[Anne] A word about housing...

One of the big things I was curious to learn about when I applied to the MLOG program was where I should live in Boston. I decided to go the "on-campus" route, after I found out how much one-bedroom apartments cost around here. A lot of MLOGers have had a very different experience than I have living off campus, so maybe at some point they will be kind enough to share their perspective (hint, hint, Tony...)

As for me, I decided to live in the Warehouse Apartments. I highly recommend it, and although you will find it more expensive than many of the on-campus options, from my experience it has definitely been worth the extra money. It is about a 15-20 minute walk from E40, and there is a shuttle that comes every 20 minutes (although it is often late or early, so don't always count on it!) Each apartment in the Warehouse has its own bathroom and kitchen area. I love living alone, so this was a must for me. The Warehouse is about a 10 minute walk from the grocery store, and about a 15 minute walk from Central Square. The best part about the Warehouse, though, is that since it's a fairly small residence hall (200 rooms maybe??) there are socials at least once a week and I thought it was easy to make friends here. The socials almost always involve free food, too, which you learn to cherish as a graduate student. Anyway, for me it's been a great way to meet other people at MIT and make some friends outside the MLOG program. Oh...one other thing...all the people in the Warehouse are all first-year grad students (mostly Sloan MBA students), so it was really nice moving in and knowing that everybody else was just as new to MIT as I was.

Another option is Sidney-Pacific, which is right down the street. Several MLOG students have lived there this year, too. When I was putting down my choices for housing last year I couldn't tell much of a difference between Sid-Pac and the Warehouse, because they are both very new dorms, so the facilities are nice. They're also in the same part of campus on the northwest side. Just so you know, Sid-Pac is HUGE and the atmosphere is a lot different than the Warehouse because it's so much bigger. Anyway, my point is that they both cost about the same, but if you can get into the Warehouse, I think it's definitely worth it.

I agree with Tony now that the light is at the end of the tunnel. I just got my thesis signed yesterday, and I can't even say how happy I am. I practically skipped all the way home from the lab yesterday! It was the best feeling of accomplishment knowing that you finished something that was started 9 months ago! So I think that  light is getting bigger all the time!

Comments

[Gautam]

Hi,

I am an incoming student at the MLOG program(Class of 2007). I shall be in Cambridge next weekend to look at housing options. I was wondering if anyone from the class of 2006 would be available to meet up and get a cup of coffee or something.

Thanks for all the insights into the MLOG program. They have been really helpful.

Cheers,

Gautam

[Tomas]

Hi all.

Great job on the blog, guys. How you are finding the time in the middle of the thesis craze is beyond me...
As a family guy I just wanted to add my ten cents to the housing discussion - if you '07 Mloggers are bringing your family you are going to want to try and get into Eastgate. It's right across the street from the lab and Sloan. This year I was the only lucky Mlogger to get into Eastgate so make sure to put that on the top of your list in the housing lottery.

Tómas

[Tai]

I would also like to recommend Edgerton house, which is less well known because of its relatively small size compared to other dorms. Its location is great because it is the closest graduate dorm on west campus to T-station, bus stop, main campus, grocery store and Zesigner gym. It is more like an apartment than a dorm. The room is big (I have a 2-storey apartment and a big corner bedroom), nice, clean and well maintained. The courtyard is very nice. It is not as expensive as Warehouse and S&P because it is non-furnished. However, I didn't have problems finding furniture when I first moved in at all. You can easily buy the furniture who move out and can sell them at good price to people who move in the following year. I highly highly recommend this dorm :)

[Bin]

Anne,

Thanks for your suggestion on the on-campus housing.

As an incoming student of MLOG07, I am going to attend the re-connection day on May 25th and 26th. Hope to have the chance to meet you and your classmates, MLOG06.

Thanks again.

Bin