reasonable apartment prices for med school

[Pablo94]

What do you think is a good price for an apartment as a med student (not wealthy).

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[Luka75]

Alone? Somewhere between 900 and 1050 if you're in a big(ish) city.

 

[efle]

Completely depends on the city. The same crappy studio might cost $450 in St. Louis and $2,000 in San Francisco.

 

[LizzyM]

Some schools (particularly in NYC and Brooklyn) have student housing that is affordable for students.

M1 students at Cornell pay $756 for what is, essentially, a furnished room, bathroom shared with one other student, kitchen shared with a multitude.

Olin Hall | Housing

The cost goes up for M2 and higher but can be <$1000 to share a three bedroom with 2 other students.

 

[DokterMom]

As little as you possibly can to have a place that's reasonably safe and close to the school.

 

[Nietzsche's Barber]

Where I go to school, nothing is reasonable. Luckily my wife is also in medical school. Rent + utilities is about $1400 for a small (I repeat, small) 2 bedroom (my dog has his own bed/bedroom). But I also have a flexible part-time job, which makes life much easier.

 

[aldol16]

In cities like NYC, San Francisco, or even Palo Alto where people are flocking/have always been flocking to, housing will always be expensive. SF is actually comparable to NYC in terms of housing although the schools will usually subsidize housing - even some off-campus housing. Still, in a place like SF, you won't get away with much less than $1000 and between $1k-$2k is typical and reasonable for that area. The NYC schools - Cornell, Columbia, etc. - have affordable on-campus housing options for students because otherwise, no student would be able to live there. Contrast this extreme with the other side - a place like Rochester, MN, where you might be able to get a house for $1000 a month and spit it between multiple people.

 

[jcorpsmanMD]

Where I go to school, nothing is reasonable. Luckily my wife is also in medical school. Rent + utilities is about $1400 for a small (I repeat, small) 2 bedroom (my dog has his own bed/bedroom). But I also have a flexible part-time job, which makes life much easier.

Dang. I need to get my dog her own bedroom.. you make me feel like a terrible father.

 

[happypenguin28]

Where I go to school, nothing is reasonable. Luckily my wife is also in medical school. Rent + utilities is about $1400 for a small (I repeat, small) 2 bedroom (my dog has his own bed/bedroom). But I also have a flexible part-time job, which makes life much easier.

That's not reasonable?? I live in SF and it's considered a steal if you can split a ****ty one bedroom with your SO for $1400 a person/$2800 total pre-utilities. What city are you in and can I transfer?

 

[Nietzsche's Barber]

Dang. I need to get my dog her own bedroom.. you make me feel like a terrible father.

Haha! Don't, my wife and I are just...odd.

 

[bioboy23]

Where I go to school, nothing is reasonable. Luckily my wife is also in medical school. Rent + utilities is about $1400 for a small (I repeat, small) 2 bedroom (my dog has his own bed/bedroom). But I also have a flexible part-time job, which makes life much easier.

Don't want to derail the thread much, but did you guys meet in med school or before? If before, how did you guys end up at the same school??

 

[Pusheen]

Where I go to school, nothing is reasonable. Luckily my wife is also in medical school. Rent + utilities is about $1400 for a small (I repeat, small) 2 bedroom (my dog has his own bed/bedroom). But I also have a flexible part-time job, which makes life much easier.

We pay that for a one bedroom 😕
Provided, we live in a nice-ish gated community in SoCal, but 1400 seems pretty standard for a 2bdr, and not unreasonable at all.

 

[Pablo94]

does $895 per person for two bedrooms sound like too much for a college town in the midwest. It's directly across from the medical school so I would not need a vehicle.

 

[efle]

$1800 will get you a very very nice two bedroom in a small midwest town, lol

 

[Nietzsche's Barber]

That's not reasonable?? I live in SF and it's considered a steal if you can split a ****ty one bedroom with your SO for $1400 a person/$2800 total pre-utilities. What city are you in and can I transfer?

I grew up in a s*ithole city where you can buy a 3 bdr house with fenced in yard for less than 40k or rent a 2 bdr apartment for less than 500/month. So in all fairness, almost everywhere seems expensive to me. I couldn't imagine living in a place like CA, the prices just boggle my mind.

 

[Nietzsche's Barber]

Don't want to derail the thread much, but did you guys meet in med school or before? If before, how did you guys end up at the same school??

We met well before medical school and married about 2 years prior to applying. How did we get into the same school? She was highly qualified and I have a unusual background. So, with some luck and a commitment to be with one another no matter what, we made it happen.

