JHU SAIS

[SAIS2013]

I'm a current SAIS'er, here's my two cents on the school. I relied on Gradcafe a lot when I was deciding and thought an inside view might help. Note these are only my views, other SAISers may disagree.

Overall, I've been really happy with the school and highly recommend it. First, being in DC is a huge plus - you are in THE global international relations hub - IMF, World Bank, US Govt, and a thousand think tanks / NGOs are all right around the corner. If you want to work at the Bank, SAIS is the place to go. It is the biggest source of Bank staff - basically, if you want to work there, you will. SAIS also has great networks, particularly at the IFIs, but also in US Govt and across the NGOs and Think Tanks. Living in DC there are conferences, seminars, talks, panels going on constantly - you can't get to everything. On top of that, SAIS gets top speakers in. In my time - Hank Paulson, Tim Geithner, Stanley McChrystal, Zbigniew Brezinski, Madeleine Albright - are some of those who have come through. But you'll get lots of foreign heads of government, ambassadors, CEOs, etc. And as a student you get to attend a lot of candid closed door talks, which are great.

Second, SAIS has fantastic course offerings, if you haven't seen them already follow this link: http://www.sais-jhu....urses/index.htm (see the bottom of the page). It has a lot of fantastic teachers, and a few not so fantastic teachers. But if you do your research when picking classes, you can avoid the poorer classes with ease. Be warned, this isn't business school, you will work hard. SAIS students tend to be pretty hardworking - especially on the DC campus - while also squeezing in lots of seminars, conferences, clubs and societies, and happy hours.

Third, SAIS can prepare you for any job. The Econ syllabus is fantastic - if that's what you like, if not, you can avoid it (aside from the mandatory 4 subjects). The Finance program is also top notch - the head of the department, Gordon Bodnar, is ex-Wharton and runs classes of that standard. He also has put together a really solid faculty. Whether you want to go into banking, consulting, government, third sector, media, SAIS can get you there. If you're not sure, SAIS is even better! Note that a lot of private firms, esp. the consulting firms, don't treat SAIS as an MBA - you will enter at the pre-MBA salary.

Fourth, there are GREAT people in the student body - military, government sector, private sector, media, NGOs - there are a lot of interesting people at SAIS, most of them really smart too. The social side of SAIS is a real highlight.

In terms of downsides, there are a few minor shortcomings, but I'm sure they're not unique to SAIS. First, overenrolled classes. In recent years, the student body has grown, but course offerings haven't really adapted. A lot of classes are over enrolled and you have use bid points (everyone given the same amount) to try and get in. The upshot is you simply cant take a lot of classes you might like to. This is becoming a problem - over 20 classes went to bid this semester. Other classes are limited to concentrations, or give concentrators priority - i.e. you can't take a class with Eliot Cohen unless you are in Strategic Studies. Second, the student body seems to be getting younger. If you've got three or four years of real work experience, you'll find a bunch of people like you, but there is an increasing number of students either straight out of undergrad or with 1 year worth of internships. This can be frustrating. Finally, career services isn't what you'd get at a top business school, to a large extent you're on your own, especially if you're interested in private sector jobs.

One other issue to consider is branding. SAIS is THE brand name in DC, but the further you get away from the US, the less well known it is. If all you're worried about is brand name, columbia and harvard tend to resonate better overseas than SAIS. But this is slowly changing.

Looking at concentrations, in my view (and this is only my view!) the better concentrations are:

- Strategic Studies: Very well run by Eliot Cohen, with great faculty. It has a conservative bent.

- China Studies: Headed by David Lampton - one of THE China guys. Great classes, good language program.

- American Foreign Policy: Michael Mandelbaum

- Energy, Resources, Environment: Great course offerings, very practical.

- Latin American Studies

The SAIS International Development program is traditionally good, but has been in a state of flux. Francis Fukuyama left in 2010 and a new director has only just been appointed - Deborah Brautigam from American University. Will be interesting to see what happens.

A final point is that SAIS has just appointed a new Dean - Vali Nasr - who seems like a good pick, but only time will tell!

Again, I would highly recommend SAIS. I've had a great time here and talking to people from other schools, I'm more confident I made the right choice today than when I first accepted (over HKS, SIPA, MSFS, LSE, HEI Geneva). Happy to try and answer any specific questions.

