New Haven, CT

[twentysix]

d

 

I don't think you should have too much trouble.  A bit further west from there and things are less decent, but going back and forth shouldn't be too much trouble, though if you were doing it late at night, I might consider not carrying large sums of cash, or other valuables on you.

 

With this said, New Haven is an odd city, it is very compressed, and muggings, car thefts, etc. happen anywhere and everywhere, as well as at any time of day.  When I was at Yale I had friends who were mugged at 1AM and 1PM, on secluded side streets and on main drags.  My car was broken into three times in four years, even though there was really nothing of value in there.  This shouldn't be cause for constant alarm or worry, just vigilance, some common sense, and a general attitude of "even if it does happen, I will probably be alive and ok, if a bit rattled."  If you are walking home later at night, try to find a friend or two in your general area to walk with.  Yale even has a nightime ride/walk escort that I think you should be able to use if you were really worried.  Don't stumble home half in the bag with $500 in your wallet, your laptop in your backpack, and your iPhone 6 held out in front of you.  Don't leave a gps, or gps mount obviously visible in your car, or a bag/backpack that might look like it possibly contains other valuables sitting on the seat (i.e. camera case, briefcase, etc.).  This is just basic city stuff, not New Haven-specific though.

 

Thanks for the advice. I've been here for more than two weeks now living on dwight and chapel (and driving around new haven, west haven, milford, orange, and hamden). 

 

My three intial thoughts:

 

The Yale campus is outrageously beautiful.

New Haven is a complete shithole aside from Yale.

It seems like the rundown areas around where I'm at are less dangerous than they would appear on the surface.

 

It is definitely an interesting place with the cloistered castle style colleges on one side of the street and the green full of homeless people sleeping on cardboard less than 50 feet away.

Edited July 8, 2015 by twentysix

[Bombaygunner]

On 6/30/2015 at 9:34 AM, backslash said:

Absolutely. Not far from campus, you'll find Elm City Co-op, which is a good, but sometimes pricey grocery store (kind of like Whole Foods). There are also several farmers markets throughout the city, almost one a day depending on where you are. The cheapest place to shop will be the Stop and Shop, although you'll probably want a bus or car, depending on where you are staying. I lived just off campus, and I mostly cooked at home while I was there. The meal plans are an absurd amount of money.

 

Thanks  a lot!

 

 

[cloverhinge]

I've spent days on the Internet and on the forums to try to get a clear view of living in New Haven. The comments posted here about common grad housing options have been very helpful, and I was wondering if someone could kindly shed some light on whether the safety situation has improved/degraded since then. I've been to the Yale campus as a prospective undergrad, and it seemed pretty safe, and in hindsight, I think it really helped that you needed a student card to get in everywhere. It seems like most of the muggings and robberies happen to off-campus folks, which is a big concern for me since safety is a huge priority for me. I read an article back in November of 2015 that some poor 78 year old professor was beat up and mugged, and some of the other comments floating around on the internet seemed to suggest that the same amount of security that is available for undergrads is not extended to grad students (just an example: http://yaledailynews.com/blog/2011/09/16/grad-students-see-less-off-campus-crime/). 

Obviously I would follow common sense rules, like not walking alone at night and etc, etc, but I was still curious about the off campus housing situation. Some questions that I had were: if I were to live off-campus (which is very likely) such as in East Rock, would it be safe to walk to campus? Do you feel that the university takes care of the grad students' safety, or do they just sort of try to say it's "off campus" so not really their responsibility? I also heard that on-campus grad dorms tend to be not very nice (I don't know if the complaints about the HGS dilapidation still holds), or that it's difficult to get into, or that it's too costly for what you get. I also heard about the door-to-door escort service but I wondered that it might be ridiculous to use it "every day" - but that's just my guess as an outsider, so if you could enlighten me on the situation, I'd be very grateful. 

I think Yale is very beautiful and lively, but the safety thing makes me a bit anxious. To be honest I've been a bit sheltered my whole life so the idea of "mugging is not uncommon" kind of scares me. I know that I could be told "if you can't handle an urban environment then just don't go," but I'm apprehensive because I'm a huge chicken who also really wants an opportunity at a great program. I just want to know if the safety thing is do-able for me, because I know that if I'm stressed out about my safety all the time, I can't function. Sorry if I sound ridiculous - and thanks so much for your insight in advance! 

