Students, how far do you live from your medical school?

[MonsterHospital]

Just a poll for you guys: how far away from campus do/did you live while in medical school? I feel like I'm one of the only people in my class who lives further than 2 miles or a 5 min drive from our school (I live 3-4 miles/8-10 min drive away), but I'm sure a lot of people going to school in big cities definitely have longer commutes due to traffic and what-not.

I chose to drive an extra 5 mins in the morning to save $75/month on rent despite having a 1 BR apartment to myself, have the peace and quiet of a nice residential neighborhood (but I still have a gas station, laundromat and large convenience store barely 1/2 mile away), and be surrounded by really gorgeous natural scenery. I wanted to know who else out there chose a further commute to save money, live in a better neighborhood or any other reason.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[petyr_baelish]

Living in a nice area, farther from Hubby's hospital, despite higher rent was essential for us. So far, no regrets. Our situation is a bit different than yours, if only because living close to the hospital would have meant living in the 'hood. 😀

 

[LossForWords]

My wife and I bought a house, so in order to find a safe neighborhood within our price range we had to go ~20 min away. It's not a big deal because it's only a 30 minute bus ride so I get some studying done.

We rented a place that was < 3 minutes away, but it was kind of a dive. I'm glad we traded up.

 

[swamprat]

I live 10-15 minutes away depending on traffic. I did this purposely because I'd go nuts being in class/lab all day only to go home and be basically in the same environment. I want a change of scenery, which is also why I lived off campus in undergrad.

 

[lrkoehle]

Just a poll for you guys: how far away from campus do/did you live while in medical school? I feel like I'm one of the only people in my class who lives further than 2 miles or a 5 min drive from our school (I live 3-4 miles/8-10 min drive away), but I'm sure a lot of people going to school in big cities definitely have longer commutes due to traffic and what-not.

I chose to drive an extra 5 mins in the morning to save $75/month on rent despite having a 1 BR apartment to myself, have the peace and quiet of a nice residential neighborhood (but I still have a gas station, laundromat and large convenience store barely 1/2 mile away), and be surrounded by really gorgeous natural scenery. I wanted to know who else out there chose a further commute to save money, live in a better neighborhood or any other reason.

You basically just summed up why my wife and i chose to live where we are. Its just a little nicer to be away from campus, but still close enough to where you're not wasting a bunch of study time on the road.

 

[corbis11]

just less than 4 miles away, but can take anywhere from 15-45 minutes depending on traffic

 

[hurdlepup]

What campus? Our classes are spread out over several locations....🙂

main university, clinical center, VA hospital, university hospital...

 

[mybubbles14]

I'll be living about 3 miles away. When I drive it takes about 8-10 minutes, but on the train/walking it's about 25 minutes. I like the location better than what is in walking distance of my school...not to mention I've lived in this area for the past 5 years.

 

[pianola]

I live 7 minutes walk from my school. It's cheap! I have no car! I live in the ghetto-est part of Miami and I wouldn't change it for anything 😀😀😀.

 

[musafirah]

living with my parents 25 minutes away (40 if thers traffic). saving tons of money and dont have to cook 👍

 

[JonathanMD]

living with my parents 25 minutes away (40 if thers traffic). saving tons of money and dont have to cook 👍

Ugh.

I had enough of that after going to technical school, coming back, living at my parent's house while working full time, then while going to community college, then after I transferred to undergrad and finally finished.

You could say, getting out of there was more than a few years belated.

It's probably also the reason why I don't call home and why I don't get home sick.

So happy to get out of there and as long as I can help it, I'm never going back.

(Hooray.)

 

[Jolie South]

I live in a nice apartment on a rail line. It takes me 5 minutes driving and 10 minutes by train to get home.

Neighborhood is kinda shady but the convenience is worth it.

 

[MilkmanAl]

I live exactly 2 miles from school. I'm right off the same main street the hospital is on, so I can get there in 3-4 minutes if the lights like me.

 

[45408]

M1/M2 - lived about 2 miles away, 5 minute drive.

M3/M4 - lived about 10 miles away, 15-25 minutes, depending on the time of day.

 

[ygree001]

That's a big jump from 20 minutes to 45. I live about 20 minutes away, maybe 30 if traffic is bad.

 

[MossPoh]

For the summer semester I lived about 15 minutes away last year.

The regular year I lived about 30 (20 to 40 depending on traffic)

For second year I'm just finishing moving into a 1 BR walking distance to school since it may be my only exercise some days. I can also see the football stadium, which means less excuses for not going to the games.

Parking is a nightmare on this campus and once I calculated out the amount of gas I was using AND the time spent just driving places it became obvious I rather use that time for other things right now. I just gained around 6 to 7 hours a week (easily). The price is negligible.

