<p>Regarding UCSD...I recently read that new graduate housing was just completed west (nearer to the beach/Scripps) of the main campus. I don't know about cost and how interested people are in living in grad housing, but I thought I'd throw it out there.</p>
<p>VastlyOverrated, if you are referring to the One Miramar Street ones, they are in fact further away from the beach than campus itself. They currently run 1200-1300 for a 2-bedroom (depending on floor). As I understand it, the waitlist is pretty bad (for all grad housing, not just the new building). We are talking years....3.5 years or so. Check out the housing website if you are interested, they list availability.</p>
<p>Out of curiosity, 1200 to 1300 for a two bedroom really doesn't sound that bad for San Diego. What would the counterpart non campus housing unit run in the same area (for comparison sake).</p>
<p>The 2 bedroom I had was about 1750, and I think that was on the cheap end of the spectrum. Most of the apartments around campus are "luxury" apartments. Fancy or not, you pay in La Jolla.</p>
<p>For San Diego discussion, 1200 to 1300 for two bedrooms ONLY if you wait 3 years.</p>
<p>Oh please, Ann Arbor is HORRIBLE at keeping up with the snow however, especially on weekends when people have time to run errands... but the snow on the sidewalks makes the task more difficult. Ann Arbor never seems to have heard of snowplows. Not to mention sparse public transportation unless you're lucky to live near the campus to take the campus shuttles around.</p>
<p>Fortunately, we have U-M to take care of itself with all the snow.</p>
<p>I'll say a few words for Seattle. Seattle has a lot going for it: beautiful environment, lots of outdoorsy things to do (hiking, mountain climbing, sailing, kayaking), good music scene, art scene, great food, lots of microbreweries, skiing/snowboarding in the winter and lots of festivals in the summer. But the weather does get to people, it may not rain everyday but the gray and cold keeps people locked in for a large portion of the winter. Transportation is ok, metro buses connect you to all parts of the city but get ready to wait in the cold. But the spring and summers are sooo worth the crappy winter. Plus you are a short train ride from Vancouver, BC and Portland, Or. Seattle is also the most literate city in the US! And don't forget the great coffeehouse lifestyle :) (not starbucks!)</p>
<p>I'm originally from San Diego and attended UCSD before transferring to UW and I have to say that I did not enjoy living in La Jolla, mainly because without a car, there is not much to do. Nobody I knew took the bus. The beach is great but you can only go so many times. The food options are limited in the area because La Jolla is really expensive. Compared to Seattle, San Diego has a dead music/arts/cultural scene.</p>
<p>Like many others here, I, too, go to UCSD</p>
<p>Most of my friends did/do fine without a car. You'll have friends with cars or just learn to use shuttles/free buses for a while.</p>
<p>My 2BR/2BA apartment is 1600 right now, and is a 25 minute walk or 4 minute drive to campus. There are houses/apartments that are a 30 minute bus ride (free for UCSD students) that will be around $1600 for 3BR/2BA or $2000 for 4BR/3BA. One of my friends only paid $400 for a single in one of those houses, and the size was fairly big (around 12' x 12'). </p>
<p>There are lots of expensive dining in the actual La Jolla downtown/beach areas, and there are nice sit down places around school (TGIF, BJ's, CPK, Islands, El Torito, etc.). UCSD now has a much larger food court which includes Burger King, Panda, Subway, Rubio's, Tapioca Express, Greek food, Indian food, paninis, cafe, Round Table Pizza, and Yogurt World. There's a contract up for grabs for a crepe shop, so that'll be open sometime next year most likely.</p>
<p>In terms of entertainment, if you like the arts or indie music, UCSD is one of the more frequented campuses. I know Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes used to do acoustic shows in Che Cafe on campus--as did Jenny Lewis of Rilo Kiley/Postal Service. We do horribly catering for urban/big name top 20 artists. Last year, we had Sean Kingston for our big annual concert :\ There are reduced price movies in our university center for $3; these movies are out of theatres but not on DVD yet. We have a great gym--somewhat of a luxury considering we're a DII school, albeit the #1 in the nation right now in DII.</p>
<p>What about the LA/Pasadena area? I know that food will certainly be abundant, but I'm more worried about the availability of tasty and accessible (location and price-wise) Asian food. Anyone know?</p>
<p>You're right jd124. It's actually transfer housing that's opening on the beach-side of campus, not graduate. My bad</p>
<p>As far as NYC for Rockefeller --</p>
<p>It is indeed expensive to live in NYC, but you don't have to completely forget about Manhattan. I live in upper Manhattan in Washington Heights, four blocks from the Columbia University Medical Center (which is incidentally where I go to school, lol). I live in a newly-renovated fourth-floor walk-up apartment, 2 bedrooms, one bath, with a roommate. We pay $1850 a month in rent ($925 each), which is pretty good for Manhattan honestly :D Columbia pays me a bit over $2100 a month, so about 45% of my salary goes to my rent, but it's all good. I have plenty of money left over to live on in the city (even though I can't say I'm shopping at Saks every week or whatever, lol).</p>
<p>Upper Manhattan (like above the 160s really in Washington Heights and Inwood areas) is another inexpensive area besides Harlem, and there are inexpensive apartments scattered all over the city, especially if you score a rent-controlled or subsidized apartment. And Brooklyn and Queens are less expensive and have a charm all their own. Plus, getting around in New York is so easy due to public transportation here, so you can conceivably live anywhere in NYC (except Staten Island) -- even northern New Jersey (where rents are cheaper, and you can ride NJ Transit into the city).</p>
<p>Beyond that, New York is an awesome city even for a graduate student. When you want to get away from the university (and you will), you can hop on the subway and ride somewhere. There are parks, there is tons to do, lots of great food, the theater district and other awesome arts offerings, shopping when you have a little extra money...there's a reason it costs so much to live in this city. It's amazing. Not to mention the number of other universities at which to cross-register and collaborate in research.</p>
<p>ymmit, i wish you said what school, to be more specific. but there is fantastic asian food in that area. absolutely world class greatest.</p>
<p>maybe not walking distance from your school, but within a 15 minute drive.</p>
<p>UCLA, Caltech, etc. :)</p>
<p>Is it considered "cheap" student food or like regular restaurant quality and prices?</p>
<p>
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15 minutes from downtown San Jose and about 30 from San Francisco.
