non medical question from med student whats the best locations to work and live in

[MD2b20004]

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I am on an extended medical leave of absence, god knows if i will ever be on these pills. Read my threads and you will know what i am talking about. For now i been on disability for a year or more, now i am ok enough to work until i figure out if i can tough it out and go back to med school. Pfizer is interviewing me for a Pharm rep position. I live in the midwest, all the midwest spots are full, they asked if I can relocate, but i havent traveled alot. I was thinking Florida, California, and New York will be states I will consider. Anyone from these states please tell me what cities are the best to live and work in and which ones to avoid and why.

Thanks for your info and help.

Mike

 

[Telemachus]

Well, I can try to give some advice about CA.... but the state is so large, and there are very large differences from area to area, and even within areas. If you can speculate as to possible cities I may be able to give better advice. Also what factors you think are important (housing costs, traffic, schools, recreation, etc.) But here are some generalizations about the biggest population centers:

Sacramento -- medium sized city with a small town feel, surrounded by rural area, moderate cost of living
SF Bay Area -- very diverse, important factors vary from community to community but overall moderate traffic and high cost of living
LA/Orange County -- bad traffic, high cost of living, moderate smog but otherwise good weather
Inland Empire (urban/suburban sprawl inland -- east -- of LA), a.k.a. Riverside/San Bernadino -- terrible smog, moderate to bad traffic, better cost of living than areas closer to LA
San Diego -- consistently good weather, moderate to high cost of living, moderate traffic

What's good or bad depends on what you are looking for, what your priorities are, what the possible places are.

Overall, CA has great recreation opportunities, good weather, ethnic diversity, moderate to high cost of living especially housing. But every factor varies HUGELY from city to city, and this is a really big state, so whatever you are looking for is probably here somewhere -- but maybe/maybe not in the cities where they are thinking of sending you.

 

[UCLA2000]

San Diego is paradise. Gorgeous weather, beautiful people, amazing ocean. Everyone is laid back. It is somewhat expensive

LA: smog, pollution, traffic, beautiful weather, people are a little more stuck up

OC: beautiful area, people live in a bubble, high cost of living

 

[MD2b20004]

Thanks guys, anyone else from other States or cities I listed that can give some insight.

Thanks,
Mike

 

[size_tens]

San Diego is paradise. Gorgeous weather, beautiful people, amazing ocean. Everyone is laid back. It is somewhat expensive

I would agree with this. After living in San Diego for 12 years, then moving out to the midwest for med school, I've become terribly homesick. In particular the coastal parts of San Diego are unbeatable. For comparison's sake, I honestly do not see any advantages to living in the midwest except for cost of living.

 

[Radiohead]

The Southeast US has probably the lowest COL, and has pretty scenery as well. I am in GA now, and am currently applying to EM residencies. Thus, I am in a similar situation where I am looking for a managable place to live on a resident's salary. I have been talking to current EM residents who are telling me that there are jobs in GA (around Atlanta) that are starting over 300k. This is compared to a nat'l avg of 200-220. I would only assume that Pharm reps are doing as well. So, if Cali isn't your thing (which it isn't mine) check out the Southeast.