These Boots Are Made for Walkin’
The first 10 places to locate in Cambridge
There are an incredible number of buildings, parks, and attractions to visit across the MIT campus and greater Boston area. When I first arrived, though, I needed to identify and find the places that were most immediately important for orienting myself. Here are the first locations I scouted out upon landing in Cambridge.
- The closest grocery store
The first step of my move, after touching down at Boston Logan Airport, was to (with my dad’s help) put all my boxes into my new apartment. The next order of business was filling the fridge. I visited a nearby Whole Foods that first day via my dad’s car (which he’d driven up to help me move), and in the next few days I discovered that both a Whole Foods and a Trader Joe’s are a short walk or bike ride from my apartment building. In the time since then, I’ve visited a number of other grocery stores including Brothers, Target, and the Cambridge Farmers’ Markets, but the Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s remain the closest and most convenient stores for me.
- The Atlas Service Center
I-9 paperwork must be completed within the first few days of work, so I visited the Atlas Service Center in my first week to present my documents for verification. The Atlas Center is located on Ames Street behind the main MIT buildings on Massachusetts Avenue, so walking there provided an introductory tour of the campus. You can also print your physical ID card at the Atlas Center.
- The Z Center
After traveling and unpacking, getting in some movement was very appealing. Since most of the city streets and routes remained unfamiliar to me, visiting the gym was a good option to avoid getting lost on an outdoor run. I located the Z Center, and on the first visit I needed to sign a waiver before being cleared to enter the fitness center. Since then, I’ve discovered a number of excellent running routes, but I still visit the Z Center frequently for cross-training and to avoid bad weather.
- The Stratton Student Center
The Stratton Student Center is a central hub on campus to study, relax, and get a drink or snack. There’s also a branch of the MIT Coop, from which I bought a postcard in my first week to send to a friend back home.
- Your class and office buildings
To get a sense of my upcoming routine, I needed to locate the classrooms and offices where I would be taking courses and meeting with my advisor. My fall courses and meetings were both located in Building 48 (Parsons Lab), and I scouted out the best route to get there and explored some of the surrounding locations to eat lunch or take a walk.
- Your nearest T stop
The T is Boston’s subway line of multicolored routes (red, orange, green, etc.) that takes you across the city. I most commonly take the red line, which brings me from the stop in Kendall Square at MIT to Harvard, where I’m taking a course this spring. If you’re on campus, the Kendall Square stop is likely the closest station.
- The Banana Lounge
The Banana Lounge offers free bananas all day, every day during the academic year to hungry students. It’s conveniently located just inside Building 26 along the Outfinite Corridor (an outdoor walkway parallel to the indoor Infinite Corridor). While the concept of the lounge itself is simple, there’s actually rigorous data analysis of the daily banana demand in order to minimize waste. I frequently pop into the lounge on my way to the office to get my daily free fruit, knowing I’m one more data point that will be analyzed to predict future banana orders.
- The Esplanade
The Charles River Esplanade is a running and bike trail along the Charles. It has abundant trees and green space, making it analogous to Central Park in that it provides an oasis of greenery in an urban area. You can access the Esplanade by walking over the Harvard Bridge from MIT. It’s part of one of my favorite running routes, in which I’ll make a loop by crossing the Harvard Bridge, running along the river, and then crossing back to the MIT side via the Longfellow Bridge.
- The public library
MIT has multiple libraries, but the Boston Public Library is another excellent resource to locate and use. The public library has new and bestselling fiction and non-fiction titles and books in various languages. I signed up for a library card on my first visit, and I borrowed the novel I’d been reading at home but didn’t have the space to pack when I moved. The Central branch is located on Bolyston street across the river from MIT.
- Historic sites
Once you’ve settled in and located the essentials, you may want to explore some of the historic sites in Boston. These include the Freedom Trail and the Old State House, shown above. I first located the Old State House on a department orientation scavenger hunt across Boston, so you never know if advance knowledge of the location of historic sites will provide an upper edge in an upcoming orientation challenge.
Since first arriving, I’ve gradually discovered more about the Boston area. I’ve scouted out new running routes, explored more MIT buildings, and visited unique stores. But these stops remain some of my top-visited places, and they were essential to find to settle into the city and feel at home.
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