Well, hopefully this will be a little more uplifting than that last post
My husband and I have known each other forever (since middle school) and I am currently a fourth year MD student, he is a fourth year PhD student. We are at different schools in the same city. We dated through college and got engaged during the spring semester of my first year of medical school. We married during our winter breaks of second year. Now, I haven't started residency yet, but honestly things have worked out well for us and we survived med school which is something. It hasn't always been easy--for example, there is only one program for my specialty in this city and my husband still has a couple more years in his PhD so I essentially had to match at this one program or risk being apart for 2+ years. You may find yourself in a similar situation where one person has to compromise on their career dreams at least temporarily--for me, it was a no-brainer. How could a slightly more prestigous residency program possibly compare with living with my husband?
As far as day to day life goes--our schedules are crazy and all over the place but it's not impossible. We even managed to get a dog but children are simply out of the question at this point given how unpredictable our schedules are and how little money we have. We're definitely unique in being a dual doctorate couple and you will be, too. In some ways it's harder becasue there's no one at home to pick up the slack if you will since neither of you will be working 8-5 hours. On the other hand, it's great because we both completely understand when the other person has to work crazy hours and is up all night cramming or at school in the lab and can't come home for dinner. I think if one of us had a typical 8-5 job, it could breed resentment due to misunderstanding.
Finances can be tough since he brings home a salary which is barely enough for one person and my estimated budget for the year is three times that. That's what loans are for and even a little parental support goes a long way (like being on their cell phone plan and paying for car insurance). Buying a house was out of the question and besides, we didn't want to give up what little free time we had worrying about home repairs and improvement.
Anyways, if you have any specific questions, feel free to PM me. Just wanted to say that it definitely can work and not only can it work, it can be very very good. It takes a lot of commitment and understanding but so does any relationship. I think we're both pretty happy with our situation although I do often wonder when kids will happen.
