Student loans

[NYCNative]

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You can get by just fine on the food and products there. There's no need to spend the extra $$ getting American imports. That stuff is marked up for the wealthy locals who think that if its an "American" product it must be better, even when its made in the same factory in China as their imports.

Have you ever lived abroad? There are no "native" substitutes for cocoa, balsamic vinegar, or a million other ingredients that you might like to cook with. I mean, I enjoyed going into meat markets and swatting away flies from meat just sitting all day on tables, or buying carrots from farmers spread out on a rug on the ground, but I was young and got a kick out of it. After 6-9 months, though, you start to crave the flavors of home, if only emotionally because everything is so dysfunctional. You start to feel that you "deserve" eating out because of all the sacrifices you are making, and that really starts to add up, even when the restaurants are way cheaper than equivalent American ones (though Dubai will be very expensive). And in the country I was in, certain Chinese imports were to be highly avoided -- there was a big issue the year before with poisonous toothpaste coming out of China. But I do agree, as far as electronics go, Chinese is fine. But in my experience, there are very few American products to even be had abroad.

 

[hallowmann]

Have you ever lived abroad? There are no "native" substitutes for cocoa, balsamic vinegar, or a million other ingredients that you might like to cook with. I mean, I enjoyed going into meat markets and swatting away flies from meat just sitting all day on tables, or buying carrots from farmers spread out on a rug on the ground, but I was young and got a kick out of it. After 6-9 months, though, you start to crave the flavors of home, if only emotionally because everything is so dysfunctional. You start to feel that you "deserve" eating out because of all the sacrifices you are making, and that really starts to add up, even when the restaurants are way cheaper than equivalent American ones (though Dubai will be very expensive). And in the country I was in, certain Chinese imports were to be highly avoided -- there was a big issue the year before with poisonous toothpaste coming out of China. But I do agree, as far as electronics go, Chinese is fine. But in my experience, there are very few American products to even be had abroad.

Yeah, I have. I also know many people who have and do do it regularly. Your reply is dramatized. If you can live like a poor student, you can live in those countries.

We're not talking the 3rd world where clean water is scarce, running water is a dream, and electricity is only in mansions. You are talking about a pretty damn developed country (or set of countries). Sure there might be things you'll need to get used to (you may become acquainted with water tanks on the roof and having to buy diesel for a generator), but most people can live just fine without only buying rare imports. People can go without Baslamic vinegar and cocoa for a year. Plus if those things are essential for you, you can easily take a bunch of cocoa with you from the states during your biannual trips.

I'm not speaking from a lack of experience here. I have lived abroad, and I have many relatives and friends who have done it and still do it.

 

[DoctorSynthesis]

Going into medicine for money is not foolish

Talk to me when you hate your career/have massive debt /and work non stop.



Do it because you love it not for the money.

If you want money go business

 

[DoctorSynthesis]

You're overestimating a bit. Many people here will likely come out with ~$200k debt. Tuition and fees comes out to closer to ~$35k/yr, and you can easily live off of ~$15k/yr (especially if you are single or only married - no kids) in Erie, or even Greensburg.



You're pay scale is flawed a bit though. While many physicians make ~$150k just out of residency, with each year of experience out of training your value increases significantly. If you are board certified and don't mind where you go within reason, you can get ~$200k with 5 yrs experience as an FM doc. Also, I would say 10 yrs for a physician is atypical. Virtually all the docs I have seen have payment plans starting at least with 15 yrs (some at 25 or more), and they usually have even smaller principles than we will have when we graduate.



You might be able to pull off $180k, but it will be tough. Tuition and fees will be at least $140k, so $45k for 4 years will be tight. Like I say above $200k is very doable.



I concur.



Current COA is between $55k and $63k depending on the year. Third year is most expensive mainly because of boards.

COA is inflated. People I know with kids and non-working spouses rarely take out the entire COA. Other fees are usually closer ~$5k/yr, maybe as high as ~$7k if you average across all 4 years, becuse MS3 is expensive.





Your deal out there better include housing (and at least some travel back and forth from the US - most offer for 2 round trips a year). If it doesn't, its probably not worth it, unless you have family there or some other reason to be there. You'd find a job that's just as good here without the hassle.

You can get by just fine on the food and products there. There's no need to spend the extra $$ getting American imports. That stuff is marked up for the wealthy locals who think that if its an "American" product it must be better, even when its made in the same factory in China as their imports.

In my 180k figure I don't include food (you're gonna need to lay for that either way) so I think that is where we have a difference.

 

[NYCNative]

Yeah, I have. I also know many people who have and do do it regularly. Your reply is dramatized. If you can live like a poor student, you can live in those countries.

We're not talking the 3rd world where clean water is scarce, running water is a dream, and electricity is only in mansions. You are talking about a pretty damn developed country (or set of countries). Sure there might be things you'll need to get used to (you may become acquainted with water tanks on the roof and having to buy diesel for a generator), but most people can live just fine without only buying rare imports. People can go without Baslamic vinegar and cocoa for a year. Plus if those things are essential for you, you can easily take a bunch of cocoa with you from the states during your biannual trips.

I'm not speaking from a lack of experience here. I have lived abroad, and I have many relatives and friends who have done it and still do it.

Again, it's not about balsamic vinegar or cocoa. It's about not having access to ANYTHING that you would normally get in a grocery store. Also, we are not talking about developed countries here -- America is just about the cheapest developed country to live in that there is. The wealthy middle eastern countries have two extreme tiers -- they go form absolute third-world dumps, which is where they house their enormous third world worker population, to quite expensive (for the natives and expats). There really isn't much of a middle ground. So yah, if you have housing provided, and you are willing to live like a monk and only eat native species, then yes, you'll be able to save money. But you have to have A LOT of resolve to keep that up for anything more than a year. Your attitude that living abroad in challenging locales is such a cakewalk leads me to question whether you have in fact ever spent more than a year (or even 6 months) abroad in places like the ones we are talking about.