Internship/Post-Doc Relocation Thread

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forcefive17

forcefive17

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Congrats to all who have matched! I matched to my #2 site and am beyond excited! However, after the excitement wore off, I've come to the realization that I'll be relocating to a brand new city far from home with little knowledge of the area. I thought it might be a good idea to start a thread about relocation with city tips etc. to support each other during the transition.

With that said, anyone have tips on moving to San Antonio, Texas?
 
I was surprised to match to my first choice. I don't think it was my best interview and I felt like I wasn't the most competitive applicant for the track. But then there it was and I couldn't be happier. But, like you, I realized rather quickly that it would mean an almost 3000 mile move. Anybody have tips on how to make a move like that? Is some kind of pod service better than renting a uhaul? What about getting an apartment? Do folks show up and hope to rent something quickly or blindly rent before making the trip? Any advice/ insight is appreciated.
 
I moved from NJ to West Texas. I drove. It was the worst ever. I packed up my SUV and my partner and I did the drive over 5 days. PODS and Uhauls are incredibly expensive for a long drive, so for us the most affordable option was to stash furniture at my parents and drive necessities down. We bought a cheap mattress and futon and craigslisted a coffee table and side table. We knew we would be moving back in a year so kept it minimal. The first time we saw our apartment was the day we moved in. Our property had a 'virtual tour' so we were able to see the place that way. I'm happy to provide more detailed advice etc for anyone who has questions.
 
O
Member6677 said:
I moved from NJ to West Texas. I drove. It was the worst ever. I packed up my SUV and my partner and I did the drive over 5 days. PODS and Uhauls are incredibly expensive for a long drive, so for us the most affordable option was to stash furniture at my parents and drive necessities down. We bought a cheap mattress and futon and craigslisted a coffee table and side table. We knew we would be moving back in a year so kept it minimal. The first time we saw our apartment was the day we moved in. Our property had a 'virtual tour' so we were able to see the place that way. I'm happy to provide more detailed advice etc for anyone who has questions.
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H man, I just can't imagine renting an apartment in a city with which I'm unfamiliar, without seeing it first.
 
NeuroLady said:
O

H man, I just can't imagine renting an apartment in a city with which I'm unfamiliar, without seeing it first.
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I know what you mean. Google is a pretty useful little thing. Esp street view! For me it was just too expensive and I was too busy with dissertation to warrant a trip just to see apartments. In some ways, if you matched you already said yes to the city.
 
Because I matched on a phone interview, it was SUPER important for me to see the city, so I flew out in April and met the training director, plus looked for an apartment. That was ultimately the easy part (note: you can ask the current interns/post-docs for advice, and many places have "intern apartments" that kind of get passed from intern to intern through the years). Moving, on the other hand, was obnoxious. I hired movers, which was the right decision for me (I knew no one on the receiving end to help me unload and I didn't have anyone to help me drive, plus I had no idea where I'd land after internship and thus needed to bring all my crap with me), but I did NOT use a good company. They were nice on the phone but showed up almost a week late (the day before my plane ticket to leave town) and were just awful.

My main piece of advice is SAVE YOUR RECEIPTS. I was able to deduct the moving expenses on taxes, which was actually a huge benefit.
 
Member6677 said:
I know what you mean. Google is a pretty useful little thing. Esp street view! For me it was just too expensive and I was too busy with dissertation to warrant a trip just to see apartments. In some ways, if you matched you already said yes to the city.
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I'm actually pretty excited about the city as well as the site... and you're right! I went for a "stroll" via Google street view this morning. :laugh:
 
I moved 3000 miles for grad school, but then I was single, pet-less, and could fit all my possessions inside a Honda Civic (with room for 1 passenger and her luggage). I drove cross-country, stopping for day outings every other day. I decided to room with another applicant I met on interview day. Neither one of us wanted to make a separate trip just to apartment hunt, so we identified sage neighborhoods on crime maps and found a well-reviewed apartment complex on Yelp. Everything worked out really well, considering! I'd say finding an apartment remotely is very feasibly nowadays. I'd caution against moving companies (poor timeliness, high cost) and UHaul (high incidence of trucks breaking down), and go with Penske instead.

This time, though, I am partnered, a parent to fur babies, own enough stuff to fill a 2-bedroom house, and am moving to a far further and more remote destination. How times have changed! =)
 
I relocated for internship this year.

Definitely take a weekend to go apt hunting and get a feel for the area.
 
psyched2graduate said:
What actually counts as moving expenses? Do you think paid credit card statements would suffice as receipts?
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Save your gas receipts, and hotel receipts, and food receipts from your travel days. Also, any money you spent on packing supplies/boxes. Unfortunately, it's not a huge tax write off when your salary is low because most people are already getting most of their taxes back as it is. But, doesn't hurt to try.
 
