<p>I've never been east of Las Vegas (I live in California). How is the Boston area like? Isn't Harvard near MIT, Tufts, Boston College, Boston University etc...? How's that like?</p>
<p>I asked one of my (fellow Californian) friends who's a freshman at MIT how he's adjusting to the weather, and he said "it's not so bad if you stay inside." This week has been in the sixties and seventies where I live, but over there...it's way still winter. So take that into account....</p>
<p>But I'm curious about the answer too--I've heard that Boston (the city, not the weather) is really nice, but I don't know that much about it.</p>
<p>boston in my opinion is the best, most college age student friendly city in the country. I'd never apply to harvard if it weren't in boston. I could ramble on about how great is is for many paragraphs, but il spare you from that. If you have any questions about specific aspects of the city though, just ask and il give u an answer.</p>
<p>I dont' know boston didn't really do much for me when I was there. The city looks kinda like a huge small town like the buildings ain't real big like NY or anything.</p>
<p>keynes: what are some of those great things about boston? I'm curious, because I recently spent a week up there, but I wasn't that enthusiastic about it after I left. Maybe I just didn't go to the right places or something...</p>
<p>When I visted, I saw a drunk get arrested outside a Wendy's between Harvard and MIT around five pm, which didn't leave the greatest impression. Otherwise, Cambridge was nice enough, and the Boston skyline is lovely, especially at night.</p>
<p>Boston can actually be kinda annoying because things close so early around here ... for instance the T stops running at like 12:30, and the stores in Downtown Crossing close at 8 ... :/</p>
<p>and the big dig is a mess</p>
<p>Let me update you, Faux: The Big Dig is pretty much dug.</p>
<p>Could you guys elaborate on areas like: Transportation (car friendly?) Nightlife, Culture, Entertainment, Living standards (ie: prices of material things compared to say LA or NY) etc... thanks guys.</p>
<p>Boston isn't car friendly. Hardly any students at Harvard or in general have cars because the public transportation subway (the "T") is inexpensive ($1.25), clean, safe and goes lots of places. Busses are 90 cents/way. I don'tk now about cost of things compared to NYC or LA because I don't live there...but...my freshman roommate is from LA and was very excited that there is no sales tax on clothes (I think its 8.25% in LA?!) or on food from the grocery store. The sales tax is 5% on everything else.</p>
<p>Let us not forget that Boston is also the home of the world champion Red Sox...</p>
<p>Don't forget our Patsies!</p>
<p>And the undefeated Harvard football team!</p>
<p>And the undefeated BC basketball team!</p>
<p>And the top 10 BC, Harvard and BU hockey teams!</p>
<p>Heck, even the Celtics are in first place (in the crummy Eastern Division.)</p>
<p>It has great Italian food. And a decent subway system (not as grimy as NY!).</p>
<p>I'm from Cali, but I was in Boston this past summer for six weeks. When I first visited Boston for two days about a year ago, I thought it was gloomy and not exactly very pleasing to the eye. During the summer though, I fell in love with Boston. I find it the most awesome place and I miss it every day. There's so much to do and the T is so convienent. A lot of things in Cali are beautiful. So, Boston has a different feel that I believe one would need to adjust to. Also, Boston is definitely not for everyone from Cali. The weather was the one thing that I didn't like, but I think it's something I got used to. The grocery store products are also more expensive because there's less competition between chains in comparison to the super-competitive supermarket chains of Southern Cali. Everything is more compacted compared to the wide-open environment of Cali. Overall though, Boston is a fun city to roam around and explore. It offers certain unique qualities that you can't find anywhere else.</p>
<p>I've lived in a suburb in Boston for my whole life and often go downtown on the weekends.</p>
<p>Nightlife: There are a few clubs in Boston that are 18 or 19+ or have nights for college students, but most of them seem to be 21+ and enforce it strictly. The Roxy, Avalon and Axis have 18+ and 19+ nights and draw a pretty "mainstream" crowd. There are some clubs in Cambridge that have Campus nights such as Manray (a somewhat offbeat fetish club), The Middle East and T.T. the Bear's Place. Aside from the few bars and clubs, the city essentially shuts down at 10 PM. Few people are out and about afterwards.</p>
