{"id":152,"date":"2014-06-19T18:21:25","date_gmt":"2014-06-19T18:21:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/staging.hult.edu\/en\/news\/blogs\/2014\/june\/its-more-than-just-housing-make-yourself-a-home\/"},"modified":"2026-03-23T14:36:36","modified_gmt":"2026-03-23T14:36:36","slug":"its-more-than-just-housing-make-yourself-a-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hult.edu\/blog\/its-more-than-just-housing-make-yourself-a-home\/","title":{"rendered":"It’s More Than Just Housing: Make Yourself a Home"},"content":{"rendered":"

I wake up at 7 a.m. on the third Thursday of November. It\u2019s too early, but the cold weather has left me no choice. Winter approaches; the temperature goes as low as 38 degrees Fahrenheit at night.<\/p>\n

Tip number one of this blog post<\/em><\/strong>: if you want to make a rough conversion to Celsius, subtract 32 and divide by two. That means that 38 degrees Fahrenheit is roughly 3 degrees Celsius. I come from Mexico, I\u2019m not used to this.<\/p>\n

However, all my classmates are facing the same weather and I am sure they sleep<\/a> soundly at night. What\u2019s the difference? They don\u2019t have a malfunctioning door in their rooms that cannot be properly closed, and they don\u2019t have an unscrupulous landlord who replies to emails whenever he feels like it.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s useless to try to go back to sleep, so I take my computer to the living room (at least there\u2019s decent heating there). I take a good look at our house. The kitchen is in view, and\u2026it could use new appliances. The stove is really old and, sometimes, I wonder if it\u2019s safe to use.<\/p>\n

One of the main water pipes is exposed. One of the toilets was leaking when we first arrived and it took a month to have someone repair it. The shower in the other bathroom is broken. Almost none of the rooms have locks and the landlord has refused to fix this. And, most importantly, we must be the only fools in Somerville who pay for water! Everyone else has it included in the rent.<\/p>\n

I suddenly wonder how and when we got ourselves into this. No more than a few weeks before the start of our MBA, that\u2019s when. By not taking some time to travel to Boston and look for a place, that\u2019s how. I don\u2019t know about my roommates, but I hate the consequences.<\/p>\n

I leave my house at noon; I have an appointment. After a 20-minute trip I get off the train at Central Square station. The neighborhood is much nicer. There are coffee shops, stores and houses, and beautiful red brick everywhere. A few minutes later, I reach my destination.<\/p>\n

A kind lady welcomes me and shows me around a three-bedroom apartment. It is furnished, with a nice bed, a big closet and a set of comforters I would be free to use. There is a functioning heater and the view is amazing. I almost cry when I hear the price: $850 a month plus up to $150 in utilities\u2014just $150 more than what I am currently paying.<\/p>\n

What do I need to secure this place? It\u2019s easy: an ID, an application, first and last month\u2019s rent, and a deposit equivalent to another month (this is standard practice in the United States). The process is not like the thousand documents I had to send online. It\u2019s still 10 days before the end of the month, but landlord kindly tells me I could start moving in tomorrow at no extra charge.<\/p>\n

I then remember I can\u2019t actually take it until I find someone to sublet my current room, or incur the risk of paying double rent. I don\u2019t think I can do this before someone else takes the apartment, and I don\u2019t want to take the risk. I say goodbye to my would-be landlord who, I am sure, would have been much better than the current one.<\/p>\n

Why didn\u2019t I do this\u00a0before<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0coming to Boston?<\/p>\n

Because I was busy\u2026and careless, that\u2019s why.<\/p>\n

In my last\u00a0post<\/a>, I compared \u201capplying online\u201d versus \u201cbuilding relationships\u201d during a job search. We all know by now which will improve your odds of getting a good job. The same thing applies when looking for a place to live.<\/p>\n

