Graduating in May, currently live in Cleveland Ohio, need to relocate...where is a wonderful place to do that,East Coast (Boston: apartments, rentals)

[lilmeeks18]

Boston, Washington Dc, New York, any other great places to live??

where is the best place to be during this time, i am taking a year off before grad school, and there are schools in every one of these cities i am looking at.....which is the best??

Boston?? Any input!

[CityGirl52]

I'm from Boston originally and it's definitely a place you'd love to live in for a while. You might want to check one of the neighborhoods, such as Brookline, the South End, South Boston, Charlestown OR the North End. Go to this site:

Boston.com

for apartment rentals to give you an idea of what they're renting for, try to get HEAT included if you can, that's where you'll be dishing big bucks out and you don't want to do that if you don't have to. Lots of attractions, places to go, things to do and you won't need a car in any of these neighborhoods at all, public transportation is at your beck and call. Go to this site to check out the MBTA's site:

MBTA.com > Official Website for Greater Boston's Public Transportation System

Plenty of apartments in the City to choose from, just be careful some of the landlords can be "cute" no matter which city you choose, so that way you have to be leary, you live and learn though, it'll be a good learning base, something you'll always remember, so hopefully it turns out well for you this first time. A lot of the apartments can be extremely pricey compared to where you live in Ohio. I'm talking 1500 up to 2300 a month. Roommates are in order, so hopefully you have that up your sleeve for your game plan.

I see that you have Washington, DC on your list. If anything, GO there to see it, it's awesome there and I'm not kidding you. I think you'd get more for your $$ down there myself. I know for a fact that Alexandria is quite quite expensive, but there's surrounding towns that you could live in if you do choose DC over Boston or New York. I was in DC this past September for a wedding and one late afternoon we took a cruise along the Potomoc in their neat riverboat from Alexandria to Georgetown. WHAT a place for your age group to be in! It was GREAT! Georgetown itself is between George Washington University and Georgetown University, so many many students and people through here, it's got a quaint, unique type of village setting from what we could see of it from our trek up the hill from the boat, when we landed. Many many interesting, funky shops that you could get lost in forever or at least I could and I'm not even in your age group; probably the best shopping I've ever ever seen ANY where on this planet, is right in Georgetown and incredibly wonderful restaurants, bistro's and pubs geared for every one of us! We had pizza at Paolo's on Wisconsin Ave. during this visit and it was just so so good, I could see why the line was out the door as we were leaving, I'd be in that line too if it were me, we just happen to get there at a good time by lucking out where we walked right in! I would say you'd really enjoy living here a lot. There's a site that talks about it that you could check out:

Georgetown University - Comments on Area Immediately Around Campus

I thought DC did circles around my Boston! It's set up SO SO cool. This time there though I got to see SO much more in that whole area of DC and how it's all set up with the Capital of DC area and this part of Virginia, Alexandria was pretty cool too, that's actually where I stayed, quite quite expensive though to live from what we were being told. I'm sure if you go to the DC forum you'll hear all about it all, I was actually just visiting and it was my 2nd time there. I can't stop talking about it because it was just SO cool down there! If you get the chance to go to DC at all? Then GO there, even for a visit to see what I mean about it down there. PLUS another thing to consider? Their weather is by far much better than ours. Your winters would be mild compared to Boston's AND not as cold either. Thats another thing that you definitely would like about it down there. They turn there heat up in November? Ours is turned up in October and they turn there heat OFF in around March? Ours is on in New England a lot of times till sometimes late April! So remember that when you're thinking of a city to live in. The colleges in all 3 cities you mentioned are top shelf in one way or another, but DC is definitely the place to go in my book these days! The thing is? From what we're hearing the traffic is brutal. Well, we didn't have a car, so like Boston, check out their public transportation system. Do you know it's the best in the United States down there! It was awesome. We took their bus then a train from the King Street area of Alexandria in to where this Union Station was located and if we found it okay then YOU will. They have indoor outdoor carpeting on their trains! We couldn't believe it and are still telling people about it up here all the time! Ours in Boston doesn't have indoor/outdoor carpeting! You should see their trains, they're awesome! I found out from one of my brothers that Boston's MBTA employees a lot of times have to go down to DC for classes and I could see why, DC's the #1 transportation system in the country! SO I think if I were you? I'd live in one of the surrounding towns of DC over your other two choices of Boston or New York.

Wherever you decide to live? Good luck and have a wonderful life experience in any of these fine cities you choose!

[lilmeeks18]

this was amazing, how wonderful!!!!!!!! thanks this is all great information for me, you got me all excited!!

i will be visiting these cities in the next coupld of mths! THANK YOU so very much

[CityGirl52]

When you visit DC area, remember this yummy french bakery shop, they're everywhere I guess, we thought the one we went to in Alexandria was the only one, but I guess not:

www.lamadeleine.com

They are out of this world good for dessert & coffee! We kept going to the one on King Street in Alexandria later on in the night, well, it's the cutest little place. They have locations all over Virginia.

