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Guide to Soft Landing & Living

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Guide to Soft Landing & Living GUIDE TO SOFT LANDING & LIVING Babson’s Unofficial Guide for International Students and Partners 2021-2022 Edition INTRODUCTION - - - - - - - - We welcome you to the Babson family. This new stage in your life will be very exciting. But we also know uprooting your life is pretty disruptive and settling somewhere new can be very overwhelming and stressful. We understand, we have walked down that lane. We are here to help. This is why we have gathered information from the experience of other international students and partners, as well as locals, to help you plan and transition to your new life in Boston and at Babson. We have also shared some tips and recommendations to make your life easier and fun while you are here. 2 This guide was started by alumni Peter Rovick (MBA ‘09), was updated by grad partner Erica Jornales (Partner of MBA ’19), and has been updated ever since by grad students and partners. This year we have been working on including information that will speak to single students, to couples, and to families, as we know your needs in some cases might be different. We hope you find this guide helpful and in the future help keep it up to date for other generations. If you have a thought or advice to share please send it to [email protected]. Disclaimer: This document is not officially endorsed by Babson College. “ Change is hard at first, messy in the middle and gorgeous at the end. -Robin Sharma ” 3 Table of Contents INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 2 BEFORE YOU TRAVEL AND FIRST DAYS ..................................................................................................................................................................... 6 Get a Driver’s License .................................................................................................................................................................................................. 7 Valid Forms of ID .......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 8 Travelers Insurance ...................................................................................................................................................................................................... 9 Transportation from Airport ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 9 Banking and Building Credit History ...................................................................................................................................................................... 11 Communication .......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 15 CHOOSING A HOME ........................................................................................................................................................................................................17 General Information .................................................................................................................................................................................................. 18 How to Choose Your Housing ................................................................................................................................................................................. 23 Navigating the Rental Process ............................................................................................................................................................................... 25 Where to Look ............................................................................................................................................................................................................ 30 Furnishing your Home .............................................................................................................................................................................................. 40 DRIVING IN THE US ........................................................................................................................................................................................................ 46 General Information .................................................................................................................................................................................................. 47 Buying a Car ............................................................................................................................................................................................................... 50 Driver’s License/Mass ID ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 59 PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION AND OTHER WAYS TO GET AROUND ................................................................................................................... 64 MBTA ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 65 Commute to Babson .................................................................................................................................................................................................. 69 HEALTH INSURANCE ..................................................................................................................................................................................................... 70 General Information ...................................................................................................................................................................................................71 Getting Health Insurance ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 72 Accessing Health Services ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 79 4 Pregnancy ................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 81 TAXES ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 83 Filing your Taxes ........................................................................................................................................................................................................ 84 WINTER.............................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 86 Clothes ......................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 87 Car/Driving ................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 91 Your Home .................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 96 Health and Safety ...................................................................................................................................................................................................... 98 CONTACT US .................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 101 5 BEFORE YOU TRAVEL AND FIRST DAYS - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 6 COUNTRIES WITH TRANSFER AGREEMENT Get a Driver’s License ★ Canada ✓ Mexico or the U.S. Territories ✓ International Driver’s Permit Republic of Korea ✓ Federal Republic of Germany Under Massachusetts law, your driver's license is valid for ✓ Republic of France up to a year, if it was issued in one of the following countries ✓ Taiwan (list of countries), but you need an International Driver’s ✓ Permit (IDP) with it. Important Documents I-20 Carry your I-20 with you at all times when traveling. This document is the Certificate of Eligibility for Nonimmigrant (student F1 visa and dependents F2 visa). An IDP is an unofficial translation of your Driver’s
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