Miscellaneous questions for Boston-area students (and other cities)

[exercise]

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- How many of you bike down to a grocery store to shop? How many groceries can you pack into your bike?

- Have any of you used Peapod? What has been your experience with it? Is it worth it?

- Do you normally carry all groceries in your backpack? Use a zip car? Use a taxi?

- Have you shopped at the Haymarket? Is it worth commuting all the way to the Haymarket?

- What other universities are within walking distance of Harvard?

- Apartments around Harvard seem to be incredibly expensive, so if someone would like to live adjacent to some other college campus, which college would you recommend?

- If someone was to visit Cambridge for 3-4 days, which inexpensive but clean hotel with a clean bathroom would you recommend?

- If someone wanted to spend 4 weeks in Cambridge for the compressed Jan semester, where would you recommend they stay?

- What are the biggest time wasters at HES, that is, where do you think you spend the most time unproductively? Waiting for the T? Waiting for other students to get done before you get to meet with your prof during office hours? Basic survival needs like grocery shopping? Commuting?

Thanks

 

[deleted248403]

Wow - this is ridic

Maybe Johnnyscans will humor you, he is way nicer than I am

 

[exercise]

Wow - this is ridic
Maybe Johnnyscans will humor you, he is way nicer than I am

Sorry I live in the mountains, away from all civilization, so the city is very new to me. I am sure you would have asked questions people in my region would have perceived as ridiculous if Harvard was in the mountains. Assume to get to Harvard, you had to first drive on unpaved roads in the mountains with four feet of snow on them, where a cell phone does not get a signal ever, and then you had to walk five miles through forests populated only by bears and mountain lions and very dangerous Mexican gangs who grow marijuana over the summers and have no qualms about mowing down officers from the Sheriff's department on sight. If that was the case, I am sure you too will ask questions we locals will think are ridiculous. And yeah, Johnnyscans is nice.

 

[deleted248403]

Sorry I live in the mountains, away from all civilization, so the city is very new to me. I am sure you would have asked questions people in my region would have perceived as ridiculous if Harvard was in the mountains. Assume to get to Harvard, you had to drive on unpaved roads in the mountains with four feet of snow on them, where a cell phone does not get a signal and then you had to walk five miles through forests populated only by bears and mountain lions and very dangerous Mexican gangs who grow marijuana over the summer who have no qualms about mowing down policemen. If that was the case, I am sure you too will ask questions we locals will think are ridiculous. And yeah, Johnnyscans is nice.

I lived in Philly for 2 years, live in an urban environment, and have been in and around Boston for almost a decade; I'll answer some of these:
1) never; unless you want to grocery shop daily
2) expensive IIRC
3) have you never been grocery shopping? like ever? I carry them in the plastic bags they give me, or if I remember, i take the re-usable ones.
4) depends where you live
5) do they have GOOGLE in the mountains
6) Boston is among the most expensive cities in the country - if you want HES, start getting used it and consider room-mates
7) hotwire
8) craigslist for a short term rental
9) this might be the most ridic question of the bunch

 

[johnnyscans]

How many of you bike down to a grocery store to shop? How many groceries can you pack into your bike?

I walk. I've often stopped by on bike, but that's for essentials. I've been a "true" city inhabitant for the past 3 years - no car, all public trans or walking/biking. http://www.walkscore.com/ is the key. My apartment in Washington, DC was a 100. My Boston pad is a 98. I used to walk a mile to Whole Foods/Trader Joes when I lived in DC for certain goods - everything else I got at my local Safeway, which blew, but had the essentials. The key to city living is living close to a grocery store, and maybe a CVS/Rite Aid. Serious. Everything else you can cab to, but these places are your bread and butter. I've seen people with some serious bike setups - milk crates between the handlebars and such. I'm too ****ing cool for that so I throw everything in my sweet messenger bag or I just bike one handed the 1/8th of a mile to my apartment.

- Have any of you used Peapod? What has been your experience with it? Is it worth it?

Here's JohnnyScans' peapod - I live off of protein shakes, almond butter, frozen mixed berries, romaine lettuce, greek yogurt and various animal meats. I make meat + onions and veggies practically every night, or I'll cook in advance for the week. I've never used peapod, and most of the people I know don't. Learn to cook for yourself. You save money, and it's easy.

Day off? Buy 5 lbs of 93/7 chopped meat, season that **** up, cook it, and then keep various chopped veggies in your fridge. Even if you have 20 minutes between work and class you can come home, power up your frying pan, meat and veggies in, SEASON, get ready for class, chow down, out the door. BOOM.

- Do you normally carry all groceries in your backpack? Use a zip car? Use a taxi?

In my hands or my backpack. As I've said I've gone 3 years without my car. When I NEED something immediately I steal my awesome GFs car.

- Have you shopped at the Haymarket? Is it worth commuting all the way to the Haymarket?

No clue what or where that is.

- What other universities are within walking distance of Harvard?

How good of a walker are you. Harvard/MIT are incredibly close. Tufts is north. Other side of the Charles you've got BU, Simmons, Northeastern, Suffolk (I think), Berklee. Boston College is a T-ride away.

- Apartments around Harvard seem to be incredibly expensive, so if someone would like to live adjacent to some other college campus, which college would you recommend?