[charlotte_asia]

Thanks for this great info! I have a few follow-up questions if you don't mind-

1. Working while at SAIS? Is this possible? This is going to play into whether SAIS will be financially viable for me. Georgetown is more expensive, but if I can work 20 hrs/week at Gtown and not at SAIS it will make Gtown more affrdable.

2. If one does work at SAIS, how much does the fact that SAIS is tight-knit and a really happy student body impact your quality of life at SAIS? In other words, even though SAIS' student body/social scene is more cohesive and vibrant than the Gtown program I am considering (it's not SFS), if I am working part-time, will that even matter much?

3. How is SAIS for those of us not enrolling in the "best" concentrations? (Your list corresponds to what I have heard from the students and alums with whom I have spoken). My area of interest is democracy and governance, but I am not in the IDEV program. Some students have told me that concentration does not matter, and that some of the less strong concentrations are great because they allow more flexibility in taking a variety of courses, which is what I want. Would you agree?

4. Any thoughts on the classes/profs related to democracy and governance, if you can speak to that?

Thanks!

[wantgrad]

Hi charlotte_asia - not addressed to me, I hope you don't mind my responding. I spoke to a current student and apparently the majority of students do work during the year (except in their first semester at SAIS). The rate for a library job (relatively easy to get) is $10.80/hour. Research and teaching assistantships are more competitive, but paid higher - varies by department but one can expect $18/hour. For me, the extra $150-200 would be very useful.

I didn't find out too much about paid work off-campus because I'm an international student and not able to do that, but I know that people are able to do paid internships.

I just accepted my offer and paid my deposit a few minutes ago. So excited to be heading to SAIS!

[jct329]

What is the point of the Bologna campus? Is it more difficult to get in there? Is it geared towards certain specialties?

[SAIS2013]

Charlotte:

Working while at SAIS? Is this possible?

Yes it is. A fair few students do paid work, more do unpaid internships. With the exception of on-campus jobs, few do work that's unrelated to their area of study - though some do. On campus you can work at the library, writing center, in admin at various places - career services, dean's offices - then there are a fair few research assistant's jobs that pop up. In winter break there are a fair few admissions-related jobs that go around.

Working part-time affecting your social life

It won't make a difference at all. I would say 65% (maybe more) of my friends are interning 20-30 hours a week and we still see each other all the time. You will still have a great time.

Other concentrations

In terms of jobs - I'd agree concentrations matter very little. The fact that SAIS is on your CV is all that matters. The exception would be jobs that have a finance angle, then the finance specialization might help somewhat. In terms of class selection, they matter a lot more, and there is a fair range of approaches by different departments. IDEV has a lot of requirements and is more restrictive than other - ie. you can't take as many electives. For most regional studies programs, its more relaxed - 4 classes in your area and two in a related area (check the website for specific details). If you are in a concentration, you will generally have priority enrollment in its classes, especially in your 2nd year. This is really important for ERE, Strat, and IDEV - which each have a class or two that often fills up completely with concentrators, and others that only have a few spots left for non-concentrators (so you may need to use lots of bid points). In terms of teaching quality, no concentration is terrible, but some are weaker than others (send me a PM, and I'll see if I can help re. your specific concentration). Regardless, you can use your electives to sort things out.

You can "play" the concentration system if you really want. Enroll in a concentration so you get priority access to their classes, then drop it later on. It might annoy the concentration coordinator (departmental funding is based on enrolled students), but that's about all.

jct329:

Bologna was set up in 1955, allegedly as the US was trying to get a presence in a major socialist hub in Italy. Now it just functions as another campus. There is no "point" per se other than offering a chance to go study in Europe. Its generally considered easier to get into Bologna - though not much - and the subjects offered are more limited, and don't suit every concentration. I.e. If you're concentrating in Asian studies, I think last year there was only 1 class offered. Its obviously much more suited to European studies. You can't study every language in Bologna either. Among the student body, Bologna students (or Bolognese) have a reputation for partying and the DC students for being a bit nerdier. Everyone is in DC for year 2, which provides for a few integration problems.

Edited April 9, 2012 by SAIS2013

[avr2012]

Hey SAIS2013:

A few questions:

1) Is there any way for a first year student who will likely place out of the core econ classes via waivers to serve as a TA during Pre-term? It doesn't really make sense for me to pay $2000 for classes I've had relatively recently and at a high level, but I'd still like to participate in Pre-term, even if it is just to meet people.