Just so you know, in Boston & in Harvard Square Cambridge we have Finale's for dessert & coffee, a little different, but a place that a lot of us like to go later on after a show or club:

Finale Dessert Company

Also for the record in DC, the surrounding towns that I know aren't far from the Georgetown area are towns like Falls Church which is only about 5 miles away, Arlington is also 5 miles away from this area; Fairfax is roughly 11 miles away and Reston, VA is 17 miles away for when you're looking for apartments IF you happen to choose DC.

[lilmeeks18]

i think u read my mind, i love coffee shops, and i love desserts!!

i checked out the websites, they are awesome, you are really tempting me towards DC. i just have to go visit!!

[normsw]

I'm a former Boston area resident. It's a great city. (How can it not be, with the Sox, Patriots and Celtics?) Seriously, it's a very interesting, historical type place to live with plenty to do and proximity to Cape Cod, the islands, North Shore, etc. As stated above, be careful where you rent; maybe a few miles outside the city. Public trans. is quite good within 10-15 miles of downtown. You wouldn't need a car in the city; nowhere to put it. Rents and prices will be high but not quite as high as NY or DC; the pace is also quite a bit slower. You would enjoy being there. I visit from Calif. every year or two because my roots and some family are there. Winter is not as severe as Cleveland, relatively. No lake-effect snows, but some storms from time to time. Air quality is good most of the time due to winds and rains periodically the rest of the year. You could do a lot worse in your selection of a place to live and pursue more education.

[cosmonewman]

Try Richmond, VA. It is not as expensive as the others you mentioned and has better weather.

[ogre]

I'd suggest choosing your grad school on the basis of the school and the graduate program, rather than the city it's located in. And I'd suggest spending your year off in the city that seems most appealing, regardless of where you're most likely to attend school. Since you're looking at schools in the Northeast Corridor, the good thing about your year off is that you can live in any city in the region and be close enough to the others to make it convenient to visit and check out schools.

So where do you live during that year off? Conventional wisdom would say NYC. You know, experience the Big Apple while you're young and more likely to find the frenetic pace exciting rather than irritating. That might well be true, but it depends on you and how well you personally handle urban living. Many people from NYC feel their city is the only place to be. On the other hand, many people find that Boston provides a nice balance between being in a city, with the experience of the urban atmosphere, and maintaining at least somewhat of a sane pace of living. It really depends on you.

I'd say consider NYC first, but think about the other two if you're on a tight budget (not that any of these cities are cheap, but NYC is especially expensive) or if you're leery of the extremes of urban intensity. But also, when that year off is finished, really think about choosing grad school on the basis of the school that offers the best fit, whatever city it's located in. What happens in grad school will set up the rest of your life, so you'll most likely want the best possible academic experience. Good luck. I'm sure you'll find the next few years interesting whichever city you choose.

[freedomgirl]

Oh i am def. deciding on the school first....in all of thoses cities the colleges offer Art therapy. There are not many grad programs that offer art therapy, so i am limited. But i really do like these cities and the colleges in them, also i have to take into consideration that applying to these schools doesnt mean i will get into them, so thats why i have a couple of choices for grad school and will be apply to all of them. But you are right, i do have the freedom to move anywhere not just the cities that the colleges are in, but i want to stay on the east coast....and I think NY would be a bit to much for me, i would feel more comfortable i believe in a bit smaller city other than NY by myself, but yet again i havnt visited yet! So that might change

thanks guys all ur input, it was extremely helpful!

anymore would be great!

[brightdoglover]

"There are not many grad programs that offer art therapy, so i am limited."

Perhaps you are looking at Lesley U. in Cambridge? Very expensive. I'm sure the program is instructive, but there's no work, at least not around here. I have an RN, work psychiatric, and have had, working as my assistants (for very short money) many M.A. grads from Lesley in art therapy, dance, expressive, etc. I don't know about other areas of the country, but I can say pretty clearly that there is virtually no work in the Boston area. I don't mean to be rude, but it's quite a lot of loan money to pile up for a degree that might not get you any kind of related job. The only person I know that got that degree and was happy about it was a trust fund guy who didn't need or want a job- he did find the program of great interest and quality, but wasn't concerned about employment.
That said, the Boston/Cambridge area is a great place for school life. So many schools (and you can often cross-register for variety) and so many people under, say, 30 or so.
If you were to go to school in Cambridge, living in Arlington is perfect. It's one town over, has lots of rental, zero crime, and is on a straight-shot bus route to Lesley and all schools on Mass. Ave all the way into Boston, down to Berklee and Northeastern.
Good luck- it's an interesting time in life to make a choice!