Fall is in the air...

It is one of the best seasons of the year in terms of climate, availability of activities and people’s mood. The city is all back to classes, some after our summer internships and the lucky ones after long holidays; the extreme heat and humidity of summer have passed away but the energy and happiness have stayed. Everybody knows that winter is approaching, so every chance to enjoy a sunny day or a mild evening will be fully maximized. Fall is not just a great time for town-hopping all around New England’s shores, but also the perfect season for planning hikes, camping and picnics, kayaking, rafting and even horseback riding. For those in love with sea life, fall offers the perfect great timing for Whale watching in Massachusetts Bay, the tour boats are much less crowded and the days refreshing and cooling; stopping by to eat lunch at one of Boston’s Harbor Islands would be a great closing. New England is full of natural parks, the most attractive of which ones are: Green Mountain, Franconia, Blue Mountain Lake, Gifford Woods and Acadia. For true hikers I would recommend climbing Mt. Washington (6,288 ft), Mt. Adams (5,793 ft), and Mt. Katahdin (4,288 ft); for non-true hikers running/walking/biking/kayaking along the Charles’ River with a refreshing breeze in your face cannot feel better. Fall is the best time of the year to go to Fenway Park, it is the beginning of the Hockey season and the Boston Patriots and BC Eagles football teams are playing their most challenging games. Hurry up and buy tickets for New England’s Roller Coaster parks, finish your day with a justly baked apple pie from an Orchard farm where you can pick your own apples. Oh Sorry, I forgot to mention the red color of the leaves!

Fall's activities

Photos

From left to right top to bottom.

1)  Camping at Acadia. 2) Fenway Park. 3) Franconia Natural Park. 4) Kayak at the Charles.

5) The Patriots Football Team. 6) Orchards Apple picking. 7) Rockport, MA. 8) Whale Watching.

9) Mt. Washington.

Photos’ Sources

From left to right top to bottom

1)  http://www.onacadia.com/

2)  www.dailyfantazysports.net

3)  www.bostonglobe.com

4)  www.bostonmagazine.com

5)  www.wbur.org

 6) www.longislandpress.com

7) www.best-beaches.com

8)  www.capecodopi.com

9)  www.rei.com

MBA is about studying but also about living!

The MBA experience is a fantastic opportunity to study in a top school, network with classmates, teachers, alumni and business leaders, find out your career path and get your dream job; however it is also probably the last change in the next 30 years that you have two years to invest in yourself away from the stresses and demands of working life, and therefore you should also be thinking about the place where you want to have your “Two years mind Holiday”. Boston is the perfect city to be a student and BC is one of the best spots in such a city to make the most out of your non study hours. Many other cities and Universities could make the same claim, so I have decided to prove it to you with some pictures.

Boston Activities:

From left to right, top to botton:
1. Boston Symphony, 2. Saint Patricks' Day Parade, 3. Sailing in the Charles, 4.Skiing in New England, 5. Camping and Treakking in New Hampshire, 6. Boston Marathon, 7. Cape Cod's Beached, 8. Red Sox's Baseball Game, 9. Party.

Boston College Activities:

From left to right, top to botton:
1. Enjoy the Campus life, 2. Treks / Trips, 3. Running Races, 4. BC Eagles Footbal and Tailgate, 5. BC Fitness Center, 6. Crew Races, 7. Thirsty Thrusday, 8. BC Hockey, 9. Ski Festival.
 

...So study hard and enjoy your time; but keep in mind that probably you would meet your future boss in the next Tailgate!

Choosing Where to Live

As stated in our previous post greater Boston is a city that holds around 250,000 students; it means that there are a lot of housing options and landlords and real estate agents are familiarized with the students’ housing needs, but it also means that the good places run out fast, very fast. Keep in mind that all the schools start around late-August / early-September, so everyone would be expecting to move in the 1^st of September. In searching for a house in Boston you have to be i) proactive, ii) know what do you want but be flexible to accommodate to similar options, and iii) whenever you see something that you like and fits in with your budget take it immediately, it could be gone in the afternoon and you will have to start all over again… Boston is a relative small and convenient city but the public transportation is not the best one; cabs are expensive, the Subway or  the “T”, as it is called, is America’s oldest subway (opened its doors in 1897); it has a wide network of stations and is well kept but some of its lines, such as the Green that would take you to BC, have a lot of stops (from Downtown to BC could easily take you around 1 hour) and having to wait your bus in the middle of the cold winter is not the best idea. The best idea if you are planning to study at BC, and you are not thinking to buy a car, will be to live at a walking distance, a couple of metro stations away, or closed by to the route of the free shuttle buses of the university¹. Bicycles are a great option during the non-winter months, the parking spaces are free and convenient and the city is basically flat. The neighborhoods that you should keep in mind are Chestnut Hill, Allstone/Brighton, Brookline, Newton and Jamaica Plains. Start by using the University off campus housing office² but also some local real estate agents.

¹ http://www.bc.edu/offices/transportation/bus.html
² http://www.bc.edu/content/bc/offices/reslife/offcampus.html

Photos source:
http://www.flickriver.com/places/United+States/Massachusetts/Boston/Cleveland+Circle/search/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kieloch/4783617021/sizes/z/in/photostream/
http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2010/07/11-week/
http://nabewise.com/boston/coolidge-corner
http://joonbug.com/boston/scenetracker/Get-Your-Sing-Along-On/mttadJxjJvB
http://longwoodresidential.com/moving-to-boston/brookline-apartments/
http://www.flickriver.com/photos/southerncalifornian/63840263/

The Vibrant City

Welcome to the unique, diverse and vibrant city of Boston. It is not just its age (as one of the oldest cities in US founded in 1630) or its title as the birth place of the American Revolution that makes Boston a top American landmark.  Its more than 100 universities with more than 250,000 students keep the city energetic and alive. Greater Boston, with its 7.6 million people, is the 12^th largest economy in the world and at the same time America's most "spirited" city (work hard, play hard!). The city is a vibrant economic pole for industries such as biotech, ports, mutual fund and asset management, health, consulting and entrepreneurship industries among more. The high skyscrapers of the financial center are complemented with the iconic Boston brownstones houses in Back Bay and Beacon Hill areas; Boston Common Parks and the Charles River are the places in charge of adding the magic natural enchant to the postcard. If those contrasts are not enough, the difference between Boston’s highest and lowest average temperature, 81.8 °F (40 °C) in July and 22.3 °F (-5.4°C) in January, would certainly make you feel the difference. Do not let the cold discourage you, it brings along the start of the Hockey season, ice skating and the opening of some of the best skiing stations in New England. Welcome again and make the most out of your time here, it will fly away fast!


(From left to right, top to bottom: Night skyline of Cambridge, Charles River and Boston; Charles River; Beacon Hill; Back Bay; Boston Public Garden in summer and winter.)

Photos source:

http://en.wikipedia.org

http://www.imig2012.org

http://www.marriott.com

http://www.bifilmfestival.com/

http://www.28degrees-boston.com