Out of State Student

<p>I'm from Dallas, TX and Northeastern is my first choice, I got in and my aid isn't that bad. Anyways, I was wondering moving from Dallas to Boston, how is life over there: the weather, shopping, city, scene? I also heard that things like clothes, food, apartments are more expensive, can anyone tell me what to expect from living in Boston. Also, do you think I should buy my college stuff like computer, clothes, school supplies in Boston or Dallas? Thanks!!</p>

<p>regarding the purchasing of things, there is no sales tax on necessities in Boston. i'm from Chicago so i do not know all the details of this, but i know this covers clothes and food for sure, probably some other things as well.</p>

<p>Weather sucks. I suppose Boston is a bit milder due to its location, but it's still probably ridiculously erratic.</p>

<p>You may want to contact Northeastern to see if they have any deals on computers for their students. This can be particularly valuable if Northeastern has particular college-specific software that comes pre-loaded on their machines.</p>

<p>Re computers, I know they do have some special deals to purchase computers (I think Dell and maybe also Mac?) although we did not use that so I am not sure what kind of deals they really are. There may be some info about this on the myneu webpage that each student has, and probably elsewhere on the school webpage; they will provide some info about this to admitted students later on (I even went to an info session at either welcome day in April or summer orientation). </p>

<p>As to other belongings, there are lots of options and you'll start to see CC discussions on this during the summer. You could end up doing a combination of shipping or bringing some items from home and purchasing other things once you arrive. You could also purchase things online and have them shipped to the school. It depends on what will work best for you. And once you add in shipping costs, the higher Boston costs may even out... although I don't recall it being outrageously higher than where I live (upper midwest).</p>

<p>D is also OOS and I accompanied him when he moved him; we flew out and rented a car. One thing we did was shopped in advance at our local Bed Bath and Beyond for bedding, towels etc, and arranged to pick up those items at a BBB close to school, and then did a Target run out there (actually multiple trips on move-in day once we saw his room). Also, during the first week of classes in the fall, they typically arrange bus trips to a nearby Target/shopping mall.</p>

<p>I'm pretty sure that there IS sales tax in all of Massachusetts. I live in NH, and I know people drive here from Massachusetts to buy clothes because they don't want to pay the sales tax.</p>

<p>As to the OP, weather - since Boston is on the ocean, it can be quite cold/raw in the winter and windy. This time of year it's in the 40's or 50's. </p>

<p>I can't really comment on food prices, but I know housing is quite expensive.</p>

<p>^ There isn't sales tax in Boston.</p>

<p>Food and rent are both a lot more expensive than other cities, especially in the neighborhood around Northeastern. Coming from Dallas, the weather is going to be very cold, and a bit of a shock the first winter, but you get used to it.</p>

<p>No sales tax in MA for clothes or food. There is tax on books, appliances, electronics, etc., and that's what people drive to NH to buy.</p>

<p>Boston aka Title Town is great</p>