Some of the residents I met at NYU-HJD commuted from outside the city, including Hoboken. It did not sound like a common occurence, and will definitely eat away time, and I recall that if you do commute by car, that parking was not necessarily provided.

My best advice, DON'T limit yourself too much by location. It is much easier to turn down an interview in Dec/Jan than it is to build a time machine, go back to to Sept and apply to more programs on ERAS.

See if your school has any alums at the NYC programs that you could contact directly.

My wife said she would be quite unhappy living in Brooklyn or Manhattan if I matched there, but that should wouldn't mind living in New Jersey (seems pretty similar to me, but its wife logic). So my Q is, would it be possible to commute from New Jersey to Brooklyn or Manhattan every day as an ortho resident, or should I just cross all the programs off my list because it would be impossible? I know a lot of business people do it, but since I'm not from there, I am not sure how it works.

Who's going to be the bread winner? You or your wife...

Who would win in a fist fiight?













But, seriously, she WANTS to live in New Jersey? Maybe she isn't feeling well.

I am. But bringing home the bread to a unhappy wife is counter intuitive. After I posted this question I actually had the chance to chat with a New York Native who gave me a list of places that someone who prefered a more suburban/tree like area would probably enjoy living in. Heres the list for anyone else considering going to NY:

Brooklyn
1) Park Slope (http://nymag.com/realestate/articles/ne ... kslope.htm)
a. Lot's of churches
b. Brownstone neighborhood
2) Fort Greene (http://nymag.com/realestate/articles/ne ... linton.htm)
a. Brownstone neighborhood
3) Brooklyn Heights (http://nymag.com/realestate/articles/ne ... eights.htm)
a. Site of the Cosby Show
b. Beautiful homes
c. Brownstone neighborhood
4) Ditmas Park (http://nymag.com/realestate/articles/af ... aspark.htm)
a. Lots of Victorian style homes
5) Kensington
a. Similar to Ditmas Park

Queens
1) Rosedale (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosedale,_Queens)


Jersey City (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jersey_City,_New_Jersey)
- More suburban.
- Quick commute into Manhattan

Long Island (http://www.discoverlongisland.com/home. ... .licvb.com)
- besides Brooklyn and NJ, many who work in manhattan live here
- very residential, lots of regular homes
- lots of beaches and outdoor life

yawn.

Just because you live in 'new york' and work in 'new york' doesn't mean anything is close.

I went to school in manhattan, and I lived in brooklyn AND manhattan.(and yes, I lived in Park Slope when I lived in brooklyn)

And let me tell you..

if you're going to live in brooklyn, your option is to do your residency at downstate. Otherwise, everything is too much of a commute, and unreliable..

TRUST ME, location is key in any residency program. If you are going to be spending 80 hrs a week (or more) the precious 30 min - 1 hr commute each way, every day.. adds up, significantly. (let's say you spend 30 min each way.. 1 hour a day, x 6 days a week.. 6 hours a week..)

I know if I had a wife, she'd be much more happy if she got to see me for an additional 6 hours.


If you're going to branch out and live further away... move after your 1st and 2nd years.

the NJ/NY commute isn't soo bad, it's just, unreliable at early hours in the morning..and if you attempt to drive.. you had better be rich...


New York is a tough place to do residency... the living options are not the greatest...

HSS provides housing.. but during your trauma rotation in queens, you have to pick up your fellow residents in a company car, and all go in the morning..

albert einstein - most people live wherever.. moving around the bronx is a pain, and if you live in the city.. parking is a nightmare..and forget the subway... you'll spend your life on the train.

columbia - eh, not so bad.

NYUHJD - plenty of places in murray hill to live, just costly, of course.

NYMC - st vincents - this program is tanked.