Edited February 29, 2016 by cloverhinge

[mariadelmar]

On February 29, 2016 at 8:08 PM, cloverhinge said:

I think Yale is very beautiful and lively, but the safety thing makes me a bit anxious. To be honest I've been a bit sheltered my whole life so the idea of "mugging is not uncommon" kind of scares me. I know that I could be told "if you can't handle an urban environment then just don't go," but I'm apprehensive because I'm a huge chicken who also really wants an opportunity at a great program. I just want to know if the safety thing is do-able for me, because I know that if I'm stressed out about my safety all the time, I can't function. Sorry if I sound ridiculous - and thanks so much for your insight in advance! 

Hey cloverhinge.  I actually created this account just so I could reply to this, because it seemed important to me.

First of all, you don't sound ridiculous or like a 'huge chicken'.  I don't know if I'm correct in assuming you're a woman; I am (a woman, that is, not correct), and even though I've lived all over the world in the last few years, I don't really have any female friends who don't seriously ask themselves these questions about walking down the street in even really "safe" cities, let alone in a city that has the kind of reputation New Haven has.  Whether you're a woman or a man (or don't identify as either), the stories that come out of that town are scary sometimes, particularly if you're not from an urban area originally.

I'll give you some context: I first spent time at Yale as an undergraduate (a while ago now), and when I was trying to decide whether to head there I got told these (untrue) horror stories about a chain-link fence surrounding the campus and, despite being from a huge city, I was super uneasy.  When I visited, and eventually moved there, I found New Haven to be a town with huge income and race divides.  What this means in practice is that there is a 'heart' of campus (in which HGS sits) that is very safe, with "blue phones" (to call campus police) every few yards, solid foot traffic even later at night, and stores that sell hipster coffee and polo shirts, but you can turn the corner and boom, you're suddenly in a pretty seedy part of town.  In terms of safety, what this means is that you need to be aware of where you are, and be sensible, and also be aware that Yale is a bubble of mostly super privileged people living in a city that has serious issues with poverty, where many people are struggling.  That's true of lots of college towns.

I spent a year at Yale as an undergrad (long story; I transferred out to pursue the medievalist track at Oxford), but I have always loved the university and the city.  I've been back there to take summer courses four times since I was an undergrad, including courses in 2014 and 2015.  I have always lived off-campus when taking summer courses: in the 'grad ghetto' (a misleading and crappy name) in East Rock, on Dwight Street some years ago when it wasn't as nice as it is now, and on Chapel and Howe (both of which are off-campus but pretty central).  My anecdotal experience is that Yale is an amazing school with amazing faculty and resources, and that you can live safely in New Haven if you make sound choices and don't make the mistake of forgetting about the privilege bubble.  The last two years I have run at night/dusk a few times, avoiding the areas that I know I should not wander into after dark, and I have not felt unsafe.

I realise as I'm reading this that it probably doesn't sound very reassuring, but I guess what I want to say is:

1. New Haven is a cool, diverse little city.  Yale works hard to make its central campus safe and invests a fair amount in making the city safe for students generally.

2. Familiarity with the city and a clear-eyed view of its makeup are important tools for staying safe: you won't have these tools immediately upon arrival, but other students can help, and it's a small enough place that you'll get the hang of it quick.  I have lots of friends who have lived there safely for years without any of the kinds of incidents described in the article to which you linked.

3. HGS is kind of grotty, yes, but it has charm and is a good community space.  In terms of expenses, most people don't love the meal plan, and some of the rooms are small, but it isn't dreadful.  It might be a good option for living your first year, as you find your feet in the city.  Alternatively, the grad area up near East Rock also has a good community feel. The shuttles run up there, and there are plenty of services you can take advantage of if you find yourself needing to make your way home at night, including making plans with buddies who live in the same area to go down to the central libraries and get back at a certain time.  I'm sure if you called the services "every day" they'd try to find a way to make you more comfortable, but I also know they wouldn't mind: that's what they're there for.

4. There's Uber in New Haven! Obviously not something you're going to use very often as a poor grad student, but always an option for an unusual evening where you're out late and nervous about it: door-to-door service.  (I keep making reference to night-time because New Haven in daylight is a friendly, navigable, lovely little city (and, again, I would argue the same about nighttime in some neighbourhoods).

