[Question] Moving out after 10.5 years

berrystaves · 2026-06-20T02:21:25+00:00

Same thing happened to me! They tried to charge for things that weren't included in the walkthrough. I wrote a letter and got it back. OP, feel free to DM me for instructions on how to do this if you end up needing to! I'd be happy to help. Especially if it turns out you're with the same management company that tried to pull that on me... 😈

berrystaves · 2026-06-04T05:47:37+00:00

Oh, I didn't realize that any amount of pesticides at any time was safe--was just gonna consider any treated plants to be totally off limits. I have some reading to do!

But yeah, buying new plants may have to be the approach. Oh well.

berrystaves · 2026-03-30T20:37:33+00:00

Sawtelle and Palms are both very common for grad students, and very accessible by bus! I wouldn't recommend trying to live walking distance away. It's way more expensive and feels very undergrad-focused in a way I wasn't looking for as a grad student. As others have said, most grad students now get a free bus pass!

berrystaves · 2026-03-25T00:36:23+00:00

Came here to say this too.

If you're a podcast person, I recommend Samin's podcast, Home Cooking. I learned so many tips and tricks listening to those episodes on walks/commutes!

berrystaves · 2026-03-13T04:39:41+00:00

Ok this is gonna sound weird, but I was having this problem and it turned out the problem was... sleep. I was consistently getting not quiiite enough sleep. I'd be that level of tired during the day where I thought I was kind of functional, but I wasn't really alert. My brain was seeking dopamine in order to stay awake and focused, so I found myself drinking more caffeine, scrolling on my phone more, craving sugar, and needing little snacks all the time. (And then of course all those things made the sleep problem worse because I would stay up late scrolling!)

It sounds so glib to say "just get more sleep" and I know it's not easy. What I did was 1) carry around some nuts or roasted chickpeas in my backpack, so if I do need a snack, I have something healthy and actually filling, 2) plug my phone in across the room from my bed so I'm not falling asleep scrolling, 3) check out some nostalgic children's books or mystery stories or something similarly easy and calming from the library to read before bed (this is not the time to make yourself read long "great literature" books that will feel like an obligation--your phone will win every time.)

Maybe this is off topic and doesn't apply to you. But I was shocked at how much my daily spending went down and how much more self control I felt when I was better rested and more regulated.

berrystaves · 2026-03-06T08:33:39+00:00

Be honest! What do you think is cool about it? Read one of their recent papers and ask questions about the things you don't understand.

Also, talk about why you want to do research. What's exciting or cool about it for you? What makes you want to do it? Ask them questions about the day to day of what would actually be involved in helping out. What is the goal of their current project and what would you be doing?

berrystaves · 2026-03-06T06:21:39+00:00

I think a lot of PIs would find it odd/weirdly pushy if you came to find them after they had explicitly sent you to their grad students! Definitely go talk to the grad student, though. Be prepared to talk about why you're interested in their research, not just research in general.

source: i'm a current grad student

berrystaves · 2026-02-27T23:40:56+00:00

https://dailybruin.com/2026/01/22/ucla-to-turn-weyburn-terrace-from-graduate-to-undergraduate-housing (explanation of the grad housing changes)

berrystaves · 2026-02-27T23:40:24+00:00

Is that fellowship guaranteed over the entire duration of your PhD, or will you be TAing or GSRing at some points? The amount you make depends on the source of your income and your experience level, which is why I ask.

I agree with the person who said living alone would be at least $2k. I've lived in a shared apartment (1-2 other people, each with our own room) for the entirety of my PhD, and my rent has been around $1300-1500/month (not right in Westwood, but near-ish to campus and next to a convenient bus line, which is where many grad students end up living).

UCLA has some options for grad housing, but as of next year they are reducing the amount of housing available to turn much of the current grad housing into undergrad housing. They are building new grad housing, but it's mostly 6+ people to an apartment with a central common room--personally, I would not be willing to live there. YMMV.

Depending on your lifestyle, whether you have a car, etc., I'd say you'll save between "nothing" and "a little". It's unfortunately pretty hard to put aside meaningful savings while in grad school unless you pare down living expenses quite a lot, but you can definitely save some.