My car is too crappy to drive across the country so I probably have to ship it. Anyone have a good and affordable company they've used?

Is it a better idea to buy used furniture there than ship your current furniture over?

Also, for those who work in the VA, do you know anything about the Child Care Subsidy Program for VA employees? I wasn't able to find much info online. The VA website said to just contact your local HR office.

Thanks in advance for any advice!



Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile
 
forcefive17 said:
Congrats to all who have matched! I matched to my #2 site and am beyond excited! However, after the excitement wore off, I've come to the realization that I'll be relocating to a brand new city far from home with little knowledge of the area. I thought it might be a good idea to start a thread about relocation with city tips etc. to support each other during the transition.

With that said, anyone have tips on moving to San Antonio, Texas?
Click to expand...

Check out Reddit. Specifically, there will be a subreddit for the city you're moving to.
 
Miami and San Antonio both strike me as fun cities for internship. Feel free to send me messages, if anyone has specific questions about those places.

I've had a few people suggest the possibility of renting a furnished apartment for internship year, but it strikes me as unpleasant at this stage in my life. Still, it's something everyone can consider!
 
Happy to answer questions about Austin and Detroit. Congratulations to who made it through the internship/postdoc process!
 
futurecatlady said:
I've spent my whole life in the South. Winter in the Midwest should be....interesting.
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I found myself in the same situation... learned some hard lessons about winter. Important tip #1 - shovel the important parts of your driveway BEFORE you drive over it, which turns it into a sheet of ice. That was a hard lesson to learn, since my driveway was a hill and it absolutely had to be shoveled! And make sure the fluids in your car are OK for the temps you'll be experiencing. I got this cover that slid over my windshield which saved me from having to scrape it, and these little car-sock things that went over the side mirrors for the same, so that was awesome. An electric blanket was a nice thing to have, but my house was quite drafty- and serious snow boots were worth every penny. Best time to buy a mega-winter coat - probably right now - they'll be going on sale. But if you're in the deep south, you'll have to buy one online to get the kind you really need! Yeah, it was an experience for me. Even though I was told repeatedly it was a "mild" winter. But the rest of the year was awesome. I loved the midwest city where I was- considered staying, in fact, because I liked it so much, except.... winter. I'm back in the south now!
 
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I will be going to NY from California so if anyone has any questions about about Ca or thoughts about NY state, let me know!
 
singasongofjoy said:
I found myself in the same situation... learned some hard lessons about winter. Important tip #1 - shovel the important parts of your driveway BEFORE you drive over it, which turns it into a sheet of ice. Also, I got this car cover that slid over my windshield which saved me from having to scrape it, and these little car-sock things that went over the side mirrors for the same, so that was awesome. But better to find a place with a garage. Best time to buy a mega-winter coat - probably right now - they'll be going on sale. But if you're in the deep south, you'll have to buy one online to get the kind you really need! Yeah, it was an experience for me. Even though I was told repeatedly it was a "mild" winter. But the rest of hte year was awesome. I loved the midwest city where I was- considered staying, in fact, because I liked it so much, except.... winter. I'm back in the south now!
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How "wintery" are we talking for this? Like. Negative scary death temps or right around freezing?
 
NeuroLady said:
Do we need an excuse to adpot additional kitties?
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Never need an excuse!! 🙂 But if excuses are required, grad school was enough of an excuse for me... I somehow ended up with one cat for every year I was there (prior to internship). 4 cats.... too many? Never! .....except for when you are driving a car across the country with the 4 of them in the back seat and all of them queasy travelers. That... is the smell nightmares are made of.
 
singasongofjoy said:
Never need an excuse!! 🙂 But if excuses are required, grad school was enough of an excuse for me... I somehow ended up with one cat for every year I was there (prior to internship). 4 cats.... too many? Never! .....except for when you are driving a car across the country with the 4 of them in the back seat and all of them queasy travelers. That... is the smell nightmares are made of.
Click to expand...
:laugh::laugh:
 
NeuroLady said:
How "wintery" are we talking for this? Like. Negative scary death temps or right around freezing?
Click to expand...
A little colder than NYC I think but not like crazy Minnesota cold. There were some days that the highs were in the low teens, which meant to and from work it was sometimes a single degree, which my brain had a bit of a hard time comprehending. But not that many days that cold. Dec-Feb days the high was generally prob around mid 30s with lows from single digits to teens, with quite a few odd days with highs of 60+, hence everyone talking about the "mild" winter. I remember one Saturday that it was 70 degrees.... the happiest day of the winter!
 