There are awesome places to live around Hult\u2014in Somerville, Cambridge, Medford and Malden. I\u2019ve seen people pay as little as $600 and as much as $2,700 per month, depending on how nice the place is, how far away it is from school, and how wisely they go about it.<\/p>\n

A friend of mine found awesome accommodation for $650 because her landlord was specifically interested in Chinese graduate students, and found her. Another friend got his landlord to forgive one month of rent during his rotation, out of the goodness of his heart. My friends have one thing in common: they conducted their housing search \u201cin the field\u201d and subsequently found landlords with whom they could connect on a personal level.<\/p>\n

While searching for a new place I came across at least two other offers as good as the one I described. All of them came within one week. And this was long after courses started. Imagine what I would have found if I had done this before starting my MBA.<\/p>\n

Now it\u2019s too late, because I was dumb enough to apply online and not properly research. Signing a contract for housing in Massachusetts is a very serious decision. You basically commit to paying an entire year of rent whether you live in the place or not. Only very serious law violations on the part of the landlord could give you legal grounds to leave. Even in this case, you risk litigation if you do. I assume you wouldn\u2019t want to spend any time in court during your MBA.<\/p>\n

So, please, my future fellow alumni, come to Boston and see places for yourselves. Talk to prospective landlords and start developing those relationship-building skills that will make you the great business managers of tomorrow.<\/p>\n

My bottom line is this: any time and money you spend getting the accommodation of your dreams will be well spent. The sooner you start the better. So please, make yourselves a home. And make yourselves a good one.<\/p>\n

Edgardo Macias is a Hult Global Ambassador. He is an MBA student at Hult Boston, a finance professional, and an amateur musician with a great passion for math, teaching and intellectual discussion.<\/em><\/p>\n

Hult offers a range of highly skills-focused and employability-driven business school programs including a range of MBA options and a comprehensive one year Masters in International Business. To find out more, take a look at our blog PUT BLOG TITLE HERE AND LINK TO IT. Download a brochure or get in touch today to find out how Hult can help you to learn about the business world, the future, and yourself.<\/p>\n

