vtkrkgrad

yes ATT is there, but literally everyone I knew/know has Verizon. You'll save a bundle because you don't get charged for minutes with their "In" calling network

Verizon is the only way to go throughout VT. They pretty much have the state locked up.

The Orange line is ok for various stops and an absolute shithole for others. It is one of the fast lines though and for that is excellent. As for safety, I'm not sure where you're coming from, but Boston and it's surroundings are an urban environment and you need to have an urban mindset about them. Crime can, and will, happen in any neighborhood. Boston is generally safe - other than areas like Roxbury and Dorchester - but places like Malden have their own problems. Malden Center is nice, but the entire North Shore has cycled through blue-collar booms and poverty, the latter being the main course now as a result of the completion of the Big Dig and the current economic fiasco. A lot of what neighborhood to suggest depends on the program you've been accepted to. If you are at MIT/Harvard, then I would suggest Davis Square/North Cambridge. Rents are significantly cheaper, neighborhoods are mostly family and safe, plus the convenience of the Red line. There's also West Cambridge [west of Harvard, Huron Village area], very nice, shitty public transpo. BU/BC it would make more sense to suggest Brookline [$$$] or Jamaica Plain [JP has nice areas and horrible ones; it abuts Roxbury. Look around Stony Brook or Green Street, but not Forest Hills or Jackson Square]. I have moved to East Boston [Maverick, Blue Line] - my commute to MIT everyday is cake, I live in Jeffrie's Point area and I've never had a problem - but it can be a little rough around the edges. There is no night life at all and without a car you get isolated past midnight when the T shuts down, but the rents are some of the lowest in Boston and a discerning eye will find you an awesome apartment overlooking the harbor and the skyline. Southie [south Boston, not the South End of Boston, 2 very different areas] has some cheap rents, but is isolated and has some very rough parts [West Broadway]. I wouldn't necessarily discount Malden, but it wouldn't be my first suggestion for someone moving to the city for the first time either. Check out Porter Square, Davis Square, and if you have a car, Medford. Spring Hill [not Winter Hill or Ten Hills] in Somerville, Inman Square in Cambridge, Cambridgeport [$$$] - although some will say Central Square is shady, I contend that virtually all of Cambridge is safe, and whatever money you pay slightly extra will be more than made up for by proximity to school/lack of commute/not living in Malden.

Hi - I know this already got replied to, but I want to throw my thoughts in. I lived in Burlington for ~6yrs completing my undergrad [lost a couple of semesters for health/travel]. I LOVE it there. I moved to Boston to pursue my degree in Biotech, and had to actively not apply back to UVM for grad school. I've been gone for almost 2 years, and still haven't built the network of activities and friends in Boston that I left there. To address your questions: 1- School never shuts down. Maybe if there is a colossal storm [once per winter], but mainly it is understood that you live in the far north and snow is something you deal with. That said, a lot of teachers also understand that if there has been a huge storm, classes might be empty because kids are at the mountain. 2- The straight walk down the hill is ~10min. There is the free College St shuttle that runs up and down the hill [crucial for early classes and inclement weather], plus your UVM ID let's you ride all the public transportation for free. This is awesome when you live in the North End and don't feel like hiking the 1.5miles to class lugging all your books and laptop etc. 3- Facilities are mostly good. They just completed a huge new student center upon my graduation, so I don't know about it other than it looks beautiful. Gym is rated high but can be kind of night-clubby - if you have a car there is a Planet Fitness about 10-15min away. Main library first floor is a social scene, but head on up to 2nd and 3rd for actual studying. If you head over to the Dana Medical Library, that place is the serious one. Plus it's brand new and gorgeous. 4- Bars close at 2am every night. The main part of downtown, Church St, is the only place to go really. You can walk there and home. All of your friends will be there. There are probably 25 bars in 6 sqr blocks, everything from dancing to jambands to pubs, or some fantastic restuarants. Burlington is small enough that if you want to become a regular somewhere it won't take much, but big enough that you can go to a different bar and see an entire group of people you didn't know existed. And like any college town, although the bars close at 2 there are plenty of house parties/late night activities depending on who your friends are. 5- There isn't anywhere in Burlington you "can't" go, but there are more desirable places to reside than others. The student ghetto - bordered between North Winooski Pearl North Willard and North St should be avoided for renting: the units there have long been subject to undergrad molestation. The Old North End isn't the greatest for people/commerce, but it is cheap rent and no one will bother if you if you don't look like a target. South of Main St is very nice, lots of families and Champlain kids, nice apartments [sometimes insanely cheap], quiet at night, still close to downtown etc. Winooski is also an option for cheap cheap rent, but bear in mind it is a pain to return to after drinking downtown. Avoid South Burlington like the plague - it is a wasteland of stripmalls and condo developments. Finding an awesome place will take a year, as most of the really cool apartments get handed down between friends [or you might get lucky], but there really isn't anywhere you won't be able to make work for you. I always lived closer to the North End or on the south side of Main, never had any problems and found that it let me go to campus and do my thing, then come home and have access to downtown. Don't live on Trinity campus, no matter how they sell it, it has no positive positions in a debate. If you have any more questions, from dogs to hiking to drinking to restuarants, please ask. I love that town.