Boston & Cambridge, MA

[Guest ashdown]

I think Edgerton is a bit closer to campus than Sidney Pacific; is that correct? Thanks for your advice

I think so, but I've never been to either and don't know exactly where they are.

[rhodochrosite]

Crap. I just got my web certificate so I could access MIT housing office off-campus listings from afar, and they're mostly the dingy carpeted garden level studios and such that never get removed from craigslist. Also a few people who will waive rent in exchange for labor. Umm, no. PhD studies at MIT = labor enough for me.

[Guest will tutor for food]

hahaha labor for rent? I wonder how the wage or free rent would compare to my stipend. It wouldn't surprise me if they're close.

I was just curious. How did you get the web certificate? I accepted the offer around april 15th by mail and have not received anything at all from MIT. This starts to worry me whether they actually got my letter.

[rhodochrosite]

hahaha labor for rent? I wonder how the wage or free rent would compare to my stipend. It wouldn't surprise me if they're close.

I was just curious. How did you get the web certificate? I accepted the offer around april 15th by mail and have not received anything at all from MIT. This starts to worry me whether they actually got my letter.

I was starting to have the same fear, because I faxed the reply in 4/14. A week later I saw something that said it should be sent by surface mail. Aaah! Then why put a fax number on the stupid form? (That would make for a great, implausible story to tell - yeah, um I could have gone to mit but I didn't send the form in the right way.)

Anyway, a newsy email came yesterday, with my info on how to set up email, get web certificates, etc. I just talked to a woman entering a different dept and she heard earlier this week. So apparently it's just a matter of when your dept. sends it out - I wouldn't worry. Maybe email your dept secretary if you're eager to get the web certificates.

It's funny, part of me expected more, um, fanfare when I accepted the offer. I spent so much time on the decision it seemed kind of anticlimactic to have them just say "ok, great, welcome to MIT." I don't know what else they could say. When I was entering undergrad my school sent me a big packet with the school song and stuff, but that would seem a little childish at this level. But still.

[rhodochrosite]

I was just curious. How did you get the web certificate? I accepted the offer around april 15th by mail and have not received anything at all from MIT. This starts to worry me whether they actually got my letter.

Oh, also if you worry, you might email your advisor if you have one. When I made my decision I emailed the dept and my advisors, as well as faxing in the reply.

[AspirEEng]

I was starting to have the same fear, because I faxed the reply in 4/14. A week later I saw something that said it should be sent by surface mail. Aaah! Then why put a fax number on the stupid form? (That would make for a great, implausible story to tell - yeah, um I could have gone to mit but I didn't send the form in the right way.)

Anyway, a newsy email came yesterday, with my info on how to set up email, get web certificates, etc. I just talked to a woman entering a different dept and she heard earlier this week. So apparently it's just a matter of when your dept. sends it out - I wouldn't worry. Maybe email your dept secretary if you're eager to get the web certificates.

It's funny, part of me expected more, um, fanfare when I accepted the offer. I spent so much time on the decision it seemed kind of anticlimactic to have them just say "ok, great, welcome to MIT." I don't know what else they could say. When I was entering undergrad my school sent me a big packet with the school song and stuff, but that would seem a little childish at this level. But still.

HAHA, I have the same feeling...

They only sent the acceptance form that I was supposed to sign, and a short memo telling me to go over some "guide incoming grad students" on the MIT admissions website which turned out to be just a collection of links to some MIT services, with no information regarding exactly what I need to fill out or receive from them...

I was hoping for a more organized packet, they didn't even tell me what my student ID was or what date they would fill on my DS-2019 form... I need to order flight tickets damn it!!! I need to tell my job when exactly I'll be quitting!!! And moreover, I keep having the feeling that maybe I just got the acceptance letter by mistake and they'll find out soon and inform me I was actually on the "REJECT" list!!!! :twisted:

Finally got the ID and web certificate on friday *phew*....

I still think they may discover soon that they made a mistake...

[Guest ahhh finals weeks]

I got my ID in a letter from the admissions office, but I haven't recieved my web certificate yet. It sounds like you two got your web certif from someone in your dept, correct? In that case I'd be less worried. Thanks

[rhodochrosite]

I got my ID in a letter from the admissions office, but I haven't recieved my web certificate yet. It sounds like you two got your web certif from someone in your dept, correct? In that case I'd be less worried. Thanks

Yep, it came from my dept secretary.

[AspirEEng]

Hi,

Is there any bank that's recommended around the MIT campus?

I'm an international student so I'll have to open a new bank account in the US, also heard its gonna be a challenge to get a credit card considering the fact I have no credit history in the US.

