Enough Pay during residency?

[Shunnar]

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So I am an IMG who will be going for the match 2015....
There is a good chance for me to get engaged and married before residency or by the end of the first year, and most probably my wife won't be able to work because she'd be a graduate of a foreign university.......so I want to know if the benefits and compensation during residency are enough to have a good life with a wife? Taking in consideration I won't have any loans or extra money to pay, just everyday's life expenses

 

[shan564]

Live in the Midwest, and you'll be able to live pretty comfortably. Live in New York and your wife will have to find some sort of odd jobs somewhere.

 

[deleted480308]

"Good" life is a subjective term. You can live anywhere on that salary with a wife but will have a tight budget in some areas. The question is can you and your wife tolerate living like poor people for a few years before you get wealthy.

 

[Dejavu]

"Good" life is a subjective term. You can live anywhere on that salary with a wife but will have a tight budget in some areas. The question is can you and your wife tolerate living like poor people for a few years before you get wealthy.

This.

My wife didn't work during residency either. But we still had a cleaning lady come every other week (QOweek?).

But we went to garage sales for entertainment on the weekends, if that gives you an idea about life on one resident salary.

 

[norwood]

This.

My wife didn't work during residency either. But we still had a cleaning lady come every other week (QOweek?).

But we went to garage sales for entertainment on the weekends, if that gives you an idea about life on one resident salary.

Agree.

It all depends on where you end up, and what standard of living you have in mind. But if you're willing to live a modest life (including, as Dejavu mentioned, the area you choose) and forgo expensive luxuries, yes, it's quite possible to be married as a resident.

Keep in mind that you will need a very understanding wife; you're going to be working long hours, you're going to be tired a lot, and even when you're home, much of your time will be spent studying. As you mentioned, she will encounter difficulties finding work, so you will also need someone who's OK with this.

The main work problem for a wife would not be her diploma from a foreign school, but her citizenship or work-visa status - assuming that you're not a US citizen?

 

[Thama]

You can live quite comfortably in a small city in the Southeast or Midwest on a resident's salary. NYC/Boston/Chicago/LA/SF are a very different matter.

In a lot of ways, college towns are your best bet to live cheaply (think Charlottesville, Chapel Hill, Ann Arbor, etc). They usually have affordable housing nearby, enough things to do that don't cost much money, reasonably priced restaurants, and tend to be pretty safe and well-maintained.

 

[shan564]

In a lot of ways, college towns are your best bet to live cheaply (think Charlottesville, Chapel Hill, Ann Arbor, etc). They usually have affordable housing nearby, enough things to do that don't cost much money, reasonably priced restaurants, and tend to be pretty safe and well-maintained.

There are a lot of larger cities that would be pretty affordable also. St. Louis, Houston, Dallas, Kansas City, etc.

Currently, I'm living very comfortably on a PGY1 salary in St. Louis, despite having bought a 3-bedroom house (in one of the most desirable parts of the city), having a pretty substantial student loan burden, and spending way more than the necessary amount on food.

My parents lived on a slightly higher salary (maybe 20% more) for several years (this is recent enough so that there hasn't been much inflation), and maintained a 4-bedroom house, fed my brother, etc. St. Louis ftw.

 

[gutonc]

There are a lot of larger cities that would be pretty affordable also. St. Louis, Houston, Dallas, Kansas City, etc.

Currently, I'm living very comfortably on a PGY1 salary in St. Louis, despite having bought a 3-bedroom house (in one of the most desirable parts of the city), having a pretty substantial student loan burden, and spending way more than the necessary amount on food.

My parents lived on a slightly higher salary (maybe 20% more) for several years (this is recent enough so that there hasn't been much inflation), and maintained a 4-bedroom house, fed my brother, etc. St. Louis ftw.

For COL, yes. For everything else, STL FTL. You couldn't pay me enough to move back there.

 

[shan564]

For COL, yes. For everything else, STL FTL. You couldn't pay me enough to move back there.

Ha... after spending four years in a much more exciting place (Sydney), I'm actually pretty happy with the MIdwest. Friendly people, calm pace, benign traffic, no natural disasters, and the Cardinals are about to win the World Series again. It's not as exciting as some other places, but I barely have time for excitement during residency anyway. I spend 98% of my time in the hospital or in my house (or walking/driving between those two places)... it's not worth living in a more exciting place just so that I can have a bit more selection for what do to with the other 2% of my time. Plus, if you're at WashU, the Central West End is a much nicer/more exciting area than the areas around a lot of the other hospitals where I interviewed.

