Harvard Student(s) Answering Your Questions Forum

[caminante]

Just wondering, what is the average cost of rent for a one bedroom within walking distance to campus?

I tried searching on craigslist but couldn't tell which neighborhoods were actually viable for walking to campus and which CL posts were over-priced/ scams.

I'm married so the dorms are a no-go.

I haven't even applied yet, but my spouse has to find work wherever I end up attending so I'd like to get a head start on thinking through how much cost of living will be for each Law school I am applying to.

Thanks!

[sarahh]

Just wondering, what is the average cost of rent for a one bedroom within walking distance to campus?

I tried searching on craigslist but couldn't tell which neighborhoods were actually viable for walking to campus and which CL posts were over-priced/ scams.

I'm married so the dorms are a no-go.

I haven't even applied yet, but my spouse has to find work wherever I end up attending so I'd like to get a head start on thinking through how much cost of living will be for each Law school I am applying to.

Thanks!

I live over a mile from campus and am paying $1,375 - and the broker said we got a very good deal. We also saw a tiny place near Central Square that was charging $1,525 a month. I am thinking you would probably be looking at at least $1,500 a month to be close to campus - probably more. Plus, you have to pay a broker's fee for most places too. Your best bet may be the Harvard-owned apartments. The price list is here. --LinkRemoved--

[vanwinkle]

In the within-a-couple-minutes range, you're looking at like, $1700/mo and up, with emphasis on the "and up". It's really expensive to live that close. If you go farther out (that is, plan a 10 or 15 minute walk, or a bus ride) then it becomes cheaper.

Last year I stayed up in Somerville not particularly near any of the T stops, and it was a remarkably low $900/mo, but it was a 20-minute-plus walk and no convenient bus or subway service. I moved, and now I'm paying a lot more to be a lot closer.

As an alternative, you can find a place next to a T stop and take the subway. Davis Square is one popular location, as it's only two stops away from Harvard and it's got a lot of good bars and restaurants and interesting things happening regularly. I know someone who lives a couple blocks from the T-stop at Davis for about $1400/mo., and it's a pretty nice and roomy full 1BR (not a studio). I'm helping other friends apartment-hunt right now, and that sounds like a pretty good deal.

[unc0mm0n1]

Just wondering, what is the average cost of rent for a one bedroom within walking distance to campus?

I tried searching on craigslist but couldn't tell which neighborhoods were actually viable for walking to campus and which CL posts were over-priced/ scams.

I'm married so the dorms are a no-go.

I haven't even applied yet, but my spouse has to find work wherever I end up attending so I'd like to get a head start on thinking through how much cost of living will be for each Law school I am applying to.

Thanks!

I'm right across the street from the new law school and pay under 1700 for about 700 sq ft (that includes all utilities and internet plus no broker fee).

[caminante]

I'm right across the street from the new law school and pay under 1700 for about 700 sq ft (that includes all utilities and internet plus no broker fee).

Thanks for the info! The Harvard area has the highest rent I've seen. I currently live in DC where rent is notoriously high and rent seems somewhat comparable. I was a bit surprised... I didn't realize the Boston area was so pricey. My spouse has good employment options in the area though, so I'm still crossing my fingers to get in

Thanks again!

[MumofCad]

I'm right across the street from the new law school and pay under 1700 for about 700 sq ft (that includes all utilities and internet plus no broker fee).

Thanks for the info! The Harvard area has the highest rent I've seen. I currently live in DC where rent is notoriously high and rent seems somewhat comparable. I was a bit surprised... I didn't realize the Boston area was so pricey. My spouse has good employment options in the area though, so I'm still crossing my fingers to get in

Thanks again!

+1 - I was hoping to move to a place for law school that wasn't 1 million for a house on the metro. Sigh. I need to find a family home near the school. It seems an impossible mission.

[094320]

..

[MumofCad]

The problem really is elevated *right* next to the law school. I found one 1-bedroom for $1,200/mo right next to the law school, but the catch was that they wouldn't rent to law students. Prices also drop a fair bit once you get 15-20min+ walking distance out. One irritating part is that the law school is pretty close to the middle between the Porter Square & Harvard Square T-stops, though it's still closer to the Harvard stop. A *house* is certainly going to be expensive, though you might be able to find condos that work.

