Living at home vs. Apartment close to school

[anonymous__MD]

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I’m an incoming first year and have to decide between renting an apartment near campus (1 hour round trip) vs. living at home (3 hour round trip by public transit). I have mandatory in-person lectures everyday with social distancing (some are half-days, some are full 8-5).

Renting an apartment: pro is closer distance to school; cons are rent and roommates

Living at home: pros are rent-free, quiet, parents are very understanding of med school demands; con is long commute by public transit

Note: Need to decide strictly between these 2 options within the week due to time constraints. Have no problem with studying on public transit.

 

[7331poas]

how the hell is an "apartment near campus" a 1 hour round trip transit time?

But yeah, 3 hours of travel each day is not doable.

 

[ciestar]

Omg, no. Three hours of commute a day is ridiculous. You’re also relying on public transportation which at times can be unreliable. Here with covid, public transit was greatly restricted and has limited service hours.

 

[AnonymousDoctorGuyPerson]

Only a M0, but I know someone who commuted to school 3hrs each day via public transport (1.5hr each way). While it's a lot of time, to them it was def worth the money saved and since they weren't driving they did a lot of work on the subway.

Just thought I'd offer a counterpoint.

 

[Miles Gloriosus]

If gonna do 3 hrs commute on public transit then you will need to make a strong commitment to use that time wisely like listen to lectures, read, etc...

 

[FalconSlice]

Omg, no. Three hours of commute a day is ridiculous. You’re also relying on public transportation which at times can be unreliable. Here with covid, public transit was greatly restricted and has limited service hours.

1 hour round trip which I take to mean 30 min each way door-to-door isn't that bad? Probably my higher end of comfort especially if on clinicals but still

 

[M&L]

I would stay at home and use commuting as study time , and then revisit for the next school year . I think with covid a lot of stuff will be online anyway . Plus it will force you to study .

 

[Styrene]

My apartment was 8 minutes from hospital. Loved it. My place for residency is 12 minutes from hospital. All my co-interns also live within 12-15 min from the hospital.

 

[ciestar]

1 hour round trip which I take to mean 30 min each way door-to-door isn't that bad? Probably my higher end of comfort especially if on clinicals but still

My current commute is ~20 min each way and it sucks after a call night lol

otherwise, not bad at all

 

[M&L]

My current commute is ~20 min each way and it sucks after a call night lol

otherwise, not bad at all

OP will be first year though ,......

 

[ciestar]

OP will be first year though ,......

I understand that. I was replying to someone else.

Either way, time is valuable, especially the further in you get.

 

[Fidelio17]

Find a closer apartment. The money saved won't be worth the drop in class rank / extra stress from lost study time.

Your COA from your school should allow you to take out enough in loans to cover living expenses for a studio or 1bd, unless you're in a really high COL area?

 

[deleted1005514]

How does your new school get away with mandatory in person lectures right now? I thought almost all schools were moving pre-clinical to an online format due to social distancing restrictions inside buildings.

 

[readmypostsMD]

You’ll be spending about 22 days (yes, full days) commuting per 2 semesters if you add up all the transit time

so you’re close to losing 1 entire month of your life to smelling the cool, but smelly homeless dude on the bus

 

[AnonymousDoctorGuyPerson]

You’ll be spending about 22 days (yes, full days) commuting per 2 semesters if you add up all the transit time

so you’re close to losing 1 entire month of your life to smelling the cool, but smelly homeless dude on the bus

It's public transport, though. That can be 22 full days of studying and smashing that spacebar. Some of us also enjoy public transport, but that's definitely to each their own haha.

Either way, I'd still recommend moving closer unless money is a huge issue, and by that I mean an already large pre-existing loan burden you're not trying to add more on to.

 

[Fatalis]

I’m an incoming first year and have to decide between renting an apartment near campus (1 hour round trip) vs. living at home (3 hour round trip by public transit). I have mandatory in-person lectures everyday with social distancing (some are half-days, some are full 8-5).

Renting an apartment: pro is closer distance to school; cons are rent and roommates

Living at home: pros are rent-free, quiet, parents are very understanding of med school demands; con is long commute by public transit

Note: Need to decide strictly between these 2 options within the week due to time constraints. Have no problem with studying on public transit.

rent apartment; 3hr commute may not seem bad but in med school that is a HUGE waste of time!

 

[deleted889094]

Let's not forget that living hours away will make it harder to do stuff with friends, etc. You may regret that if you are prone to FOMO

 

[NonTrad16]

Lived an hour away for M1-2. Was a huge time sink. Add 30-60 minutes for such a long commune for delays, walking/driving to the stations/school. I was never all that productive, and think I would have done better overall had I not commuted so far. Additionally, it’s isolating from school if that’s a concern.

I’d vote apartment.

 

[watermelon master]

How about neither option? I wouldn’t live farther than a 15 minute commute.

 

[Vyzzle]

I took the subway ~1.5hr each way during my preclinical years. Got pretty much all my work done on my commute so 3hrs or 3-minutes, it didn't matter since the time was going to be used anyways.

n = 1, but for me, I'm in the top quartile because I commuted haha. I forced myself to be in a location where I couldn't really do much else but study. I also just focus better in chaotic moving environments though so that's me. So it benefited my grades and my wallet (rent was 3x cheaper than the area around my school).

 

[ace_inhibitor111]

You’ll be spending about 22 days (yes, full days) commuting per 2 semesters if you add up all the transit time

so you’re close to losing 1 entire month of your life to smelling the cool, but smelly homeless dude on the bus

Although with the money saved it’s like being paid $22/hr to sit on a bus.

 

[readmypostsMD]

Although with the money saved it’s like being paid $22/hr to sit on a bus.

well ****

 

[Goro]

I’m an incoming first year and have to decide between renting an apartment near campus (1 hour round trip) vs. living at home (3 hour round trip by public transit). I have mandatory in-person lectures everyday with social distancing (some are half-days, some are full 8-5).

Renting an apartment: pro is closer distance to school; cons are rent and roommates

Living at home: pros are rent-free, quiet, parents are very understanding of med school demands; con is long commute by public transit

Note: Need to decide strictly between these 2 options within the week due to time constraints. Have no problem with studying on public transit.

The lost time in transit alone merits getting your own place. You can stay with your folks on weekends.

I have seen too many medical career cratered by people who tried to do school with long commutes. I can't recommend it, even in the age of COVID.

 

[deleted889094]

Although with the money saved it’s like being paid $22/hr to sit on a bus.

I would pay the $22/hr to not have to sit on a bus.

Plus, living close to campus is huge. I live like 7 min away and getting out of class early is so much better when you can just dash on home without feeling like you commuted 3 hrs for like one class.

 

[Wahkoon]

The answer is always closer – live inside the school if you can

 

[LunaOri]

If you will not be able to socialize with your classmates due to the pandemic, and your parents will house and feed you, I'd say stay at home for the first year. Get all your studying done while you commute. If the commute is too tough, you can always find yourself an apartment closer to campus. By the second year, you may have found roommates with whom to share the costs.

 

[readmypostsMD]

The answer is always closer – live inside the school if you can

lecture hall:

“why is that ceiling tile moving, Betty?”

*first aid falls from ceiling*

“oh nvm it’s just anonymous_MD”