Cambridge, MA) you must have your legal residence and car registration at an address within the city in order to get one. Otherwise you'd have to do something like pay for a garage or parking lot spot or find an apartment with off street parking (not always the easiest). Just something for others to think about!

Another option is Goucher College's program...it requires two-week summer sessions at the College, with distance learning the rest of the year. I haven't heard much about the program, but it may be worth looking into.

Do you know where you're living? In my experience, Boston Sports Clubs and Planet fitness are not for serious lifters. I'm not sure if there are independent gyms, but I use Bally in Porter Sq and although it's not the nicest, it has a full range of free weights, including 2 squat racks. The gym manager seems to be a competitor, so you wouldn't feel out or place there lifting heavy.

Totally opposite for me. I mean, I'm 100% excited for school, moving to a new city, etc., but this is the first free summer I've had in 6+ years with no real cares or responsibilities (OK, I should care about my lack of money, but I'd rather enjoy myself!). I feel like I'm a grade school kid again. I'm planning to spend pretty much the entire month of July (and any part of June that's nice enough) on the beach reading books and swimming. It is going to be awesome, and I will enjoy every minute of it!

If I want to eat, yes! I'm hoping to have a paid RA position, and then something probably outside the school...maybe something easy like a receptionist where I can spend most of my time studying/doing school work while getting paid.

I'll be living with my sister when I move because she also happens to be pursuing a grad degree in the same city. However, if I'd ended up at one of the schools where I knew no one in the city, I was planning to get a studio by myself. I'm 26, and have done the roommate thing for a number of years, and even with great friends, it gets old. I was so OVER it, and would be in a studio right now if I didn't live with my boyfriend. Max I would do would be one roommate, and I'd prefer it be someone not in my program since I'd be spending so much time with them anyway.

University Village is brand new and has a ton of amenities, but to be 100% honest, I'd never pay those prices in a small, somewhat depressed former industrial city. In Boston or DC? Maybe. Not in Syracuse. Nob Hill has direct bus service to campus, I believe (I remember seeing Nob Hill signs on buses stopped at campus), but there's not really much of anything around it. Maplewood Gardens is in a nice area and close to campus. I don't know much about either complex in terms of reputation, but in terms of location, Maplewood wins.

I'm all about convenience...I would prefer to be no more than a 30min commute by the slowest method. I'm planning to likely bike mostly when it's nice out, and take public transit when it's not. Walking distance would be even better, but I'm not sure if that will happen.

Friends: they all know I've been wanting to do this for a while, so everyone was really supportive and super excited when I started getting acceptances. Family: same as friends. Also, I come from a family where higher education is very important, and many of my relatives have higher degrees. In fact, my mom has two masters degrees, and her brother has a PhD and is a professor at BU medical school. So, up until this point I was kind of feeling like the black sheep of the family .

I wouldn't put all your eggs in the rental agency basket, however. Find some by owner places to view too. I've seen dozens and dozens of apartments in the past, and very few of those shown to me by agencies (that I wasn't viewing through an agency after finding that unit specifically through a site like Craigslist) have been nice. Most have been complete junk, and clueless or slimy (not sure entirely which) agents have tried to take me to units they claimed were in one neighborhood when they were actually nowhere near it. Lots of time wasted. Landlords are naturally going to send their junky units off to an agency so they don't have to show it hundreds of times until some sucker finally rents it. I found my current place through a realtor, but the company was not one that dealt strictly/mostly in rentals, and again I found that unit specifically through a search website; all the agent did for me was open it up and show it, then send us a lease to sign.

How obnoxious!

I'm planning to bike quite a bit too. I already have a bike that I've had for a little over a year now that I use for around town errands and also fitness. It's a nice solid steel frame road bike. This might be TMI, but I tend to sweat a lot when biking, even when I try to limit my speed a lot, so when I used to bike to work I wore bike shorts and athletic tops, and then changed into my work clothes in the bathroom. I'll probably plan to do the same for grad school, so having all sorts of fenders and such isn't as much of a concern for me. I also carry a backpack, which is cheaper than installing a bunch of accessories. For sizing, I'd consider going to a local bike shop and having them fit you so you have an idea of what size bike you'll need. And I agree on trying to learn repairs yourself.