 

[boaz]

Starting M1 in a few weeks, and have an off campus apartment a 1 minute walk to school. 😀

 

[trep14]

I'm a starting MS1 and I'm living about 8 miles from campus. It only takes about 10 mins to get there though since the drive is all interstate. I like where I'm living as of now, my apartment complex is located in a rural area but it takes about a three minute drive to get to gas/groceries/restaurants. Also, I have a garage for my car, which will definitely come in handy in the winter since I'm going to med school in a northern state.

 

[sunset823]

going from one mile, walking distance as an M1 to 8 miles, driving on a highway distance this year - I've never actually driven to school daily before, I've always lived in walking distance in college towns, but the branch campus I'm going to is not a college town, and the area near school is kinda ghetto - not looking forward to the daily commute, and will probably move downtown for third year, but I'll manage. I've heard people commuting 1-1 1/2 hours one-way every day, so it can be done.

advantages: rent is reasonable, apartments are a lot bigger/more comfortable, much safer, lots of nature trails nearby (I hate gyms, prefer to be outside when the weather is good), mall/shopping is close, being far away from classmates I don't like (j/k, but I'm not really into the whole med school social scene, I do my own thing)

 

[tigress]

I live about 5 miles, around a 10 minute drive or more depending on traffic, from my school. But I will be driving to school from my kids' school, which is more like 20 minutes away. So for me living closer wouldn't even make a difference, but not only that, it's really expensive to live in the city unless you are sharing an apartment with other people, which I think would be difficult even if I didn't have kids and it were an option. Thankfully there are nice places to live that are fairly close by and not too expensive. I know a lot of students live all over the suburbs here.

 

[Bacchus]

I can see my school's parking garage from my front door.

 

[rbnsafsadgf]

~4 mi, 20 mins via bike.

Is the rest of the country that driving centric? Maybe half of students bike at my school.

 

[Random Anesthesiologist]

70 miles.

I'd love to sell my house and get closer if the market didn't suck so much right now.

 

[VOP]

Starting M1 in a few weeks, and have an off campus apartment a 1 minute walk to school. 😀

same here, just happens to be in bodymore, murderland. My purpose was that this gives me enough time in the anatomy labs and i can access it on weekends easily or whenever I'm unsure about a certain section

 

[durty]

I ride my bike the 3 miles to campus. It's a great way for me to get some quiet time when I can't possibly study and I get 15 minutes of exercise every morning and afternoon.

 

[ygree001]

~4 mi, 20 mins via bike.

Is the rest of the country that driving centric? Maybe half of students bike at my school.

I ride my bike the 3 miles to campus. It's a great way for me to get some quiet time when I can't possibly study and I get 15 minutes of exercise every morning and afternoon.

What about carrying books/laptop/etc?
What about the summer when you show up all sweaty and tired?
What about the winter when it snows (if it does near you)?
What about when it rains?

 

[jakcat]

M1/M2- Had a 3 min drive to school, but I lived a roommate, not with my husband, who was a 2 hr drive away.

M3- Now live about 45 min away from clinical site, so with leaving extra time to get there early, ect I have a total of 2 hr commute each day day. May seem like a lot but it's so nice to live at home. I'm going on a few months now of rotations and have no complaints of the drive. Plus its only for a year, bc I'll get to do 4th year closer to my home...at least that's what my school says!

 

[mvenus929]

I live a 15 minute or so walk from the school, maybe a 5 minute bus ride. I wouldn't drive to class for anything at this point. I also don't live in an area with a lot of students... most people in this area are permanent residents.

 

[thedoctor8706]

I literally live right down the street from where most of my classes and labs meet. Its about a 10 minutes walk. After I get a bike, this year will be very good on my gas money, espcially considering it's $3+ per gallon in SoCal.

 

[rbnsafsadgf]

What about carrying books/laptop/etc?
What about the summer when you show up all sweaty and tired?
What about the winter when it snows (if it does near you)?
What about when it rains?

books/laptop/coats/etc -- panniers
summer -- bring a change of clothes, shower at the gym, or ride slowly in fancy clothes
snow -- take the mountain bike rather than the road bike, or take the bus
rain -- rain gear (and this is in Oregon after all)

Pannier:

rain gear

they've added more racks since this picture:
http://bikeportland.org/2007/07/26/no-free-parking-at-ohsu/

A nice set-up (bike, bags, some gear) can be purchased for less than what I spend on cheap, basic car insurance each year.

 

[ChimpanzeeMinky]

What about using your brain before asking stupid questions?

What about carrying books/laptop/etc?

