Residency relocation and families.

[Coleman]

Is there anyone looking into residency programs not only for their strengths but with a stong consideration of their location because of family ties?

How are you going about the decision process (i.e. at the final rank once all interviews are in . . )

For example, the programs in New York are very appealing however taking my wife and new baby there is the daunting aspect of it. Going someplace like Yale (which may or maynot be malignant depending on who you talk to) would afford a much easier living environment (cost, safety, etc.).

Granted, I know its a match and therefore must match each applicant independently, but for those of you in this situation, how are you approaching it?

Thanks.

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[futrEDdoc]

According to the PD's of all of the school I have interviewed at and my own school's PD - the number one reason cited for residents choosing a program is

LOCATION!!!

You have to take all things into consideration. If you wife and new baby have to live in a **** hole because you don't make enough money to afford a nice place because of an outrageous cost of living, that will make them miserable which will in turn make you miserable. Support and connections is a new town can make the transition to residency SOOOO much easier - especially giving your wife some to talk to when you start being absent all the time in the hospital.

My personal plan. I sat down with my significant other before doing applications and picked cities that we both agreed that we could live in. Now I am interviewing there and sometimes we travel to look at places to live.

When I am all done, I hope to have enough money leftover to make at least one "2nd look" visit - especially if it is driving distance.

Finally, conventional wisdom says that you can use all the criteria based assessment you want to - but it all comes down to "gut feeling". If you walk out of a place at the end of your interview and you have a funny feeling about it (bad kinda funny - not good kinda funny) that should tell you something. Don't rank any place that you are not absolutely willing to take your family to and live for 3-4 years.

Don't know if this was helpful at all.

Good luck.

 

[EMIMG]

They call it the match for a reason. You need to find a program that you fit into based on an educational, geographic, social, professional setting. If you have a SO, they will play a role in this decision.

With that being said, Just because a program is in a certain city does not mean that there are no safe places to live. A program can be in the most dangerous city in America; however, they will afford you a good salary on which to live, and there are plenty of affordable, good housing options nearby.

These are questions you need to ask on your interview trail. Also, ask if there are are other people in the program that have a similar social setting as you (i.e. in terms of kids, age of the kids, etc.). If you interview at a program and they only have people that are single, and you are married and have 2 kids, this is something to consider.

 

[Coleman]

Thanks for your responses, good advice.
I guess for those programs in areas not-so-desirable to live in I will just do some commuting. That's done alot from what I've heard.