Anyone else hate this time right now?

[DJLamar]

I am personally a fan of east atlanta and little five, where all the bohemian stuff is, but your right Atlanta does keep getting better except the terrible public transit. There a lot of good shows, bars, resturaunts, etc. And just be glad your not moving to New Orleans. Atlanta is hot, but move to a muggy coastal city, and you will understand a new meaning of southern heat agony !

Yeah, I almost said East Atlanta and Little Five, but for me I guess Midtown edges that area out just a little bit.

You guys must have come from up north or out west. I was raised in the Carolina heat. Some of that time even happened BEFORE central A/C. I'm talking oscillating fan in August. I'm a soldier!

I looked at several apartments in midtown. I'm very excited to go exploring. Any suggestions?

Actually, I'm from a little town just 45 miles south of Atlanta (Jackson, GA), and I lived there until I moved to and started at Georgia Tech when I was 18. I just got tired of the heat really fast...

I don't know the area closer to Emory very well, so I don't know which apartments would be most convenient for you. The only apartments I've had experience with personally or through friends have been centered around Tech. I know there are some pretty decent studio and 1-bedroom places in the area just east of Tech for something like $700 or $800 a month, and a couple of friends of mine lived in a 2-bedroom place at 8th and Argonne for something pretty cheap, though I don't remember how much... nice place, too, in a nice area (just southeast of Piedmont Park). I've lived in a 4-bedroom 4 bath place about 2.5 miles northwest of Tech (next to the Wal-Mart...) for the last couple of years. The rent was $450 but the walls are kind of thin so having so many roommates is sort of annoying in this place.

[rooibos]

And just be glad your not moving to New Orleans. Atlanta is hot, but move to a muggy coastal city, and you will understand a new meaning of southern heat agony !

Truefax: one of the reasons I chose a grad school in New Orleans is that I'm from the Caribbean and HATED the Central PA weather that I braved during undergrad. I'm all about the muggy coastal cities-- I'm in one, right now!

[Riotbeard]

Truefax: one of the reasons I chose a grad school in New Orleans is that I'm from the Caribbean and HATED the Central PA weather that I braved during undergrad. I'm all about the muggy coastal cities-- I'm in one, right now!

It's strange, the first city I really loved living in and felt at home in, Charleston, is muggy, so to me, humidity is kinda like home. The stench, the thickness just feels like going home to me now. So whenever, I go somewhere with that mugginess, I am like soak it up! Then everyone looks at me like I am crazy . It's some thing that excites about NOLA, being by some water (if only a river), and in that strange humid lifestyle.

[rising_star]

And I have had minor nightmares about running into my advisor while I'm shopping for cucumbers and her being all, "um, what are you doing here?" LOL I already think my excitement freaks her out a bit. Every time we have talked I've mentioned some article or something I read and it seems to throw her off. I'm not a gunner; I'm just very, very, very excited!

It's not as weird as you think, I swear. At my MA university, I used to run into the same two profs in the grocery store all the time. And I seriously see my current advisor riding his bike all the damn time and sometimes he waves... They'll just think you moved during the summer because that's when your other lease was up and/or to get to know the city before school starts. I moved Aug 1 for classes that started the last week in August and no one thought it was weird.

[VUbrat08]

Coyabean, Atlanta in August is freaking HOT. Be prepared, haha.

One thing I'm glad for is that I'm shooting for an August 1st move-in date, so I will be (thankfully) skirting my way around Atlanta dog-days. It's already getting to that "Holy-Hell-it's-hot" stage, and it's only mid-May (today's humidity was no joke)! I'm a born and raised Georgian, by the way.

And I've been frequenting Midtown/Atlantic Station lately (can anyone say IKEA?).

However, I am exchanging the hot summers (and springs and falls) of Atlanta with the hyper-cold winters (and sometimes springs and falls) of Chicago...but I'm prepared.