5. The security situation has improved. Ten years ago there used to be abandoned buildings downtown where homeless people would take shelter, for example; those buildings now house Chipotles and running gear boutiques.  New Haven does have a large population of homeless people: many of them will become familiar to you if you live there a little while (some are kind of campus personalities).  It is possible to respectfully avoid them if you wish, but I happen to know a few of them from short conversations over the years, and it's also perfectly possible to respectfully interact with them and keep on your way.

I just accepted my Yale offer and am moving back to New Haven this August, and I have no more concerns about my safety than I would living in my current city, or moving back to New York, where I also lived for a while, or to any of the major American cities I know.  I plan to live in East Rock, probably.

7. I have the sense from a mini-bout of stalking that we might be headed to the same department, and I have to tell you: the faculty is amazing.  The resources are incredible. The students that I know are all very cool.  The professors I have interacted with all genuinely care about your development and many of them will care about you as a person; it's not a faceless department of academic celebrities (which some people worry about).  New Haven isn't Chicago or New York or Boston--or even, you know, Houston--but it's full of culture and amazing bright people doing creative, boundary-pushing things.  I saw a play two years ago in which one of the MFA actors put on such a powerful performance that I spilled out onto the street, shaken and shaking, and when I saw the guy at a bar later I couldn't believe he was there drinking in the corner instead of dead in the (fake) hospital bed where I'd left him.  The Green is glorious in the summer; the Beinecke is glorious always.  I won't tell you it's the safest city in the world, because it's not.  But it's a city you can absolutely live in, in my opinion, and if you feel Yale is your best option for a program, I would heartily encourage you to take up their offer for a place like the proselytising psycho I sound like at this point.

Anyway.  Those are my two cents (if you account for heavy inflation).  Always happy to take this to whatever private messaging feature this site has, too, if that will help; I'm just not familiar with it yet.

Good luck with your choice!

Edited March 1, 2016 by mariadelmar

[E&B]

If you can afford to live near campus, do it. New Haven is bad at clearing snow/sidewalks, and the city is not safe. I get crime alerts but they are only ever from sketchy places a few blocks away from campus. I live on High St. and love it. I know of people living on Chapel st. and I know some people living at the Taft and they like it. It also matters where your classes will be though. Live as close to where you will be most often but within your budget. If you want to live in a house far away that is fine and many people like that but it requires coordinating shuttle rides or just not going out at night. It can be alright if you have a car. You will NOT be able to find parking near campus during the day though.

Edited March 1, 2016 by E&B

[NRG_]

Hi everyone! I recently committed to going to Yale and am now in the process of finding a place to live. 

Does anyone have any views on 25 Broadway (through Elm Campus) or Crown-York apartments (official Yale grad housing)?

The official grad apartments are a bit appealing since I don't plan on being in New Haven in the summer months so the fact that the leases only run the academic year are great. That being said, I wonder how clean and safe these apartments are. What have the students experiences been to actually finding a summer sublet? 

Thanks in advance! 

[puddle]

Crown-York is great if you can get in (very competitive because there aren't very many apartments in there). They are clean & safe.

25 Broadway ... meh I wouldn't live there. That apartment is so close to Toads & can be super noisy at night. 

I've never specifically sublet over the summer but I've never had a hard time finding a subletter for my apartment. Even had a subletter that started randomly in January and went till August.

[tugbamina_871]

On 5/25/2016 at 1:13 AM, puddle said:

no worries, welcome to the neighbourhood! 

Hi everyone! I am a finalist in the School of Art and I am hoping to get in. Just doing some early research about housing there. I am married with a small child. I have seen a few grad housing apartments that look nice especially for families but it also seems difficult to get. I was wondering if anyone has seen these apartments, and if so, are they renovated in any way? Can anyone share any observations about the state of flooring, radiators, kitchen appliances and bathrooms? 

Have you come across fellow graduate students buy in the area? Is it a bad investment? 

Thanks very much in advance.

[Silverfish]

53 minutes ago, tugbamina_871 said:

Hi everyone! I am a finalist in the School of Art and I am hoping to get in. Just doing some early research about housing there. I am married with a small child. I have seen a few grad housing apartments that look nice especially for families but it also seems difficult to get. I was wondering if anyone has seen these apartments, and if so, are they renovated in any way? Can anyone share any observations about the state of flooring, radiators, kitchen appliances and bathrooms? 

Have you come across fellow graduate students buy in the area? Is it a bad investment? 

