Tips on how to survive the artic north.
1) Buy a warmer winter coat than the one you currently own.
2) If that coat doesn't have a good hood, get a good hat.
3) Next buy gloves and a scarf. By more than one pair of gloves including at least one truly waterproof pair.
4) If you think you'd rather have mittens, get a pair of those too. You should probably compare gloves and mittens before committing. People tend to prefer one or the other. (I prefer gloves.)
5) Next buy waterproof boots.
6) Learn to layer.
Now, other practical advice about Boston. There is not much in the way of housing right by New England Medical Center/Tufts Med School. Many areas of town that used to be kinda dicey are much better BUT avoid the appropriately named "student ghetto" along the Fenway (the area between Park Drive and Fenway Park, trust me, it looks nice but it's not worth it to live there.) Living just the other side of the Fens near Northeastern is a better choice (but don't go south of Huntington Ave unless you're within a block of Northeastern). Other neighborhoods to consider Allston (loud and full of students but also nightlife), Brighton (less loud, more families, still a bunch of young people oriented bars/restaurants), South End (probably too expensive, not so many students anymore, artsy, as long as you are East of Mass Ave - do not live West of Mass Ave in the South End), Roxbury is not completely out of the question but I wouldn't recommend it. JP (Jamaica Plain) kind of like Brighton but funkier - on the rise and getting more expensive. The Back Bay and Beacon Hill don't want students and are priced accordingly. Or - do what thousands of other Boston area students do - live in Somerville.
Finally - congrats - Tufts is an awesome medical school!
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