Preparing for the move to Boston

Well, now that I've made a decision that it's going to be Babson, I'm starting to prepare for my eventual move to Boston. I'm guessing I'll relocate sometime around the first or second week of August. I'm hoping that I can somehow stick around until the 13th August so that I can at least go to the Bledisloe Cup, but I can't see any way I can swing that.

I've made a list of the things I need to sort out:

1. Housing
2. Laptop
3. Any prep-work courses in accounting, stats, etc.
4. Federal aid

Housing is obviously the most critical thing. I applied for campus housing and was told that I've got "more chances of going for a swim in the Charles River in winter than getting campus housing" as there's a very long waiting list. So I called a couple of realtors in Boston and the feedback was that it's not too hard to find a "decent place" in August, as while this is the time when demand for housing is greatest, it's also the time when most places become available. Of course, "decent" is entirely subjective - but I was told that for my needs (i.e. a 1BR place close to Babson, say in Newton, Wellesley, Brighton or Allston for around $1000-$1500 per month) it shouldn't be too hard.

Hmm. Will have to wait and see. I'm tossing up whether or not to go to Boston earlier to check the place out and have a look at the suburbs in question, but I don't want to waste money (and frequent flyer points) to go there only to come back to Sydney and then go again. Of course, there's the option to go there earlier, say in late July, and make sure I do my due diligence. But I'd like to spend as much time in OZ as I can, seeing as I probably won't be back to Sydney for at least 5-8 years, maybe more. I'm going to miss this place - I've been here for 18 years now, over half my lifetime. I guess it's all part of the experience of going abroad - getting out of my comfort zone and all that, look for new challenges and new experiences, meet new people.

I'm also a bit plagued with doubts - not so much with my choice, as Babson was always my first choice, but with making sure I've correctly measured the opportunity cost of turning down the BU and Indiana offers. I haven't even sent my "rejection letters" to Indiana and BU yet. I did speak to the LBS guys to tell them I was withdrawing my application - the MBA recruiter for Asia-Pac got in contact with me to see if I would change my mind, but I think I was pretty clear that I wanted a US MBA, so there was no point in keeping them hanging.

Maybe there's a tiny part of me that doesn't want to completely close my options off, though I know that Babson is the place that I want to go - I really think it's where I'm going to make the most of my education, make the most contacts, etc. I'm experiencing classic cognitive dissonance.

Laptop is kind of a minor thing, I'm not stressed about that. As for prep-work, I've got time to do that - two months worth of self-study should get me in shape. And federal aid? I'm not expecting to get anything, really, but doesn't hurt to apply.

Anyway, that's it for now. I'll be back after the Samoa game to post my thoughts on that. I'm expecting the Wobblies to win, but it will be interesting to see how this young team shapes up.