This is not a test

[varadia]

Mind numbing panic is beginning to set in, which is incredibly stupid given what's setting it off. I'm beginning The Month of Incredibly Hectic Travel (henceforth TMIHT), visiting 4 grad schools and going to Anaheim for five days for the ACS conference. I need to round up some money for that damned trip (travel grant, please please please come through), and me and plane trips are not the best of friends.

I need to drive to Princeton, get home to Pittsburgh for CMU, fly to Boston to visit MIT, and fortunately a kind soul has offered me a space in a car that is driving to Cornell. And I need to figure out how I'm getting my furniture from my apartment in Lancaster to wherever I'm going to grad school.

Also, if anyone on my friends list or wherever happens to come across this entry and knows anything at all about the cities and grad schools mentioned above, I'd really appreciate a heads up on interesting facts or important things to consider re: housing, faculty, travel difficulty, and the type of town and what there is to do there.

Some days I think I should not be allowed to make decisions, because the angst I emit at times like this is probably enough to fuel a small light bulb.

Or maybe it's just the hamsters working overtime.

Comments

[nightsister.livejournal.com]

Princeton is a nice little town but very expensive. The one cool used record store they had has sadly deteriorated in quality. It's hard to find *any* apartments in Jersey that accepts pets, so don't have them, or otherwise lie to the management.

If you plan on commuting or even traveling to NYC, you can't park at the Princeton train station lot, because there are about 1000 cars waiting for permits. (Seriously the waitlist was 3 years when we looked into it.)

You'll probably get housing through the school, but there are other towns in the area with affordable apartment. Just be prepared to watch corn grow for entertainment, or take your life into your hands while trying to drive on I-95.

I don't know what your housing budget is, but I lived in East Windsor (about 10 mins. east of Princeton), and my rent was around $950 for a two bedroom. You can find comparable prices about a half-hour north in New Brunswick (home of Rutgers, the State Univ. of NJ), Piscataway and Highland Park. Those three towns were probably the most lively (as far as bars/clubs/restaurants) after Princeton, because of the school.

I lived near Princeton for three years, so if you have any specific questions about the area or NJ in particular, let me know. :)