Greetings all, and happy Friday! With the school year finally winding down, the arrival of a weekend is becoming more and more welcomed, as I'm starting to have more and more free time to look around town and enjoy Cambridge before I leave for the US. It's also a great time for me to spend time with the friends I've made and also (unfortunately) prepare my good-byes to them as well in a couple of weeks. Can it already be June!? It feels like October was only yesterday. Ah, the nostalgia is already getting to me, and I'm not even back across the pond yet! :)
If I can put my feelings in check for just a bit, I wanted to use this post address to something that has been quite important to my day-to-day function during my time here, and that is shopping! I'm not 100% sure why this is the case, but I did a lot more shopping here in Cambridge than I have at MIT in the past two years! There were many days when I would go out into town to buy things, whether it be food or a new roll of paper towels / tissues. I think it may be because I didn't order some items in bulk like I did at MIT (e.g. paper towels). That is partially due to practical considerations - our rooms will get cleaned out as soon as we leave, even during vacation. There's no practical use with lugging around extra toiletries / supplies when I could just wait to finish moving before purchasing any additional items.
Regardless of those circumstances, there is one time of year when I'm pretty sure you will need to go shopping, and that is at the beginning of the year. As I've mentioned before, packing minimally and buying all of your supplies upon arrival is probably the best course of action. Appliances are largely incompatible due to the plugs (unless you want to bring a ton of converters), and even things like hole-punchers do not line up (they don't have three-hole punching). So, without further ado, here are some of the places I would recommend going to:
1) Boots
I went here quite often during the school year, and they are quite prevalent throughout Cambridge. This is a good place to purchase toiletries, medication, beauty products, and even food (though probably other places are better for that)! They also have a rewards program (just get a Boots card as soon as you arrive), so you can rack up tons of points and even use them to make purchases in the future.
2) Sainsburys
I went here quite often during the school year as well, as they are also quite prevalent throughout Cambridge. This is a good place to purchase food (and alcohol ;) and occasionally other items such as detergent and garbage bags. They also have a rewards program similar to Boots', so get a Sainburys card as soon as you arrive too.
3) Superdrug
I did not go here too often, as the Boots + Sainsburys combo often did the job, but this is more for medications, toiletry items, and beauty products. If you do go here often, join their rewards program (these programs are almost without saying nowadays!) to rack up points and get discounts.
4) Staples and Ryman
These are good places to buy school supplies, though Staples offers a much larger selection of items. I would suggest trying Ryman first (they're probably closer and also give you a discount for being a Cambridge student) before heading out to Staples.
5) Grand Arcade
This is a giant mall (see picture above) that houses everything from a Krispy Kreme store (never saw one of those before!) to phone carriers (Three, Vodafone) to shopping retailers like John Lewis (good for home appliances such as rugs and fans) to tech stores like Apple and Microsoft. Oh and I did mention there were food places there as well? Even if you don't need that many things from here, it's still worth checking out since it is quite large compared to most stores in the near vicinity.
6) Mark & Spencer
Generally, most Mark & Spencer establishments are more like a supermarket (similar to Sainsburys) BUT they also have a clothing retail store down in Market Square (the giant open market area near King's College). That clothing store is known for selling relatively cheap clothing, including formal wear such as bow-ties. If you're like me and didn't bring one to Cambridge, that's the place to go! :)
Now is this an exhaustive list? Most certainly not, but these were the major stores / retailers that I've used and relied out throughout the vast majority of my time here at Cambridge. We should not also overlook the smaller stores that line King's Parade or the open-air market in Market Square. For the newly-arrived CME student, these are all different choices for you to explore. I don't expect your list to be exactly the same as mine if you were writing this post, but like me, you should be aware of the options. Also, don't be afraid to ask other, more seasoned Cambridge students where they go for shopping! They are the best (and most up-to-date) sources of information on this matter when you arrive.