Britt's Blog

Via Unclutter, a story from a Duke University grad student who lives in a van.

This of course recalls the story shared on Car Talk by a young woman who discovered her beau, a Stanford medical student, was also living in a van. The story had a happy ending, and the two of them piled into the van for a road trip across the continent. [Unfortunately, the links to Car Talk show summaries are for memory-jogging purposes only, because, unlike every other public radio program in existence, Car Talk not only does not have a free archive, only their "top rated" episodes are available for pay from Audible.com. Get on the stick, Tom and Ray!]

All I can say, is thank goodness I picked science as a career. Science grad students are typically supported through assistantships, don’t pay tuition, and get a large enough stipend to afford a modest apartment of some sort.

Also, I don’t think these shenanigans would have worked in northern climes. If there’s a grad student at UW Madison living in a van at the current temperature of -2°F, I’d recommend dropping out and finding gainful employment.