You ever heard of those things you can put on your back? Some people call them backpacks.

What about the summer when you show up all sweaty and tired?

Ignoring the fact that you are correlating fatigue with heat (wtf?), they have these things in the hospital called showers. They make you clean.

What about the winter when it snows (if it does near you)?

They also have these things called buses, that can be used as an alternative when it snows.

What about when it rains?

Apparently you still believe one melts in the rain. You may find that that belief is not consistent with what you learn in med school.

Jesus.

 

[ygree001]

books/laptop/coats/etc -- panniers
summer -- bring a change of clothes, shower at the gym, or ride slowly in fancy clothes
snow -- take the mountain bike rather than the road bike, or take the bus
rain -- rain gear (and this is in Oregon after all)

Pannier:

rain gear

they've added more racks since this picture:
http://bikeportland.org/2007/07/26/no-free-parking-at-ohsu/

A nice set-up (bike, bags, some gear) can be purchased for less than what I spend on cheap, basic car insurance each year.

Fair enough. But you have to acknowledge that when conditions aren't perfect, biking can be a hassle. I was responding to what I though was your implied criticism of people wanting to drive. If I misinterpreted what you meant, I apologize.

 

[ygree001]

What about using your brain before asking stupid questions?


You ever heard of those things you can put on your back? Some people call them backpacks.

Ignoring the fact that you are correlating fatigue with heat (wtf?), they have these things in the hospital called showers. They make you clean.

They also have these things called buses, that can be used as an alternative when it snows.

Apparently you still believe one melts in the rain. You may find that that belief is not consistent with what you learn in med school.

Jesus.

Wow, you are unpleasant. I was just pointing out some of the negatives to riding a bike.
In my opinion, riding a bike with a heavy backpack is uncomfortable.
In my opinion, riding a bike in the rain is unpleasant. No I don't think you will melt.
In my opinion, riding a bike in the summer when it routinely gets into the high 80s or low 90s is uncomfortable.
In my experience, exercising when it is hot tires you out more than the same exercise in more comfortable temperature.
You don't have to agree with me, those are just my opinions.
Wow.

 

[ChimpanzeeMinky]

Fair enough. But you have to acknowledge that when conditions aren't perfect, biking can be a hassle. I was responding to what I though was your implied criticism of people wanting to drive. If I misinterpreted what you meant, I apologize.

Yet you drive all those days when conditions are great. So really the adverse conditions are nothing but an excuse for your laziness.

Somehow, I believe, you'd figure out a way to get to school by (*gasp*) walking or transit, if you didn't have a car, so you're fooling nobody with your little red herring there.

 

[ChimpanzeeMinky]

Wow, you are unpleasant. I was just pointing out some of the negatives to riding a bike.
In my opinion, riding a bike with a heavy backpack is uncomfortable.
In my opinion, riding a bike in the rain is unpleasant. No I don't think you will melt.
In my opinion, riding a bike in the summer when it routinely gets into the high 80s or low 90s is uncomfortable.
In my experience, exercising when it is hot tires you out more than the same exercise in more comfortable temperature.
You don't have to agree with me, those are just my opinions.
Wow.

Uncomfortable, eh. With your royalty-like intolerance of discomfort, here's hoping you face little adversity in your life. Otherwise, things might just get a little "uncomfortable."

 

[ygree001]

Yet you drive all those days when conditions are great. So really the adverse conditions are nothing but an excuse for your laziness.

Somehow, I believe, you'd figure out a way to get to school by (*gasp*) walking or transit, if you didn't have a car, so you're fooling nobody with your little red herring there.

It takes me 20 minutes to drive and an hour to take the train and subway I need to get to school. It is also cheaper. Regardless, what makes you think I'm trying to fool anybody about anything? You seem to feel that everybody should be biking and there is something wrong with driving. Why?

Uncomfortable, eh. With your royalty-like intolerance of discomfort, here's hoping you face little adversity in your life. Otherwise, things might just get a little "uncomfortable."

I have dealt with discomfort and adversity, not that it is any of your business. That doesn't mean I go looking for it when I don't need to. I think any rational person would rather be comfortable than uncomfortable.

I really don't understand what I said that upsets you to the point where you feel the need to get personal like this.

 

[Amdavadi]

Living with my family off campus. It's less than four miles away. 10 minute via car. 25-30 minutes in bus. Don't have to cook either.

 

[BlueElmo]

About 5 minute drive to school. It usually takes a little longer because of traffic in the morning.

 

[DrYoda]

I'm maybe a mile away. Proximity to school wasn't a big consideration though. I wouldn't mind driving 45 min for my once a week appearance on campus.