Your opinion of the best cities for young, single doctors?

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Qwerty122

Qwerty122

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I feel like in the past decade, young professionals are moving out of big metropolitan cities like LA, Chicago, and NYC because of a multitude of reasons (rent, high COL, oversaturation, crime, etc.). So I was wondering what cities do you personally think would be ideal specifically for single residents/young attendings who are not tied to any one specific location. And what are your reasons for choosing that city? Are there any less known, "hidden" cities that you like?

Maybe some considerations for the young MD/DO include: rent, traffic, dating scene, taxes, malpractice insurance, percentage of other young professionals, house buying cost, nightlife, outdoor activities (for the EM docs out there lol), weather, safety, racial/cultural diversity, political leaning, etc.
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I’m pretty biased, but I think the Minneapolis-St Paul area is an awesome metro. Pretty reasonable cost of living for a big city, tons of parks and bike paths, lots of dining, art, basically every major sport has a franchise here, and Minneapolis consistently ranks as one of the highest paying cities in the US for physicians.
 
Minneapolis has gotten quite a bit of bad press in the last year, but imho the Minneapolis-St. Paul area is incredible. Tons of gorgeous and walkable nature, great restaurants and nightlife, very clean streets, reasonable rent, good healthcare, plenty of museums, and a fair mix of urban and suburban communities depending on what your personal preference is. Because the metro area is split between two principal cities, you get all the amenities of a much larger city, while living in what feels like a quaint mid-size city. Of course, as with many other large cities, segregation and discrimination towards people of color is a fairly serious problem, however people in the community are very politically active, and hopefully we can work towards improvements in the near future. Otherwise, out of all the other metropolitan areas I've personally been to in the Midwest, West, and South, Minneapolis has far more pros than cons. I'd say the biggest downside is that the "Minnesota Nice (passive aggressive)" attitude among citizens is very real; people always seem to beat around the bush and never tell it to you straight. Could be a pro or con depending on how you look at it, but it did take me a while to catch on to. Also, the weather of course turns some people off, but the long and cold winters are followed by the most mild summers of any major city I've been to! Average day in the summer is something like the upper 70's and sunny, and everybody gets outside to enjoy the weather for those 3-4 months, making the city a bustling place to be in the warmer months.
 
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From experience I thought Philadelphia kind of sucked. If you're down by Penn maybe its nicer but center city was fun to be in for the night life, not so much fun to live in. If you're in Temple land it REALLY sucks. And if you're further out in the burbs the commute to get into the city is so painful you only ever do it once a month at best. Phoenix sucks unless you're from there. Same with Vegas as a place to live.

Milwaukee has been really nice. I think I would have liked Madison more having interviewed at both for fellowship. But both are very, very cool.

Agree that NYC would be awful for multiple years unless its already home. Better version of NYC is to do a month long away there in Manhattan which was super rad for that very finite/defined period of time.

Chicago is too big these days. Getting anywhere is awful. I drive there once a month or so for operations and getting around at all is horrible, and the in between parts of Chicago are not glamorous, they're miserable, cramped, and like suburbs but... just less nice.

Other places I interviewed that stood out - thought Memphis would have been cool. Detroit I've heard cool things about these days as its going through a mini revival. Albany was cool. Seattle was rad.
 
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Lem0nz said:
From experience I thought Philadelphia kind of sucked. If you're down by Penn maybe its nicer but center city was fun to be in for the night life, not so much fun to live in. If you're in Temple land it REALLY sucks. And if you're further out in the burbs the commute to get into the city is so painful you only ever do it once a month at best. Phoenix sucks unless you're from there. Same with Vegas as a place to live.

Milwaukee has been really nice. I think I would have liked Madison more having interviewed at both for fellowship. But both are very, very cool.

Agree that NYC would be awful for multiple years unless its already home. Better version of NYC is to do a month long away there in Manhattan which was super rad for that very finite/defined period of time.