Thanks very much in advance.

I live with my husband in the Westville area (cheaper than downtown and East Rock, we get to campus by bus). We rent a 1BR apartment. If you find it hard to get into grad housing, you can consider renting in the area. 

I have not personally been in the grad housing, but there are panoramic views available of the interiors, for example, for the Esplanade apartments: http://housing.yale.edu/graduate-housing/esplanade-apartments (click on the captions under the floor plans).

All the best with your application!

[tugbamina_871]

14 hours ago, Silverfish said:

I live with my husband in the Westville area (cheaper than downtown and East Rock, we get to campus by bus). We rent a 1BR apartment. If you find it hard to get into grad housing, you can consider renting in the area. 

I have not personally been in the grad housing, but there are panoramic views available of the interiors, for example, for the Esplanade apartments: http://housing.yale.edu/graduate-housing/esplanade-apartments (click on the captions under the floor plans).

All the best with your application!

Hey, thanks for the info! Really appreciate it. I saw the gifs but wasn't sure about details, after having a horrible experience with graduate housing at UChicago. Your area seems nice, I will definitely check it out! Wish you all the best with your studies. 

[puddle]

On 2/5/2017 at 7:01 PM, tugbamina_871 said:

Hi everyone! I am a finalist in the School of Art and I am hoping to get in. Just doing some early research about housing there. I am married with a small child. I have seen a few grad housing apartments that look nice especially for families but it also seems difficult to get. I was wondering if anyone has seen these apartments, and if so, are they renovated in any way? Can anyone share any observations about the state of flooring, radiators, kitchen appliances and bathrooms? 

Have you come across fellow graduate students buy in the area? Is it a bad investment? 

Thanks very much in advance.

Hey There! Please feel free to join the 2017 New Grad Students Facebook Group and pose this question. There are lots of resources in New Haven and at Yale for families.

Just some preliminary answers:

(1) The Yale apartments are definitely a good option for families but there are also many many apartments in the new haven area that would be suitable and affordable. The Yale apartments operate on a lottery system for fairness. They are maintained by the university and are in good condition. If you have issues, things will be repaired.

(2) I personally know a few people who have bought while in New Haven and it has probably been more trouble than it was worth. Once you own a house or or condo, all costs of repair and maintenance time are on your shoulders. Most graduate students do not have the time or will to maintain a house in addition to their studies.

[CBC]

Glad I stumbled upon this thread and I hope that someone can answer my question or react to my concerns. After reading all those comments and opinions above, I am really still unsure how to assess the safety situation in New Haven. It seems that a lot has been done over the past years to tighten the security measures and increase police forces and patrolling on the streets, but apparently living there still entails a great deal of risk and being constantly vigilant of your surroundings all the time which is psychologically not very healthy in the long run. I've lived in very "unsafe" urban environments in different parts of the world before: Central Europe, Middle East, Southeastern Europe and Southeast Asia. Some of those were plagued by the high risk of terrorist attacks. However because those in reality were almost few and far in between, I could easily go about my daily life in those cities. The picture I have of US unsafe cities is quite different though, given that gangs and shootings were never problems I had or was expected to deal with. And these are two problems that seem to define New Haven in one way or another.  So I guess what I am trying to get at and ask is how much of a risk living New Haven would entail and is it much worse than, say, Boston? Thanks a lot in advance!

[CHS731]

On 3/7/2018 at 9:02 PM, CBC said:

Glad I stumbled upon this thread and I hope that someone can answer my question or react to my concerns. After reading all those comments and opinions above, I am really still unsure how to assess the safety situation in New Haven. It seems that a lot has been done over the past years to tighten the security measures and increase police forces and patrolling on the streets, but apparently living there still entails a great deal of risk and being constantly vigilant of your surroundings all the time which is psychologically not very healthy in the long run. I've lived in very "unsafe" urban environments in different parts of the world before: Central Europe, Middle East, Southeastern Europe and Southeast Asia. Some of those were plagued by the high risk of terrorist attacks. However because those in reality were almost few and far in between, I could easily go about my daily life in those cities. The picture I have of US unsafe cities is quite different though, given that gangs and shootings were never problems I had or was expected to deal with. And these are two problems that seem to define New Haven in one way or another.  So I guess what I am trying to get at and ask is how much of a risk living New Haven would entail and is it much worse than, say, Boston? Thanks a lot in advance!

