when its all done???

[rainbabies]

[spotty_dog]

We hope for the Northwest, near a medium-sized city. We'll probably be OK with anything between Southern BC and Northern California.

That is a good question....we have some ideas but just don't know. We'll probably target two cities and compare offers.

[twinsmom]

It depends on which one of us you ask... dh's dream is to stay on here as faculty for the rest of our lives. If you ask me, we would head back west to be closer to family - no particular place in general - just somewhere that it doesn't 5 billion days to drive there!
Since the program directors really like dh and have hinted that they would like him to keep this facility in mind when he is looking for jobs ... well... I better start stocking up on thermals and snow boots !! (Hopefully we'll be rich enough to order some SUN for these horrible gray days that seem to happen all to often in the winter months!!!). Lets hear three cheers for the tundra of minnesota!!

Jen B.

[SuzySunshine]

We would like to stay in the midwest but since we'll be looking at academic programs we may not have that much control. Our choices would be here, St. Louis, or Iowa City.

[alison]

We're living and working in Chicago right now. The weather, the traffic, the lack of nature can be a real drag--all of which contribute to this incessant snacking habit that I've developed here! I'm from Seattle and would love to return after dh's training and my PhD. I was so much healthier there. San Francisco would also do even though it's too expensive. I need an ocean with the fish smell and some mountains, or even hills. The prairie just doesn't do it for me.
Alison

[Gwendolyn]

We hope to end up in the Pacific NW, but we may end up back in the desert to be closer to family.

Whatever the case, I lookforward to retiring to Hawaii!! :!

[Sheherezade]

I'm finding that you don't have nearly as much control as you think you will. Open minds are a must. For your first job you must find a job that year so you are limited by the current job market.

So true.

I've found that getting your hopes up for post-training perfection is a recipe for depression. In many specialties, your location will be dictated by available jobs. Your housing will be dictated by finances, location, and timing. I know that DH and I did fine bending our "dream-vision" but our kids had a bit of a shock. I'm sorry now that we talked so much about the payoff at the end to keep them going. It's not always possible to have it - at least right away. (And with kids, you may not *want* to move again to get it after the first job!)

I should sign this one Debbie Downer, huh?

[Vishenka69]

I would love to stay in NYC with an Iowa salary. DH did some salary research and it seems that it gets bigger the further one moves from a metropolitan area. Hence, he wants to move to middle of nowhere for a few years to make some money and I want stay here (this is where our friends and my shopping are). This topic comes up for discussion almost every day. Since we never lived anywhere other than NY, I'm not sure if we can. I mean, if we had to, I'm sure we could but since we like it here so much, would we be able to be happy some place that's completely different?

[Sheherezade]

I'd probably vote for staying put with a lower salary ... but that's just me. Money really can't buy your happiness. If the salaries offered in your desired location will cover decent housing, decent lifestyle, retirement money, good insurance coverage and school choice for your kids you will not have financial stress. Sometimes, it's hard to see that when some other location is offering 2x as much. We had a great $$$ offer from a very remote location. It was very tempting - but we would have been miserable. We couldn't have stayed put in Boston unless we were willing to live in an apartment/condo for quite awhile longer. Now, I realize that might not have been the end of the world. At the time, though - it was a *disaster*!! You never know if you'll be happier in a different place, though. It is fun to try new things. But in the end, don't be blinded by the money. Quality of life day to day is far more important than mounting savings once you've covered your financial basics.

Of course, with your shopping "problem" Vishenka - maybe Iowa for a few years could pay off!!

Back to the original question.....even though we already ARE out of training and more or less settled. I'd love to be in Brookline, MA or the Cape Ann area. I'd also like Burlington,Vermont or NH (Dartmouth) or Portland, ME - at least in theory. I like university towns with nearby cities for this phase of my life. Once the kids are done with school, DH and I may try to make a move back to city life. Ideally, NYC but we'd take anything urban.

Hence, he wants to move to middle of nowhere for a few years to make some money

This was our plan when he started residency (and some might say we've done it in KC, but not so). After having kids, we realized that middle of nowhere would likely mean poor to rotten schools, AND a greater possibility of racial prejudice for our mixed kids. Add to it that our sons neither look Indian or white, and someone narrow-minded enough to have a blanket prejudice against Middle Eastern people could easily assume the boys are Middle Eastern.

Angie hit the nail on the head. Job market will play a HUGE role where you end up. This was not my first choice, but I'm truly very content here. I miss my friends in Cleveland, but I've already developed a nice group of friends here.

[Vishenka69]

If the salaries offered in your desired location will cover decent housing, decent lifestyle, retirement money, good insurance coverage and school choice for your kids you will not have financial stress.

I think that his salary in NY will cover those, but he thinks that a 3 bedroom co-op is not necessarily "decent housing" when the price tag is $500-600K.

Since many of you have moved around a lot, how do you determine if you'll like a particular location prior to moving? Does visiting for a day or two do the trick?

[Tenacious_D]

We would love to move to Coastal Maine (near Portland). We love the city life and the suburb life as well but for raising kids, I can't picture us staying in NYC. PLus we both love the ocean and love skiing and snow boarding. Best of both worlds while still being on the East coast.

[DCJenn]

Right smack dab back here in DC.

If we couldn't for some reason come back here, then I'd go to Pittsburgh, Philly, Boston, Providence, Hartford, etc. aka: large city on the East Coast.

The child neurologist will have to be near a large enough base to support a practice and a hospital with the appropriate services, so large city it will likely be. Then, because his crazy relatives are all in So. Cal, that automatically eliminates any state or city that would allow surprise visits. (and these people will drive very long distances.

Texas was fun, and if we go there again, we'll enjoy it. But all of my family and friends are East Coast based (Maine to Richmond, and East to Cleveland and Columbus, OH.)

I like living in the center of one of the targets though...

Jenn

I think it depends on the specialty, degree of specialization, kind of practice setting you are looking for, and size of the city. It seems that a lot of the primary care people we know had a pretty easy time staying or going where they wanted. The practice set-up might not have been the top choice, though (but not bad either).

If there is a specific place you want to be, it doesn't hurt to start making contacts in advance of the regular interview season, IMO. Sometimes it can take a while to get the ball rolling.