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Ottawa residents - commuting to class?


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Based on what I've seen in the MD2022 Facebook Group, there are individuals that live both near RGN as well as near Downtown.  There's a complimentary shuttle that departs the main uOttawa Campus approximately every 15-20 minutes and takes around 15-20 minutes to reach RGN (It stops at Lees, St Paul, and then RGN last I recall (+/- Traffic).  I dont believe it should make much of a different in the first two years, but maybe it will matter more for Clerkship. 

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23 hours ago, Snowden said:

Hi - looking for input from current med students! Is there anyone that does not live near RGN and commutes from their home in Ottawa (ie. in the suburbs like Barrhaven, Kanata, Orleans, etc.)? Or does everyone move nearby the school? Would you say it is imperative to move nearby to be successful?

I've done a 1 hr commute to downtown for undergrad by bus but I'm wondering if medical school is any different and I should strongly consider moving. Thanks in advance!

I will be commuting. My current debate is whether I buy a parking pass or just bus it and keep the car at home. 

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I have classmates in 2021 that live in Nepean, Orleans and Barhaven. They all drive and have parking passes. 

I also live kind of far from the other people in the class. You dont have to live downtown or around RGN to be successful. Socially it can be a bit annoying to not live in those clusters butits not a huge deal. 

In terms of a long commute, class starts at 8:30 four days a week and at 8:00 am on Thursdays. It's early. It sucks. If you are a morning person and don't mind being up for a long early morning commute on top of that, by all means ride the bus. I wouldnt rely on recorded lectures because they are not always recorded and often times the recording system fails. 

My personal opinion is that you don't need to live close to school to be successful. If you don't live on a bus line that can get you there quickly, get a car and drive to school. My commute is about 20 mins by car and it's not a huge deal. However, you better bet that I am extremely jealous of the people that can roll out of bed at 8:10, get dressed and still get to class on time. 

 

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1 minute ago, Snowden said:

Thank you so, so much for your reply! This is exactly what I was looking for! 

8:30am is doable... 8am is quite early haha. I guess I'll spend the summer trying to build up good sleeping/waking habits. And thanks as well for the advice on lecture recordings; there were numerous times in undergrad where I had to rely on them due to a late bus, etc. I'll have to figure out which option works best for me.

After your morning classes, do you find that there's a lot going on amongst the medical students at RGN? I'm thinking things like study groups, events, interest group activities? Or does the day sort of just end at noon when classes are done and everyone sort of heads home/gym/whatever?

Sometimes there is, but most of the time it dies after 12-1. There are interest group talks usually for the hour after lunch and if you decide to do electives usually they will be after class in the afternoon. 

I dont think there are a lot of formal study groups but there are usually are groups of people that will study in the library at RGN individually for a few hours.

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I know a lot of people who do it from orleans with over 1 hour commute and it’s fine. They download the podcasts from class and listen to it on the way to class it’s actually pretty effective studying habit :P 

it makes a big difference financially to move out so I suggest to try it and see how it goes.

Mr Duck

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1 hour ago, Cariella14559 said:

Does anyone know students who live around Byward Market? It's super close to the main campus, so the shuttle shouldn't be a problem I guess.. But I was just wondering if anyone had any experience with that area :) Thanks!

I don't know any med student there but I do know other students there and they love the area. Super great food scene

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I'm from Ottawa so speaking from personal experience, I can say the Byward Market is a great place if you want to live in a lively neighbourhood. Tons of food options and great social scene. However, if you want a quiet neighbourhood where you can study in peace inside your home, it might not be great. The surrounding areas with housing (Sandy Hill, Glebe) might be a better mix for the quietness of a neighbourhood + proximity to the activity in downtown. Also, keep in mind, Byward is still a 15-25 minute walk to the shuttle bus stop on the main campus, something to consider for the dreadful Ottawa winters. There is also plenty of housing right around RGN where most med students like to live and bus links to downtown are available as well, including shuttle service. 

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1 hour ago, anonymouspanda said:

 Also, keep in mind, Byward is still a 15-25 minute walk to the shuttle bus stop on the main campus, something to consider for the dreadful Ottawa winters. 

So true, I used to park in the market as there is some free parking there, while I was in undergrad... the long cold walk to main campus should not be underestimated!

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On 7/2/2018 at 11:20 AM, Snowden said:

Thank you so, so much for your reply! This is exactly what I was looking for! 

8:30am is doable... 8am is quite early haha. I guess I'll spend the summer trying to build up good sleeping/waking habits. And thanks as well for the advice on lecture recordings; there were numerous times in undergrad where I had to rely on them due to a late bus, etc. I'll have to figure out which option works best for me.

After your morning classes, do you find that there's a lot going on amongst the medical students at RGN? I'm thinking things like study groups, events, interest group activities? Or does the day sort of just end at noon when classes are done and everyone sort of heads home/gym/whatever?

I think whether you have a lot going on at RGN after class will depend on you personally. I ended up going to interest group meetings probably twice a week, and would also be doing electives at all 3 TOH campuses. I also would go to nighttime events pretty often (many put on through interest groups) like career nights, suturing workshops, conferences, etc and also social things like coffeehouse, mentorship events. For people who live downtown/far from RGN, they're probably a little more picky about what things they want to go to. 

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I wanted to rent at Faircrest but I was deterred by the bad reviews online especially regarding pest/bed bugs. It is difficult to gauge how honest/bias those reviews are tho.. I am sure plenty of people found no problem living there or else the place would be empty. 

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