High COL Cities

[MDPhDWife]

Now that we're approaching application time, I wanted to get some feedback from you guys about areas with high cost of living.

Currently I'm a SAHM and because of DH's stipend from his MD/PhD program we've haven't had much trouble swinging it financially with minimal loans. DH will be applying to a very competitive specialty so we plan on casting a wide net of applications. My concern is applying to programs in very high COL areas specifically Boston, CA, DC, Chicago, etc. Considering I bought the house we live in over 10 years ago, our house payment is beyond dirt cheap ($615 including taxes & insurance), so I realize I'm going to get sticker shock no matter where we end up. My question though is can a family of 4 make ends meet on a residents salary in those high COL areas? I'm assuming there's probably suburbs in most of these cities that make it more feasible, but how would I even begin to figure out what they are and how realistic would the commute be.

Did the COL deter your family from applying to specific programs?

[HouseofWool]

COL definately played a factor for us. We ruled out big cities like NYC, Chicago, LA etc knowing that there was no way we could afford to live there and still maintain a reasonable standard of living. Thankfully, E chose a specialty that has a fair number of training programs in moderate COL locales.

[GrayMatterWife]

Did the COL deter your family from applying to specific programs?

It didn't deter him from applying, but it definitely affected how he ranked. UCSF, despite being an incredible program, was low on the list...

[DCJenn]

I can speak only for DC- but yes, it is possible to live in the area and have a decent standard of living. It all depends on how you want to live. You will have sticker shock- no doubt about it. The further out you go in the 'burbs of Maryland and DC the cheaper it gets, until you get to horse country on either side and then you're in a jacked up COL again. It's the commuting that sucks the most. I think that particular aspect impacts quality of life as much or more than cost of living. You CAN afford to live in the 'burbs but if the commute sucks 3 or more hours our of your day, why bother. That is why if we are sent back to DC we will still chose to live in a small house in the city.

Jenn

[bokelley]

I am really interested in this post! I considered STL to be pretty good. We live in the west county suburbs, which is kinda crazy high, we just got lucky!!

[v-girl]

Another reason we love living in the Dallas suburbs.

[MDPhDWife]

I am really interested in this post! I considered STL to be pretty good. We live in the west county suburbs, which is kinda crazy high, we just got lucky!!

After reading the reviews of the MO programs, St Louis is definitely on our top 5 list. We've only passed through St Louis once and visited the zoo since it was our DD's birthday and didn't want her to spend her b-day in the car and we really liked it.

Wouldn't it be funny Brandi if you guys ended up here and we ended up there? LOL.

[madeintaiwan]

I'm not a fan of STL , but the COL isn't too bad. We were in STL for medical school with 2 kids. We lived in South County which is less expensive than West County but still has good schools.

In terms of applying for residency... DH did ortho so we really had no choice but to apply broadly. He applied to 30 or so programs and went on 13 interviews. We're from CA so he applied to all of the programs there. We just figured that we would make it work. COL wasn't really a consideration when we did the rank list either. It basically came down to "dream" programs, going home, and gut feelings. He hated Baylor so they were last. I hated Royal Oaks [detroit] so it went second to last and so on and so forth. But we were working from a "happy to match" stand point. COL was a concern but not a deterrent.

[Sheherezade]

We never looked at COL in our decisions -- which explains how we ended up in Boston for fellowship after NYC didn't pan out. We did fine on a residents salary (PGY 5-8 levels) with two small kids. We lived in a close in suburb (Brookline) in small rental housing with extremely high rent. We didn't travel or go out much. We chose that location because we didn't need a car (eliminated a lot of expense) and because the public school system was very good and free. I did coupon shop, etc all through training. I'm a natural cheapskate so maybe that makes it easier?

We did supplement our income. We rented out the house we had purchased in Baltimore during residency and managed that ourselves. It covered the mortgage and then some. We sold the house whe we moved at the end of training and used the profit from it to buy a new one here.

[Vanquisher]

Cost of living was a huge factor in our decision. We lived in a low COL city, and it was still difficult for us. Part of that was us, part was previous debt, and part was just how things happened, but we couldn't have done it in NYC, DC, Boston, etc.

[Tenacious_D]

From experience I can tell you that both Boston and NYC are EXPENSIVE!!! Rent, home ownership, food transportation, parking everything is expensive but there are different perks that you may not get in other cities. Good luck with the search and if he is going to apply to high COL areas and you haven't been before, you should try to tag along.

I will add that safety and a place where I could raise my kids in a culturally diverse area was important for us...more so than cost of living. We thought it would be somewhat of a struggle no matter where we went but DH wanted a happier wife than a larger house

[L.Jane]

COL was not a factor in our decision for residency, but it WILL be after. I have loved being here in DC, but its way more expensive than I would like it to be. While its just the two of us, its fine, but I look forward to the day we are done with residency and move somewhere we can really afford to buy a house and not have to choose between housing and a commute.

[TulipsAndSunscreen]

COL will definitely be a huge factor in our choice of residency location. DH went to a private medical school and had college loans that are not even close to being paid off so we are in a LOT of debt. If I'd known quite how much college debt he had, I would have pushed him to go to his local program where he would have been "in-state" but I suppose that's water under the bridge.

We will be trying to find somewhere with a low COL where we can live within 20 minutes of the hospital. I'm too nervous about him making an exhausted commute otherwise.

Having lived in Boston and NYC, those are out. California is too expensive for the most part and far from family. We're thinking southeast is probably our best bet.

[houseelf]

It didn't deter him from applying, but it definitely affected how he ranked. UCSF, despite being an incredible program, was low on the list...

Yes. One of the biggest fights in our marriage was how we would rank a rank list for a very competitive fellowship.

With this being said, people do it all the time. It sounds like you have been financially responsible for the bulk of training so far. I feel a lot different about incurring a bit of debt over a specified period of time versus taking a huge hit from med school on. KWIM?

[MDPhDWife]

From experience I can tell you that both Boston and NYC are EXPENSIVE!!! Rent, home ownership, food transportation, parking everything is expensive but there are different perks that you may not get in other cities.

Thanks for the reply. Can you give me an example of some of the different perks we may find in larger more expensive cities compared to a mid size midwestern city?

Boston is one of the programs that is sticking out to us so I'd love to pick your brain some more about it. Are you living in the suburbs or in the metro area? What suburbs are closer to Tufts and BU?

I will add that safety and a place where I could raise my kids in a culturally diverse area was important for us...more so than cost of living.

Living somewhere culturally diverse is HUGE to us. Being a latin family, I really don't want our children to be the only "brown kids" at school or be someplace that is still very segregated. For example, I always thought AZ would be high on our list because it's close to home, we enjoy the climate, and COL is reasonable, but with the racial tensions that are happening there now we're definitely having second guesses about it.