Boston Social Media Has Answers for Students
City’s guide to safety, renting, jobs, transportation, more
Cityofboston.gov/students/ is the go-to source for students of all stripes seeking services and other information from Boston.
Balancing studies with the demands of daily living can be tough, and that’s why this city of colleges—the greater metropolitan area has more than 50 colleges and universities, and Boston and Cambridge alone have a quarter million students—has revamped its online resources specifically for students.
The number-one source is cityofboston.gov/students, which has muscled up recently to provide more information on renting and housing; safety resources; city jobs, internships, and volunteer opportunities; English language, immigration, and other services available to international students; transportation; and other services.
Through the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Services, 17 liaisons, each representing a different section of the city, stand ready to assist students who have questions on such things as their neighborhood’s trash collection and recycling schedule and nearby emergency services.
The city encourages students to download the app for BOS:311 (you can tweet it at @BOS311), which is the site for nonemergency questions, reports, and requests. “Someone is throwing tea in the harbor,” is one humorous example from the city; more serious uses could involve a request for street cleaning or pothole repair, payment of a parking ticket, or reporting broken streetlights, traffic signals, or street signs.
Finally, @CityofBoston sends tweets about news and events related to the city.
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