Chicago is too big these days. Getting anywhere is awful. I drive there once a month or so for operations and getting around at all is horrible, and the in between parts of Chicago are not glamorous, they're miserable, cramped, and like suburbs but... just less nice.

Other places I interviewed that stood out - thought Memphis would have been cool. Detroit I've heard cool things about these days as its going through a mini revival. Albany was cool. Seattle was rad.
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Why is temple so bad?
 
Thesimplelifeofamyloid said:
Why is temple so bad?
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That 3-5 mile stretch of Philadelphia is very poor, the crime rate is very high, and its just a rough place to live. The hospital is also a very tough place to work where your resources are minimal and you get stretched thin very, very quickly.
 
EndlessEntropyy said:
Yes, these are clearly the only American cities I know of. What a pointless comment lol
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It's just a mere observation that you've listed some cities that are generally regarded as terrible (NYC, SF, and recently Portland) without much any elaboration.
 
Lem0nz said:
That 3-5 mile stretch of Philadelphia is very poor, the crime rate is very high, and its just a rough place to live. The hospital is also a very tough place to work where your resources are minimal and you get stretched thin very, very quickly.
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How is the area near Jefferson and Drexel?
 
Lem0nz said:
From experience I thought Philadelphia kind of sucked. If you're down by Penn maybe its nicer but center city was fun to be in for the night life, not so much fun to live in. If you're in Temple land it REALLY sucks. And if you're further out in the burbs the commute to get into the city is so painful you only ever do it once a month at best. Phoenix sucks unless you're from there. Same with Vegas as a place to live.

Milwaukee has been really nice. I think I would have liked Madison more having interviewed at both for fellowship. But both are very, very cool.

Agree that NYC would be awful for multiple years unless its already home. Better version of NYC is to do a month long away there in Manhattan which was super rad for that very finite/defined period of time.

Chicago is too big these days. Getting anywhere is awful. I drive there once a month or so for operations and getting around at all is horrible, and the in between parts of Chicago are not glamorous, they're miserable, cramped, and like suburbs but... just less nice.

Other places I interviewed that stood out - thought Memphis would have been cool. Detroit I've heard cool things about these days as its going through a mini revival. Albany was cool. Seattle was rad.
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I lived in Philadelphia for a couple years. Absolutely loved it. Lived in West Philly by Upenn and Center City. I think it is a great big city that is affordable and easy to get around (unlike other large metros like NYC). Agreed though - no one in their right mind would live by Temple.
 
Frogger27 said:
I lived in Philadelphia for a couple years. Absolutely loved it. Lived in West Philly by Upenn and Center City. I think it is a great big city that is affordable and easy to get around (unlike other large metros like NYC). Agreed though - no one in their right mind would live by Temple.
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Yea. West philly was cool. East philly was a dump. Fisherman bay/wharf or whatever its called was cool but just to visit, not to live. One of my good friends lived overtop Redding and he liked it for awhile but even as a single guy he would have preferred being in West Philly or somewhere more suburbish, it was too much 'night life' style there and that's just not where most people are professionally and energy wise during residency. We need a place that has the ability to be somewhat quiet from time to time but is close to the nightlife, not right on top of it.
 
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Lem0nz said:
From experience I thought Philadelphia kind of sucked. If you're down by Penn maybe its nicer but center city was fun to be in for the night life, not so much fun to live in. If you're in Temple land it REALLY sucks. And if you're further out in the burbs the commute to get into the city is so painful you only ever do it once a month at best. Phoenix sucks unless you're from there. Same with Vegas as a place to live.

Milwaukee has been really nice. I think I would have liked Madison more having interviewed at both for fellowship. But both are very, very cool.

Agree that NYC would be awful for multiple years unless its already home. Better version of NYC is to do a month long away there in Manhattan which was super rad for that very finite/defined period of time.

Chicago is too big these days. Getting anywhere is awful. I drive there once a month or so for operations and getting around at all is horrible, and the in between parts of Chicago are not glamorous, they're miserable, cramped, and like suburbs but... just less nice.

