Advice- Knoxville and Nassau

Knoxville, TN

My husband is on call every 3 nights, has in-house call and is usually busy all night.

Tip: If you tell the physician (PCP) your husband is a resident, Dr. will usually cover co-pay

Take the opportunity to spend as much time together as possible.  We often go to the hospital to at least eat dinner together.  Our program is supportive of that but other programs may not be.

You have to BE STRONG!  Dad is gone so you have to be the strong one for the family.  It’s a tough four years but you have to push through.

Temple: 2 ½-3 hours away from Knoxville, Our Church building is 15 minutes away

East Meadow (Nassau), NY

We have a small ward with balanced dynamics and is the building is about 20 minutes away.  There is a medium sized primary.   We LOVE the ward.  It is our favorite ward ever, The Temple is about 40 to 60 minutes away with train and subway and about 45 minutes with no traffic if driving

Our apartment is provided by the program  and makes cost of living do-able (take straight from paycheck), There is good heating and cooling,  The apartment is ground level with 2^nd and 3^rd floor to live in, There is a BBQ and play area.  In general there is a pretty high cost of living because its an island.  Right now its around $3.80.

There are lots of things to do but most things cost money, Wading pools cost money but beach is 20 minutes away in either direction (north and south), There is a bounce house, mall (great), parks are in walking distance, There are lots of Museums.  Walmart, Mcdonalds, Target and everything else is within 15 to 25 minutes.

The weather is not bad.  The 30's is the coldest it gets.  It only snows once in a while, but not often, Hospitals are around 20 minutes away, Southshore is abou 30 minutes away.   Tons of hospitals, good insurance

Program specific info- Great program, My Husband loves it, On call every 3^rd night

                1^st year, course to take, drive to class once a week, 2^nd year- rotations, 6 months not on call, You can get along with one car.  Church is the only conflict

                Test to take every year (Omsite), Presentations- 1 month after work

                T/TH surgery days, M-F clinic, days are about 6:30/7-5pm

Advice- Yale

*I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon) so there are questions and responses that are in reference to our religious faith and culture.

How close do you live to the hospital/how long is your husband's commute?We live 10 minutes from the hospital and I highly recommend living near by to reduce the travel time. My husband has home call, so living close to the hospital is wonderful for him to be able to come home for dinner almost every night. On nights that he is called in 2 to 3 times, Living close by is imperative for him to be able to come back and forth and still sleep in his bed.
New Haven is not very safe, and I wanted to be in the Woodbridge ward, which has a lot of young families and a big nursery and primary. I also wanted to be around 10 minutes or less from Matt's work, so I looked hard to find something in the two ZIP Codes that were in the Woodbridge ward yet still close to work. Well worth the effort.

In general, what is your cost of living/housing expense?Decent three-bedroom duplexes or houses in Hamden are between $1500-2000 a month.
Gas is expensive, car registration is expensive, state income taxes are expensive, and generally speaking cost-of-living is higher... The pay and benefits were better here than most other programs, so it almost balances out.

Do you feel safe being by yourself at night etc?In Hamden, absolutely. In New Haven,no.

Do you feel like there's plenty to do to keep you and the kids busy, especially in the winter?
The summer was incredible here, so many orchards, beaches, parks, and fun moms going on outings. During the winter people stay indoors a lot more, but there are still rotating playgroups, creative moms, and plenty to do. I am still working on my tutoring business, but many days I wish I wasn't so I can just focus on being a mom.

How is the church?Awesome. I will love our ward. There are so many young families in similar position. After only living here for three months, I had six people who had offered to watch [my toddler] or take me to the hospital when I had Eliza. So supportive. Lots of PhD and residency families.

Do you drive far to attend your meetings, the temple?Church is a 20 minute drive, but we are the only ward to meet in that building and we have 10 o'clock church always.
The temple is two hours away. Hard to get to with residency, babies, and a long drive.

Has it been a culture shock moving to the east?No, but I grew up in Maryland. [My husband] had a hard time adjusting to the humidity, but for the most part we love New England. Great history, houses with character, and supportive communities. There are a lot of west coasters in our ward.

Any additional advice you could share?Keep doing what you're doing with analyzing your rank list. Trust in prayer and good luck!
Be picky about commute and the ward you want to be in. Sometimes that can make a big difference.
Dive in and be proactive in your new ward and community, it helps a lot to feel supported on long days and weeks.
Expectations can be disheartening. For me to be happy, I live fairly independently taking care of our kids. That way I'm not upset if [my husband] gets home later than he wanted to, just happy to see him.

Does Your husband have work he has to complete at home?
When Matt is on oral surgery rotations, he has a few articles to read and occasional charts to draw at home, about 1-2 hrs/wk. not bad. He does a lot of reading during down moments at work.