united states Working in Boston for 4 months

Hey peeps,

At the end of August, I will travel to Boston (MA)! I will stay there for four months to work on my research. Of course it won't all be 'business', hopefully I will have some time to visit the area around Boston, especially at the end of my stay in Dec/Jan when my bf will come to pick me up.

I have a few questions that I think are best answered by people from in or around Boston. I will order them by priority, but they concern quite different things.

1. what kind of clothes should a person bring in this period? Is it going to be hot in Sept freezing in Dec? I am used to a UK-type of weather (great, not and I am a person who easily feels cold.

2. how common is it to ride a bicycle in Boston (Cambridge)? Are they expensive to get? I have heard they are cheap but not as solid (i.e. not made of 100% steel) as they are in Holland.

3. I live in a country as flat as a pancake, how is that in this area? A 'hilly' area will certainly influence my training schedule/intensity for running

4. how are the connections between Boston and Providence, and is the latter worth a visit?

5. how common is vegetarianism in the US? I travel a lot and mostly have a hard time finding a decent meal (vacations are full of Quattro Formaggi pizzas, sigh).

Well, that's it for now. I am looking forward to it, never been in the US before.

Thanks!

hi arwen

1. ah, i've never been in boston in the fall, so i'm not quite sure, but i'd say that jeans, sweaters, t-shirts, and one heavier winter/ski jacket would be a good idea. you can look on link removed and input where you are going and it will tell you the monthly average highs and lows.

2. when i went to boston, i didn't see THAT many bicycles, but on college campuses, why not? for the most part, getting around by the "T" (the metro system) was very easy and pretty cheap for getting from one part of the city to the other.

3. I don't consider boston that hilly, because i grew up in san francisco. matter of perspective.

4. no idea. i'm sure there are buses.

5. vegetarianism is always more common near large university campuses. i went to one really amazing veggie restaurant in harvard square, i don't remember the name, but it was attached to a sort of 'jazz club' and had really amazing vegan and vegetarian dishes. it's a bit underground, you have to walk down 10 stairs to get there. i don't think you should have a hard time at all finding vegetarian options in boston.

you are going to have so much fun!!!! don't forget to take the sam adams brewery tour!

Hi Arwen,

I actually work in Boston and live in Providence, and can fill you in on both areas and all of your questions. I will PM you, reply to me and I can give you the low-down.

You're going ot LOVE Boston!

I'm sending you a PM.

Arwen,

I live and work in Boston now, and used to live in Providence, so I'm also happy to answer any questions.

I also live and work in Boston.

I'll try to answer your questions:

1) Bring anything for the 4 seasons. We have what we call "Indian Summer" here in September where the temps go up really high to the 90s and then drop down to the 60s the following week. And temps between end of Aug to Dec ranges from a humid 95 degrees to a freezing 30 degrees. So be prepared.

2) It's not that common to ride bicycles but it is very common to walk everywhere. Boston's not really big ( I grew up in NYC) so you can basically walk everywhere and anywhere.

3) There are inclines and dips depending on where you go. But for the most part, you should be okay. There are tons of great hiking mountains near the area which are a great workout!

4) I don't know of any buses or trains that goes to Providence but that's only bc I have a car and I always drive there. Providence is definitely worth a look. The Newport area is gorgeous with their cliffs and mansions.

5) There are a lot of vegas in Boston. In practically any restaurant you go to there will be vegetarian options. So don't worry, you won't be living off pizza. =)

Feel free to PM me if you want to chat about this more.

Thank you all very much.

I really look forward to it! I dread the goodbye though Being without my bf for 4 months may be hard. I have been away from home for half a year in 2003 but I was single then.

Does anyone have experience with being away for so long while being in LTR? We live together and are talking about marriage- so it's a serious relationship. I don't have any doubts or fears, and he fully supports me. He did part of his MA and PhD in Sweden (before we met and when we were just together), so he knows. Still I am aware that our lives has grown together much more, and that for him it's different because he is the one returning to an empty house (ok, the cat is there of course) every day. What can I do to make my stay easier for him?

1. You should bring different types of clothing, light jackets, heavier jackets and very heavy coats if you are going to be walking alot. Also don't forget boots for the snow and the rain.

2. I have worked in Cambridge and it is sort of common to see atleast one person riding their bikes around, just be very careful because Boston has heavy traffic alot of times and some bad drivers. And I've seen people get run over while riding bikes.

3. There are hills here and there.

4. I have no clue.

5. I know alot of people who are vegetarians I'm sure you have nothing to worry about.

***Also if I were you I would avoid taking the "T" if you can walk. I went to school in Boston for the past four years and I spent so much money taking the "T". The "T" costs $2 no matter where you take it from, even if your stop is only 2 stops away. You might want to also get a Charlie Card instead of a Charlie ticket I think it saves you like 25 cents. They were handing them out for free when they started this new system (they used to use tokens) but now I think their charging you for the cards too. Also the orange line and green line suck, it's always slow and the trains are always breaking down and making everybody late, so just make sure to take the "T" earlier if you have to get to a place at a certain time. link removed has a rider tool that shows you what train you can take if you don't know exactly how to get to a certain place.

Too bad you're not here already -- Red Sox and Yankees are playing at Fenway this weekend.

Middle of summer and Yanks vs. Sox -- it really doesn't get any better than this!

Middle of summer and Yanks vs. Sox -- it really doesn't get any better than this!

Especially if the Yankees end up losing!

Especially if the Yankees end up losing!

 

Ha-ha, TOTALLY agree!

Stay in touch with him as often as you can.

Emails, phone calls, etc. You can even have "date nights" where you both stay in and do the same activity at the same time. I know there is a time difference, but you can do this on the weekend.

Boston is great, so you will have lots of stories to tell him.

i'm an hour south of boston.

vegetarian and veganism is common in boston, you can find all sorts of foods and even a few restaurants.

personally, stay in boston..it's better than providence...go on a whale watch out of the aquarium.

the only thing flat about the US is the midwest..

you can buy/rent a bike fairly cheap, but don't think twice about a lock.

boston---aug-jan... august is the end of summer...sept to nov'ish is fall.. but even in november it's been known to snow... so, you want to pack some heavy and light clothes and definitely an umbrella and a map because boston is not the most polite city..