Northeastern/BU in the Kenmore/Fenway/Symphony neighborhoods. Easy bike ride/T ride to Harvard, close to Longwood Medical Area, and there's a Shaws, Whole Foods and Trader Joes all close by. Do not move in on

- If someone was to visit Cambridge for 3-4 days, which inexpensive but clean hotel with a clean bathroom would you recommend?

www.kayak.com

- If someone wanted to spend 4 weeks in Cambridge for the compressed Jan semester, where would you recommend they stay?

www.kayak.com or some type of a sublet.

- What are the biggest time wasters at HES, that is, where do you think you spend the most time unproductively? Waiting for the T? Waiting for other students to get done before you get to meet with your prof during office hours? Basic survival needs like grocery shopping? Commuting?

My biggest time waste (and it's not a waste, as I absolutely love the job) is my research gig, given the nature of the experiments I perform. I'm able to make my own schedule, but when someone can't cover for me it sucks to commute +/-1 hour round trip to switch media on cell culture dishes (which takes 15 minutes). I find that everything at HES is pretty damn efficient. As I said though, my commute to school is 15 minutes via bike, the Shaws is 5 mins from my apartment, and I do pretty much all my homework/reading on the weekend (girlfriend is in PT school, so we study together).

If I ever visit wherever you live, I expect a full rundown of everything. . . I mean EVERYTHING.

 

[exercise]

Thanks Jonnyscans - as always, you're awesome. If I remember correctly, you're also the guy who always helps people on the HEPS Facebook site. Thanks man.

How many of you bike down to a grocery store to shop? How many groceries can you pack into your bike?

I walk. I've often stopped by on bike, but that's for essentials. I've been a "true" city inhabitant for the past 3 years - no car, all public trans or walking/biking. http://www.walkscore.com/ is the key. My apartment in Washington, DC was a 100. My Boston pad is a 98. I used to walk a mile to Whole Foods/Trader Joes when I lived in DC for certain goods - everything else I got at my local Safeway, which blew, but had the essentials. The key to city living is living close to a grocery store, and maybe a CVS/Rite Aid. Serious. Everything else you can cab to, but these places are your bread and butter. I've seen people with some serious bike setups - milk crates between the handlebars and such. I'm too ****ing cool for that so I throw everything in my sweet messenger bag or I just bike one handed the 1/8th of a mile to my apartment.

- Have any of you used Peapod? What has been your experience with it? Is it worth it?

Here's JohnnyScans' peapod - I live off of protein shakes, almond butter, frozen mixed berries, romaine lettuce, greek yogurt and various animal meats. I make meat + onions and veggies practically every night, or I'll cook in advance for the week. I've never used peapod, and most of the people I know don't. Learn to cook for yourself. You save money, and it's easy.

Day off? Buy 5 lbs of 93/7 chopped meat, season that **** up, cook it, and then keep various chopped veggies in your fridge. Even if you have 20 minutes between work and class you can come home, power up your frying pan, meat and veggies in, SEASON, get ready for class, chow down, out the door. BOOM.

- Do you normally carry all groceries in your backpack? Use a zip car? Use a taxi?

In my hands or my backpack. As I've said I've gone 3 years without my car. When I NEED something immediately I steal my awesome GFs car.

- Have you shopped at the Haymarket? Is it worth commuting all the way to the Haymarket?

No clue what or where that is.

- What other universities are within walking distance of Harvard?

How good of a walker are you. Harvard/MIT are incredibly close. Tufts is north. Other side of the Charles you've got BU, Simmons, Northeastern, Suffolk (I think), Berklee. Boston College is a T-ride away.

- Apartments around Harvard seem to be incredibly expensive, so if someone would like to live adjacent to some other college campus, which college would you recommend?

Northeastern/BU in the Kenmore/Fenway/Symphony neighborhoods. Easy bike ride/T ride to Harvard, close to Longwood Medical Area, and there's a Shaws, Whole Foods and Trader Joes all close by. Do not move in on

- If someone was to visit Cambridge for 3-4 days, which inexpensive but clean hotel with a clean bathroom would you recommend?

www.kayak.com

- If someone wanted to spend 4 weeks in Cambridge for the compressed Jan semester, where would you recommend they stay?

www.kayak.com or some type of a sublet.

- What are the biggest time wasters at HES, that is, where do you think you spend the most time unproductively? Waiting for the T? Waiting for other students to get done before you get to meet with your prof during office hours? Basic survival needs like grocery shopping? Commuting?

My biggest time waste (and it's not a waste, as I absolutely love the job) is my research gig, given the nature of the experiments I perform. I'm able to make my own schedule, but when someone can't cover for me it sucks to commute +/-1 hour round trip to switch media on cell culture dishes (which takes 15 minutes). I find that everything at HES is pretty damn efficient. As I said though, my commute to school is 15 minutes via bike, the Shaws is 5 mins from my apartment, and I do pretty much all my homework/reading on the weekend (girlfriend is in PT school, so we study together).

If I ever visit wherever you live, I expect a full rundown of everything. . . I mean EVERYTHING.

 

[johnnyscans]

Thanks Jonnyscans - as always, you're awesome. If I remember correctly, you're also the guy who always helps people on the HEPS Facebook site. Thanks man.

I do what i can. I should be doing physics practice problems but procrastination has gotten te best of me.

 

[exercise]

http://www.boston-discovery-guide.com/haymarket-boston.html#axzz1lfJuX3vK

 

[exercise]

Do not move in on

What did you mean to say here?

 

[johnnyscans]

What did you mean to say here?

Do not move in on september 1st, if you can avoid it. Its super expensive and everyone wants an apt on that date