singasongofjoy said:
I found myself in the same situation... learned some hard lessons about winter. Important tip #1 - shovel the important parts of your driveway BEFORE you drive over it, which turns it into a sheet of ice. That was a hard lesson to learn, since my driveway was a hill and it absolutely had to be shoveled! And make sure the fluids in your car are OK for the temps you'll be experiencing. I got this cover that slid over my windshield which saved me from having to scrape it, and these little car-sock things that went over the side mirrors for the same, so that was awesome. An electric blanket was a nice thing to have, but my house was quite drafty- and serious snow boots were worth every penny. Best time to buy a mega-winter coat - probably right now - they'll be going on sale. But if you're in the deep south, you'll have to buy one online to get the kind you really need! Yeah, it was an experience for me. Even though I was told repeatedly it was a "mild" winter. But the rest of the year was awesome. I loved the midwest city where I was- considered staying, in fact, because I liked it so much, except.... winter. I'm back in the south now!
Click to expand...
These are awesome tips! Thanks!

EDIT: I saw you mentioned "crazy Minnesota cold." Want to guess where I'm moving?
 
Happy to answer any questions for anyone moving to Chicago!
 
I am finding this weather conversation funny considering I've been living in the south for graduate school and cannot wait to get out of the heat and return to four seasons (yes, including winter) for internship :laugh:
 
futurecatlady said:
These are awesome tips! Thanks!

EDIT: I saw you mentioned "crazy Minnesota cold." Want to guess where I'm moving?
Click to expand...
lol oh no, haha!! well, it is just one year, you'll survive, and I hear it's gloriously beautiful in the warmer months 🙂 I have a friend from high school who spent his younger years in northern Minnesota and he would talk about a lake in his back yard that would freeze like 12-15 feet thick in the winter, then in May (when it was in the 50s so not terrible cold) when the ice had finally melted enough to break up into chunks, he and his siblings would raft out to the biggest one and plant a flag on it and try to row it around the lake. So there's that to look forward to, which sounds like a total blast 🙂 Maybe extreme cold will be such a novel experience that it will be kind of fun. And walking on the ice, skating, and skipping rocks on it (it makes a cool sound!) too. I had a layover in Minnesota during internship interviews and made my way outside for a few minutes. The cold was really like nothing I'd ever experienced before which made it a pretty awesome experience.... for the 5-10 minutes I experienced it 🙂

And one advantage of being in a place where there is snow on the ground is that all that pretty white reflecting gives you a bit more sunshine... I have a new appreciation for snow after last year. One of my adolescent clients with seasonal affective disorder and ASD had a super hard winter. At one point in the spring he was able to put into words that it had been a "terrible" winter because "there wasn't enough snow" (There were probably only 5 days total we had a decent snow cover, being a mild winter and all). I was confused, because it's not like he enjoys playing outside really, and I was of the opinion that any snow that required shoveling was too much. Then he elaborated on how it brightens everything up, including his mood. Pretty insightful, and gave me a new appreciation for snow! I'll think of him every time I see snow now. If it's going to be cold, I guess there might as well be snow!

Oh, another tip- I have an old car that did end up having some troubles with the climate change. My dad insisted I carry those little pocket hand warmers and one of those little emergency survival reflective blankets with me in case of emergency. Thankfully never had to use, but... smart idea!
 
kathygeiss said:
I am finding this weather conversation funny considering I've been living in the south for graduate school and cannot wait to get out of the heat and return to four seasons (yes, including winter) for internship :laugh:
Click to expand...
hahaha you and I have entirely different feelings about winter!! The thing I miss most about my gulf coast grad school days is the winters. My azaleas were blooming in February and I thought "oh, I could stay here forever...." lol I hope you enjoy your winter!
 
singasongofjoy said:
lol oh no, haha!! well, it is just one year, you'll survive, and I hear it's gloriously beautiful in the warmer months !
Click to expand...

The north isn't that bad!!! The thing about Minnesota in the winter is that people are actually outside. In the south, when it gets to be 20 degrees, people freak out (in part because they don't have the coats/boots for the weather, and southern towns don't always have great strategies for dealing with snow and ice on the roads). But in Minnesota? People are outside, walking their dogs, going skiing and snowboarding, sledding, making snowpeople...just get the proper gear and some cozy long underwear, and adventure outside! I always used to wait for the week that it would be high in the single digits, because after that, a high of 20 actually feels perfectly manageable. Sounds crazy, but it worked for me. And yes, the spring and summers are gloriously beautiful. 🙂
 
Minnesota is great. One of the best "outdoors" scenes in any of the places I have lived. As ER said, as long as you dress right, the cold is zero problem. Now, teh snow and ice if you're not used to driving on it, that's another story.
 