2) Am I right to assume that the more advanced economics classes are generally not oversubscribed, and thus don't 'go to bid' as some of the other more popular courses do?

Thanks for the help.

[charlotte_asia]

SAIS2013, thanks for taking the time to share a thorough, thoughtful response!

I have one additional question--

Something that appeals to me about the Georgetown curriculum is the opportunity to take very practical policy courses at GPPI to complement the more theoretical courses in MSFS and Government. (Some may disagree with me that SFS is theoretical, but I think in comparison to public policy classes, most IR courses are.) The GWU curriculum too contains a number of management and policymaking classes that seem more practical than IR/theory courses

My perusing through the course listings on ISIS suggest to me that outside the economics curriculum, SAIS tends to be more IR/theoretical with few public policy/technical classes (aside from a few that give preference to MIPP candidates). This makes sense, as SAIS is an International Affairs school, not a public policy school. I just want to better understand the nature of the classes I would be taking versus what I would take at Georgetown.

Would you agree or disagree with my understanding of the curriculum?

[madoublet98]

Hey I have a few questions as well for you or any other SAISer about concentrations: Two of the concentrations you mentioned in this post are the two that I am primarily looking at - China Studies and ERE. I am interested in energy politics and development in Asia. I find it interesting that you said here that concentration doesn't really matter that much for jobs, but I'm still confused as to which I would benefit more from. How do students whose interests require both functional and regional knowledge decide which concentration to go for?

My other question is about the Chinese language program. They seem to have high standards for all of the languages, and Chinese is no exception. For graduation they require intermediate mid after two years of study. I have lived in China the past year and picked up a little Chinese, but if I take it at SAIS (which I'd like to) I'd essentially be starting from scratch. How is the quality of language education, and Chinese in particular? I know it's often a situation where you get out of it what you put in, but assuming I put a lot of effort into learning, is the two years of language study at SAIS really good enough to get to a decent level of Chinese? Do you know anyone who started from scratch and how are they doing now?

Sorry if these are very dumb questions, I'd just like to pick your brain(s) so that I can make the most informed decision when I arrive at SAIS next year. Any anecdotes would be greatly appreciated

[avr2012]

Hey I have a few questions as well for you or any other SAISer about concentrations: Two of the concentrations you mentioned in this post are the two that I am primarily looking at - China Studies and ERE. I am interested in energy politics and development in Asia. I find it interesting that you said here that concentration doesn't really matter that much for jobs, but I'm still confused as to which I would benefit more from. How do students whose interests require both functional and regional knowledge decide which concentration to go for?

My other question is about the Chinese language program. They seem to have high standards for all of the languages, and Chinese is no exception. For graduation they require intermediate mid after two years of study. I have lived in China the past year and picked up a little Chinese, but if I take it at SAIS (which I'd like to) I'd essentially be starting from scratch. How is the quality of language education, and Chinese in particular? I know it's often a situation where you get out of it what you put in, but assuming I put a lot of effort into learning, is the two years of language study at SAIS really good enough to get to a decent level of Chinese? Do you know anyone who started from scratch and how are they doing now?

Sorry if these are very dumb questions, I'd just like to pick your brain(s) so that I can make the most informed decision when I arrive at SAIS next year. Any anecdotes would be greatly appreciated

I'll be starting at SAIS in the fall, but I know a few current students who are doing both a functional and a regional concentration. It certainly requires careful planning, but it would seem that you would be able to do both ERE and CS (albeit at the cost of having fewer nonconcentration electives).

[SportsFan]

Hey I have a few questions as well for you or any other SAISer about concentrations: Two of the concentrations you mentioned in this post are the two that I am primarily looking at - China Studies and ERE. I am interested in energy politics and development in Asia. I find it interesting that you said here that concentration doesn't really matter that much for jobs, but I'm still confused as to which I would benefit more from. How do students whose interests require both functional and regional knowledge decide which concentration to go for?

My other question is about the Chinese language program. They seem to have high standards for all of the languages, and Chinese is no exception. For graduation they require intermediate mid after two years of study. I have lived in China the past year and picked up a little Chinese, but if I take it at SAIS (which I'd like to) I'd essentially be starting from scratch. How is the quality of language education, and Chinese in particular? I know it's often a situation where you get out of it what you put in, but assuming I put a lot of effort into learning, is the two years of language study at SAIS really good enough to get to a decent level of Chinese? Do you know anyone who started from scratch and how are they doing now?

