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Help Me Do OK in Cambridge

Anonymous — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 11:26:30 -0800

Advice wanted for a strange stay in Cambridge from natives, exes, current residents, former visitors, and anyone else with an opinion. As I mentioned in a previous anonymous posting, I’ll be in the Boston area for the first two weeks of August, attending a partial hospitalization day program for depression at McLean hospital in Belmont. I have rented an apartment on Maple Avenue between and will be commuting to the hospital daily from there.

I don’t know Cambridge at all and would really appreciate your thoughts and ideas on how to make the time easier. Here are a few specific questions I had:

BICYCLES. I love to ride my bike, and think having a bike during this difficult time may be helpful for me, not least because it will give me a chance to get out of the apartment easily and get some exercise. Bikes are allowed on the commuter rail train that I would take to the hospital from Porter Square, so I could also ride there, hop on the train, and use the bike to ride from the Belmont station to the hospital.I read some of the previous threads on biking in Boston, but had some questions.

1. Any ideas or suggestions for places that rent bicycles cheaply, or for any bike share programs? I have a helmet and a front light but would need a lock, a back light, and a basket (I can’t carry weight on my back). I arrive on a Sunday so a shop that’s open then and located in Cambridge would be great. Something near the apartment would be very helpful.

2. Would it be possible, plausible, safe and/or realistic to ride my bike from the apartment to the hospital in Belmont? (Map here: http://tiny.cc/09ji9) I am a fairly strong (though slow) cyclist and thought that it might be nice to ride to the program instead of sitting on a train. I’ve read that there’s a bike path along the river, but it’s not clear how easy it would be to get around once I crossed over near the Mt. Auburn Cemetery area. Any ideas for suggested routes?

3. Since I will have the late afternoons and the weekend free, are there any good bike rides that I could go on from Cambridge – for example, a good route around some Boston sites that used local bike lanes, or recommendations for an accessible park that allows bikes? If I could take my bike on the train, is it possible to go to Cape Cod or another nice beach for the day?

FOOD AND EATING. Any recommendations for nearby places to eat and/or buy food? What’s the best bet for groceries? Produce? Meat and fish? Is there a local farmer’s market? Any place that has Whole Foods-style prepared meals would also be very helpful since I don’t know how much energy I’m going to have to cook. Any thoughts on good cheap restaurants? I don’t have much money and am trying to eat as healthy as possible, so ideas for places that feature salads, vegetables, and the like (vs. falafel or hamburgers) would be especially welcome.

ENTERTAINMENT. I’m thinking I’m going to be spending a lot of time engaging in mellow, relaxing activities. Is there a good video store nearby? How about a used bookstore? Any non-scene-y cafes that are quiet and pleasant and not too over-stimulating?

TRANSIT. Can I buy a multiple ride pass on the commuter rail at the Porter station, or should I do that online? Are there machines at the ticket station, or is there an agent? If there are machines, do they take credit cards?

As you can probably tell, I really know nothing about Cambridge or Boston, geography-wise and otherwise. I’m grateful for any tips and ideas.

Short-term apartment rental near Belmont, MA (McLean Hospital)?

Anonymous — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 14:02:11 -0800

I'm going to be in a "partial hospitalizaton" program at Harvard's McLean Hospital in Belmont, Mass. I need to find a place to stay for 10-14 nights, preferably a short-term apartment rental. Any ideas for finding vacation apartment-style arrangements within walking or train distance? In this type of program, I will be at the hospital every day from early in the morning to the mid-afternoon for about 10 business days. It's located in Belmont (specifics and directions below -- I need to be able to take the commuter rail to the Belmont stop or the Red Line to the #73 bus).

Since it's a non-inpatient program, I won't spend the night at the hospital, so I need to find an apartment for about two weeks in the beginning of August.

The hospital's website has hotel recommendations, but I don't have much money and thought renting an apartment would be a more economical way to arrange accommodations.

I don't know Boston well, I don't have contacts there, and Craigslist doesn't seem to have anything that's a reasonable commute distance from the hospital for such a brief period of time. I thought this was something the hospital could help me with, but aside from the list of hotels they didn't really have any advice.

I am very grateful for any suggestions you might have for finding a place.

Map of McLean here: http://maps.google.de/maps?q=belmont+ma&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&split=0&gl=de&ei=al5SSofIB4fKnAOrubiEBA&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&ct=image&resnum=1

Directions and public transit info here:
http://www.mclean.harvard.edu/about/directions/

Looking for office space

Nathanial Hörnblowér — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 12:37:15 -0800

Help me find office space to sublease in Arlington or McLean, VA. My two-person company is looking for two offices (~175-200 sf total) to sublease in N Arlington (Clarendon/Courthouse/Rosslyn/Ballston) or McLean. We don't need to be near a Metro, but do need parking available. I check Craigslist daily and the City Paper weekly, and have posted notices on various listerves, but am not finding much out there. We've tried going through commerical Realtors, but know we are small potatoes compared to the larger companies looking for larger space. Is there some hidden resource I can tap into?