As a young graduate working at non-profits across India, bringing about change that I believed was positive for the world was my primary driving force. This was before I began questioning what exactly the nature of this desired change was, who it intended to benefit and why this was my goal. Regardless, it was a useful exercise to ask the people I interacted with to describe the biggest changes they were thankful for in their lifetime. The answers to this question were unsatisfactory at first given they had no common themes or patterns. Eventually, I came to accept that change means different things for different people and comes in different timeframes, initiated by different sources, many of which are seemingly unintentional.

I completed a program in Computer Science and Public Policy from the University of Chicago and now work at a mid-sized fintech as a Software Engineer. How and why that came to be is a story for another day. What did it take though to get here? Software engineering is usually the natural culmination for many who study Computer Science. But what about folks like me who had no formal CS background and whose work experience in disparate sectors like policy and non-profits remain irrelevant to tech?

I moved to Chicago in September 2019 to pursue my Masters at UChicago. Like most other students I lived in Hyde Park for the duration of my program. The two years in this sheltered university bubble on the south side of Chicago went by rather peacefully. Every year hundreds of students move into this neighbourhood replacing the new graduates who find employment elsewhere. Hunting for apartments here can be stressful especially for international students who often finalize housing remotely while balancing limited finances and public safety concerns. I hope to provide some pointers to students, especially international students, on choosing a good apartment and block in this area.