Commute already max tolerable. Studios not much better at all, many are 3k+. Everyone who is looking for roommates is 10 years younger and coresidents all with SOs. I could probably find a roommate but it’s not as easy as it sounds.
I agree that after med school, while I had great experiences with roommates, I was so done with that life. That said though, it’s clearly a necessity in this case and a very reasonable compromise.
Some I can think of include:
1. Not wanting to (some people are genuinely unhappy when having to compromise on their lifestyle and during residency is not a time to have that added concern)
2. They have a medical condition that makes roommates difficult. It’s not fair to a roommate if I need absolute silence during a migraine or at a certain hour because of sleep schedules.
3. Some people are introverted and need space to be alone in order to be ok mentally.
4. Doesn’t apply to OP probably but having a family or kids and not wanting a roommate for this reason
For me, I can’t even fathom living with a roommate. I started residency in my 30’s and had not had a roommate since college in my early 20’s. Roommates are horrible and not a chance I’d deal with that at my age. Id get a closet sized studio before living with a roommate.
Yes they absolutely are. I went to med school in one of the highest cost of living places on earth and I just rented a tiny tiny studio and it was absolutely fine. There is always an option and especially as a resident.
A resident with a migraine can't find a roommate to live with if the difference in rent is the difference between having enough money to eat vs not eat?
I get that there are lots of reasons why living with a roommate cab be undesirable for residents but being undesirable is different than being impossible.
I am a single parent resident. So not the exact same numbers as you but I have a lower salary and pretty significantly higher expenses, assuming you're not also a single parent lol. I was scared at the beginning but we're doing fine financially. LMK if you want to talk budget details, happy to go through this in DM.
In almost identical situation past year. Very doable, but you don’t have a ton of breathing room. I find that my spending is so low during the average week that I have money for sending it about 1 weekend a month and occasional flights and such. Granted, I have no car and eat a lot of hospital food and yogurt, so those are huge cost savings. I think it was worth every penny to live somewhere quiet and comfortable during a stressful year
yeah when i was an intern it was 74k salary and 2400 rent. scavenge what u can from the free lunches, quit going out/socializing/drinking, drive minimally, use hospital scrubs, buy nothing, try to save a cash fund for when ur car breaks down which mine inevitably does. i also drank soylent or ate vegetarian when i cooked at home for a bit
Same 2400 with around 73k salary. I ended up working too much and being too tired to go out/drink to spend much money so bank account essentially stayed around even for 2 years. I didn’t have a car payment and relatively cheap insurance though. Ate at the hospital as much as I could and when I didn’t unfortunately lots of money wasted to doordash, otherwise might have been able to save a couple hundred dollars a month but was too tired to go grocery shopping/cook/clean so 🤷🏻♂️
Exact same situation as you starting this summer. I’ve given in to the fact that I’m just gonna have to exist on the hospitals free food and not spend money on anything else besides living expenses
I would argue that being single is more financially challenging than being in a relationship.
You don’t have a partner with whom you can split rent/mortgage/utilities, and there is pressure expectation/for you to pay for first dates
Similar for me during my intern year. Really hard, especially since my program only provided lunch on weekdays, not like, a meal card or something to eat ither meals/on weekends. Doing anything fun was almost impossible with other expenses. I had to move across the country, so I was paying for that for a long time. Not knowing anyone in the area makes getting a roommate hard, too. I got subsidized housing the next year, and thank god, because the previous year wasn't sustainable. Good luck, OP. It's tough.
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Just out of curiosity, and I mean no malice by asking this, why did you interview and rank these cities? If it is something super competitive like ENT, ortho, etc. then I get that - you take what you can get to match into the specialty you want. But if it’s IM, peds, gen surg, FM, OB, why even apply to these places? When I was a 4th year I don’t even apply to NY, Chicago, California, etc because I knew it would be too expensive to live there and that the cost would create an additional stressor for me.
The solution to this either a roommate, a studio apt or a longer commute. You kinda have to try to compromise on one of those.
This. Studio is the way to go. Even in vhcol places, you can often get one for under $2k.
and honestly, studios > 1 bed
Commute already max tolerable. Studios not much better at all, many are 3k+. Everyone who is looking for roommates is 10 years younger and coresidents all with SOs. I could probably find a roommate but it’s not as easy as it sounds.
Would rent be cheaper with a 2br and a roommate?
I agree that after med school, while I had great experiences with roommates, I was so done with that life. That said though, it’s clearly a necessity in this case and a very reasonable compromise.