EmotRegulation said:
In the south, when it gets to be 20 degrees, people freak out (in part because they don't have the coats/boots for the weather, and southern towns don't always have great strategies for dealing with snow and ice on the roads). ...just get the proper gear and some cozy long underwear, and adventure outside! 🙂
Click to expand...
And by "don't always" you mean "never," lol. Takes that one snow plow a long time to get around the entire state, and school buses are not outfitted to work well in cold and non-rain precipitation.
WisNeuro said:
As ER said, as long as you dress right, the cold is zero problem. Now, teh snow and ice if you're not used to driving on it, that's another story.
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The driving part would definitely scare me.

I think both of you guys hit on the main problem southerners have when moving north - we have absolutely no concept of what proper layering is, e.g., 10 layers of cotton is still just cotton and not going to cut it. Serious question, what do you actually wear if you're going out in subzero weather? Other than the warmest-rated coat and boots you can find? In particular, do they make special gloves and socks for that kind of scenario? I could barely shovel my driveway in the low teens because my gloves were not doing the job. Had to keep running inside, peeling off my layers, warm up my hands, and then bundle up and rush back out for a few more minutes. How do you manage that?
 
You need a good warming base layer, like a fleece, after that, just a good 3-1 coat. Better to go nice on the coat than cheap. They are warmer and last forever. I swear by Columbia and North Face. And, if you get it from REI, they'll replace it if anything happens to it or you're not happy. Get some glove liners and some nice gloves. If your body isn't used to it, get some of those reusable heating pads and throw them in your glove on the back of your hand. And, wool socks.

I grew up in the MidWest and as properly dressed kids, we'd spend >8 hours a day playing outside in single digit weather. Just takes the right gear and some acclimation.
 
singasongofjoy said:
lol oh no, haha!! well, it is just one year, you'll survive, and I hear it's gloriously beautiful in the warmer months 🙂 I have a friend from high school who spent his younger years in northern Minnesota and he would talk about a lake in his back yard that would freeze like 12-15 feet thick in the winter, then in May (when it was in the 50s so not terrible cold) when the ice had finally melted enough to break up into chunks, he and his siblings would raft out to the biggest one and plant a flag on it and try to row it around the lake. So there's that to look forward to, which sounds like a total blast 🙂 Maybe extreme cold will be such a novel experience that it will be kind of fun. And walking on the ice, skating, and skipping rocks on it (it makes a cool sound!) too. I had a layover in Minnesota during internship interviews and made my way outside for a few minutes. The cold was really like nothing I'd ever experienced before which made it a pretty awesome experience.... for the 5-10 minutes I experienced it 🙂

And one advantage of being in a place where there is snow on the ground is that all that pretty white reflecting gives you a bit more sunshine... I have a new appreciation for snow after last year. One of my adolescent clients with seasonal affective disorder and ASD had a super hard winter. At one point in the spring he was able to put into words that it had been a "terrible" winter because "there wasn't enough snow" (There were probably only 5 days total we had a decent snow cover, being a mild winter and all). I was confused, because it's not like he enjoys playing outside really, and I was of the opinion that any snow that required shoveling was too much. Then he elaborated on how it brightens everything up, including his mood. Pretty insightful, and gave me a new appreciation for snow! I'll think of him every time I see snow now. If it's going to be cold, I guess there might as well be snow!

Oh, another tip- I have an old car that did end up having some troubles with the climate change. My dad insisted I carry those little pocket hand warmers and one of those little emergency survival reflective blankets with me in case of emergency. Thankfully never had to use, but... smart idea!
Click to expand...
I absolutely loved it there, but I didn't get to experience the negative temps...yet. I do want to try cross country skiing. I completely expect to the the odd individual completely bundled up when it's 50 degrees outside and have strangers in shorts staring at me oddly.

I appreciate all the awesome advice!
 
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singasongofjoy said:
hahaha you and I have entirely different feelings about winter!! The thing I miss most about my gulf coast grad school days is the winters. My azaleas were blooming in February and I thought "oh, I could stay here forever...." lol I hope you enjoy your winter!
Click to expand...