Sorry if these are very dumb questions, I'd just like to pick your brain(s) so that I can make the most informed decision when I arrive at SAIS next year. Any anecdotes would be greatly appreciated

Hey, madoublet98, I'm a first-year SAIS student in a similar position in terms of language. I took two evening Chinese courses before the fall semester, and started SAIS at the Novice High level. I'm in Intermediate Low now, and I will be taking Intermediate Mid this summer. The program is pretty intense, especially on top of the rest of your academic workload, but it's by no means impossible. I am always nervous about language proficiency in the back of my mind, but the Chinese instructors do a great job preparing you for it. With your time in China, you would likely start out ahead of where I did, so I think you would be fine.

Overall, I can't recommend SAIS enough - I have loved my experience so far!

[SAIS2013]

Avr2012:

1) I don't think there's a huge chance of an incoming student serving as a pre-term TA. There tends to be a lot of interest from current students for those jobs. That said, I would email the Summer Programs / Pre-term office with a CV and cover letter outlining your experience. You could give them a call too. You never know! In terms of participating in pre-term - if you don't want to enroll but you're in DC, happy hours are open to all, so go along to those.

2) I can't think of any advanced econ classes that have gone to bid. You can see bid reports from 2005 onwards on the website - http://www.sais-jhu.edu/students/registrar/bidding.htm. So have a look there.

Charlotte:

Regarding "technical" classes, SAIS offers quite a few. Within econ: Organization and regulation of infrastructure, Public finance, enterprise regulation and development, cost-benefit analysis, etc. Not to mention all the finance classes. There are practical conflict management classes, and a bunch within ERE and I-Dev - ie. microfinance. Is that what you mean by technical/practical/public policy? Maybe if you give me an example of a GPPI class your looking at.

I missed your fourth question from the previous post regarding democracy and governance: Off the top of my head there have been a number of classes on democracy and governance. I took one on Democracy and Democratization in Southeast Asia, Africa studies has a democracy class, as does Latin American Studies, and there are a number in I-Dev on democracy/governance related issues - i.e. corruption, political development, etc.

Madoublet:

1) You can easily do both and I know plenty of double concentrators. It will limit the electives you can take, as you need to satisfy the requirements for both concentrations. Note that you will have a primary concentration and a secondary concentration, which is important, as you only get bidding priority for classes in your primary concentration. Given more ERE classes go to bid - I think, but check the bidding history - I would make that your primary concentration (but again, check that out).

2) I know a number of people who have taken Chinese from scratch and passed proficiency by graduation. Its obviously a bit of work, but definitely doable. The proficiency standard for Chinese isn't as high as some other languages - I think the idea is that someone who starts from scratch should be able to pass proficiency by graduation. Chinese classes at SAIS are really well taught - its one of the better run languages, and is very popular. If you speak any chinese, don't be surprised if you skip a few levels - that happened to me.

[dcenergygirl]

Note regarding China/ERE dual concentration: ERE will have to be your primary according to the website, http://www.sais-jhu.edu/academics/functional-studies/ere/index.htm:

Dual Concentrations

The ERE program does not allow students from other concentrations to designate ERE as their secondary concentration.

[rebmaLS]

SAIS2013 and the other current students - really, really appreciate you going into such depth and giving what appears to be candid reviews of the program. I'll do my best to "pay it forward" and do the same next year once I finally get through this process.

Everyone is in DC for year 2, which provides for a few integration problems.

I was accepted to the Bologna campus - could you elaborate more on this point?

Also, regarding your comments about concentrations - I would do IR general b/c I'm not particularly attracted to any one functional concentration and I do not want to do a regional concentration. I assume this means it might be especially difficult for me to get into any number of classes, does that sound right? With a professor or adviser's advice, I'm planning on creating my own program based on economic growth and development underneath the IR general concentration. Do you have any thoughts on students that have taken a similar approach?

[SAIS2013]

rebmaLS:

With regards to integration, in first year you have around 200 students in Bologna who get to know each other pretty well and 200 in DC who do the same. In 2nd year, everyone is put together in DC and the two groups struggle a little bit to integrate - i.e. Bolognese continue to hang out with their Bologna friends, and DC folk their DC friends. It's not that big of a problem, just a function of how the program works.