Edited May 15, 2010 by VUbrat08

[captiv8ed]

Actually, Chicago summers are also ridiculously hot. It may be slightly less hot and humid, but not much. I grew up in Chicago, and summers are crazy hot and humid, winters are ridiculously cold and icy/snowy/windy, and shoulder seasons are very short. It really has the worst of both worlds

But it is a fun city!

[coyabean]

Actually, Chicago summers are also ridiculously hot. It may be slightly less hot and humid, but not much. I grew up in Chicago, and summers are crazy hot and humid, winters are ridiculously cold and icy/snowy/windy, and shoulder seasons are very short. It really has the worst of both worlds

But it is a fun city!

I lived in Chicago for a year and half. That's how long I made it. I call it my survival limit. When I visited to scout it out it was May. Chicago in May is heaven on earth: the lake front, the breeze, the wonderful people, the Navy Pier, the shopping. SOLD!

Well, I moved in October. It snowed a week later and it didn't stop until April. I spent Thanksgiving watching a holiday parade on the Mile. I cried the whole time. Or, I think I cried. When the tears freeze before they fall it's hard to tell. I actually broke out in some kind of hives I was so cold. I just started itching like crazy. Later someone said that's a very early sign of hypothermia.

To say I was unprepared would be an understatement.

I called my parents like a big baby and made them drive a U-Haul through those retched mountains to come get me.

I think it is Oprah who said Chicago is so great that if the winters weren't so bad everyone would live there. It's population control and it sure did work on me!!!! LOL

I'll take a muggy summer in exchange for a mild winter. In fact, it's in the mid 90s in Carolina today and I'm not going to complain one bit because I know I'll still be wearing shorts in October.

[archguy]

You guys must have come from up north or out west. I was raised in the Carolina heat. Some of that time even happened BEFORE central A/C. I'm talking oscillating fan in August. I'm a soldier!

I looked at several apartments in midtown. I'm very excited to go exploring. Any suggestions?

Riotbeard, you have an excellent point. I have been a lot of places in my time but I have NEVER been as hot as I was in New Orleans. I'm not even sure hot covers it. You could drink the air. Is that hot or something else? Like Hades, perhaps? And then there was decidedly rankness to that drinkable air. *shiver* Love NO but I don't think I could manage it four months out of the year.

Well, you'll be fine in August. I grew up in Arkansas (hot and muggy), and it will take me about 1 month to ge acclimated back to the South. At least I won't have to worry about 40-50 degree summers of the Bay Area anymore, yikes. Being here, it's always been kind of wierd to have February as the nicest month (and practically the warmest), with the rest of the year one of three dimensions of foggy, and each cold. Anyway, now if I would just get some financial aid info so I can figure out where I'm going to live in Atlanta..woo hoo! Hey, how were those apartments in Midtown? What were they going for? I'm excited. I just hope that I don't have to room with anyone. I mean, San Francisco burned me out of looser roommates (I even had one roommate thought I would be "cool" about her not paying rent if she couldn't pay it...maybe on the 5th, but on the 25th???). Anyway, congrats on anyone who was thinking about living in SF area and who decided against it unless you're going to be completely covered by some fellowship or scholarship. My small studio/1 room apartment itself goes for $1,600 a month, and the ones right next to me are at $2,000 and above a month. At least it's not as bad when I got here (in 2000) when I had to room with 5 other people in one flat (large one floor apartment) and I had pay $800 (for my share) of a total of $3,200/month.

My advice with regard to the heat. Get two fans (one to blow air in, and another to blow air out). They will create a stream of air in the apartment and move the air in and out. Get cheap ones because they're going to burn out easy, but get those 'window' fans, because they work best. At least this worked when I lived for around 17 years in Arkansas.

Oh, I'm just going to love seasons again, if I ever get the info on how I'm going to pay for this.

Hey if anyone is there around June 20th, that's when I hit Atlanta (school starts on the 28th). So, send me an e-mail, and let's have coffee, so we can gribe about grad programs, he ha ha!

[captiv8ed]

Coya, I am not worried about you. A Carolina girl can handle the Atlanta heat. I just don't want anyone having delusions of mildness when it comes to Chicago summers!

