Best places to live?

Graduate School
41

<p>
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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?

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<p>Well, frankly, I doubt that it's any worse than the stories of street-sweeting-ticketing and impounding in, say, San Francisco or Berkeley. </p>

<p>The easiest method to avoid this problem - whether in Boston or elsewhere - is to simply not own a car at all. You don't really need a car in those areas, and a rental can easily suffice for the few days that you might want one handy. The second easiest method (although perhaps expensive) is to find a place that comes with a parking spot, i.e. an underground garage.</p>

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<p>As someone who calls Boston home -</p>

<p>I agree, parking in the city is NOT fun and yes that bit about getting to the tow lot is true. They ALWAYS have LOTS of cabs lines up at that T (our subway system) station near the tow lot for that exact reason though, so you'll never have to WALK with that cash. Besides, the neighborhood that you're referring to (Southie) is really, not THAT bad.</p>

<p>Having said that, if you're going to Harvard, BU, Tufts, or any of the schools in the city - just leave your car. You don't really need it here, and it'll save you a lot of money and time! :)</p>

43

<p>Any thoughts on Dallas?? </p>

<p>I am interviewing at UT Southwestern this weekend and my BF loooooooves it. I have personally have never been so I'm not sure what to expect...</p>

<p>I'm guessing it would be TOTALLY different from Boston - which is great! I am hoping they have sweet tea and hushpuppies at every joint.</p>

44

<p>If anyone is interested in Pittsburgh (a great city, and voted one of the most livable cities in the US!)....</p>

<p>Pittsburgh is a great college city. There are 3 main universities located in the city and just East of downtown (Carnegie Mellon, University of Pittsburgh, and Duquesne Univeristy). There are also a number of smaller universities/colleges (Carlow, Chatham, Art Institute, Point Park, and Robert Morris) located within the city. A large portion of the population either work or attend the universities, or work at the hospitals (University of Pittsburgh Medical Centers), or large tech/pharmaceutical/engineering (Bayer, Fischer Scientific, PPG, Westinghouse, etc....) companies. This leads to great internship oppertunities and post-graduation job oppertunities.</p>

<p>You can cross-register at any of the local universities/colleges. Nearly all the universities and colleges offer free public transportation (or at a very low cost such as $30.00 a semester). Most people, from students to professionals, take advantage of the public transportation into downtown Pittsburgh and Oakland (where Pitt and CMU are located) as parking is very limited and expensive. There are even a few small grocery stores within <15 minute bus ride (or walk) to most of the universities/colleges.</p>

<p>It's very inexpensive to live in Pittsburgh. A nice 1 bedroom apartment will cost about $600 to $700, however a nice two bedroom 1 bath room will cost around $750 to $900. If you live in shared housing (which is very common and relatively easy to find) you can pay $250 to $400 for a room in a 4-bedroom house. </p>

<p>There are always student discounts to theater shows and the art museums. The city is pretty diverse. There are a lot of international students and professionals. You can find food from most parts of the world. The only exception is Mexican food.... unless your idea of Mexican is Qudoba or Chipotle... There are lots of bars in the South Side; clubs in Station Square and the Strip District; boutique shopping in Shady Side; Crew, rowing, biking, parks, etc... within the city; </p>

<p>and of course there are The Steelers... This city bleeds black and gold. But if football's not your thing, they have pro hockey (Penguins) and baseball (Pirates). University of Pittsburgh has a top ranked men's basketball team too. </p>

<p>Overall great city for students of all kind!</p>

45

<p>Can anyone say anything about Austin Texas? I'm not too big into the bar scene, but I heard it's a great town for music clubs. The grad secretary told me rent ranges from $450-$850 depending on how well you want to live. I would like to live with people as living by myself I would go crazy and it would seem to be too lonely in addition to going to grad school.</p>

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<p>Can anyone give such a summary for Ann Arbor?</p>

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<p>i live in LA and used to go out to pasadena often...trust me you do not need to worry about a lack of asian food...that area has TONS of asians...especially in the surrounding areas (the whole of the san gabriel valley)...like arcadia...my friends and i used to jokingly call it arc'asia'...</p>

<p>in my opinion...there's not much in pasadena minus caltech, and the rose parade..though i suppose you could always drive elsewhere if you have a car.</p>

48

<p>Does anyone know what it's like living in the Bronx? I'm considering Einstein.</p>

<p>Another unfortunate criticism of Stanford: I went to school there, and I was very very bored as an undergrad. Even when I turned 21, I got tired of the bar scene quickly. Plus, I don't think anyone's mentioned that the campus is 1 mile away from the Caltrain station/Palo Alto, and the shuttle (the Marguerite) that goes there is infrequent. However I think there might be a Marguerite that goes to SF on the weekends...am I right? </p>

<p>Palo Alto itself is a bunch of overpriced restaurants and even more overpriced Crate and Barrel-type stores (in other words, it caters to yuppies). The Stanford Shopping Center is the same. </p>