Other places I interviewed that stood out - thought Memphis would have been cool. Detroit I've heard cool things about these days as its going through a mini revival. Albany was cool. Seattle was rad.
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Thesimplelifeofamyloid said:
Why is temple so bad?
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@Lem0nz I will have to disagree here. I've been at Temple for 3 years now and I live in a Jersey suburb and my commute is only 30 mins and is fine. Since I do it every day...it kind of goes against your "once a month at best" theory. Also, theres many other people that commute as well. Many of the attendings live in the suburbs around philly and commute fine. The area around temple is rough but...no one who goes to Temple lives over there (well, very few people) Center city is fun and as a commuter being able to find parking in center city when I hang out with my friends is really nice. I'm a NYC native and Philly to me is a nice mix between big city without an absurd COL and good food and things to do. If I wasn't going back to NY for my family, I would seriously consider staying here. I only live in the burbs because i'm married and my husband and I do philly/NY often but whenever i'm in center city EVERYONE is young and out and about. Great place for a single person
 
OP here. What do y'all think about the midwest cities like Ann Arbor, St. Louis, Columbus, Cincinnati, Nashville, Indianapolis, Des Moines, etc?
 
dllsl7 said:
OP here. What do y'all think about the midwest cities like Ann Arbor, St. Louis, Columbus, Cincinnati, Nashville, Indianapolis, Des Moines, etc?
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I've only lived in St. Louis out of those, but St. Louis is extremely segregated: the nice parts are very nice, and the poor parts are very poor.
 
dllsl7 said:
Yo wtf, you just gave me acute onset cataracts. I've never seen that feature before on sdn

but yes good question 😏
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Oh my bad I chose the wrong spoiler option. I'll change it.
 
dllsl7 said:
OP here. What do y'all think about the midwest cities like Ann Arbor, St. Louis, Columbus, Cincinnati, Nashville, Indianapolis, Des Moines, etc?
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Oh, and I went to Indianapolis for Gen Con 4 years ago, and in the four days I was there I saw two confederate flags and got catcalled by about a half dozen random Indianapolians(?), so make of that N=1 experience what you will!
 
katie_elizabeth said:
I've only lived in St. Louis out of those, but St. Louis is extremely segregated: the nice parts are very nice, and the poor parts are very poor.
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I just know you're not supposed to pass to illinois in St. Louis, but what about the area near WashU?
 
A city with a library at the medical school and a safe campus.
If you’re friendly, you and your classmates will find something fun to do socially. Otherwise you’ll be studying.
 
beattheprocess said:
No one has answered the most important question yet.

Which city has the hottest babes?
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I mean that's going to be the Socal girls. Avoid the NE. Sometimes you get a hot one but they are mean AF. Its ultra-rare to find both hot and nice (nice as in, actually enjoyable to be around).

That neurosurgery resident was an 11. But she was so damn mean.
 
dllsl7 said:
OP here. What do y'all think about the midwest cities like Ann Arbor, St. Louis, Columbus, Cincinnati, Nashville, Indianapolis, Des Moines, etc?
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I was going to recommend Columbus actually. I lived there for nearly ten years. Two were near the OSU campus and almost 8 further north. I now live in a small town one hour north of Columbus (and an hour south of Cleveland). Cbus is young and vibrant. It’s large but spread out so it doesn’t feel like it’s as big as it is. Traffic can be a pain but manageable if you plan your living and work situation right. If you have specific questions go ahead and ask. In my opinion it’s a bit expensive when it comes to housing. But that’s location and how you define expensive too.

I’m not well versed in Cincinnati culture. Cleveland and Akron are places I’d recommend you look at as well.
 
Anywhere but the southeast coast, housing costs are going through the roof. No single women.