[archguy]

Coya, I am not worried about you. A Carolina girl can handle the Atlanta heat. I just don't want anyone having delusions of mildness when it comes to Chicago summers!

Well, if anyone's worried about the heat, I'd also be worried about the winters if you're going toward Chicago or Minneapolis. I lived in Minneapolis for three years, and the winters were not that bad. Yes, it did get down to -30 and one night -50 when I was there, but you really don't feel now much colder it is after it gets to 32. The difference is that you just get colder faster. At least it's not like the Bay Area where the cold fog just eats through down or clothing, my advice is LAYERS, LAYERS, LAYERS. Go get a wool sweater and a down coat with a good windbreak and you should be fine. Get some weather boots (ducks) with some insulation and get wool socks. Wool, wool, wool is critical. The windbreak is also critical. Also, when you're walking, it's best to not face the wind. These cities generally clear their streets pretty quickly. In Minneapolis, the streets are being cleaned as soon as it's starting to snow. In fact, what I did is get a cold that was one size too big (more like 2 sizes) because it allowed me to have more of a heat/air trap to keep my body warm. So, you'll be fine. Enjoy it. Enjoy the season. I miss them.

[captiv8ed]

I agree, although I think the threshold for me is about 15, as in, anything lower than 15 is all equally cold!

The coldest night of my life was when I was a kid in Chicago. Wind Chill 82 below zero! Exposed skin would freeze in minutes.

[RNadine21]

All this talk about the South is making me more excited/anxious to move to Charleston! Thankfully I'm used to the heat/humidity.....born and raised in DC and I just finished undergrad in Miami. I'm also excited to see seasons again.....rainy and dry seasons are not cutting it for me.

Right now I'm finally relaxing from finals and graduation, and I'll be selling my furniture and packing up in my own time....and celebrating my birthday Then back home to DC to work and hang out with family and friends before the big move. I wish there was more for me to do though, or more information. I can technically register for classes, but I don't know how to go about that when I don't know which undergrad labs I'm running. Bahhhhh I don't know what I'll do with myself all summer.

[coyabean]

I wish there was more for me to do though, or more information. I can technically register for classes, but I don't know how to go about that when I don't know which undergrad labs I'm running. Bahhhhh I don't know what I'll do with myself all summer.

My to-do list is dwindling and I, literally, have nowhere to go, nothing to do and it's driving me crazy!!! LOL It's so sad I've actually started CLEANING!!!! Gah!

[Infinite Monkeys]

The holding pattern is insane. I know the program's general expectations, but I have so many questions and am so ready to get a move on that I don't know how I'm going to make it until June. Answers, dammit, I need answers! Course loads, TA obligations, reading lists, tell me tell me tell me!

I have one paper to write and 80 papers to grade before I can claim freedom. By this time next week, I'll have graduated with my MA in English. I still have my job through mid-August, but that's going to be nowhere enough of a distraction. I'll probably catch up on freelance writing this summer to sock away a little extra cash before the semester starts, and I'll be doing some "fun" reading and playing a crazy amount of computer games, but beyond that, I don't know that there's much else to do.

[rogue]

I think my advisor, the assistant dean and the librarians at my school think I'm crazy, because I've already registered for classes, applied for my student ID, copied half the reading for one course and gotten research assignments lined up for the school year and next summer. I swear I'm not normally all type A like this; I'm just excited.

[rooibos]

I think it is Oprah who said Chicago is so great that if the winters weren't so bad everyone would live there. It's population control and it sure did work on me!!!!

I spent one January day in Chicago and decided that it wasn't for me! I had never, ever in my life been that cold!

[captiv8ed]

I think my advisor, the assistant dean and the librarians at my school think I'm crazy, because I've already registered for classes, applied for my student ID, copied half the reading for one course and gotten research assignments lined up for the school year and next summer. I swear I'm not normally all type A like this; I'm just excited.

