Tag Archives: Boston

Neighborhood Spotlight, Part IV: A Tour Through Central Square

20 Wednesday May 2015

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This is the fourth post in our Neighborhood Spotlight series. To catch up on earlier installments in this series, read Part I, A Love Song to Davis Square, Part II, An Ode to Union Square, and Part III, A Tribute to Harvard Square.

For those of you who consistently hunger for a beautiful view of the Charles, let’s start at the Smoot bridge before we head to Central Square. With the Boston skyline on either side and Cambridge straight ahead, even the crankiest New Englanders find it hard not to enjoy the views on this bridge.

Sunset on the Charles in Cambridge. Photo by Caroline Matas

Sunset on the Charles in Cambridge. Photo by Caroline Matas

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Neighborhood Spotlight, Part II: An Ode to Union Square

28 Tuesday Apr 2015

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This is the second post in our Neighborhood Spotlight series. To start at the beginning, read Part I, A Love Song to Davis Square.

I actually live solidly between Union Square and Porter Square, so I’d like to briefly nod to Porter—it’s a great area with a convenient T stop, Christopher’s bar and restaurant (come for the nachos, stay for the fireplace, but be sure to eat a lot of nachos while you’re there), and Newtowne Grille (their PBR pitcher and cheese pizza special is basically the only affordable meal on a student budget in the greater Boston area). There’s also Café Zing, inside Porter Square Books, which is my idea of heaven: a coffee shop IN a bookstore?!

But mostly, when I want to go out, I head to Union Square. Union Square has an eclectic feel. It doesn’t have a T stop, which is part of the appeal—it has more of a neighborhood vibe because most of the people who spend time there actually live in the area. It’s about a 25 minute walk from Union Square proper to HDS, but I promise that it’s worth the trek!

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The Meaning of “Home”

20 Friday Feb 2015

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As the winter semester wears on and students settle back into their routine here in Cambridge/Somerville/Boston, some find it a good time to reflect on what “home” means during the transition-filled graduate school years. Below, 2nd year MDiv student Aisha Ansano shares her thoughts…

“Where are you from?” It’s a question I’ve gotten more times than I can count since I’ve been at HDS. “Well,” I typically begin, “I was born in the Caribbean, on a small island called Curaçao, but I moved to Durham, North Carolina when I was 10, and I lived in the California Bay Area for 5 years before I came to HDS.” It’s a long answer, but the only one that feels authentic – these places are all my homes, even though I now live in a wonderful apartment in Cambridge.

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Life in the Cambridge/Boston Area

08 Thursday May 2014

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The Cambridge Common at night. Photo by Chris Alburger

The Cambridge Common at night. Photo by Chris Alburger

Having spent past five years of my life in New York City, I was a little worried about moving to Boston. I was worried that my lifestyle in this new city would be without the abundant options in food, shopping, and entertainment that NYC offers. However, since moving to Massachusetts in fall last year, I have found to my delight that I was wrong about the Boston area. Continue reading →

Going Back to School After a Gap Year

22 Tuesday Apr 2014

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Photo by Chris Alburger

Course readings available at Harvard COOP. Photo by Chris Alburger

After being in school for 18 years, I happily spent the year after graduating from college babysitting and bartending. Only a few months in, though, I started itching for more school, and this past September I started at HDS. As the semester began, I attended my first classes in over a year. They were full of smart people with interesting things to say about religion, people who were all here for the same reason I was—because they think religion is fascinating, important, and relevant. After being one of two religious studies majors to graduate my senior year, this was a dream—except that after a year without classes, papers, reading, or finals, I forgot how to do school.

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Housing & Transportation

22 Tuesday Apr 2014

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Now that you’ve been welcomed to the HDS community, you may be wondering, “How do I live in this expensive place on student loans?”

The graduate student dorms and apartments are a great option if you’re looking for communal living and proximity to campus. However, if you want to live alone or in a more house-like setting, you’ll want to look farther afield. Craigslist is probably your best option. Be aware that, for most spaces in the Boston area, you’ll be expected to pay the amount of four months’ rent up front: a full month security deposit, first and last months’ rent, and the amount of a full month’s rent as a realtor fee (the last of which you won’t get back). You can seek out no-fee and reduced-fee options, and small-scale landlords will often have lesser deposits, but those places are a bit harder to find. You can start looking now, but openings for August 1 or September 1 will probably not show up in great numbers until June. Continue reading →