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Frequently Asked Questions

  • By people who are coming to Boston

  • Once you are in Boston

    I'm coming to Boston. Where could I get information?

    Apart from this page, you can look for information in two more places: Incoming International Scholars and MIT International Students Office

    What's the weather like?

    There are some wet and hot days in summer time, but usually it is a nice weather. In winter, however, it's very cold. If you have any chance to chose the term you are applying for, try not to come from December to March. The temperature ranges are:

    • Spring: 3 C-15 C
    • Summer: 15 C-35 C
    • Autumn: 3 C-15 C
    • Winter: -17 C-3 C

    You can check the weather forecast on CNN

    Is it expensive to live in Boston?

    To live in Boston is quite expensive. You will need $1200 per month at least, just for surviving. If you want more information, you can have a look at Incoming International Scholars

    Shall I take money from my country to the United States?

    It's not a very good idea to carry too much money in cash; the change you can get is not that good. The change for travelchecks is better. You can withdraw money from ATMs, Automatic Teller Machines, using VISA, Mastercard or American Express card. They usually charge you a minimum percentage per withdrawal. So, it's worthy for you to withdraw bigger amounts in each transaction.

    What about visas? Which one is the worthiest?

    Students can hold either F-1 or J-1 visa. If you have any grant from government or if you are a Fullbright scholar, you'll probably hold a J-1 visa. There are two differences between these two visas:

    • If you hold a J-1 visa, your spouse could work in the USA. Anyway, he/she should obtain, first of all, the permission from INS, Immigration and Naturalization Service . If you hold a F-1 visa, your spouse will not be allowed to work.
    • After having been student, holding a J-1 visa, you will have the right to work on "practical training" for 18 months. But you should receive the employer's offer in the first month after having finished your studies. In case you hold a F-1 visa you have right just for 12 months practical training, but you can receive the offer at anytime.

    The visitors (postdocs, researchers or professors) always hold a J-1 visa. In case you want to work here (longer than the pratical training) or if you want to stay longer, you must get an H-1 visa, which allows you to work. In order to get it, you need be sponsored by a company or an institution. After having worked for them during two years you could ask for the Green Card or Permanent Residence Card. You have available more information about these topics in the webpages from United States Information Agency

    Do I need any health insurance?

    Definitely, even if you are planning to stay here for a short while. The cost of medical care in the Boston area is extremely high. One day in a hospital typically costs over $1,000. You may enroll the MIT Program or purchase any other insurance in Europe, but you must make sure the coverage your insurance is enough for the requirements your status asks.

    How could I find accommodation?

    Most newcomers spend two weeks, at least, looking for adequate accommodations. Housing on campus is avalaible only to fully registered students, not to research staff, faculty or scholars. You can send an email to MIT European Club's request@euroclub.mit.edu, specifying what you need and for how long. MIT has an Off-Campus Housing Service which maintains listings of rooms, apartments, shared apartments and houses forrent in Cambridge as well as in the greater Boston area. Anyway, we do not recommend renting any house or apartment before you have seen it. Hotel and motel accommodations are quite scarce from June through September and reservations should be made in advance.

    Where could I buy french food (crepes, baguettes, saucisson, croissants...)?

    Take note; we know that ClearFlour has great French baguette. They are located in Brookline but they distribute also through places like Bread&Circus.
    Iggy's Bakery in Watertown makes baguettes and patisseries. They also make other kind of breads.
    Carberry's Bakery has authentic croissants and baguettes. They also carry Scandinavian and German style bread.
    You can get real saucisson in the North End. They must import it from some midwestern state and call it by an Italian name, sobresata, but it is saucisson. The store is located on Cross Street, half-way between Endicott and Salem Streets. Catch the green line to Haymarket.

    And Italian food?

    You can get Italian food mainly in the Northern

    Where could I get fresh "mozzarella"?

    Two places: in the North End, at Purity Cheese, just at the end of Salem Street or in Brookline at Il Toscano, corner of Harvard St. and Babcock. By the way, we have an email sent by Antonio Scala, in which he doubts of the authenticity of that mozzarella. Let's read what he says:

    • "People should stop calling cheeses mozzarella having no idea of what mozzarella is. How can ever think to eat mozarella if even in Italy it is not possible everywhere? Mozzarella production is restricted to a couples of zones in Campania and is strongly limited as it needs the milk of a kind of buffalo (and there are very few). All the rest is "fior di latte", that it is not bad at all, but it is just not delicious.
      Moreover, mozzarella must be eaten not later than two or three days after it has been produced and can't be preserved in the fridge without"being killed" -actually, mozzarella is an alive cheese and continues to evolve after it has been produced-.
      Very few real mozzarella is sent by plane to places like Milano or New York, I don't think they bother about a provincial place like Boston. Anyhow the idea of eating cheese done in a similar manner (although not with the best milk for the purpose) when is still fresh is worth of praise. I add just two comments:
      - Refuse it if the seller puts it in the fridge!
      - Don't put it in the fridge yourself! Instead, you can leave the cheese in the package under running cold water in a large bowl (you don't need Niagara falls for this, just a bit more than a dropping fountain)".