Hult offers a range of highly skills-focused and employability-driven business school programs<\/a> including a range of MBA options and a comprehensive one year Masters in International Business<\/a>. To find out more, take a look at our blog Hult scores in top 20 in The Economist\u2019s Which MBA? ranking for 2019<\/a>. Download a brochure or get in touch today to find out how Hult can help you to learn about the business world, the future, and yourself.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I wake up at 7 a.m. on the third Thursday of November. It\u2019s too early, but the cold weather has left me no choice. Winter approaches; the temperature goes as…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":1278,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[24],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nIt's More Than Just Housing: Make Yourself a Home | Hult International Business School<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I wake up at 7 a.m. on the third Thursday of November. It\u2019s too early, but the cold weather has left me no choice. Winter approaches; the temperature goes as low as 38 degrees Fahrenheit at night.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"It's More Than Just Housing: Make Yourself a Home | Hult International Business School\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I wake up at 7 a.m. on the third Thursday of November. It\u2019s too early, but the cold weather has left me no choice. Winter approaches; the temperature goes as low as 38 degrees Fahrenheit at night.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.hult.edu\/blog\/its-more-than-just-housing-make-yourself-a-home\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Hult International Business School\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Hult\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-06-19T18:21:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-03-23T14:36:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.hult.edu\/blog\/media\/uploads\/2014\/09\/Blogs_June-housing-18-14_Edgardo_5751.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"538\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"287\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Hult_Business\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Hult_Business\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.hult.edu\/blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Hult International Business School\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.hult.edu\/blog\/\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Hult\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/hultbusinessschool\/\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/school\/hult\/\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/hult\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Hult_Business\"],\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.hult.edu\/blog\/#logo\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.hult.edu\/blog\/media\/uploads\/2022\/08\/hult-social-profile.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.hult.edu\/blog\/media\/uploads\/2022\/08\/hult-social-profile.png\",\"width\":400,\"height\":400,\"caption\":\"Hult International Business School\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.hult.edu\/blog\/#logo\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.hult.edu\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.hult.edu\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Hult International Business School\",\"description\":\"The latest insights and stories from Hult International Business School\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.hult.edu\/blog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.hult.edu\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.hult.edu\/blog\/its-more-than-just-housing-make-yourself-a-home\/#primaryimage\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.hult.edu\/blog\/media\/uploads\/2014\/09\/Blogs_June-housing-18-14_Edgardo_5751.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.hult.edu\/blog\/media\/uploads\/2014\/09\/Blogs_June-housing-18-14_Edgardo_5751.jpg\",\"width\":538,\"height\":287,\"caption\":\"Housing- your home\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.hult.edu\/blog\/its-more-than-just-housing-make-yourself-a-home\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.hult.edu\/blog\/its-more-than-just-housing-make-yourself-a-home\/\",\"name\":\"It's More Than Just Housing: Make Yourself a Home | Hult International Business School\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.hult.edu\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.hult.edu\/blog\/its-more-than-just-housing-make-yourself-a-home\/#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2014-06-19T18:21:25+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-23T14:36:36+00:00\",\"description\":\"I wake up at 7 a.m. on the third Thursday of November. It\u2019s too early, but the cold weather has left me no choice. Winter approaches; the temperature goes as low as 38 degrees Fahrenheit at night.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.hult.edu\/blog\/its-more-than-just-housing-make-yourself-a-home\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.hult.edu\/blog\/its-more-than-just-housing-make-yourself-a-home\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.hult.edu\/blog\/its-more-than-just-housing-make-yourself-a-home\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.hult.edu\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"It’s More Than Just Housing: Make Yourself a Home\"}]},{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.hult.edu\/blog\/its-more-than-just-housing-make-yourself-a-home\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.hult.edu\/blog\/its-more-than-just-housing-make-yourself-a-home\/#webpage\"},\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.hult.edu\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/b3cfc46996bd8fe989efc47389912068\"},\"headline\":\"It’s More Than Just Housing: Make Yourself a Home\",\"datePublished\":\"2014-06-19T18:21:25+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-23T14:36:36+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.hult.edu\/blog\/its-more-than-just-housing-make-yourself-a-home\/#webpage\"},\"wordCount\":1157,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.hult.edu\/blog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.hult.edu\/blog\/its-more-than-just-housing-make-yourself-a-home\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.hult.edu\/blog\/media\/uploads\/2014\/09\/Blogs_June-housing-18-14_Edgardo_5751.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Archive\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.hult.edu\/blog\/its-more-than-just-housing-make-yourself-a-home\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.hult.edu\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/b3cfc46996bd8fe989efc47389912068\",\"name\":\"Hult News\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.hult.edu\/blog\/#personlogo\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.hult.edu\/blog\/media\/uploads\/2018\/04\/logo-100x100.