I’ve lived in New Haven for two years now and I can honestly answer that it is not that bad here. There is risk involved when living in any city, but I don’t think New Haven is as bad as the reputation it has from years ago. 

I work in the medical school area and live in East Rock. There are many Yale shuttle lines that run through areas of the city and can take you to and from work, and at night they will even take you straight to your door if you ask them to. 

At times there have been incidences of muggings (always off campus) and break-ins, but these are things that can happen anywhere! Also, as you said, there are extensive security measures that Yale takes. I definitely don’t ever feel like I have to be hyper vigilant when I am out with friends downtown or walking around my neighborhood. If you act smart, as one should living in any city, you should be fine. 

Hope this is helpful.

[CBC]

On 3/10/2018 at 12:34 PM, CHS731 said:

I’ve lived in New Haven for two years now and I can honestly answer that it is not that bad here. There is risk involved when living in any city, but I don’t think New Haven is as bad as the reputation it has from years ago. 

I work in the medical school area and live in East Rock. There are many Yale shuttle lines that run through areas of the city and can take you to and from work, and at night they will even take you straight to your door if you ask them to. 

At times there have been incidences of muggings (always off campus) and break-ins, but these are things that can happen anywhere! Also, as you said, there are extensive security measures that Yale takes. I definitely don’t ever feel like I have to be hyper vigilant when I am out with friends downtown or walking around my neighborhood. If you act smart, as one should living in any city, you should be fine. 

Hope this is helpful.

Thanks a lot for your answer. At least it gives some kind of assurance that survival is possible.

[TsarandProphet]

I was admitted to Yale! I was wondering if anyone can recommend managed apartments (Is 360 State really worth the price? Is Corsair really dorm-like?). 

[potsupotsu]

On 2/8/2019 at 10:26 AM, TsarandProphet said:

I was admitted to Yale! I was wondering if anyone can recommend managed apartments (Is 360 State really worth the price? Is Corsair really dorm-like?). 

I was also admitted to Yale and I'm starting to look at apartments too. I'm certainly not an insider, but I read the reviews of 360 state on Yelp (https://www.yelp.com/biz/360-state-street-new-haven-3) and decided it wouldn't be ideal for me because of the complaints about the noise. I've lived in a building with paper thin walls as an undergraduate and it made life incredibly difficult! 

I'll post on here if I find any buildings that sound decent. 

I am also wondering when would be the ideal time to start contacting buildings about availability... I know in my current city August and July are incredibly competitive months to try to secure an apartment, but in a smaller city like New Haven this might not be the case.

[sphonino]

Also admitted to Yale! After talking with people I'm getting a little worried about living in New Haven haha, it really has a bad rep. Trying to reserve judgement until I get there. 

Seems like East Rock is a popular place to live, and Whitney Ave.

[daradara]

5 hours ago, sphonino said:

Also admitted to Yale! After talking with people I'm getting a little worried about living in New Haven haha, it really has a bad rep. Trying to reserve judgement until I get there. 

Seems like East Rock is a popular place to live, and Whitney Ave.

 

 

 

Personally, I am not nervous at all. New Haven looks fine (even most of the "bad neighborhoods"), crime has been trending down, and it is not that difficult to stay out of trouble. As someone who has lived in places that are far worse than New Haven, I can tell you that crime statistics are very misleading and that it will probably never impact you personally.  

Edited February 23, 2019 by daradara

[SocialKonstruct]

I loved my three years or so I lived in New Haven. I remember Cutler's and Toad's (which is still there).

The crime was purportedly bad and honestly, it's a false perception (considering that we have worse criminals in the White House now)

I am glad for my experience because it is racially diverse and Yale is not as insular as one would think. Unfortunately at the time I was there, sushi options were limited  I hope that changed by now.

It's a walkable place if you live on campus or slightly off campus. Housing is affordable but it's a nerdy/intellectual town. I don't know if it's snooty however.

[RebeccaPsych]

I actually love New Haven! 

I'm currently working at Yale. 

Everything is very walkable, but not ~too~ small. Most of the grad students live in East Rock. Some live in Wooster Square, but the two people I know who lived in Wooster Square ended up moving to East Rock. 

There are lots of hiking trails, little Italian markets, frequent Yale shuttles... It's really nice! 