Haha yes we do! Totally enjoying this thread because of that. I've been dreaming of getting out of the oppressive heat all year. I'm really looking forward to experiencing spring and fall again- here, it's summer almost year round, and it's SO hot and humid that it's hard (for me) to enjoy it. I already have my ankle-length down coat purchased for once winter comes 🙂 This convo reminds me of one of my favorite sayings- There's a lid for every pot 🙂
 
Here's something I really need help with that was mentioned earlier in this thread- Any tips for transporting two car-adverse felines cross country?! @singasongofjoy sounds like you may have learned through trial and error, haha
 
WisNeuro said:
as properly dressed kids, we'd spend >8 hours a day playing outside in single digit weather. Just takes the right gear and some acclimation.
Click to expand...

Yep- same thing growing up in Western Mass. Dress properly and enjoy winter. What a great chance to try something new- cross country skiing, snowshoeing, sledding, ice drinking/fishing. Make friends with someone with a fire pit- cheaper than going out to bars. That said, it's 70 degrees out today (still February) as I type this, still in W. Mass (and literally down the hill from a VA with an internship program, if anybody needs more info).

Do remember that even in the northernmost reaches of the lower 48, winter only lasts 3-4 months at most elevations. Summers in New England- especially away from the coast and in the metropolitan heat sinks- can be miserably hot an humid for a at least a few weeks per year, and uncomfortably humid for several more weeks. There's a pretty good chance that Your crappy intern apartment does not come with central air, and a window unit is on your own dime. You might find the dozen or so 90+ degree, 80% plus humidity days without ac worse than the increasingly infrequent sub 20 degree days. Winter is fun, fall is awesome, spring is pleasant, summer is ok, imho.
 
kathygeiss said:
Here's something I really need help with that was mentioned earlier in this thread- Any tips for transporting two car-adverse felines cross country?! @singasongofjoy sounds like you may have learned through trial and error, haha
Click to expand...
It's not ideal, but when I travel with my cat, I have my vet prescribe him acepromazine. It doesn't knock him out but does sedate him quite a bit, which is better for him than freaking out for 8+ hours...
 
kathygeiss said:
Here's something I really need help with that was mentioned earlier in this thread- Any tips for transporting two car-adverse felines cross country?! @singasongofjoy sounds like you may have learned through trial and error, haha
Click to expand...
Oh boy... good luck! Meds definitely help- but give them a trial once before. I once had a cat who had a paradoxical reaction to benzodiazepines so that was def good to know. Pill pockets are a genius invention but only 2 of my cats will eat them- one had been a stray who I guess learned by trial and error to be extremely wary of eating anything new so after the first time she had a pill pocket and felt "different" after she would never eat one again, and the other is just a picky, tiny, whiny deva with lungs you wouldn't believe (she inevitably screams herself hoarse on any car ride longer than a few hours).

Don't give them food for 10 hours before (or if you do, just a little) and limit water the several hours before also. Even so, i have always had at least one with issues- the whiny one always pees 🙁 (and sometimes worse). I put layers of towels in the bottom of the carriers that I could throw away later but I am too terrified of them escaping or crawling under the seat to let them out mid-travels to address the issue- afraid they would dart out when I opened the door.

I shut them in separate rooms before trying to put them in carriers so they don't stress out when they see what's coming. Some vet techs I know bring a disposable pan and a little cat litter to let the cats out partway through the trip but I ended up with a cat who refused to come out from under the seat once so that was the last time I tried that.

Putting the carrier up on its end and lowering the cat into it works for resistant cats though one of mine will do anything for a treat so she is easy to just lure in there. I also leave the carriers out in the middle of the floor for a couple of days before so they don't freak out as soon as I bring them in the room to shove the cats in.

Finally, I stick headphones in one ear to drown out some of the noise, ride w the windows down to drown out the smell, and try to stop as little as possible. If traveling alone I leave the windows cracked, park in the shade, and run into the rest stops as fast as possible with a note on the windshield saying I'll be back in 5 lest any passers-by worry they are going to overheat in the car, or I have locked the keys in the car with it running using a spare set if it's actually warmish outside (again leaving a note).

I dread it for days every time, but the worst part is just getting them into the carriers- the rest of it i can eventually block out 🙂 hopefully your cats are a little less neurotic than my one troublemaker who accounts for 80% of my cat-moving stress.

Good luck-- hope it goes well, and as long as you all get there in one living piece, it's a success 🙂
 
Has anyone lived in the Baltimore area? I will be moving there in August for postdoc.
 
I've traveled back and forth across the country with my two felines several times now (this field has taken me some places). Best purchase hands down was a travel tube (can find by Amazon search). About a month or so before travel I set it up with their favorite blankets and toys so they get acclimated and then there's no problem closing it up and putting it in the back seat. Easy enough to take in hotel rooms too if your traveling cross country.


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