<p>When I had a car I was able to go to SF when I wanted...it's about 45 minutes to an hour away. And San Jose is not worth visiting. </p>

<p>So, if you are going to Stanford, bring your car. But watch out for illegal parking - my friend got something around thirty tickets in one year. That's him, though. He's like that.</p>

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<p>ymmit, I currently work in Ann Arbor. Can you be more elaborate?</p>

<p>It's a great progressive-leaning town (~100,000 people) with almost every national chain. Very pedestrian/bicycle-friendly. Somewhat expensive because it's popular and near Detroit. Home of University of Michigan.</p>

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<p>Thanks, tenisghs- I did notice that it was much more expensive than I expected from a college town in the Midwest. I visited in January and it was, needless to say, very cold. As a result, I wasn't outside much and didn't see too much of the town itself aside from going for meals. I heard a lot about the art and culture, etc, so I'm totally convinced on that point already. All the housing I've looked at that were close to the UMich campus ranged around $800/mo for a 1-br or even a studio... a bit surprising. Is this the norm? I am planning to have a car, but I had hoped to live closer within walking distance to lab, taking winter into account. Is there parking around campus? As for general questions, I guess some perspectives on the general bare bones of living there for the first time would be good. Thanks!!</p>

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<p>You can also look into on-campus housing. In fact, they're still accepting applications for housing until June 30 for graduate students.</p>

52

<p>I know New Haven is probably not going to be on this list by a long shot but would anyone like to comment on it?</p>

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<p>Would anyone who knows care to comment on St. Louis? I’m thinking of WashU and was impressed with the quality and cost of living (one guy was renting a two bedroom apartment so he could use one room to work on his pottery hobby). But I didn’t get to see much of the town itself. I’m a bit of a theater goer, but also enjoy bars as well as outdoor activities like hiking/biking/etc. I’m moving from Chicago, but Chicago is at my upper limit for population density (I like to keep a high amenities/people ratio). Thank you.</p>

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<p>depends on where you grew up and what the meaning of ‘home’ is to you i.e. sense of belonging</p>

<p>presently, I could feel at home in a town like Madison but never a place like NYC…life changes though so we will see…</p>

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<p>@Pilsung</p>

<p>I think I’m going to Wash U. I agree that the quality of living seems great! I didn’t get to see much of the city, but Central West End was nice; I was very pleasantly surprised by the area. I’ve already looked into the theatre/music/dance scene. The Fox Theatre appears to occasionally bring in decent plays, and [The</a> Repertory Theater of St. Louis](<a href=“http://repstl.org/]The”>http://repstl.org/) looks like it might be good . The music in St. Louis is excellent – dance…not so much (but that’s probably only a disappointment for me).</p>

<p>During my interview weekend, someone asked about hiking. Apparently there are good places an hour or so away. Coming from a beautiful mountain town, I probably won’t think they are that great, but it’s nice to know there is the possibility of decent hiking.</p>

<p>You’re in neuroscience, right? I’m in the molecular genetics and genomics program. PM me if you find any interesting information on St. Louis!</p>

<p>Does anyone else have anything to say about St. Louis?</p>

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<p>I’ve been weighing Berkeley vs. San Francisco as it pertains to my choice of graduate school.</p>

<p>Any suggestions?</p>

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<p>I’m gonna throw in another plug for Pittsburgh. It’s a great city…not too big, not too small. If anything it’s a city with a small town feel. It’s easy to live on a grad student budget and has a rich cultural scene. The nightlife is there, but not like it would be in a larger city. Summers are hot and winters are cold. Transportation is okay and every neighborhood has its own little charm. I really love this city!</p>

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<p>It’s a great progressive-leaning town (~100,000 people) with almost every national chain. Very pedestrian/bicycle-friendly. Somewhat expensive because it’s popular and near Detroit. Home of University of Michigan.
tenisghs is offline</p>

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<p>Sounds like my kind of place!</p>

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<p>@molbio</p>

<p>Yeah, the The Repertory Theater looked extremely good. It reminds me of Court Theatre in Chicago (small auditorium, excellent quality). I’ve also found a comedy club called the Funny Bone. I’m not sure what you mean by dance, but when my fiance interviewed there for medical school, it seemed like all the med students were getting salsa lessons from somewhere in the neighborhood.</p>

<p>After visiting a bunch of schools on the east cost, I think I like the amenities St. Louis has but with ample living space. I was very taken with one Manhattan school, but ultimately I couldn’t imagine myself living in a dorm setup again packed in with people on all sides.</p>

<p>Also, I’m doing dev bio.</p>

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<p>The Bronx depends on where you live in the Bronx. There are some nice areas of the Bronx, like Riverdale (right over the Harlem River from Manhattan actually), and then there are some rough areas of the Bronx, like the South Bronx. I have a friend who’s a postdoc at Einstein and she lives in the South Bronx, and she doesn’t go home after a certain time at night - she crashes with a friend or something. It’s a quieter life than living in Manhattan, but still has easy access to the city. I live in upper Manhattan just a few stops on the 1 from the Bronx.</p>