There are a lot of extracurricular opportunities. New Haven has a huge arts community (performance and visual). You can also get physical at the Payne Whitney gym or MActivity gym -- both offer a variety of classes. 

There are a fair number of bars! You're not really going to find a "club" scene; the closest is Toad's. Gryphon's Pub is only for Yale grad students and staff, so that's really nice. There's also Bar and Geronimo's. 

You're also nearby a lot of nice beaches (not so great in New Haven, but in neighboring towns). 

Connecticut is small, so you can easily take day trips around the state. You're also right in between Boston and New York, with easy transportation via train. New Haven also has its own small airport. Another small airport is only an hour away in Hartford. 

Connecticut public transportation, like in many places, isn't particularly amazing. So, if you do want to explore other areas, a car is best. To get around New Haven, though, you shouldn't need one. 

[RebeccaPsych]

6 minutes ago, RebeccaPsych said:

I actually love New Haven! 

I'm currently working at Yale. 

Everything is very walkable, but not ~too~ small. Most of the grad students live in East Rock. Some live in Wooster Square, but the two people I know who lived in Wooster Square ended up moving to East Rock. 

There are lots of hiking trails, little Italian markets, frequent Yale shuttles... It's really nice! 

There are a lot of extracurricular opportunities. New Haven has a huge arts community (performance and visual). You can also get physical at the Payne Whitney gym or MActivity gym -- both offer a variety of classes. 

There are a fair number of bars! You're not really going to find a "club" scene; the closest is Toad's. Gryphon's Pub is only for Yale grad students and staff, so that's really nice. There's also Bar and Geronimo's. 

You're also nearby a lot of nice beaches (not so great in New Haven, but in neighboring towns). 

Connecticut is small, so you can easily take day trips around the state. You're also right in between Boston and New York, with easy transportation via train. New Haven also has its own small airport. Another small airport is only an hour away in Hartford. 

Connecticut public transportation, like in many places, isn't particularly amazing. So, if you do want to explore other areas, a car is best. To get around New Haven, though, you shouldn't need one. 

I'll comment on safety, too. 

This really depends on a number of factors. I feel totally safe walking around East Rock at night as a lone woman. I could walk around the main areas of downtown alone, but I probably wouldn't feel super comfortable doing so. With a friend, I'm happy to walk around downtown at night. I've heard that some areas are more dangerous than others. Apparently, around the med school isn't great. I walk around the med school (during the day, granted), and have always felt okay. I get the sense that a lot of the reported crimes are interpersonal or minor things. Chances are, you won't be personally affected. And, on the whole, it feels pretty calm. I don't feel like I'm living in a dangerous city at all. 

 

As others have said, Yale does offer door-to-door free car rides (for ANY reason, available to all, no questions asked) after 6:00pm. It's like Uber Pool. 

Edited June 18, 2020 by RebeccaPsych

[SocialKonstruct]

On 7/7/2015 at 9:01 PM, twentysix said:

d

 

 

Thanks for the advice. I've been here for more than two weeks now living on dwight and chapel (and driving around new haven, west haven, milford, orange, and hamden). 

 

My three intial thoughts:

 

The Yale campus is outrageously beautiful.

New Haven is a complete shithole aside from Yale.

It seems like the rundown areas around where I'm at are less dangerous than they would appear on the surface.

 

It is definitely an interesting place with the cloistered castle style colleges on one side of the street and the green full of homeless people sleeping on cardboard less than 50 feet away.

Wow, that is a total insult to New Haven. New Haven is a great city and granted I think a lot of folks mistake ethnic diversity as it being ghetto which isn't the same. In fact there is a vibrant scene outside of the Yale campus.

 

I REALLY miss the old school days at Toad's when I attended the wonderful hip-hop concerts there.

Edited December 11, 2020 by SocialKonstruct

[thundercloudz]

I've lived here all my life and it's a huge reason I didn't apply tbh. It's a pretty big party school and unfortunately a lot of overdoses every year. The campus attracts a lot of homeless people which isn't a problem for me, but some students are often pestered by them sadly. A lot of people live off campus but parking is pretty impossible. I do love the nightlife there and the cafes in the area -- it's like a small city

[Outer Heaven]

How often would my bike get stolen?

[Rexrex]

Gotta say this is freaking me out a little bit. https://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/local/1-dead-after-shooting-in-new-haven/2416896/

This was a Yale grad student. So sad.