 

[Kahreek]

college towns sound's nice, whats the catch

 

[Thama]

college towns sound's nice, whats the catch

You're in a town, not a big city. Where I live, you drive 15 minutes in 3 out of 4 cardinal directions and you see cows and fields.

As little as I'll ever understand the kind of vapid, ADD-afflicted person who thinks that all life outside of NYC or LA is *just SO boring*, those people do exist and should probably stick to their native habitat.

 

[x1052]

college towns sound's nice, whats the catch

undergrads

 

[dragonfly99]

there's no "catch" with college towns. It's just that there are a lot of universities (particularly state sponsored universities) in the United States that are not located in really big cities like NYC, Los Angeles, Chicago, etc. And because of having the university there in the town or small city, you have in general a more educated general population, probably a fairly good sized middle class, yet maybe not as many super rich people and definitely not as much competition for houses and apartments as you would in somewhere like NYC, SF, Los Angeles. Because of that you could rent a house or apartment for much less. Residency salary will be much the same no matter what city you are living in...in other words, you won't get paid a lot more because you work in NYC or LA as a resident...you would get a similar salary in Iowa or Virginia, as NYC Or SF or one of those expensive cities. You partly have to decide what you want and are willing to tolerate. If you are in some small town in the Midwest or South and you are the only Indian guy in your residency, maybe that's OK if you feel adventurous and you are outgoing, but maybe not so Ok if you feel too culture shocked, or you can't find restaurants that you like, etc. Also if you were born and raised in some big, bustling city, some people cannot get used to the smaller town life easily. Some of us who didn't grow up dealing with it also have trouble getting used to things in the big city...for example, trying to drive in Chicago really scared the crap out of me...I felt like I was in a video game...Spy Hunter or Frogger or something.

 

[yaah]

US median household income in 2012 was $50,500. Resident salary is similar.

The question is not whether you "can" support you and your wife on the median US salary, because clearly you can. The question is whether it is enough to support your chosen lifestyle. That is something no one here can answer. You need to go through your monthly payments and obligations.

 

[DCBFan]

I know a guy who's a PGY-2 with 200K debt, three young kids and a wife who doesn't work (well, outside the home at least). They live frugally but very comfortably.

You'll be fine.

Residency is actually pretty well compensated. When I'm a resident I'll be making more per year than my parents or any of my siblings do. As yaah posted, it's essentially the same as the median household income in America.

 

[Shikima]

You'll barely make ends meet with the cost of living life. Don't expect steak and lobster, rather hamburger helper and a glass of milk.

If you do have student loans, those will be placed on deferment and continue to gather more and more interest debt.

 

[NRAI2001]

Like others have said... most places you can live pretty well with a residents salary ~$50k, plus you get benefits and some places even free meals or cheap housing.... but in NYC... 2/3 of your salary will be going to rent... unless if you re willing to live in a high crime area..IMO I dont mind living in a "less nice" place, but I dont want to live in a high crime area..

 

[cabinbuilder]

Yes, I supported a family of 4 and bought a house in residency. Had to watch my spending but we lived quite well. I did have the kids on the reduced cost school lunch plan do to low income but didn't need any other assistance beyond that. We lived by the beach so did a lot of beach time and took the kids to the dollar theater.

 

[Postictal Raiden]

I'm not a resident but I'm a head of household. My family, consists of 3 people, survive on less than 3000 a month living in SoCal. More than a third of my income goes to rent alone. We live comfortablly though. We eat whatever we want, pay for two cellphones, drive a decent car and even have Disneyland annual passes. Resident's pay will be an upgrade for us!

 

[mehc012]

college towns sound nice, what's the catch?

undergrads

This x1000. Freshmen walking in packs everywhere, seasonal traffic variation, the cheap parts of town are full of undergrads, and certain streets are known for their frequent vomit piles. Also freshmen. walking. in. packs. everywhere. And law students being PITA neighbors.

The good? Lots of libraries, good public schools for your kids (all the university faculty kids can really change the public school demographic), cheap everything (especially furniture, if you wait until 'moving out time' for the seniors before you buy), good transit services, usually a reasonable hospital. The food is usually good on the whole range from 'cheap college takeout' to 'rich parents in town' levels.

 

[Leforte]

I had a wife and a daughter in residency. My wife was a stay at home mom. We lived in a large Midwest city, owned our own home, had two used (and paid for) cars and lived comfortably, although clearly on a tight budget. My salary (from 2004-2009) ranged from $36k - $45k when I graduated. We rarely ate out (more because I was at work) - but I think that with good planning you can have a very nice lifestyle, provided your needs aren't expensive.

 

[Shunnar]

Thank you sommuch you very helpful and your answers relieved my anxiety 😀