(chuckles in troll)
 
katie_elizabeth said:
I’m pretty biased, but I think the Minneapolis-St Paul area is an awesome metro. Pretty reasonable cost of living for a big city, tons of parks and bike paths, lots of dining, art, basically every major sport has a franchise here, and Minneapolis consistently ranks as one of the highest paying cities in the US for physicians.
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The trouble is that in winter, Nature makes a very serious attempt to kill you!
 
dllsl7 said:
OP here. What do y'all think about the midwest cities like Ann Arbor, St. Louis, Columbus, Cincinnati, Nashville, Indianapolis, Des Moines, etc?
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Can't stand St. Louis, mostly because I have a ton of friends from there and they're all cardinals/blues fans which is a no-go in my book. On a serious note, it is extremely segregated as someone else here already pointed out. I also got the sense that most everyone lived in the suburbs, there's not a lot going on in STL proper after the working hours are over. The area immediately around WashU (the med school, not the undergrad campus) is nice, but even still, I wouldn't live there.

Ann Arbor is awesome. Great college town and generally a very nice small city with lots of young professionals. Nashville is very up and coming and super fun for young people. Contrary to popular belief it's not entirely all about country music down there, there is lots of variety. Pretty damn good food too.
 
Charlotte, Nashville, Houston, Austin, maybe Atlanta. A lot of southern/southeastern cities fit the bill. Denver is nice but people have already realized that and you may be too late. Nashville is peaking and will be in the same position before long.

I've heard great things about El Paso but have never been there.
 
dllsl7 said:
OP here. What do y'all think about the midwest cities like Ann Arbor, St. Louis, Columbus, Cincinnati, Nashville, Indianapolis, Des Moines, etc?
Click to expand...
Cincinnati is great now went through a nice revival the area around the stadiums is super nice and there are lots of great walkable areas to live in. Don’t know what specialty you’re interested in but Cincinnati children’s is one of the top 3 children’s hospitals in the country, UC has some excellent training programs and there are also some strong community programs around too. Columbus has one of the youngest populations and is one of the fastest growing cities in the country it also has a lot of options for residency and if you’re ok with not doing a super top tier fellowship Riverside is one of the best places IMO to do training. They have all sorts of amazing amenities for residents. Cleveland is going through a real slow renaissance but probably bottom 3 out of the “C cities”. There is a lot of good choice for residency between CCF, UH and MetroHealth as well as the Akron programs and some community programs. It has a national park, lots of pro sports, and a shockingly large amount of natural resources. It also has some of the best fishing around.

Pittsburgh is also nice but I think a little further along then the Ohio cities in terms of reinventing itself, the area around UPMC is very nice.

Ann Arbor is super nice but quite expensive. I’ve been to Detroit a bunch in the past few years and am pretty underwhelmed by the amenities but of course we are talking a few days here and there so my experience might be limited.

I second the sentiment that the big cities (NYC, SF, Chicago, LA, etc) are somewhat played out unless you are ok with a studio apartment and $75 brunches
 
dllsl7 said:
Lmao nah I was joking and being sarcastic, that first hazy one you had was pretty cool
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lol I know. I changed it to the original spoiler because if someone's scrolling really fast it's easy to miss.

Lem0nz said:
I mean that's going to be the Socal girls. Avoid the NE. Sometimes you get a hot one but they are mean AF. Its ultra-rare to find both hot and nice (nice as in, actually enjoyable to be around).

That neurosurgery resident was an 11. But she was so damn mean.
Click to expand...

I need someone that will hurt me so I can feel alive again.
 
dllsl7 said:
OP here. What do y'all think about the midwest cities like Ann Arbor, St. Louis, Columbus, Cincinnati, Nashville, Indianapolis, Des Moines, etc?
Click to expand...
I’m from Ohio- Columbus and Cincinnati are both great cities. Columbus is one of the fastest growing metros in the country. Both of these cities are very affordable and have some great places to live. Enough sports, bars, arts to entertain whatever you’re into

Been to Indy a couple of times and it is very similar to Columbus/Cincinnati. Seems like a good place to live and Indiana is a great place to practice medicine

Nashville - idk about living there but I love grabbing a beer and listening to live music
 
I think DC is pretty great . Lived there for years. There are relatively cheap areas to live in , variety of scenery (houses vs apartment - city feel, suburbs feel), a lot of great universities, schools, hospitals . A lot of fun stuff to do . Cultural stuff.
 
