Commuting to medical school

[viralhiker]

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Right now I am starting to look for housing for my upcoming M1 year. My partner and I live together, and she is a nurse at a hospital that she is very happy working at. My medical school is about 80 minutes from her hospital. We are currently looking at apartments/condos smack dab in the middle of our two commutes.

This would end up being a 35-50 minute commute for each of us one way.

Is this doable? Everything I see online has me feel pretty anxious for planning to commute such a distance to med school. Luckily, the M3/M4 rotations would be closer to our planned living area, if we decide to live in our hypothetical location all four years.

 

[deleted555445]

you'll probably get more luck asking this in the med student forum rather than the pre-med one.

i will just throw in my 2c and say that I've had an hour each way commute to work for the last 3 years and its been a struggle. it can be very frustrating to lose sleep or relaxing time (or study time in med school) in order to sit in traffic. i do it so my partner can have a short drive to her PhD program, but i don't think i would be able to do it every day in med school. as you're the student, i would say try to see if your partner would accept a longer commute to allow you to have a shorter one. otherwise, you could always live apart for the preclinical years and come back for the clinical years. if i go to school in my current region, the closest one is just about 1.25 hours from my current apartment, so i would probably end up moving out.

one caveat i'll add: it probably depends on how much time you need to be there in person during the preclinical years. if students are only going in twice a week, it would probably be doable.

 

[EdgeTrimmer]

Are you planning to drive or take public transportation?

 

[viralhiker]

Are you planning to drive or take public transportation?

Drive

 

[Angus Avagadro]

Can't get much done in the car. Public trans might be problematic if things are crowded, can't find a seat, etc. Maybe take a trial run on public transportation and see how it goes? OOPS! Your post just popped up.

 

[EdgeTrimmer]

Drive

That may be tough and also factor in parking fees if you are in a big city.

 

[viralhiker]

It looks like options we may settle on are around 35 mins from door to parking lot. No parking fees (included in CoA).

 

[EdgeTrimmer]

It looks like options we may settle on are around 35 mins from door to parking lot. No parking fees (included in CoA).

35 minutes is not bad.

 

[RespectTheChemistry]

It looks like options we may settle on are around 35 mins from door to parking lot. No parking fees (included in CoA).

That seems reasonable to me, especially because you can drink your coffee and have some "me" time on the way there.

 

[nibhighfootballrules]

I know everyone says driving is sunk time where you can't study but has anyone ever listened to lectures or even voice recorded notes while commuting to school? I recently got into audiobooks while driving and I feel like it could translate favorably into listening to lectures while commuting to school.

 

[viralhiker]

35 minutes is not bad.

That seems reasonable to me, especially because you can drink your coffee and have some "me" time on the way there.

Thank you both! Makes me feel better about this choice

 

[deleted555445]

Thank you both! Makes me feel better about this choice

i agree 35 minutes isn't bad. but make sure you take that drive a few times during rush hour to confirm! my drive can be 25 minutes without traffic, but i need at least an hour between 7-10am

edit: i'll also second the audiobook recommendation. i "read" 50 books in my first year of my commute lol

 

[LunaOri]

Consider getting a room in a shared house or apartment close to your school, and spending a few nights a week there. Especially in bad weather, or when you have late classes or study sessions, it's good to have a place to sleep.

 

[viralhiker]

Consider getting a room in a shared house or apartment close to your school, and spending a few nights a week there. Especially in bad weather, or when you have late classes or study sessions, it's good to have a place to sleep.

Good idea, but head over to my “600k of loan debt” thread to see why renting at two places isn’t quite feasible for me 😂

Hopefully I’ll make friends with some kind souls who’ll let me crash on their couch if need be!

 

[parscompacta56]

35 min seems doable and worth your spouse keeping a job that brings in a solid income and brings them happiness!

 

[lanadelgay124]

I know several students who currently do this, and it's been absolutely doable for them, and worth it to live with their partners. YMMV (literally) depending on how heavy traffic is in the city you're talking about, but in general this is not unreasonable.

 

[TragicalDrFaust]

At my school we usually only have to be on campus 2 or 3 days per week but it could be every day if it’s a dissection heavy block. Can you check in with upperclassmen, admissions or administration about what a typically schedule is like for M1s at your school? Assuming lectures aren’t mandatory, 35 minutes is definitely doable. Several of my classmates live with their parents in the nearby city and commute that length of time. They’re doing pretty well in class. Also consider that you’re losing time in commuting but you, unlike your classmates who live 5 mins away from school, have a partner who can help with household duties and food preparation so you might be making the time back compared to people who’ve told you spending an hour commuting could be an issue.