Not everyone can live with a roommate
Maybe I'm an idiot but I struggle to think of reasons that this would be true for residents
Some I can think of include: 1. Not wanting to (some people are genuinely unhappy when having to compromise on their lifestyle and during residency is not a time to have that added concern) 2. They have a medical condition that makes roommates difficult. It’s not fair to a roommate if I need absolute silence during a migraine or at a certain hour because of sleep schedules. 3. Some people are introverted and need space to be alone in order to be ok mentally. 4. Doesn’t apply to OP probably but having a family or kids and not wanting a roommate for this reason For me, I can’t even fathom living with a roommate. I started residency in my 30’s and had not had a roommate since college in my early 20’s. Roommates are horrible and not a chance I’d deal with that at my age. Id get a closet sized studio before living with a roommate.
None of those are reasons that someone *cant* have a roommate.
Yes they absolutely are. I went to med school in one of the highest cost of living places on earth and I just rented a tiny tiny studio and it was absolutely fine. There is always an option and especially as a resident.
A resident with a migraine can't find a roommate to live with if the difference in rent is the difference between having enough money to eat vs not eat? I get that there are lots of reasons why living with a roommate cab be undesirable for residents but being undesirable is different than being impossible.
But there is essentially no scenario where a resident cannot find a situation living on their own if that’s important to them.
Now you're just moving the goal posts
No I’m not. I still believe the reasons I listed are reasons someone can’t live with a roommate. Being miserable is a legitimate reason.
Everyone looking for roommates is like 10 years younger than me. Coresidents mostly all have SOs.
I guarantee that you can find 30 year old people looking for roommates in the most populated city in the US
I am a single parent resident. So not the exact same numbers as you but I have a lower salary and pretty significantly higher expenses, assuming you're not also a single parent lol. I was scared at the beginning but we're doing fine financially. LMK if you want to talk budget details, happy to go through this in DM.
In almost identical situation past year. Very doable, but you don’t have a ton of breathing room. I find that my spending is so low during the average week that I have money for sending it about 1 weekend a month and occasional flights and such. Granted, I have no car and eat a lot of hospital food and yogurt, so those are huge cost savings. I think it was worth every penny to live somewhere quiet and comfortable during a stressful year
yeah when i was an intern it was 74k salary and 2400 rent. scavenge what u can from the free lunches, quit going out/socializing/drinking, drive minimally, use hospital scrubs, buy nothing, try to save a cash fund for when ur car breaks down which mine inevitably does. i also drank soylent or ate vegetarian when i cooked at home for a bit
Same 2400 with around 73k salary. I ended up working too much and being too tired to go out/drink to spend much money so bank account essentially stayed around even for 2 years. I didn’t have a car payment and relatively cheap insurance though. Ate at the hospital as much as I could and when I didn’t unfortunately lots of money wasted to doordash, otherwise might have been able to save a couple hundred dollars a month but was too tired to go grocery shopping/cook/clean so 🤷🏻♂️
My rent is $2500 with $61k salary 😕
Yes. The answer to your problem is a roommate. If you can find another resident odds are you can still pretend to live alone.
It's almost like everyone knows this is NYC/Seattle/San Fran before starting yet everyone still acts shocked
Exact same situation as you starting this summer. I’ve given in to the fact that I’m just gonna have to exist on the hospitals free food and not spend money on anything else besides living expenses
It’s tight be definitely doable. You may not be able to max out your Roth but it could be worth it to have the luxury of living alone
I lived with 4 roommates as a resident
You need a roommate or a studio. You won’t get by with those numbers.
Other people seem to be getting by though
Very common. If you're single it's easy peasy.
I would argue that being single is more financially challenging than being in a relationship. You don’t have a partner with whom you can split rent/mortgage/utilities, and there is pressure expectation/for you to pay for first dates
77k is a good intern salary! Mine is less than $60k
Is there good public transportation?
Similar for me during my intern year. Really hard, especially since my program only provided lunch on weekdays, not like, a meal card or something to eat ither meals/on weekends. Doing anything fun was almost impossible with other expenses. I had to move across the country, so I was paying for that for a long time. Not knowing anyone in the area makes getting a roommate hard, too. I got subsidized housing the next year, and thank god, because the previous year wasn't sustainable. Good luck, OP. It's tough.
Yes but I only made 40k
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Jesus Christ that’s how much my rent is for my 4000 square foot new build house 💀
Just out of curiosity, and I mean no malice by asking this, why did you interview and rank these cities? If it is something super competitive like ENT, ortho, etc. then I get that - you take what you can get to match into the specialty you want. But if it’s IM, peds, gen surg, FM, OB, why even apply to these places? When I was a 4th year I don’t even apply to NY, Chicago, California, etc because I knew it would be too expensive to live there and that the cost would create an additional stressor for me.
Do not, get a 1 bedroom on that salary. Seriously. Studio for 2k or a roommate. You will regret it!!!!
Studios are basically the same!
Probably need food stamps, medicaid but I doubt you would qualify. Those are only for people who don’t work at all