Boston is great! Good public transportation, tons of things to do, not too far from mountains and beaches, no extremes of climate. LOTS of young, single people. Cost of living is high, though.
Small metro areas can be even better--Asheville NC, Portland ME, Burlington VT. Any area with several colleges will be lively!
 
Gotta give some love to NJ - cities like Hoboken and Jersey City (although people have caught on and moving from NYC to here), or even further down towards New brunswick/Asbury Park are super fun to live in. Not as ****ty as NYC but lots of nice downtown areas and young people.
 
EndlessEntropyy said:
Huh? NYC and SF are generally regarded as terrible? Maybe in your circle of family/friends, but these are desirable cities by many many people and cities, especially these big ones, are often far too diverse in culture, neighborhoods, population, etc. to simply generalize as "it sucks." Anyway, often, but certainly not always, people seem to attack cities they are not fit for, when it's totally fine to regard a city as great for living but not for you personally.

This is a subjective thread anyway evident by the responses here and there are many cities in the U.S that offer the same basic amenities and features, which is why I listed cities in different geographic areas, but it's really up to OP, when they get interviews and job offers, to visit different cities and do their homework rather than listen to one person's biased opinion.
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Lol priorities amirite. If I'm a young new doctor, I'd be most concerned about the $200k+ debt I probably have and look for a place with a good reimbursement to cost of living ratio, but to each their own.
 
Apparently, California dates are the best under the sun.

20210422_144057.jpg
 
dllsl7 said:
I feel like in the past decade, young professionals are moving out of big metropolitan cities like LA, Chicago, and NYC because of a multitude of reasons (rent, high COL, oversaturation, crime, etc.). So I was wondering what cities do you personally think would be ideal specifically for single residents/young attendings who are not tied to any one specific location. And what are your reasons for choosing that city? Are there any less known, "hidden" cities that you like?

Maybe some considerations for the young MD/DO include: rent, traffic, dating scene, taxes, malpractice insurance, percentage of other young professionals, house buying cost, nightlife, outdoor activities (for the EM docs out there lol), weather, safety, racial/cultural diversity, political leaning, etc.
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Dallas should be high on your list. Most of Texas is booming right now, DFW included, but Dallas is still highly affordable (especially compared to Austin, and subsequently the other cities you already mentioned). Really the entire DFW metroplex is wide open and can be great for a young physician (downtown Dallas vs Fort Worth vs Plano/Frisco vs anywhere in between. Really all good options, especially Fort Worth if you're looking for a highly affordable but still urban city with ~1m people).

A ton of hospital networks to work in. 20% growth YoY in population making for an abundant patient base if building your own practice. Remarkable highway system (compared to everywhere else in Texas). Decent train system that will actually get you to places you need to go. Cosmopolitan diversity with >50% of population being non-white, making it the 4th most diverse city in the US. Easy access to two international airports (DFW being the most travelled domestic airport in the US).

Excellent nightlife. Tons of great food. Professional sport teams in every major league. Decent weather so long as you can survive Texas summers. No state income tax. Unfortunately, everyone else is starting to learn this too, hence why 4 of the 8 fastest growing metropolitan areas in the US are all in Texas (Austin at 29%, Houston, San Antonio, and DFW all at 20%).

Notable downsides: snow makes our oil wells and natural gas lines go brrrrr and shuts down our power grid for a week and people die, and our state legislature will do absolutely nothing to prevent it from happening again so long as they are getting paid millions by power producing companies to keep Texas disconnected from the rest of the US power grid.
 
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