    Now you all know what mozzarella is and what it's not mozzarella. Enjoy it, if you ever can find a real one.

    Cheese, wine...?

    Nice fresh cheese -not wrapped up but to be sliced from big round cheeses- at the "Wine and Cheese Cask", Washington St, Sommerville.
    Cheep and good wine at "Trader Joe's" grocery store on 727 Memorial Drive, as well as high quality groceries from Europe. Bread & Circus' two stores (115 Prospect Street and 186 Alewifw Brook Pkwy) are right places for gourmets. We have heard, also, that Marked Basket at Union Square, 400 Somerville Ave., is quite cheap and that they have a great selection of fruits and vegetables.

    Restaurants?

    Ciao Bella is a pretty fine italian restaurant with very good non-american desserts. It is on Newbury St., about three blocks after Tower records on the way to Boston Common. Just in front of them, Deluca's market has various wines and fine european food.
    Restaurant "Atasca"; excellent portuguese food, mostly influenced by tradition from the Azores. It's affordable. Open late. It's on Broadway at Columbia, Cambridge.
    "Les Zygomates" is a nice french restaurant at South St.(Boston). They offer a jazz concert 5 days a week and have an art gallery.

    Does anyone of you know an easy way to reduce the phone bills which are threating to ruin us if we call too often our friends and lovers at home?

    From the MIT's dorms it is difficult to avoid the high rates because you don't have an independent NYNEX line. Then you have the choice of using calling cards or prepaid cards, e.g. Voicenet (1-800-377-1490) or IDT (1-800-CALL-IDT).

    For people off-campus, as long as we know the cheapest rates you can get from companys like AT&T and MCI is $0.35/min. These are not up-to-date rates, then you are encouraged to send us any information you have about these rates. You can check also on Worldtelecom or the call back service Justicecorp.

    The last chance, and at least the cheapest one for you, is the collect call.

    What about european films and theatre?

    The first great choice you have is the european film showed weekly by the MIT European Club Other chances are the next ones: French movies with english subtitles are played twice a week at the French Library and Cultural Center at 53, Marlborough Street, Boston. The Harvard Film Archive sometimes plays european movies with discounts for MIT IDs.

    You can check the mainstream movies in the region at movielink. Kendall Square theater is a very good theater for seeing non-Hollywood movies, and they also show some of the bigger European movies. The Brattle theater, at Brattle Street, Harvard Square, shows a lot of classic movies. You should look for their movie listing, which sometimes is distributed on campus. At MIT you may also have a look at the Lecture Series Committee.

    A Video Rental Store in Back Bay rents old European Classics. Its name is CITY VIDEO and it is located on Newbury/Fairfield corner."Hollywood Express", two stores locate at Central Square on Mass. Ave. and between Harvard Square and Porter Square on Mass. Ave., carries a very good selection of european movies.

    Car repairs?

    If anyone needs some new parts we can highly recommend ABJ Auto Supply Warehouse 336 Washington St., Somerville. Tel.: 617-776-4112. They are even cheaper than junk yards.
    For VW drivers it is a junk yard on Allen St. (a very short street from Washington St., close to Union Square).
    A garage working for reasonable prices is: Joy Street Motors 40, Joy St. Sommerville Tel.: 617-625-8805.

    Kitchen supplies, furniture, etc?

    Economy Hardware on 438 Mass. Ave. in Cambridge, is a place where they have from air aconditioners to furniture. There is also an Economy Hardware in Boston, on 219 Mass. Ave. Another place to go is Home Depot in Sommerville, 75 Mystic Ave, which is a much bigger shop. For seious shopping, the place to go is Kittery, Maine. It takes about 1.5 hours to drive there.

    Entertainment, sports, etc?

    Ticketmaster provides a huge listing and sells tickets for a lot of events in the Boston region. The cheapest place around for sport shops is probably MVP sports in Medford, 291 Mystic Ave. For hiking/outgoing gear Eastern Mountain Sports at 1041 Commonwealth Ave. is pretty good. The best places to go to ski, around here, are probably: Wachusetts, 1 hour drive, Waterville, 1 hour drive, or Killington, 3 hour drive.

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