Getting around town
One of the main reasons that I chose to come to Harvard for law school was how easy it is to get around. As an undergraduate I often felt like I was trapped within the same ten-block radius. There wasn’t really good public transportation and the best I could do with the bus was go to the mall a few towns over. I decided that I couldn’t live that way for another three years. I wanted to be able to go to the grocery store without having to call a taxi, go shopping without a hassle and feel like I wasn’t tied down. I knew that Harvard was the answer to my problems when I visited for the first time.
I rode the Amtrak up from Connecticut for my admitted student tour. Getting to campus from South Station with the “T” (Cambridge’s subway) couldn’t have been easier. After my tour and lunch with an admissions fellow, I found myself starved for something to do because my train didn’t leave for hours. Sadly, my first instinct was to take the T back to south station and wait. Instead, I decided to ask the people in admissions for some suggestions. The woman in the office pulled out tons of materials on all the things I could do with my free evening. She gave me simple directions and I left happy and determined to make the most of the couple hours I had left. I ended up taking the red line to the Park Street station. When I exited the station I got really excited. To my right was a huge park called the Boston Common and to my left was a very large movie theater. I walked up the street slowly and stopped occasionally to check out all the monuments that surround the park. I was so happy that such interesting things were easily accessible from the law school. I was also very impressed with the movie theater and I still don’t think I have ever seen a nicer one. They have classic movie posters and famous movie quotes all over the walls. They even offer funnel cake! Getting back home on the train was just as easy as the trip in. The ease with which I got around that day was a huge relief for me. I left very satisfied with my one-day Harvard experience.
As a current student, I am very happy with the choice that I made. I don’t have a car or a bike so if I need to get somewhere I’m probably going to walk. It is really nice not to have to worry about how I am going to carve out enough travel time to run errands when I am busy with schoolwork and activities. Fortunately, I don’t have to. There are two grocery stores within a ten-minute walk of my Harvard-Affiliated apartment. I can walk to Target in twenty minutes. And of course if I want to go out to eat instead of cooking, there are at least 5 restaurants within two minutes of my apartment. I can get to Harvard Square for many of the HLS social events in no time. If it is too late to walk home alone, I can hop into one of the many cabs that make Harvard Square their base.
I no longer feel like I’m confined to the area around my classes and home. It’s great to have so many affordable ways to get around quickly and easily. I’m glad I gave so much thought to how I would get around in my every day life when choosing a law school. I may even go to the Boston Common this weekend…
- Elizabeth
