Looking for a couch in Cambridge, MA -- March 23rd

[daniel_reetz]

Hi all,

I'm giving a talk at Harvard's Berkman Center for Internet & Society on March 23rd, arriving the 22nd and leaving the 25th. Harvard paid for my flight but not accommodations.

As a result, I'm looking for a couch or a place to crash on any or all the following nights -- 22,23,24. I don't know if we have any Boston or Cambridge-area members, but if you have a couch for even one night, that would really help defray costs.

I'm basically just asking around here before hitting up couchsurfing.org or trying to get a hostel. Even a recommendation for a local hostel would be great. I don't give a damn about safety or cleanliness, just whether or not it's cheap and ideally as near as possible to the Berkman Center.

[cratylus]

Well, I'm north of Boston. I go in and out every day by train and it's not too bad... about 50 minutes from my door to North Station. From there, you're only a subway ride away from Harvard. Hopefully you can do better, but if not, I've got a couch and a spare mattress. I've also got a friend on Beacon Hill that might be willing to host you for a night or two. I'll give him your contact info if you want. Just let me know.

Joel

[StevePoling]

You know, Dan, if you really embrace this lifestyle of going around the world crashing on couches, you could end up like Paul Erdős (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Erd%C5%91s). And that wouldn't be such a bad thing. When I was in grad school, we had this thing that worked like "the 7 degrees of Kevin Bacon", only we called it your "Ersős number." It was a supreme honor for Erdős to show up on your doorstep.

[rogermaris]

Even a recommendation for a local hostel would be great.

Well then, if you haven't spotted this already, I'd recommend:
http://www.bostonhostel.org/reservations.shtml for a number of reasons.
My experience at this place:
I stayed at this hostel in Boston last year visiting a friend that goes to school at Harvard--as well as being a bit of tourist myself (I thought the MIT museum was awesome) and I remember there was complimentary breakfast in the morning and I slept fine knowing that my wallet and watch was padlocked (I brought my own) in the locker next to my bed.
The people inside the dorm rooms are usually foreign tourists, some of which are potentially exchange students from Asia or Europe—and so it wouldn't be surprising if you would be dorming with people likely to be visiting Harvard —being the world-renown ivy thing and all.
Location:
If you've been to Boston before, you know that Cambridge basically is Boston (separated by a bridge that takes only one minute to walk across). So if you're at this hostel, then, both MIT & Harvard are terribly close by especially if you're taking the subway since the subway is right next to the hostel and there are stops at Harvard square, as you will see in the subway stations. But supposing you had a personal feud with subways, you could probably walk to your destination in about one hour and ten minutes.

I don't give a damn about safety or cleanliness, just whether or not it's cheap

Well if these were my standards, then they would have been well-met insofar as, the $22-44/ per night deal is not too expensive; I don't remember but I think I got days where the rates were 36/night—the price should vary according to how many people there are in each room.
I'm pretty sure HI is corporate (having branches in nearly every major city in the US); and having been to a total of three hostels in my life, two of which were HI's (the HI in NY is good as well), in relative contrast, the Boston HI would be okay with me if it were even $40/night. Then again, you are staying for three nights and this is only my preference.
So don't take my word for it if this interests you, call their front desk to get a grasp of their credibility and rates, [if not, sorry about the pointlessly long reply].

[daniel_reetz]

Thanks, Rogermaris. Since I didn't really find a couch on couchsurfing or through this forum (not surprised at all, and not upset -- it was more a wild idea than anything) I took your advice and have reservations at the Boston HI.