I've heard for long distance that PODS can be on par with or more expensive than actually hiring movers. Just do your homework and call around. If movers are even anywhere close to PODS I'd totally go the mover route since they're doing everything for you,

I agree with this. And I know you're coming from the country, but I've never found it to be very loud around here. There's the occasional loud party, barking dogs, and kids running around the streets, but I find that it's not hard to spend an afternoon outside reading without much distraction, even a couple blocks off a major road, where I live now, and during the cold months when windows are closed, I rarely ever hear neighbors, including the ones in my building. To Bookman, I live with the BF now, but I'm not sure if he'll be coming with me on my grad school move, so we'll see how it actually "works out". I did long distance with him for several years, and I'm not really sure how that will work at a 6-7 hour distance when I'd like to have a weekend life of my own since I'll know I'll be working my butt off all week long. Frankly, the weekend thing gets a bit tiring.

For your roommate questions...I was in a similar situation a few years ago. I told my soon-to-be roommates up front that I was in a LDR and that my boyfriend would probably be up at least a couple times per month. They didn't have a problem with that. I always let them know ahead of time if he was going to be there that weekend, and it was never an issue while I lived there. I think if you're courteous and forthright about it, it's usually not a problem for reasonable people. Just obviously avoid things like letting your visitor take extra long showers, or use the washer and dryer, etc. That particular apartment was actually in the Davis Square area not terribly far from Tufts. Parking for residents with a permit is never a major issue. Occasionally I had a park a few blocks away on street cleaning or snow emergency days, but the rest of the time I was usually no more than a few houses away. Also, many of the homes in the area have some sort of off street parking situation that you can share with roommates/building-mates. Unfortunately, I hate the suburbs, so I can't help you on that front. All I know is that places like Woburn have those massive ugly complexes by the highway, which I'm sure are more quiet and cheaper. I would tend to think that it might be hard to find smaller apartments out in the 'burbs as the people living out there are more likely to be families. But it may be worth just picking some towns to the north and searching on Craigslist. July 1 is not too late for September 1. All 3 of the leases I've had in this area have had 60 day clauses, so generally 2 months ahead of time is when you'll see the majority of listings pop up, so you're good to go for July 1. Good luck with your hunt!

What worked for me? Just reading flash cards and word groups over and over again.

I'm also in Boston, but working during the summer I always had at least a bit of a walk to the subway and had a later start, so it was often already quite toasty when I was leaving. DRESSES. Seriously, go to the Wrentham Outlets, go to TJ Maxx, go to the sale racks, and buy lots and lots of dresses! Bring along a cardigan or light jacket for over-ACed interiors and you're good to go. This was my go-to summer wardrobe, with a few skirts thrown in as well. Super comfy, and easy to transition to things like going out to dinner, or grabbing drinks with friends after classes are over.

I think it depends on the airline...United says you can bring umbrellas in addition to your regular carry-on items, but when I flew American back from London with a stick umbrella they made me check it since I already had a backpack and purse. So, yeah, check with the airline.

Here's a link to the CENTRO (Syracuse area bus service) website: http://www.centro.org/Syracuse-University-Service.aspx . That is specifically the SU buses, and you can navigate around the site to find the regular city route schedules. I believe just the University routes are free to students, but the regular fare is just $1.25 or $50 for the whole month. The bus from downtown is direct to the University, no transfers, so it's fairly fast. You can check the schedules to see what times they run. I'm not terribly familiar with the neighborhood directly south of the cemetery, but it is right by the athletic complex, and therefore easily served by campus bus. I would not rent anything south of the cemetery that is west of 81...that is one of the less nice areas of Syracuse. Unfortunately, I don't know anything about Maple Gardens, so I can't help you out there, but I do think that DeWitt is generally nice (save for the strip malls on Erie Blvd ).

So, most juniors and seniors choose to live off campus, therefore the areas immediately around campus are mostly "undergraduate ghetto", so to speak. It is loud and we partied hard and late. Honestly, since I went there for undergrad, I'm not really sure where grad students lived! I will say that I think things get quieter South of Stratford Street (though parts of Ackerman and Lancaster will still have a lot of undergrads on them), and also once you get closer to Westcott Street on the east. Westcott is a nice little area with a couple restaurants, shops, and a little Syracuse library branch. It's a bit of a hike from campus, though, but I honestly think anywhere that's not packed with undergrads is. Armory Square, which is the heart of downtown's eating/drinking center is a little more than a mile and a half from campus. You'll be OK walking there during the daytime, but I wouldn't do it at night. I never felt super unsafe in Syracuse (and I grew up in a small, safe town), but crimes of opportunity happen around campus: break-ins, muggings, etc., so it's best to be aware and try to walk on streets that are well-lit at night. Living downtown is another option if you want a more urban feel...a friend's sister did that when she was taking graduate classes and working for a law firm there. There is a CENTRO campus bus that picks up from the Warehouse (an SU facility) downtown and goes to campus, and is obviously free to students. I took that to and from classes at the Warehouse senior year, and it was a quick and convenient ride. Good luck!