Thanks!

[forensic]

i am going to northeastern this fall. i looked at housing and was like screw living in boston. i am gonna commute and try and live outside the city to save some money and be away from things...anyone else doing this?

[Guest 2lazy2commute]

i am going to northeastern this fall. i looked at housing and was like screw living in boston. i am gonna commute and try and live outside the city to save some money and be away from things...anyone else doing this?

I seriously considered commuting, but I'm afraid it would put too much stress on me during an already stressful first year. Also, I think I will end up spending long hours in the lab and don't want to be limited by commuter rail schedules. There are a lot of communities within commuting range, though. Where are you looking? Rent in Attleboro is super cheap (like $500 for a one bedrm) and it's on the commuter rail (also cheapish)

[Trungy]

AspirEEng said:

Hi,

Is there any bank that's recommended around the MIT campus?

I'm an international student so I'll have to open a new bank account in the US, also heard its gonna be a challenge to get a credit card considering the fact I have no credit history in the US.

Thanks!

Bank of America is almost at every corner you turn. Citizens Bank is also a popular bank, but that bank does not appear as frequently, and from my own experience, I like Bank of America much better.

forensic said:

i am going to northeastern this fall. i looked at housing and was like screw living in boston. i am gonna commute and try and live outside the city to save some money and be away from things...anyone else doing this?

That is similar to what I am doing. I go to a school nearby Northeastern, but I decided to live outside of Boston to save some money. I live in Somerville, MA nearby the red line, and the commute can be anywhere from 35 minutes to a little over an hour (during rush hour), also depending on how lucky you get with the trains. For the most part, the commute isn't so bad, especially if you pick up the Globe. The only thing to really keep in mind are when the T (the train) stops running after midnight. Cambridge is also a good place to live, but prices will depend on where exactly you're looking. Brookline would probably be an easier commute, and you'll be around a lot of BU, BC, and COF students.

[carpeimperium]

Like others have said, living expenses are through the roof. Somerville is the classic grad student ghetto, and it's a bit cheaper than Cambridge. (Although: AVOID a landlord by the name of Jim Mega, a.k.a. Greenwood Management Properties. He's an evil bastard.) Central square used to be cheap, though it was on the gentrification path when I was there, so I doubt it's still cheap. Inman square is decent, though it's a bit of a hike to both Harvard and MIT in the winter.

Cambridge Savings bank is a wonderful sweet little bank, one of those banks where everyone remembers your name. They even waived an overdraft fee for me once when I miscalculated my account.

And if you go to Harvard do not live in the fucking Walter Groupius designed buildings. They're mostly occupied by law students, though I think there's two designated for GSAS. They're horrible, basically a prison complex. Groupius should have stuck with the shoe factories.

Stefani's, on Main St. by MIT: best pizza in town.

3 Aces, just north of Harvard Law School: most excessive subs in town (and tolerable pizza too).

Aaaah, I miss Cambridge, I do.

[Guest mit2011]

Trungy: Thanks for the pizza recommendation - very important piece of info to have as a new grad student.

Do you know E. Cambridge neighborhoods? I'm looking at an apt on 6th and Spring Sts. The main appeal is that it is affordable and within 10 minutes walk of where I need to be @ mit. Do you think that area is relatively safe?

[Trungy]

I am not too familiar with East Cambridge. I know that the neighborhood you're looking at is nearby Cambridgeside Galleria, which is your run of the mill mall, but aside from that, I do not have much to say about that area. If the rent at those apartments are affordable and tolerable, then go right ahead and put it at the top of the list. If you think you may struggle with rent, then perhaps you should search for other apartments away from that area and closer to the red line. From 6th and Spring, you are already roughly a mile away from the edge of MIT's campus, so the hike from.. say.. a Harvard Square apartment, or even a Porter or Davis Square apartment isn't too far of a reach. I'd definitely say I can get to Kendall/MIT train stop a less amount of time than if I were to walk from 6th and Spring to MIT (but that doesn't take into the account of the actual commute from the train stop to where you need to be at MIT. My friends and I joke that Harvard and MIT takes up two-thirds of Cambridge). But I'd suggest taking a look at the T map to see where else you'd like to look. I don't want to say you have to rely on the train station to get around in Boston, but believe me, a lot of students do. There are also a ton of bus routes that takes you all over the city in a short amount of time, so check out the bus routes on mbta.com as well.

(this map is also helpful for those who are looking at Boston University for grad/undergrad school)

I'm sure the area that you've looked at are closer to other MIT students, so keep that in mind if you want to stay closer to fellow MIT students.