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.hult.edu\/blog\/media\/uploads\/2018\/04\/logo-100x100.png\",\"caption\":\"Hult News\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"It's More Than Just Housing: Make Yourself a Home | Hult International Business School","description":"I wake up at 7 a.m. on the third Thursday of November. It\u2019s too early, but the cold weather has left me no choice. Winter approaches; the temperature goes as low as 38 degrees Fahrenheit at night.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"It's More Than Just Housing: Make Yourself a Home | Hult International Business School","og_description":"I wake up at 7 a.m. on the third Thursday of November. It\u2019s too early, but the cold weather has left me no choice. Winter approaches; the temperature goes as low as 38 degrees Fahrenheit at night.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.hult.edu\/blog\/its-more-than-just-housing-make-yourself-a-home\/","og_site_name":"Hult International Business School","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Hult","article_published_time":"2014-06-19T18:21:25+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-03-23T14:36:36+00:00","og_image":[{"width":538,"height":287,"url":"https:\/\/www.hult.edu\/blog\/media\/uploads\/2014\/09\/Blogs_June-housing-18-14_Edgardo_5751.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@Hult_Business","twitter_site":"@Hult_Business","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.hult.edu\/blog\/#organization","name":"Hult International Business School","url":"https:\/\/www.hult.edu\/blog\/","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Hult","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/hultbusinessschool\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/school\/hult\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/hult","https:\/\/twitter.com\/Hult_Business"],"logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.hult.edu\/blog\/#logo","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https:\/\/www.hult.edu\/blog\/media\/uploads\/2022\/08\/hult-social-profile.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.hult.edu\/blog\/media\/uploads\/2022\/08\/hult-social-profile.png","width":400,"height":400,"caption":"Hult International Business School"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.hult.edu\/blog\/#logo"}},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.hult.edu\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.hult.edu\/blog\/","name":"Hult International Business School","description":"The latest insights and stories from Hult International Business School","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.hult.edu\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.hult.edu\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.hult.edu\/blog\/its-more-than-just-housing-make-yourself-a-home\/#primaryimage","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https:\/\/www.hult.edu\/blog\/media\/uploads\/2014\/09\/Blogs_June-housing-18-14_Edgardo_5751.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.hult.edu\/blog\/media\/uploads\/2014\/09\/Blogs_June-housing-18-14_Edgardo_5751.jpg","width":538,"height":287,"caption":"Housing- your home"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.hult.edu\/blog\/its-more-than-just-housing-make-yourself-a-home\/#webpage","url":"https:\/\/www.hult.edu\/blog\/its-more-than-just-housing-make-yourself-a-home\/","name":"It's More Than Just Housing: Make Yourself a Home | Hult International Business School","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.hult.edu\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.hult.edu\/blog\/its-more-than-just-housing-make-yourself-a-home\/#primaryimage"},"datePublished":"2014-06-19T18:21:25+00:00","dateModified":"2026-03-23T14:36:36+00:00","description":"I wake up at 7 a.m. on the third Thursday of November. It\u2019s too early, but the cold weather has left me no choice. Winter approaches; the temperature goes as low as 38 degrees Fahrenheit at night.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.hult.edu\/blog\/its-more-than-just-housing-make-yourself-a-home\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.hult.edu\/blog\/its-more-than-just-housing-make-yourself-a-home\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.hult.edu\/blog\/its-more-than-just-housing-make-yourself-a-home\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.hult.edu\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"It’s More Than Just Housing: Make Yourself a Home"}]},{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.hult.edu\/blog\/its-more-than-just-housing-make-yourself-a-home\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.hult.edu\/blog\/its-more-than-just-housing-make-yourself-a-home\/#webpage"},"author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.hult.edu\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/b3cfc46996bd8fe989efc47389912068"},"headline":"It’s More Than Just Housing: Make Yourself a Home","datePublished":"2014-06-19T18:21:25+00:00","dateModified":"2026-03-23T14:36:36+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.hult.edu\/blog\/its-more-than-just-housing-make-yourself-a-home\/#webpage"},"wordCount":1157,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.hult.edu\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.hult.edu\/blog\/its-more-than-just-housing-make-yourself-a-home\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.hult.edu\/blog\/media\/uploads\/2014\/09\/Blogs_June-housing-18-14_Edgardo_5751.jpg","articleSection":["Archive"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.hult.edu\/blog\/its-more-than-just-housing-make-yourself-a-home\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.hult.edu\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/b3cfc46996bd8fe989efc47389912068","name":"Hult News","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.hult.edu\/blog\/#personlogo","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https:\/\/www.hult.edu\/blog\/media\/uploads\/2018\/04\/logo-100x100.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.hult.edu\/blog\/media\/uploads\/2018\/04\/logo-100x100.png","caption":"Hult News"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hult.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/152"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hult.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hult.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hult.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hult.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=152"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.hult.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/152\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23340,"href":"https:\/\/www.hult.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/152\/revisions\/23340"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hult.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1278"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hult.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=152"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hult.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=152"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hult.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=152"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}