 

[libertyyne]

We met well before medical school and married about 2 years prior to applying. How did we get into the same school? She was highly qualified and I have a unusual background. So, with some luck and a commitment to be with one another no matter what, we made it happen.

So what is the correct way to refer to her?
Mrs Nietzche's Barber?
Mrs. Nietzche's Stylist
Mrs. Nietzche's hairdresser
Mrs. Nietzche's Cosmetologist

 

[RangerBob]

does $895 per person for two bedrooms sound like too much for a college town in the midwest. It's directly across from the medical school so I would not need a vehicle.

Depends on the specific city (some college towns can get expensive), but $1800 typically gets you a huge place in the midwest. I paid $800/month for a mortgage/taxes/insurance for a small 2bd home. I have a friend with a huge (250sq feet bigger than my 750sq foot home) apartment downtown, with a heated garage, and she pays closer to $1500. (In my honest opinion that's way too much to spend...)

Take a look at craigslist (using the map view) to get an idea of what places in the area typically go for.

Generally, the cheaper the place, the better. That means you won't have to borrow as much. However, the big caveat is if you live across from the school, then you probably don't need a car for at least two years (you should check with current students). That can save you quite a bit in money while in medical school, but since you'll most likely need a car for M3/4 and residency, you're really just deferring the purchase of a vehicle. (Sort of--by deferring buying a car, you also avoid putting two more years of wear/tear on it, which increases the odds your car will get you through all of residency). If you can walk to grocery stores and everything you need (or easily take public transit) then that's fantastic.

Also, if people tell you that you can't walk to work in a Midwest winter, tell them they're crazy. I was a 15 minute walk from the hospital and I walked regardless of how cold it was--the only thing that made me drive was if the sidewalks were too icy to safely get to work, and the roads were not cleared enough to walk safely in either (don't want to get run over!). If the sidewalks aren't plowed you just wear boots and change at work, and if it's too cold you just put on more clothes. It's good exercise, and it helps you get over cabin fever.

 

[libertyyne]

Here is a rough estimate
US Median Rent Data, by City and State - Apartment List

 

[wholeheartedly]

Depends on the specific city (some college towns can get expensive), but $1800 typically gets you a huge place in the midwest. I paid $800/month for a mortgage/taxes/insurance for a small 2bd home. I have a friend with a huge (250sq feet bigger than my 750sq foot home) apartment downtown, with a heated garage, and she pays closer to $1500. (In my honest opinion that's way too much to spend...)

Take a look at craigslist (using the map view) to get an idea of what places in the area typically go for.

Generally, the cheaper the place, the better. That means you won't have to borrow as much. However, the big caveat is if you live across from the school, then you probably don't need a car for at least two years (you should check with current students). That can save you quite a bit in money while in medical school, but since you'll most likely need a car for M3/4 and residency, you're really just deferring the purchase of a vehicle. (Sort of--by deferring buying a car, you also avoid putting two more years of wear/tear on it, which increases the odds your car will get you through all of residency). If you can walk to grocery stores and everything you need (or easily take public transit) then that's fantastic.

Also, if people tell you that you can't walk to work in a Midwest winter, tell them they're crazy. I was a 15 minute walk from the hospital and I walked regardless of how cold it was--the only thing that made me drive was if the sidewalks were too icy to safely get to work, and the roads were not cleared enough to walk safely in either (don't want to get run over!). If the sidewalks aren't plowed you just wear boots and change at work, and if it's too cold you just put on more clothes. It's good exercise, and it helps you get over cabin fever.

This, also yak traks diamond ice trekkers on your boots when walking so you don't kill yourself on the ice.

Midwest can vary quite a bit. In Rochester MN you could get a 2 bedroom 1.5 bath 2 story townhouse with a one car attached garage for about $1,100 and my mortgage payment was $1150 for a 4 bed 2 full bath house with a huge backyard and attached two car garage in a nice safe family friendly neighborhood. In grandforks, ND I had a nice one bed apt with washer and dryer in unit with a garage for $650/mo. Was just checking out places in Madison, WI though and a lot of them seem really steep. like studios starting at $950.

 

[bioboy23]

We met well before medical school and married about 2 years prior to applying. How did we get into the same school? She was highly qualified and I have a unusual background. So, with some luck and a commitment to be with one another no matter what, we made it happen.

Thats awesome, man. Thats all. I was just wondering how the logistics of all of that worked out!

 

[Pagan FutureDoc]

I'm really shocked at how much some people pay for rent. My wife and I pay ~900/month for a 2BR within walking distance of campus and the hospital. And that's fairly expensive here.