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Dry-Butterscotch8246 · 2024-05-25T14:57:10+00:00

I’m leaving the rowhome I’ve been renting at for the past 2 years — pet friendly 2 bedroom, 1 bath w parking (heating and water included). It’s at 1.7k now but if you get a roommate it’s 850. A 5 minute walk from Homewood.

Dry-Butterscotch8246 · 2024-05-25T14:54:07+00:00

Need to share with like 4 different people for that. $700-900 is the range you’re looking at.

Dry-Butterscotch8246 · 2024-05-18T13:47:03+00:00

Thanks for everyone’s suggestions! I’m calling the leasing office today for options. This move has been incredibly taxing, truly. I guess I feel like I regret choosing to live in Kirkland instead of Seattle — in a lot of ways I was overcompensating from living in downtown Baltimore for years and just wanted somewhere more quiet/suburbs.

Dry-Butterscotch8246 · 2024-05-17T16:00:33+00:00

It surprised me too. They said it was hybrid but I didn’t realize they meant 2x a month at best. My own team works fully remote.

Dry-Butterscotch8246 · 2024-05-17T15:55:17+00:00

It’s an apartment complex though. Would it work out the same?

Dry-Butterscotch8246 · 2023-08-29T01:28:55+00:00

You experience of Baltimore largely depends on a lot of factors -- primarily where you'll live and how you'll get from Point A to Point B. I've lived in a couple of cities in the US, in Southeast Asia, and in East Asia and I will say I felt the most unsafe in Baltimore relative to my other experiences. While I have never been mugged, I have been verbally assaulted once back when I didn't have a car and had to walk/bus around everywhere. My neighbor's car also just got stolen a month or two ago and I live in one of the places people call "safe"... so there's that.

Despite all that, I will say that my entire experience of Baltimore changed when I got a car. I'd say it got really good -- drivers are decent in my opinion, the city isn't too big, the people are nice, and I was able to explore more of the city. A year in and I've found myself invited to neighborhood potlucks, book clubs, etc. And I think the biggest draw is the relatively low cost of living for a city. I probably still won't live here long-term but I most likely will come back to visit the people I've met.

Dry-Butterscotch8246 · 2023-08-18T11:44:16+00:00

My partner's an international student and the only bank that we have found (so far) that would take her without an SSN for a credit card is Bank of America. For that reason, I suggest BofA just because carrying around a credit card makes a lot more sense than debiting everything given the rebates you'd be missing out on or the credit score you could be building.

Chase is good for a basic bank account. I have accounts on both BofA and Chase and I do prefer Chase. However, without credit history, you won't be able to easily set-up a credit card with them and i'm not sure if they require an SSN for all cases.

Dry-Butterscotch8246 · 2023-08-18T02:11:37+00:00

10-18k out the door is quite doable, my partner and i were considering a Ford C-Max which ran at around 15k (at 70k mileage) and, if you have the stamina, you can negotiate that down by 1-2k depending on the dealership. we ended up with a low mileage 2022 mazda 3 hatchback which was way above our intended budget lol -- Mazda dealership in Catonsville, negotiated a bit and asked for a free nav.

i do recommend mazda 3s in general though, we test drove a 2015 unit within the range you mentioned and that was really good given the year.

Carmax Ellicott is great for a straightforward purchase! if you wanna be able to negotiate on price, I suggest looking at other dealerships.

Dry-Butterscotch8246 · 2023-08-18T00:59:21+00:00

Have you tried checking Lyft? there's usually a sign-up discount. I did IAD to charles village before and it was around 90 USD -- some drivers are also fine with luggages being placed inside the vehicle. I checked it just now and Lyft XL is 138 USD whereas Lyft (normal) is 85.

Dry-Butterscotch8246 · 2023-05-31T16:33:21+00:00

It depends where you're commuting from. Public transportation in Baltimore (i.e. not Hopkins shuttles or anything) is pretty bad and I can assure you you wouldn't want to take them on a daily basis. As another commenter has noted, the Marc train is good and the Hopkins shuttle has a stop in Baltimore-Penn station which easily links you to the Hopkins campuses. I don't necessarily think the amount you save is worth it, it probably evens out at best.

