I’m not sure which of these things are already obvious to you, sorry that it’s taking the form of an info dump. If anything strongly conflicts with your intuitions, don’t read my simple declarative statements as indicative of great certainty; maybe I forgot to mention some exceptions.
I’m happy to clear up anything if you want more detail, either in comments or through direct messages.
In many major cities (perhaps most or all) you will be able to find some significant number of science-minded people where you would gain some status once they found out what you’re into. Career stuff can be a little tougher.
The Research Triangle has some life science stuff going on, and in the DC area there’s the NIH and related stuff up in Bethesda, MD. There’s almost certainly something near Boston/Cambridge too (there’s definitely a strong science-oriented community), probably something in the NY area, and other places I don’t know about—ask people you know who work in biology. Your biology professors should at least know where the relevant academic activity goes on, and high-tech companies are often located near a labor source like a university. All the areas I mentioned should have access to great or at least good schools, for people who are motivated to find them, though I’m only really 100% sure about the DC and NY areas. I think they also all have lesswrong meetup groups.
The usual way to find out about jobs or internships in your field is networking. That means asking people you know/know of, and/or alumni from your school, for informational interviews. (Google that term if you haven’t already.) Also ask them whom else they’d recommend you talk to. Phone calls are OK, in person is better, though if you’re not up for much travel yet that may be difficult.
Almost nobody enjoys moving per se, but plenty of people voluntarily move many times. The basic protocol for moving is:
1) You won’t know exactly what living situation you want/where you want to live (cities are big places) when you first get to town. Get some kind of foothold (couch-crash or find a short-term living arrangement) so you have time to learn before making a big commitment. Craigslist is an easy way to find people looking for a housemate/flatmate (which is cheaper than renting your own place, and often more flexible), though if something seems sketchy you should probably trust your gut and move on. But if you can avoid it, it’s probably best not to sign a long lease before you’re familiar with the town, know if you’re living in an OK neighborhood, etc.
2) Once you’re set up and know the town a little better (i.e. after a month or so), you’ll have a sense for what areas/neighborhoods are acceptable, and whether you want to rent/buy, etc. At this point you can find a more permanent accommodation. For buying you’d want a real estate agent, or something like Redfin. For renting, again craigslist, or Rent.com, or a rental agent, etc.
3) You need to change the address on any bank accounts/credit cards/regular bills. Get a new driver’s license (which usually just means filling out a few forms and going to the DMV), and register your car in the new state if you have one—the local DMV website will probably tell you what you need to know. File a change of address form with the US Post Office so they forward your mail.
You can skip step 1 if you have people you can trust in town to advise you on where to live. Don’t worry too much about moving your stuff: except for things of sentimental or medical value, or very expensive items, you’re unlikely to miss much of it. Stuff can be bought anywhere you’re likely to want to live.
Since you’re cash constrained you’ll probably want to work on lining up a job/paying internship before moving, but your employer will almost certainly want to meet in person before hiring you, so expect and be prepared for that travel expense. If only one offer is appealing, take it, no matter where it is. If you get more than one appealing offer, then you have a much smaller list of places to decide between, and it will be easier to give you specific advice.
The number of people who would host you overnight so you can go on an interview is probably much larger than the number of people who would host you indefinitely. Wherever there’s a meetup group, there will be plenty of lesswrongers who will be well-disposed towards you. Also extended family, or any college friends who have left town, are good people to crash with for a night.
I hereby give you and all other lesswrongers permission to assume that the ASK protocol applies to me in this respect, rather than the GUESS protocol. In other words, if you’re in DC for a couple of days and need a place to stay, I promise not to be offended or annoyed if you ask.
Thank you! I had no idea of the specifics, and probably would have not thought of the drivers license/etc. If I do have some stuff I’m rather attached to (say, a car or something,) and the place is too far away to just drive there, how would you get it there?
(Yes, I posted that a long time ago. I must have forgotten to reply.)
How much stuff are we talking about? There are moving services if it’s a lot of furniture or something; you’ll wait until you know where you’ll be living, then find movers to take your stuff from point a to point b. (Make sure to look up reviews first, this is a field where there is good and then there’s really bad businesses.) Paying someone to drive your car is also a thing. Both these services can be quite expensive, depending on distance &c.
At most? My dad handmade a bookshelf for me, and I’d feel bad parting with it. I’m not sure I will have a car by then, but if I do I will want to bring that.
OK. If it’s a small bookshelf and could plausibly fit in a car/hatchback/etc. then you could just drive it there if you have a car of the right shape/size. Or you could rent a mobile storage container and hitch it to your car.
If you don’t have a car by then, or won’t be driving it, then you can rent a U-Haul or other moving vehicle.
If you really, really don’t want to drive (or it’s something like cross-country diagonally and you just can’t spare the time), then you can hire professional movers or shippers, maybe it won’t cost as much if you’re only moving one thing.
Another option in a situation like this would be to leave the bookshelf with your parents, or in storage, locally until you’re set up somewhere you think you will stay long term. Lots of folks leave some things “back home” for a while for the first few years after school.