<p>Fun Spots: Boston has some great places where you can walk around and shop. Newbury street has a book store, the Other Side cafe, a Virgin Megastore, Newbury Comics, some candy stores and coffee shops, a wrap place and a few bars, but it is pretty empty after 11 PM. The North End has some cute restaurants and coffee shops. The South End has a few gay-themed stores and clubs. Harvard and Central Squares have some offbeat stores and people, and a lot of college students; club passim is an all-ages club that serves vegetarian music and exhibits folk musicians. Quincy Market is fun to go down to and get a bite to eat; it is full of cheap, "fast-food" booths and a huge sitting area. Boston Commons is a large green with a brook and gardens. A lot of protests, concerts and rallies are held there. Downtown Crossing has a diverse group of people and it fun to walk around in. There's a Chinatown nearby, and a theater district. Downtown Boston has a lot bookstores, expensive clothing stores and restaurants.</p>
<p>The People: Generally, Bostonians are known to be cold, and that's true. Don't expect any strangers to talk to you, and don't talk to them; my friend's mom once said a casual comment to a man and he thought she was hitting on her. But they're well-educated, well-dressed, well-groomed, tolerant and honest.</p>
<p>The Weather: Boston is pretty cold in the winter, so expect to wear your black peacoat some (or most days) during January and expect blizzards. It's pretty humid and hot in the summer, sometimes reaching temperatures in the 90's. It gets some rain, but not too much. And, of course, the leaves in the fall turn red and make Boston beautiful.</p>
<p>If you have any other questions, feel free to ask :).</p>
<p>Go to Harvard for Harvard and don't expect much from Boston. It is a big town and thinks it is "the hub of the universe" as the masthead reads on a local paper. Everyone talks about how great it is because there are so many students there, but firends who go there say the colleges are very segregated from each other, and represent a kind of microcosm of society in terms of social class stereotypes. It is apparently not one big mixer. (Be prepared for BC kids to figure you went to Harvard because you didn't get into BC) Any more positive views? Maybe from someone who goes there?</p>
<p>I've lived in NE for most of my life and in Boston for 20 years. Boston is something like the 6th-8th biggest city in the US ... personally I really like most of the cities this size. The biggest ones are HUGE ... NYC, LA, Chicago ... the size has pros and cons but they are big. Boston is a nice size ... most of the parts you might visit are walkable (especially compared to the HUGE cities). An there is more going on (sports, theatre, shopping, movies, museums, etc) compared to smaller cities ... so for me it is a great compromise between huge cities and small cities.</p>
<p>Boston has, I believe, the largest concentration of college students of any US city ... the population grows by like something like 25% each September ... so there are a ton of college kids around. And with all the students around there are a ton of clubs, stores, restaurants, etc catering to the choices (and budgets) of students. This is why I think so many kids rate Boston as a great college town. </p>
<p>The big catch is the weather ... having grown up with 4 seasons and having lived in "better climates" I much prefer having all 4 seasons ... fall is my favorite season by far. For me, the trick with the winter is to sled, ski, and skate ... if you're going to have snow and cold use it!</p>
<p>(Having said all that, I personally, did not choose to go to undergraduate school in Boston ... while there is tons to do for me it was more like living in Boston while attending school ... I much preferred being in a college town where the focus of social life was the campus life. Boston, to me, would be ideal for grad school)</p>
<p>Having lived my entire life only a half an hour from Boston I'd have to say its one the greatest cities ever. Sure its not New York but its a much more college oriented city. New York is much more business oriented. Pace is no were near as intense. Its like london cept with 3 feet of snow and most of the winter at freezing or below. Though the summers get up into the 80's and in the fall the city is very beatiful. Plus its got all the great amenities, World series winning baseball team, 3 time superbowl football team, no basketball or hockey team. What we have a basketball team, damn it. It also has like 10+ great schools, harvard mit, northeastern, bc, bu, and the peopel are great, great restaurants, stuff to do, history, and the most important one of all, not that many hobos abd the ones that it does have are wivked friendly, crazy yes but friendly.</p>
<p>**** the Yankees... Thats Boston for you.</p>