Regarding concentrations - I know a few people who are IR general and are pretty happy. One thing you sacrifice is priority enrollment in classes you may want to take - i.e. if there's a very popular China class you want to take, you may lose out to the China studies students who have priority, or have to spend all your bid points. You can always enroll in a concentration, use it to get priority status for a class or two, and then withdraw from the concentration (though the department won't be too excited). It's just important that you satisfy the requirements for a concentration by graduation - even IR general has requirements.

[charlotte_asia]

Charlotte:

Regarding "technical" classes, SAIS offers quite a few. Within econ: Organization and regulation of infrastructure, Public finance, enterprise regulation and development, cost-benefit analysis, etc. Not to mention all the finance classes. There are practical conflict management classes, and a bunch within ERE and I-Dev - ie. microfinance. Is that what you mean by technical/practical/public policy? Maybe if you give me an example of a GPPI class your looking at.

Thanks again for taking the time to respond. I have found several more technical classes, such as the ones you mentioned, in the economics and finance curriculum. I am interested more in policy making and policy analysis classes- technical government function classes if that makes sense.A few such courses in the Government department or GPPI) include Executive Branch Policymaking, Program Design and Evaluation, Managing Institutional Conflict, State and Federal Governance, etc. These are clearly more public policy classes than IR classes, so they may not be available through SAIS. Ideally I would like to include public policy classes in my grad school curriculum and want to see if it is possible at SAIS.

The second dimension of a theoretical versus practical class (in my mind at least- not sure if this is making much sense to anyone outside my own head!) is the format- whether classes are focused on longer readings and require research/term papers versus whether they focus on case studies and require policy memos. I don't want to set up a false dichotomy here- a class can be both theoretical and practical, or require extensive readings and policy memos, etc. I'm just using these examples to try to get a sense of the nature of SAIS classes vis a vis the Georgetown ones with which I am more familiar.

Thanks!

Edited April 11, 2012 by charlotte_asia

[charlotte_asia]

Another question, to piggyback on rebma's query--

My area of interest (democracy and governance), as I mentioned earlier, does not fit neatly into a specific concentration. I anticipate taking a number of IDEV classes, but I have this sense that I'll be floating around by myself amid other SAIS students. At Elliot and Georgetown, I would be neatly within a democracy and governance degree or concentration.

Any comments for those of us who aren't ERE, South Asia, Latin America, SS, IDEV? How connected are people with their concentration, to what extent do they identify with them? Am I being overly anxious about something I shouldn't?

Edited April 11, 2012 by charlotte_asia

[tingschu]

Another question, to piggyback on rebma's query--

My area of interest (democracy and governance), as I mentioned earlier, does not fit neatly into a specific concentration. I anticipate taking a number of IDEV classes, but I have this sense that I'll be floating around by myself amid other SAIS students. At Elliot and Georgetown, I would be neatly within a democracy and governance degree or concentration.

Any comments for those of us who aren't ERE, South Asia, Latin America, SS, IDEV? How connected are people with their concentration, to what extent do they identify with them? Am I being overly anxious about something I shouldn't?

Dont worry about floating alone, if you attend SAIS, charlotte_asia. After taking a closer look at SAIS curriculum, I think i am also interested in ERE and China Studies, in addition to the IDEV program which I got into. So I am pretty sure there are still many out there who would be interested in courses from several other concentrations. I can foresee my coursework wont be a very focus one and that i will sit in classes from several concentrations.

As far as job prospect is concerned, I heard as long as you have SAIS on your resume, which concentration you are in doesn't matter that much anyways. So it might be wise for me to just pick the courses that I like and try to devise a smart strategy to use up my bid points.

I guess all i am saying is that, not everyone is as determined as you are--you are interested in democracy and government only, which might result in you having to take courses from several concentrations to fit in your interest, since SAIS doesn't have this concentration per se (actually i think IDEV has a sub-field dedicated to this topic). For people like me, even though I have a concentration, I dont have a strong preference for a fixed topic of courses, I might end up taking courses here and there anyways. I actually see it as an opportunity for me to make more friends.

Just my two cents.