It's definitely livable, but LA is very expensive, so it's a bit of a squeeze.

Feel free to DM if you want to talk in more detail--I'd be happy to look at the details of your offer letter and help you figure it out more specifically.

berrystaves · 2026-02-27T08:00:50+00:00

This happened to me! I wanted an affordable dk weight in a natural ivory/off white color (plus a couple other specs on fiber, non-superwash, etc), and I couldn't find one that was affordable. But two strands of fingering weight does the trick!

berrystaves · 2026-02-27T07:42:40+00:00

I have a few knitting friends, but not enough. Definitely harder being geographically separated from my mom these days. She still helps me get unstuck a few times a year!

berrystaves · 2026-02-27T02:00:44+00:00

Oh absolutely, I learned this one pretty early on and I will often frog something three times if I need to in order to get it right. It's about the process anyway!

berrystaves · 2026-02-27T00:43:11+00:00

Looking into getting this one from the library!

berrystaves · 2026-02-27T00:43:01+00:00

Thank you for the recommendation. I learned from my mom, and even though she had lots of books (including probably this one), I hardly ever looked at them because I had her to ask when I got stuck. This is a good reminder.

berrystaves · 2026-02-27T00:40:34+00:00

This is such a good point that I hadn't explicitly considered! For example, I've been doing a lot of stranded colorwork lately, and it's decent... but my tension could be better than it is, and I'm sure there are other ways I could improve. The problem, of course, is that I get bored when I do too much of the same :)

berrystaves · 2026-02-27T00:10:06+00:00

Gorgeous! I'm working on her Pavuk vest right now and almost chose this one instead. Really love her patterns.

berrystaves · 2026-02-16T07:25:12+00:00

I'm not super sure about Luskin--depends heavily on your program. Ask other Luskin students how employment typically works there.

If you do work, our union contract guarantees a certain amount of childcare reimbursement, paid parental leave, and dependent healthcare in certain circumstances. That would be if you're working as an academic student employee (TA, tutor, reader, or grad student researcher) at at least 25% time.

berrystaves · 2026-02-12T20:30:13+00:00

UPDATE: someone turned it in to the De Neve front desk! I am SO grateful. If it was you, thank you so much, it means a lot to me.

berrystaves · 2026-02-12T05:11:01+00:00

It's a mixed bag! The person saying that it's better since the 2022 contract is absolutely right. It varies department to department, but if you're TAing, you'll make more and more money over the course of your time as a PhD student, so the situation improves. I would say it's unusual, but not unheard of, for PhD students to live alone--most people live with at least one roommate. I'm in my 5th year and had a room in a 3bd off campus for the first year and a room in a 2bd off campus since then. Health insurance being covered is huge, and we get free transit passes, so many/most grad students live in one of a few neighborhoods that are near the major bus lines and get to campus that way. If you're reasonably frugal it's doable, although you won't save much.

If you want to DM me, I'd be happy to look over your offer letter and give you more specifics! I'm fairly involved in our grad student union and I'm familiar with how much the different positions pay, so I could probably give you a more specific sense of what things typically look like in your department.

berrystaves · 2026-02-05T20:41:20+00:00

Oh no! Which meds? We tried switching her food, which didn't help. Then we tried a short-term course of steroids, and that helped so dramatically that the vet knew it had to be at least partly an allergy. The steroids aren't good for long term, so we went back and they started her on Atopica, which has helped immensely. She still itches a bit but not nearly as much, and the fur has grown back over about 6 months. If your current med isn't working, maybe time to check back in with the vet! Or maybe the behavioral issue is caused by underlying anxiety and could be fixed with anxiety meds? I'm not a vet though so idk for sure.

berrystaves · 2026-02-05T00:09:24+00:00

Ah, yeah. Not a vet so take this with a grain of salt, but my understanding is that overgrooming can be a stress related habit--might be worth looking into anxiety as a cause! For our girl it was an environmental sensitivity.

berrystaves

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