I’m not sure which of these things are already obvious to you, sorry that it’s taking the form of an info dump. If anything strongly conflicts with your intuitions, don’t read my simple declarative statements as indicative of great certainty; maybe I forgot to mention some exceptions.
I’m happy to clear up anything if you want more detail, either in comments or through direct messages.
In many major cities (perhaps most or all) you will be able to find some significant number of science-minded people where you would gain some status once they found out what you’re into. Career stuff can be a little tougher.
The Research Triangle has some life science stuff going on, and in the DC area there’s the NIH and related stuff up in Bethesda, MD. There’s almost certainly something near Boston/Cambridge too (there’s definitely a strong science-oriented community), probably something in the NY area, and other places I don’t know about—ask people you know who work in biology. Your biology professors should at least know where the relevant academic activity goes on, and high-tech companies are often located near a labor source like a university. All the areas I mentioned should have access to great or at least good schools, for people who are motivated to find them, though I’m only really 100% sure about the DC and NY areas. I think they also all have lesswrong meetup groups.
The usual way to find out about jobs or internships in your field is networking. That means asking people you know/know of, and/or alumni from your school, for informational interviews. (Google that term if you haven’t already.) Also ask them whom else they’d recommend you talk to. Phone calls are OK, in person is better, though if you’re not up for much travel yet that may be difficult.
Almost nobody enjoys moving per se, but plenty of people voluntarily move many times. The basic protocol for moving is:
1) You won’t know exactly what living situation you want/where you want to live (cities are big places) when you first get to town. Get some kind of foothold (couch-crash or find a short-term living arrangement) so you have time to learn before making a big commitment. Craigslist is an easy way to find people looking for a housemate/flatmate (which is cheaper than renting your own place, and often more flexible), though if something seems sketchy you should probably trust your gut and move on. But if you can avoid it, it’s probably best not to sign a long lease before you’re familiar with the town, know if you’re living in an OK neighborhood, etc.
2) Once you’re set up and know the town a little better (i.e. after a month or so), you’ll have a sense for what areas/neighborhoods are acceptable, and whether you want to rent/buy, etc. At this point you can find a more permanent accommodation. For buying you’d want a real estate agent, or something like Redfin. For renting, again craigslist, or Rent.com, or a rental agent, etc.
3) You need to change the address on any bank accounts/credit cards/regular bills. Get a new driver’s license (which usually just means filling out a few forms and going to the DMV), and register your car in the new state if you have one—the local DMV website will probably tell you what you need to know. File a change of address form with the US Post Office so they forward your mail.
You can skip step 1 if you have people you can trust in town to advise you on where to live. Don’t worry too much about moving your stuff: except for things of sentimental or medical value, or very expensive items, you’re unlikely to miss much of it. Stuff can be bought anywhere you’re likely to want to live.
Since you’re cash constrained you’ll probably want to work on lining up a job/paying internship before moving, but your employer will almost certainly want to meet in person before hiring you, so expect and be prepared for that travel expense. If only one offer is appealing, take it, no matter where it is. If you get more than one appealing offer, then you have a much smaller list of places to decide between, and it will be easier to give you specific advice.
The number of people who would host you overnight so you can go on an interview is probably much larger than the number of people who would host you indefinitely. Wherever there’s a meetup group, there will be plenty of lesswrongers who will be well-disposed towards you. Also extended family, or any college friends who have left town, are good people to crash with for a night.
I hereby give you and all other lesswrongers permission to assume that the ASK protocol applies to me in this respect, rather than the GUESS protocol. In other words, if you’re in DC for a couple of days and need a place to stay, I promise not to be offended or annoyed if you ask.
Thank you! I had no idea of the specifics, and probably would have not thought of the drivers license/etc. If I do have some stuff I’m rather attached to (say, a car or something,) and the place is too far away to just drive there, how would you get it there? (Yes, I posted that a long time ago. I must have forgotten to reply.)
How much stuff are we talking about? There are moving services if it’s a lot of furniture or something; you’ll wait until you know where you’ll be living, then find movers to take your stuff from point a to point b. (Make sure to look up reviews first, this is a field where there is good and then there’s really bad businesses.) Paying someone to drive your car is also a thing. Both these services can be quite expensive, depending on distance &c.
At most? My dad handmade a bookshelf for me, and I’d feel bad parting with it. I’m not sure I will have a car by then, but if I do I will want to bring that.
OK. If it’s a small bookshelf and could plausibly fit in a car/hatchback/etc. then you could just drive it there if you have a car of the right shape/size. Or you could rent a mobile storage container and hitch it to your car.
If you don’t have a car by then, or won’t be driving it, then you can rent a U-Haul or other moving vehicle.
If you really, really don’t want to drive (or it’s something like cross-country diagonally and you just can’t spare the time), then you can hire professional movers or shippers, maybe it won’t cost as much if you’re only moving one thing.
Another option in a situation like this would be to leave the bookshelf with your parents, or in storage, locally until you’re set up somewhere you think you will stay long term. Lots of folks leave some things “back home” for a while for the first few years after school.
I’ll remember that for whenever I get everything figured out. Thank you!