For accountants, April 15th is one of the most important days of the year. For first year residents, it is March 16th. Match Day is the day you begin the last leg of your journey to becoming a physician. An exciting time of life, it is also the time when you begin looking for a place to call home for the next few years. But how do you make the transition from one area of the country to another, in a short amount of time, without the luxury of a house-hunting trip?
1. Location isn't everything.
While it is tempting to pick the apartment closest to the hospital in the interest of time, you may find yourself having to drag your groceries up flights of stairs or down long corridors without any sense of privacy. Opting for an apartment with private, ground floor entrances affords you the ability to access your home without the hassle of cold, open stairways and public hallways.
2. Amenities, amenities, amenities.
Residents are justifiably consumed by life at the hospital. Assuming they will not have time for amenities such as pools, gyms or running trails, they often eschew them in favor of lower rent. However, it is important to consider the cost of time. If you can save the cost of a gym membership as well as the time spent traveling to and from a separate location, it would be worth an additional cost in monthly rent to have a gym on-site. The same can be said about other amenities that are available in communities such as Spring Apartments and Springs at South Broadway.
3. Use technology to your advantage.
Skype and Facetime are not only great ways to stay in touch with far away family and friends, they can be your most valuable tools when searching for a place to live. Ask property managers to take you on virtual tours of your potential home to get a feel for what the property has to offer. Ask to see available units, take a tour of any parking areas, and see any amenities the complex is offering. Such virtual tours are especially important when time is short and decisions need to be made without making an advance trip to your new city.
4. You are not just choosing a place to sleep, you are choosing your home for the next four years.
Sure, the prospect of choosing a home for the next few years is daunting, but it can also put your decision into perspective. Once you begin your residency, you will not want to move until you are finished. Finding yourself in an unsuitable apartment, in an unsuitable location will either affect your performance or force you into using your valuable free time to find a new home. Choosing the right place to live the first time will not only save you the stress of moving later on, it will help you begin your residency on the right foot, confident in all aspects of your life.
While Match Day is exciting, it is merely the beginning in a long, incredible journey. Let us at Spring Apartments and Springs at South Broadway make life a little easier by providing you a beautiful place to call home during this exciting time in your life. Call our office for more information.
Editor's note: this article has been updated.
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