• Cell Phone
• A laptop computer – if you don’t have one, buy or borrow one if possible. I did my banking online, kept in touch with friends and family, spent endless hours play solitaire. My son used it to watch DVD’s in his hospital room and play video games. The rooms on the transplant floor have DSL hookups and a limited number of computers may be available at BI. When we were there, there were two computers in the family lounge.
• All bathroom items – towels, shower curtain, rug, and shower caddy.
• Kitchen - as each tenant moves out they leave behind a few items for the apartment. It’s hard to say what you will need until you see the kitchen.
• Fans and afghans – the apartments have large windows (some great views) but can be drafty in the winter and hot in the summer. There is one window air conditioner in the living room/dining area. In the summer fans help cool the apartment and circulate cool air into the bedroom.
• Bed linens: You will need to bring all your bed linens. Pillows are provided, but we brought our own.
• Moving in and out: You can pay to park in the garage in the Galleria and move in from the basement using the elevator. I’ve heard that it is possible to park behind the building and come in with your things though receiving. Ask the building management in the first floor office.
• Keys: BI will only give you one key for the apt. This is inconvenient if you have more than one family member coming and going from Boston.
• Cable TV: We knew we would be in Boston for several months so we contacted Comcast Cable Co and had cable installed. The building has a cable hookup that will get you about 5 stations. In the one bedroom apartment, where we stayed for four months, we bought a splitter and ran the cable wire into the bedroom as well.
• Laundry: There is a large well equipped laundry room on the 25th floor. You need a “money card” to use the machines. The BI apartment manager should give you a card and there is a machine in the laundry room where you can put money on the card. I found the best time to do laundry was midweek.
• Studio apartments: The studio apartment we stayed in did not have any drawers to keep clothing. My son’s girlfriend and I were there for three weeks so I bought a plastic file cabinet at Bed Bath and Beyond and put it in the closet to keep clothing.
• Parking: The apartment manager will give you one parking pass per apartment. We were told we could only use it in the Shipper garage, but we found it worked in the East Campus garage as well. For additional cars you can buy parking stickers from the cashier’s office on the second floor of the Feldman building across from the elevators. When we were there the stickers were $3 each and we were limited to buying six at a time. Since there were three of us coming and going we talked the cashier into selling us ten at a time. Your social worker should arrange for you to get discounted stickers. Save your receipts as this is one of the few expenses the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society will reimburse.
• Other places to stay: Family and friends stayed at the Longwood Best Western. They will give you a discount. This is connected to the Galleria and is the most convenient hotel. We stayed for a long weekend at the Holiday Inn on Beacon St. in Brookline. They will give you a discount if rooms are available and they run frequent shuttle bus service to the Longwood Medical Area.

2. Shopping:

• Groceries:
  1. Star Market on Brookline Ave. about a half mile from the apartments. This store is always busy and crowded, also not very clean looking but you can walk to it.
  
  2. Stop and Shop: Harvard Ave. in Brookline, you will have to drive, but I liked this store better. Take Longwood Ave. up the hill into Brookline, turn left onto Harvard Ave. and the S&S is about ½ mile on your left. There is a Hollywood Video just beyond the S&S.
  
  3. Trader Joe’s: Beacon Street in Brookline. Just walk up Longwood Ave. into Brookline and you can enter through the parking lot in the back. This store has a lot of good natural products, great snacks and a good wine selection.
  
  4. PeaPod.Com: This is the Stop and Shop web shopping site. They will deliver. I never used them, but I did see deliveries coming to our building. They would be great for heavy item and stocking up if you think you will be staying a long time.
  
  5. CVS: In the Galleria, we bought anything we needed that they sold. This is always busy and well stocked with everything from milk to laundry detergent. Carrying groceries from the hospital parking garage to the apartments in the Galleria is a long haul with heavy bags.
   
• Miscellaneous Shopping
  1. Harvard Coop: Located on Longwood Ave. next to the Shapiro building. The first floor has a good discounted bookstore; the lower level has office and dorm supplies.
  
  2. Landmark Center: This is located on Brookline Ave. going toward
  Fenway Park. Here you will find Best Buy, Staples, Bed Bath and
  Beyond, the Longhorn Steak House and the Fenway Movie Theaters.
  There is outside parking for the shops and also a parking garage you can
  use. We parked in the garage when going to the movies.
  
  3. Prudential Center: There is a free bus for patients and their families that makes frequent round trips from Brigham and Women Hospital to Mass General. The bus stops at the Prudential Center. This is an interconnecting mall with shops, restaurants, hotels and movie theaters. We found out about the bus from the nurses on the transplant floor.
  
  4. Coolidge Corner: This is a busy area of ethnic restaurants, coffee shops, bookstores, clothing stores and almost anything you need. It is located in the heart of Brookline. Walk up Longwood Ave. to Harvard St. Make a right and walk about ½ block to Beacon Street. Shops line Beacon St. and Harvard Ave. for several blocks in all directions. There is a great old time cinema – the Coolidge Corner Theater – with parking behind the theater.
   
• Neighborhood Restaurants:
  1. The Galleria has a food court with coffee shops, food stalls, and The Longwood Grill, a sit down full service restaurant with a bar.
  
  2. Rebecca’s Café is across from the Galleria on Brookline Ave. This is a great place for lunch or take out. They do not serve dinner and are closed.
  
  3. Bertucci’s at Children’s Hospital is located on the street behind BI East Campus. I think it is Blackfin Circle. This restaurant opened in the spring of 2004. They will deliver to the hospital or to the apartments.
  
  4. Sorrento’s is a good Italian restaurant near Star Market in the Fenway area. They deliver to hospital or apartments. Good pizza.
  
  5. Longhorn Steak House is located in the Landmark Center on Brookline Ave. going toward Fenway Park.
  
  6. Boca Grande: My favorite cheap eats. This Mexican restaurant is located on Beacon St. in Brookline across from the front entrance of Trader Joe’s. Try the chicken burrito!
  
  7. Libraries: The Coolidge Corner branch of the Brookline Public Library is just off of Beacon Street.