I hope you realize that there will be no apartment looking on the day of the Marathon in Boston - or some of the western suburbs - too congested, too many streets closed, too many tourists - and it is a Massachusetts holiday.

Here's a list of road closings and times:

http://www.boston.com/sports/maratho...treetclosings/

Note also that there are one or more "Paul Revere's Ride" on Patriots Day (Marathon Day) and some towns hold parades.

my 1 bedroom in the south end is available june 1st and is 6 yrs old...it will have 1 new coat of paint on it...

Since the Harvard grad schools are in Cambridge and Allston/Brighton, the apartment hunt might be able to proceed without being affected much by the Marathon. AFAIK, real estate agents don't observe weekends and holidays: that's when they work the most, since that's when working folks are available to look at properties. If it's one of the Allston/Brighton grad schools, be sure to read up on Harvard's plan to put their big Allston construction project on hold, since it could seriously undermine the ambience of the surrounding neighborhoods.

It's law school, right there on Mass Ave in Cambridge.

Yes, I was aware that the marathon is run on Patriot's Day and that everything will be closed, and the Sox will be playing, too, right?

We're hoping we can put off arrival to Tuesday or Wednesday, it depends on my son's schedule.

DJK, tell me more about utilities....which is the most expensive among electric, oil and gas? And is one more efficient than the other?

Condos may be different (we own a house), and much depends on location of unit within the building and construction/insulation. But, I almost bought a condo "specially insulated for electic heat" where the agent gave an estimate of monthly average electric bill a fraction of the actual when I phoned the power company. (You can phone the power company and get the exact billing for a specific address for the past 12 months or longer.)

We have gas heat in our home, and it is cheap compared to oil or electric.

When shopping condos, you may not have much of a choice on type of heat and there may be other considerations (location, price, condo fees, etc.). Sometimes (though I haven't shopped condos in years) heat is included in the condo fees and or the association arranges special pricing.

Note that it's expensive to insure/park a car in Boston/Cambridge. And, not all of Cambridge is convenient to a "T" station.

For the Law School anything heading north up Mass Ave would be very convenient; don't overlook bus routes as well as the subway when assessing public transit options. Also, ZIP Cars are a wonderful option especially for students who don't need a car for everyday use.

As djk said, gas is usually the cheapest heating option, but those savings can be outweighed by construction factors such as windows and insulation. A lot of the housing in the Boston and Cambridge areas is, um, vintage.

sf..
I saw on the Westin Waterfront Boston website that they had deals from $129 a night with a 14 day advance till June..
We really enjoyed this hotel.

ksucat~~~I am going to check out your suggestion, because I bailed on the plans I was making earlier.

Because I am a cheapskate, I checked into www.hiusa.com and the www.ywca.org in Boston. That's a great place, unless, you have, well, need of a hotel.

I hope this isn't hijacking the thread, but it relates to the apartment search if not the hotel search.

My wife went to Harvard Business School, not the Law School, but the same thing applies generally. These schools are incredibly, incredibly competitive (though the B School is more competitive than the law school :-). Everyone in the school is in the top 2-5% of her/his graduating class in the most competitive universities in the country/world.

Students are pretty much assured of good jobs on graduation because employers know they are used to working 90-100 hours per week while they are in school. This is not an exaggeration. My wife worked 16 hours a day Monday through Friday, 4 hours on Saturday, and 8-12 on Sundays for two years.

THEREFORE: having housing within walking distance of the campus is incredibly important, much more important than cute housing or cheap housing and certainly more important than cheap utilities. Harvard Law students cannot afford to spend time on the T going back and forth to the South End or Back Bay. They may need to meet a study group on campus at 6:15 AM, and they may not finish up until midnight. Half an hour extra at either end of the day is not acceptable.

Rent is an investment in the future just like the tuition. It is horrendous; our _parking_ in Cambridge was more than our _mortgage_ in the town we came from. But it pays off. Obama would not be president if he had not gone to Harvard Law, and I wouldn't have the time to post here if my wife hadn't gone to HBS!

<i>Obama would not be president if he had not gone to Harvard Law, and I wouldn't have the time to post here if my wife hadn't gone to HBS!</i>
:-)

I don't mind the hijack at all (after all, it's my thread and my son!). Anyway, we're both lawyers, so we're aware of the time commitment, but I thank you for your post -- its a very important factor to keep in mind.

Have you looked at the hotels that are *in* Cambridge? Expensive, probably, but convenient to your task and not at all affected by marathon route.....Hotels in Boston tend to be pricey always, w/the exception of certain bargain offerings that will not be available when you are here. Good luck!