Aw, I am jealous! I tried to register for classes and was told I can't do it until orientation.

[poco_puffs]

I managed to register for classes this morning (yay University of Oregon!) but now I'm having trouble finding any reading lists for the courses in the upcoming year. I'll have scads of free time this summer in between shifts at my job, and I'd like to get a head start on the hundreds and thousands of pages I'll have to read. I think my new university is ready for the Type As, otherwise. They've been good about sending out information packets with new ID numbers, classes, health center info etc.

I *REALLY* would like to get moving, though. Having the big move looming over my head is stressing me out more than anything.

[coyabean]

I think my advisor, the assistant dean and the librarians at my school think I'm crazy, because I've already registered for classes, applied for my student ID, copied half the reading for one course and gotten research assignments lined up for the school year and next summer. I swear I'm not normally all type A like this; I'm just excited.

Oh Gawd! LOL I'd kill for a reading list!!!!

And I already took my ID pic, too!!! We can email ours in and have our ID ready to pick up. It's all I can do not to email it just yet. I just know they'll look at it and go, "dweeb, you're 90 days early!" But I doubt I'll be able to hold out for much longer.

[Riotbeard]

Oh Gawd! LOL I'd kill for a reading list!!!!

And I already took my ID pic, too!!! We can email ours in and have our ID ready to pick up. It's all I can do not to email it just yet. I just know they'll look at it and go, "dweeb, you're 90 days early!" But I doubt I'll be able to hold out for much longer.

I was looking for apartments yesturday and having lunch with my advisor, and I definately felt insanely gung ho! He did it give me some sweet gossip on big wigs in my field. Also the city flooded, while I was there, haha!

[rogue]

Oh Gawd! LOL I'd kill for a reading list!!!!

And I already took my ID pic, too!!! We can email ours in and have our ID ready to pick up. It's all I can do not to email it just yet. I just know they'll look at it and go, "dweeb, you're 90 days early!" But I doubt I'll be able to hold out for much longer.

Do it! I uploaded mine to the online system and just barely managed to talk myself out of calling to see if I could pick up the ID now. I'm sort of ridiculous, huh?

[reimaginethis]

Has anyone else here been invited to join a research team before the fall semester starts? I'm joining on July 1st. I have no idea what to expect, and I figure I'll feel really strange when all the students return in August and are like 'who the heck are you?'

[socialpsychg]

Has anyone else here been invited to join a research team before the fall semester starts? I'm joining on July 1st. I have no idea what to expect, and I figure I'll feel really strange when all the students return in August and are like 'who the heck are you?'

I started in the beginning of June, and I'm kind of the first incoming student in my area here. It's a little more daunting than starting normally, since there's no support group of other first-years yet to really get a grounding with. Ny not having started the stats sequence that first years go through yet, I'm also a neck deep in doing data analysis that I don't understand (i put myself on a project where the data was already collected). The more experienced grad students that are around (and for my lab, that's all of them) understand the situation, so they've been helpful in answering my (many) questions as well. Hopefully that helps!

[abacus123]

I started in the beginning of June, and I'm kind of the first incoming student in my area here. It's a little more daunting than starting normally, since there's no support group of other first-years yet to really get a grounding with. Ny not having started the stats sequence that first years go through yet, I'm also a neck deep in doing data analysis that I don't understand (i put myself on a project where the data was already collected). The more experienced grad students that are around (and for my lab, that's all of them) understand the situation, so they've been helpful in answering my (many) questions as well. Hopefully that helps!

Did the same thing by starting at the beginning of this month. Really sucks not having other first-years to talk to yet. Sucked even more to discover that I was the only one proficient in the English language and that the building I do work in is across campus from the department offices. But it's okay, I talked to the director of my department and I'll officially be disaffiliated from this research group in the fall. It'll give me more time to scout around in the department for other groups more in line with what I want to do. I think it's better to have realized that now than to have done so in the fall, so starting early, although it didn't pan out for me, was something of a blessing in (a very frustrating) disguise.