Thanks so much for the help....

Right now I have two options, buy in Cambridge School District - is this possible? How diverse is Cambridge as I move away from the law school?

OR

Buy somewhere else and send my kids to the charter school that got denied last year. I'm hoping that it is passed this year and my kids can attend. It is in downtown Boston, so I would presumably be more free to live elsewhere. Can you park near the school or is the tube your only good option?

[094320]

..

[20121109]

The problem really is elevated *right* next to the law school. I found one 1-bedroom for $1,200/mo right next to the law school, but the catch was that they wouldn't rent to law students. Prices also drop a fair bit once you get 15-20min+ walking distance out. One irritating part is that the law school is pretty close to the middle between the Porter Square & Harvard Square T-stops, though it's still closer to the Harvard stop. A *house* is certainly going to be expensive, though you might be able to find condos that work.

Thanks so much for the help....

Right now I have two options, buy in Cambridge School District - is this possible? How diverse is Cambridge as I move away from the law school?

OR

Buy somewhere else and send my kids to the charter school that got denied last year. I'm hoping that it is passed this year and my kids can attend. It is in downtown Boston, so I would presumably be more free to live elsewhere. Can you park near the school or is the tube your only good option?

Parking(and driving) is horrible in Cambridge. Even if you have a parking spot, they do street cleaning once (or sometimes twice) a month and when street cleaning starts at 8, your car is gone by 8:02. Most parking is either by permit or by meter, and the meters only tend to run 2 hours--so if you're stuck in a class that last 2 hours(and you will be), you need to basically skip part of class.
If you're going to try to live further out and commute in, you're going to want to be either on a bus line or on the T. It's really not worth it to drive to school. Traffic is bad anyway.

Not quite sure what you mean by diverse---the prices drop in some areas, and go back up in others. Studios tend to run $1,500/month and 1-bedrooms 1800/month right next to the law school, dropping to 1200-1300/month for studios and 1500/1-bedroom or less if you get 15-20 mins walking distance out. I'm not sure about buying options, though I did see the condo option when I glanced through before.

You can park in Everett Street Garage, which is on the law school campus right underneath Caspersen/Wasserstein, for ~$2200/year.

[094320]

..

[MumofCad]

Great -thanks! That makes my options nice and clear, if not exactly what I wanted them to be lol. Guess I'll have to suck it up and accept that cold weather will be a part of my life again very soon.

[Icculus]

In the within-a-couple-minutes range, you're looking at like, $1700/mo and up, with emphasis on the "and up". It's really expensive to live that close. If you go farther out (that is, plan a 10 or 15 minute walk, or a bus ride) then it becomes cheaper.

Last year I stayed up in Somerville not particularly near any of the T stops, and it was a remarkably low $900/mo, but it was a 20-minute-plus walk and no convenient bus or subway service. I moved, and now I'm paying a lot more to be a lot closer.

As an alternative, you can find a place next to a T stop and take the subway. Davis Square is one popular location, as it's only two stops away from Harvard and it's got a lot of good bars and restaurants and interesting things happening regularly. I know someone who lives a couple blocks from the T-stop at Davis for about $1400/mo., and it's a pretty nice and roomy full 1BR (not a studio). I'm helping other friends apartment-hunt right now, and that sounds like a pretty good deal.

So not a Harvard student, but I lived in Somerville for 5 years and both Davis Square and, to a lesser extent, Union Square are fairly accessible to Harvard and are way cheaper than Cambridge. Plus Davis Square is a ton of fun and has excellent bars (especially Sligo's and The Burren). I lived in a 2 bed for $1200 just outside Davis. You could also look in the Brighton area which is also cheaper than Cambridge and has a bus to Harvard Square. (I was a Masshole all my life.)

[sayan]

1600mo in 1bdrm across from the lawschool. Internet + utilities +electricity included (~$100 value)

Terry Terrace ftw

[delusional]

.