[Highlife]

just some questions about living in cambridge.

Any experiences with graduate housing at Harvard? I find it quite expensive compared to Yale graduate housing, but i guess that is what you get for living in a metropolitan area.

How bad are Childs Hall and Richards Hall small rooms really? Are the communal areas at least livable? I read about a building project, does it seem to be quite bad noise-wise?

Does anyone know, by the way, whether grad students get office space at harvard?

Any insight you can share about Cambridge/Boston is appreciated. I am trying to make a decision on whether to go here or to New Haven.

[Weber]

I think most people would say that Cambridge is a better location than New Haven. Cambridge is more lively with more cultural opportunities than New Haven, and is practically part of Boston. It's great for walking around and public transportation, and as an intellectual center is hard to beat. I also happen to think that there are fewer tensions between Harvard and the rest of cambridge than between Yale and the rest of New Haven (but maybe that's because Harvard owns most of cambridge).

That said, New Haven can be fun and is definitely cheaper than Cambridge, and it is quite close to New York (but people I know there don't go to New York all that more often than people I know at Harvard). The campus is really nice, but kind of strange because all the buildings are in this old style in order to imitate Cambridge (in england) but they weren't built all that long ago (compared to Cambridge in england).

In the end, as I'm sure you know, the most important thing will be choosing one over the other based on the faculty and the general program, as the school where you think you would be the best fit. If you can visit both, that would be ideal. If Yale seems generally better for you, it's not worth it to choose another school because it's in a cooler place (it's not like we're talking about choosing between New York City and the Lincoln, Nebraska.)

[Grad Lad]

I'm going to Boston!!! Any tips on apartment hunting? When should I start looking? I will go to BU... should I give up and sell my lovely car? Yahoo!!! soo excited (but afraid of going broke as well).

[mermaidshoes]

AVOID a landlord by the name of Jim Mega, a.k.a. Greenwood Management Properties. He's an evil bastard.

thanks for the advice! was considering one of his properties but now i know better. he was super weird and pushy on the phone, so i had a bad feeling that was confirmed by this! yay for google.

[Cornell07]

Learn to love Anna's Taqueria. It is all the food you will ever need on a grad student's budget.

[rollinson]

Learn to love Anna's Taqueria. It is all the food you will ever need on a grad student's budget.

This is a wise statement. Class, you can learn a lot from this person.

[running_circle]

How difficult is it to survive in Boston with around $1200 a month (including housing, food, etc..)...I'll be a grad student at Umass Boston

[crustaceangirl]

running_circle, it can be done. You'll want an apartment somewhere on the Red Line (subway) if you don't have a car. (I dunno about parking at UMass... might not be a good idea to drive in if parking is scarce.) When I was living in a 3BR shared with 2 other roommates in Somerville (which is on the Red Line, but rather far away from the JFK/UMass stop) we each paid about $625/month for rent, another $50-150 in utilities (summer vs. winter -- get a place that includes heat if you can! it's the biggest utility expense). I budget about $40-50/week for groceries. A monthly subway pass is another $60. Doesn't leave a TON of money for going out, etc., but you can do it.

You might want to look into apartments in Dorchester. It has some pretty unsafe parts, but there are safe, more gentrified areas springing up all over, and the rent is more affordable than in someplace like Cambridge (other end of the Red line) if you're concerned about finances. I can't give much more specific advice as I've never lived in that part of town.

[Hadley]

I will be attending Emerson College this fall and I have never been to Boston. Any information about the college's location and nearby housing would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,

B

[SLPtoBe]

I will be attending Emerson College this fall and I have never been to Boston. Any information about the college's location and nearby housing would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,

B

Hi! I'm finishing my undergrad at Emerson now, so I hope I can help you! Essentially, most areas within walking distance to the college (Beacon Hill, Back Bay, North End, and the South End) are nice, but very expensive. A studio in Back Bay is about $1,000 per month. Rent gets a lot cheaper as you move out to neighborhoods that are farther away from Emerson. Most Emerson students live in Brookline, Allston, Brighton, Cambridge, Mission Hill, and Jamaica Plain. Commute from these areas is about 30 minutes or less on the T. I have lived in JP for two years and I love it! It's a diverse neighborhood with great restaurants, bars, a co-op market/farmer's market, and lots of community events. I have a 1 bedroom with an office that I share with my boyfriend in a two family house for $1,100. I personally would not want to live in Allston, as they are sometimes considered to be the "student slums" because lots of undergrads with hands-off landlords live there.