that is a nice city. enjoy it. and about the locks Kryptonite new york 3000 u-lock which will run about $70(us) which includes shipping they also have some other locks that are about $40 or so. i'm also a student and i scraped for the new york 3000 u lock. kryptonite.com they have a scale of strength on the bottom of every product. the new york u-lock is the strongest u-lock. and i would strap my backpack to a rack. it is worth it.