[unc0mm0n1]

The problem really is elevated *right* next to the law school. I found one 1-bedroom for $1,200/mo right next to the law school, but the catch was that they wouldn't rent to law students. Prices also drop a fair bit once you get 15-20min+ walking distance out. One irritating part is that the law school is pretty close to the middle between the Porter Square & Harvard Square T-stops, though it's still closer to the Harvard stop. A *house* is certainly going to be expensive, though you might be able to find condos that work.

Thanks so much for the help....

Right now I have two options, buy in Cambridge School District - is this possible? How diverse is Cambridge as I move away from the law school?

OR

Buy somewhere else and send my kids to the charter school that got denied last year. I'm hoping that it is passed this year and my kids can attend. It is in downtown Boston, so I would presumably be more free to live elsewhere. Can you park near the school or is the tube your only good option?

Parking(and driving) is horrible in Cambridge. Even if you have a parking spot, they do street cleaning once (or sometimes twice) a month and when street cleaning starts at 8, your car is gone by 8:02. Most parking is either by permit or by meter, and the meters only tend to run 2 hours--so if you're stuck in a class that last 2 hours(and you will be), you need to basically skip part of class.
If you're going to try to live further out and commute in, you're going to want to be either on a bus line or on the T. It's really not worth it to drive to school. Traffic is bad anyway.

Not quite sure what you mean by diverse---the prices drop in some areas, and go back up in others. Studios tend to run $1,500/month and 1-bedrooms 1800/month right next to the law school, dropping to 1200-1300/month for studios and 1500/1-bedroom or less if you get 15-20 mins walking distance out. I'm not sure about buying options, though I did see the condo option when I glanced through before.

You can park in Everett Street Garage, which is on the law school campus right underneath Caspersen/Wasserstein, for ~$2200/year.

Why do this I always park my car on everett and have never had a problem except on the street cleaning days which aren't really that bad. If worse comes to worse you can just park your car in sommerville for those two days (like a 15-20 min walk). I don't see why people pay for parking except for the fact you won't have to shovel your car out. (and if you're going ot do that just pay for parking for three months not the whole year).

[unc0mm0n1]

1600mo in 1bdrm across from the lawschool. Internet + utilities +electricity included (~$100 value)

Terry Terrace ftw

wow you pay almost 100 less than me at the same place...... How did you swing that?

[yuzu]

wow you pay almost 100 less than me at the same place...... How did you swing that?

Terry Terrace 1br apartments vary in price. I think this is primarily because the square footage varies?

[snailio]

1600mo in 1bdrm across from the lawschool. Internet + utilities +electricity included (~$100 value)

Terry Terrace ftw

wow you pay almost 100 less than me at the same place...... How did you swing that?

I'm guessing you are a 1L and he's a 2L, although you could just have a little nicer place, the price does vary up to $130 for the one bedrooms. I imagine Terry Terrace will become more popular now that the North building is almost complete.

[ph14]

Any recommendations/thoughts on the international elective?

[DoubleChecks]

Any recommendations/thoughts on the international elective?

I can only comment on the one I took (int'l China law) -- pm me if you're considering that one.

[smittytron3k]

If you want Feldman you need to rank it number 1. I guess you guys only have like 4 options now (we had 6 or 7 last year--there was an antitrust class with Elhague and an "intellectual history of globalization" class with Duncan Kennedy in addition to the 4 offerings you have). Most people I know who had Brewster liked her. I know nothing about the Public International Law professors except that Gabriella Blum does really cool work on terrorism/security issues and she's probably a good person to get to know if that's up your alley. I know nothing at all about the China Law class.

[delusional]

Any opinions on two credit 1L electives as opposed to three or four credit ones?

[ph14]

Any opinions on two credit 1L electives as opposed to three or four credit ones?

Interested in this as well. What about 1 credit 1L electives?

[delusional]

Any opinions on two credit 1L electives as opposed to three or four credit ones?

Interested in this as well. What about 1 credit 1L electives?

Are there any? I don't remember seeing any on the list.