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</p>
<p>Regarding downtown San Jose, and to borrow from Gertrude Stein, there is no 'there' there. Let's be honest: downtown San Jose is pretty spartan. Mountain View, frankly, has a better downtown. </p>
<p>San Francisco is (obviously) much better. The problem is that it's not just it's 30 minutes away. That's 30 minutes during non-rush hours. But if you're actually trying to get in during a popular time (i.e. Friday night), then it can easily take double that, and couple that with the fact that you then have to find parking or pay confiscatory rates for a garage, and you obviously have to designate somebody who will remain sober enough to drive everybody home (which is obviously a big problem if you're going by yourself). The next best option is Caltrain as I mentioned, but that's also highly painful as the SF station is rather far from anywhere you would really want to go, necessitating transfers to BART (Millbrae) or MUNI. </p>
<p>The bottom line is that Stanford is, sadly, rather inconveniently situated away from the most interesting parts of the Bay Area. That's the one major knock against Stanford. It's not like Harvard or MIT which are sitting right on the RedLine.</p>
<p>and regarding rockefeller- they have VERY subsidized housing right on or near their campus (upper east side and the river). Had I gone there I would have been paying far less per month in rent (~600ish, incl. utilities) than I am now in boston (~1000, not including utilities). Their stipend is also somewhat significantly higher than most other schools, and thus you have pretty much money to spend going out in nyc, all things considered.</p>
<p>"I'll say a few words for Seattle. Seattle has a lot going for it: beautiful environment, lots of outdoorsy things to do (hiking, mountain climbing, sailing, kayaking), good music scene, art scene, great food, lots of microbreweries, skiing/snowboarding in the winter and lots of festivals in the summer."</p>
<p>All true. Double vouch. When the clouds clear and you realize that the city is surrounded by mountains it's clear that this is one of the most beautiful places in the world. Excellent microbreweries both in Seattle and Portland. Summers are awesome. </p>
<p>"But the weather does get to people, it may not rain everyday but the gray and cold keeps people locked in for a large portion of the winter."</p>
<p>I think you under emphasized this a bit. Often Seattle's weather is sort of reduced to 'lots of rain', and people think 'oh rain and I love rain, I can get used to it'. But the more invasive aspect of the weather here I think is the thick greyness which looms very low over the city for a large segment of the year. There is a good four months around winter where you probably won't see the sun at all and it will be pitch black by 5pm. It's a really important factor in shaping the moods and interactions here. </p>
<p>"Transportation is ok, metro buses connect you to all parts of the city but get ready to wait in the cold." </p>
<p>I completely depart with you here, our mass transportation is notoriously ****ty. To get anywhere (by bus, we don't have a subway or any meaningful light rail) takes absolutely forever although the coverage is pretty good. While you can manage only by bus, a car here is definitely useful And as far as traffic goes we have amongst the worst in the nation. And since bus is the only meaningful mass transit here, you ain't immune to it just cause you don't drive - it is possible that on your bus downtown from the U District you can get caught in traffic and a trip that should take 15 min takes over an hour. </p>
<p>"Seattle is also the most literate city in the US! And don't forget the great coffeehouse lifestyle (not starbucks!)"</p>
<p>Yup, most literate and also one of highest LGbt % communities.</p>
<p>@ juillet - I'm also on the CUMC campus, in the towers. which department are you in? :)</p>
<p>Anyone know much about UIUC and UMinnesota-Twin Cities areas?</p>
<p>I heard some horror stories about Boston this weekend. One fella has had is car towed and impounded four times in the last two years. He said that Boston has some of the silliest pretenses for towing including leaf removal, random 'move your car to the other side of the street' day, street cleaning etc. He described the impound lot being in the most dodgey part of town, requiring a ride on the T, a transfer to a bus and a long walk through bad neighborhoods. He also mentioned that you have to pay your fine (160.00) in cash, meaning that you have to walk through dangerous neighborhoods with a couple hundred bucks in cash. Any thoughts on this?</p>
<p>I don't know where the impound lot is, but the conditions for moving your car are not totally mysterious -- there are schedules (e.g.</a>), and my friends who park on the street haven't ever had problems.</p>
<p>Of course, the other solution is to move to the 'burbs, where there's either no street sweeping or there's non-street parking. I live about 5 miles north of Boston (but with easy subway access to the city), and we park in a parking garage under our apartment building. ;)</p>
<p>And actually, now that I think about it, I think street sweeping only happens in Boston proper. A large number of grad students live in Cambridge and Somerville, where housing is cheaper, and I don't think those streets get swept.</p>