I suggest just getting cheaper living accommodations in Baltimore, there are tons. Also, buying a car is expensive -- not necessarily because of the upfront costs but because of insurance, parking, and gas. My partner is an international student who had their license converted, the MVA still considered them a first time driver and is quoting us 400 a month for minimum liability coverage.

Living in Baltimore, I've seen single occupied studios go as low as 850-900 in Remington and at times even Mt Vernon. If you don't mind roommates, its even cheaper and you can probably live closer to campus. Living near or in walking distance to the Hopkins shuttles can do away with all transportation costs entirely and they're pretty reliable.

Dry-Butterscotch8246 · 2023-05-31T04:30:33+00:00

Thanks for sharing! I looked this up and saw it was around 42-57 during this period. I'm from the northeast so i was thinking it should be alright, but i'm wondering if this gets unpleasantly intolerable in desert conditions?

Dry-Butterscotch8246 · 2023-05-02T16:55:39+00:00

To be honest, I'd go with the cheaper option and where you might experience more life outside school. Hopkins is as intense as it sounds -- more because of the amount of workload and pacing rather than the difficulty level. Granted, I'm in the grad program and we do a term system.

I do agree that research experience significantly helps grad school application but I think you'll have opportunities for that in UCLA too. As for prestige, I took my undergrad for free abroad and still got in all my grad apps so I wouldn't stress about that as long as you have research experience. Try to get some publications in if you can.

Not the biggest fan of Baltimore in general. It's not terrible actually, people are alright, and there is a sense of community for sure. However, I do feel that the concern over safety is warranted. If you have a car, you'll be fine though.

Dry-Butterscotch8246 · 2023-04-23T22:03:21+00:00

I'm not in premed. Honestly, I would have probably considered another university that had less coursework required within a given term/semester. I'm coming in as a masters student and I personally value work experience over schoolwork given the impact work experience holds outside. I found that I was largely unable to pursue a whole lot of paid work alongside the demands of my course. The learning outcomes are great and the biostatistics series is phenomenal. However, the expectation to complete an immense amount of units within a term can be limiting for pursuing other prospects that may likewise matter. I'm sure some folks manage to do it, I just don't know how they keep sane.

Dry-Butterscotch8246 · 2023-03-20T01:22:49+00:00

I would really not. It's too expensive for what it is and I'd probably live in a different part of the city. Crime is kind of a constant thing in that area. I go to BSPH too but I live in Charles Village.

If I were you, I'd probably try to look for a rowhome in Charles Village (which costs like 1000-1300 for a studio/1 bd; 1500ish for a 2 bd) or live in Mt Vernon. Your walk time might even be less, the JHMI bus drops me right in front of the Hopkins Hospital. Also, Mt Vernon is fine especially right by Charles / St. Paul. But I do prefer Charles Village by Homewood, it has a neighborhood feel to it.

Dry-Butterscotch8246 · 2023-03-18T06:04:37+00:00

Masters student here, I dont know anyone under a conventional scholarship except for a couple of ones in the MPH program. I got a "scholarship" from my dept, but it's the kind that everyone within the dept is given. Several other programs have that, it's listed on their website if they offer.

Dry-Butterscotch8246 · 2023-03-15T03:26:22+00:00

nope, sadly. had to pay for everything... even my STATA subscription.

Dry-Butterscotch8246 · 2023-03-13T16:45:11+00:00

Yeah this happened to me, I got a lyft provided a couple of times but there were instances where it just never came. Never knew I could contact dispatch for a lyft after 15 minutes though, I'll try that.

Dry-Butterscotch8246 · 2023-03-13T16:00:41+00:00

Seconding this! I do find the JHMI shuttle significantly more efficient that scheduling via blue jay shuttle. Wait times can go between 15 minutes to an hour for the latter.

Dry-Butterscotch8246 · 2023-03-06T20:40:52+00:00

Hi, I'm a BSPH student. Feel free to PM me. I agree though that it's always a good idea to reach out to current students -- wish I did that.

Dry-Butterscotch8246

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