NYMC valhalla - more options to live.. but people still commute from the city, not sure what they're smoking.

downstate - live in brooklyn. You can live in the city later years, and even on LI then too, but it's a commute.. and it is a pain..believe me on this one

NS/LIJ - most live around the hospital somewhere.. nice surburban life. I grew up there.. hell, I was born in that hospital A bunch commute from the city, which is the reverse commute, and isn't too bad, but would wait until later years.

stonybrook - so far out on long island, you might as well live in the middle somewhere, b/c a fair amount of your residency is spent in mineola (about 40 minutes away from the main hospital.)

That's enough for now.. If you want a perspective on NY, let me know.

I got out of New York for residency faster than you can say NY... it's just too expensive, and too time consuming. Enjoy your family, model airplanes or whatever else.. don't get sucked into the hype of new york.

Thanks a lot Illizarovian for your first hand advice. NY is certainly not my top top choice but with so many programs it's hard to avoid them when applying on the east coast. From your post it seems like Long Island would be the best place to live and match.

I'm an ortho wife who has lived in New York the past 8 years, the first 5 in Manhattan, the last 3 years in an outer borough.

My friends, church and work are ALL in Manhattan, but my hours are pretty reasonable, and if I go out late with the girls, I always have a place to crash for the night. It's no big deal for people with typical day jobs to commute. Residency is not a typical day job, and while investment bankers and corporate attorneys sometimes work around the clock and live in the 'burbs, I'm pretty sure residents don't get towncars from their employers to take them home when they work late.

If you match in New York, you will want to live very close to the hospital at which you will spend the most time. Most if not all ortho residency programs in NYC have resident housing at reasonable rates for those neighborhoods. I also found that the pay, on average, is notably higher than programs in other parts of the country, even when you account for taxes.

What specifically are your wife's concerns about living in Manhattan?
If she wants a big apartment/house, then you can cross the Manhattan programs off your list (but keep LIJ on it).
If she wants a yard, there are tons of parks and apartment complexes (such as Stuy Town / Peter Cooper Village, really close to HJD) that have courtyards that you can enjoy without having to maintain.
If she's thinking kids in New York might be difficult, that could be a valid concern, but I guess you'd have to tackle what particularly concerns her about having kids in New York. Is it logistics? Money? Safety? School quality?
If the concern is money, it's probably not as bad as you're anticipating. First, you would get rid of your car(s). No more car payments, no more insurance, no more gas. An unlimited monthly metro card is $89/month. And if you live within walking distance of your hospital, you will barely spend any money on the subway. There are also tons of *cheap eats* places that offer some of the best food in the city (Mamoun's, I'm looking at you!). There are often free or inexpensive concerts and theatre events. Services that are luxuries elsewhere (tailors, cobblers, manicurists, etc.) are so common here that they're often very reasonably priced. Plus, if she works, her salary will likely be much higher in New York than it would be elsewhere.
If the concern is saftey, stick to NYU, Mt. Sinai, Lennox Hill, St. Luke's-Roosevelt, and HSS in Manhattan. I love the area around Columbia/NY Presbyterian West; Washinton Heights is awesome and so full of character and life. But, it is a little more removed and closer to Harlem. The neighborhood is still better than most cities in the US, but I could see how someone concerned about safety might be hesitant to move there. The others are all in gorgeous $$ locations (Columbus Circle, Upper East Side, Grammercy). Obviously you need to be aware of yourself and not make bad choices (like walk around alone wasted at 2am on a Tuesday morning), but the stats have shown time and again that New York is really safe.

Good luck with the whole process! I love New York, and I think there are a lot of misconceptions out there about the city. Still, it's not for everyone, so if it's not for you guys, don't waste your time and money applying here.

I would avoid this at all costs. Everything takes too long, is expensive, and will make you tired. You will have such little time. Live as close to the hospital in Manhattan as possible. I grew up in both NYC and NJ. I have lived in Queens and Manhattan, as well as NJ. Commuting, even downtown withint Manhattan, can be a nightmare. You will be much better off living close to the hospital. Ask your wife to have mercy.

thanks alot everyone for your input. I will definitely try my best to live as close a possible. I'll wait to see if I even get an interview in NY first though