[Kristie Lee]

Thanks so much for your insightful answers!! It's nice getting to read about SAIS from the inside, and I'm definitely super excited to attend

I had a question about dual degree with an MBA program. I wanted to attend the open house and dual degree panel, but unfortunately I couldn't take off work. Are there many students who dual degree? Do you know how they juggle the requirements on the SAIS end? I'm assuming that electives are rather strained, but courses like Econ and finance can get waived. I will also be in IDEV, so any help or thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

[SAIS2013]

Charlotte:

1) Except in the area of foreign policy, SAIS doesn't have pure public policy classes such as those mentioned. With regards to policy memos vs. research papers - you get both, it really just depends on the lecturer, if you have an ex-Ambassador, ex-IMF leadership, ex-CIA leadership, you tend to write memos. For pure academics, they tend to like research papers. I would say half my non-econ classes have required memos, and half papers.

2) I think you're being overanxious!! People are connected to their concentration, but not to a huge extent. My closer friends are from a whole range of concentrations - you get to know a lot of people. The concentration that is the most insular is Strat, but even that's not really a problem.

Kristie:

I know a number of people who have done, or are doing the dual degree - including those in IDEV. It obviously makes it a little more constrained getting your requirements out of the way, but its not an issue - no ones seems to worry too much about it. I think there were 5 who went to Wharton at the end of last year, 4 that went to INSEAD in January, 1 to Stanford, 1 to Tuck, and there are a whole bunch who have come from business schools to finish their time at SAIS at the moment.

[charlotte_asia]

Thanks for the reassurance, SAIS2013! Good to hear the concentration doesn't matter too much.

At this point it mainly comes down to whether I want a broader degree at SAIS or focus specifically on my area of interest (democracy and governance) at Georgetown.

And I have to make that decision in the next 3 days. Yikes.

[OregonGal]

Ooh, that's a hard one. Good luck with your decision!

[EasyDeezy]

Just submitted my deposit for SAIS. It was a hard decision to forego two full-ride scholarships (GWU and MIIS) and take on some debt, but all of my professional contacts recommended SAIS heads above all others.

Regarding the pre-term -- do any of the current SAISers have experience doing both MACRO and MICRO pre-term? How tough is it to do both? I plan on at least taking the MACRO but the idea of freeing up an additional elective is very tempting.

[cckrspnl56]

I enrolled at SAIS (BC12 DC13) not having any econ experience whatsoever and I decided to take Micro/Macro at the same time.

It sucks. It was a lot of work, and I hated it. I had 0 time for social activities (with the exception of Friday happy hour, because hey, it's Friday happy hour). I walked out of the first Micro test feeling like I failed it. One girl in our study group (both micro/macro people) dropped out before the Micro midterm. I thought my life at SAIS was over before it began and that I would never be able to succeed.

That being said - I High Passed both clsases and came out of the 4 weeks with a solid economic base that has been the foundation for the rest of my studies here. It was difficult and I gave up a social life but I would absolutely do it again. If anything, I got major clout points from my current group of friends. Mattijs (Belgiun dude who looks like Seinfeld) is one of the most outstanding teachers at SAIS, and Akin (Not sure if you'll have her this Pre-Term as she is a Bologna resident this year) is decent (and her tests come straight off of the reviews). Our Micro TAs were phenomenal and stayed for 4-5 hours past their schedule.

So if you want a challenging summer, I absolutely say go for it. It's a pretty big deal to get two classes out of the way that you otherwise could not test out of.

[SAIS2013]

EasyDeezy: I did Micro and Macro in pre-term, and found it manageable. I had done a bit of econ in the past and was fairly strong on the math side, so that may have helped. I had plenty of time for social activities - though I'm not the type to get to stressed about things. I would say of the 25 in my class who did both - 5 dropped macro with in the first week as it was too much.

If you have some econ experience, you will be fine. If you don't - you can't still do it, but it will be a lot of work. It does make life easier when the semester starts - you've got two core econ classes out of the way. If you struggle with math, and have no econ background - it will be very tough.

PS. Great decision re. SAIS - you will have a fantastic time!

[EasyDeezy]

Thanks for the input guys. I am leaning towards playing it safe by just taking macro since both sound pretty tough. Plus I haven't had calculus since high school, have been out of the classroom for the past six years, and would like some transition time to adjust to the new city and lifestyle.