Residency in undesirable location

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If this is the absolute best one or if this is the only option ? Absolutely!!!!
If there are relatively similar or slightly lower ranked ones in the cities I like I would probably choose those, just because it is important for me to like the area.
But generally - yes!
 
tyrabanks said:
It’s one out of four options for a particular specialty that’s rather competitive .
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Then apply everywhere, rank everything and tell yourself that “whatever happens” and you will learn to love whatever that place is while you are there and then get out and as an attending or fellow move where you wanna be !!!
 
Who else besides me did not think about this when they signed up for medical school: the possibility of not having a job, living in undesirable location for 3-7 years, living away from family, or working at a program they do not really want to (malignant culture). Granted we get to rank programs. ~75% match into top 3, but that depends on the specialty and length of rank list. I look at my rank list and there are places I really do not see myself live there and work there, but then soap is so hell, I have to bite the bullet.
 
For me, there is absolutely nowhere in the US that is so unlivable that I would rather not match than spend a finite period of time there. You will be guaranteed a social circle in your co-residents and will be spending most your time at work anyway.

Ultimately you are the master of your own happiness, even if it means being away from family/the beach/an urban center/whatever you find more appealing for a few years.
 
tyrabanks said:
its not like im saying I wont match, I applied to another specialty I could see myself doing and have options in many other nicer cities. Its just for the more competitive specialty I only have a limited amount of interviews, one of which is in a city in the middle of nowhere with a population of 50,000.
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Then the question is: do you rank the 2nd specialty in a nicer city higher than #1 specialty in a middle of nowhere
 
tyrabanks said:
its not like im saying I wont match, I applied to another specialty I could see myself doing and have options in many other nicer cities. Its just for the more competitive specialty I only have a limited amount of interviews, one of which is in a city in the middle of nowhere with a population of 50,000.
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50,000 people is a lot of people.

I'm from a town of less than 2,000 people.
 
Angus Avagadro said:
And do what? SOAP into a transitional program? Put on the big boy/girl pants and do the residency in the specialty you desire. As said above, residency is finite.
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I applied to two specialties. One is more competitive with limited interviews one of which is in this location I am describing. The other specialty is also a field I could see myself in that is less competitive and I have interviews in a lot of really cool cities. This is my dillemma
 
Isnit
tyrabanks said:
Would you do residency in a city you know you would be miserable in? Even if it’s the specialty you really want?
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Is it just you or are you dragging a spouse/kids with you?

Residency is busy and a relatively short amount of time. if my options were go to an undesirable city or not do my specialty of choice, I’d pick the former. If you have a family that would be challenging to relocate then priorities change.
 
tyrabanks said:
Would you do residency in a city you know you would be miserable in? Even if it’s the specialty you really want?
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Probably, but at the same time all I need to be reasonably content is a warm cave to play video games in and the occasional beer.
 
tyrabanks said:
I applied to two specialties. One is more competitive with limited interviews one of which is in this location I am describing. The other specialty is also a field I could see myself in that is less competitive and I have interviews in a lot of really cool cities. This is my dillemma
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I understand your dilemma. You fought and scraped to get into med schools, incurred large debt, and now maybe get to match your first choice specialty? Which choice advances your career the best? Thats what all of this blood sweat and tears has been about so far.
Edit. Sorry if I assumed incorrectly that med school was a struggle or loans were necessary. My wife was accepted at every school she applied, but we did incur significant debt. Regardless of how things work out with the match, I wish you all the best, whatever you decide.
 
CliveStaples said:
I'm honestly not sure I even know a place that I just know I would be miserable in. If it were truly a 100% guarantee of unhappiness, why would enough people live there to support a residency in that location?
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It's funny to me that everyone assumes OP is talking about someplace out in the sticks and not a huge city. I applied to most programs in ophtho this year EXCEPT those in NYC, downtown of huge cities that I just didn't think I could do, etc. I don't like crowds or ****ty apartments that cost too much with crappy neighbors, can't imagine trying to eke out an existence in Manhattan on a resident salary with a wife and kid in tow, and like to be able to see some nature instead of being stuck in traffic for 2 hours before getting the privilege of driving another hour to see a few trees and a pond. I absolutely think I would be miserable trying to live in a lot of these places.

But I didn't match this year, and I want ophtho more than anything, so you'd better believe I'm going to apply to every single program next year and be happy with any match, even if I'll hate every second outside the hospital (those programs often keep you in the hospital longer, so at least they'd be few and far between...). But if I only had a slight preference for ophtho and would be just about as happy in some other field, I could see not going through it in order to match somewhere you'd enjoy living. Some people avoid entire specialties just because the residency is brutal regardless of attending lifestyle, while others are willing to go through absolutely anything during residency in search of their dream attending life; I don't think this question is all that different, honestly.
 
In 2021 with the entire population on board with virtual work and some extent of social distancing likely sticking around even post-COVID, small cities >>> big cities. I have no idea why anyone would voluntarily live in NYC specifically anymore with $8 coffee, a one-bedroom sized apartment upwards of $2000/month, and crowded gyms/streets/roads. I know there's a lot of luxurious rental space in NYC criminally cheap right now, but that's not going to be a permanent thing.
 
cj_cregg said:
I agree with you re: large cities, but OP stated the undesirable location in question was a city of 50k "in the middle of nowhere." although to be fair it looks like they deleted some of the posts
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Ah. Missed that.
 
For me, not New York, or most places in California. If I was single it might be a different story.
 
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