Commuting in to an elective site

[anesthete]

Hi all,

I'm not from the area so don't know the geography well - I am hoping somebody from the region will be able to lend their perspective to this:

I have a 2 week 4th year elective at McMaster in a field where the hours are likely going to be 7am-5 / 8am-6 with minimal call expected. I have a friend who lives in downtown Toronto who has offered their place to stay. I am trying to minimize costs associated with renting, as 4th year expenses are already accumulating in a big way. How possible would it be to drive in to Hamilton (St Josephs) every day from Toronto?

 

Thanks!

 

 

 

[PurpleS]

What elective is this? People might be able to give you a better sense of how busy the service is.

If you leave really early and outside of rush hour traffic, it's doable. But you're still adding 2.5 - 3 hours of commuting time to your day at best. You'd probably be leaving around the same time for 7 and 8 AM starts so you can avoid traffic.

I think it's also in your interest to live in the area just so you can get a feel of what the city is like for residency - for yourself and so you can answer the question during interviews.

[UdeMed]

I'm not for the area too, but I think you should also consider the price of gasoline for driving 2-3 hours a day for 2 weeks... You might find a "cheap" AirBNB for the week.

This would also give you more time in Hamilton and more time to study for your elective / prepare for CARMs instead of driving every day. You could still cut on renting price by going to your friend in Toronto for the weekend (like Friday to Monday morning?)

 

[RichardHammond]

I had a medicine elective in Hamilton and tried commuting a couple days from Toronto and found it too draining so I ended up getting a hotel. I wouldn't recommend commuting so far everyday. I see that you're from an Ontario medical school that is not McMaster and I'm assuming not from U of T, so you should be eligible for the HealthForceOntario Clerkship Travel Program. You can get transportation or accommodations reimbursed up to $1500 as long as you meet their requirements (kinda picky with it being at an academic centre, max $150ish per day for legit hotel, etc.). So although it might sound expensive initially, a hotel might be a good option if you can get it covered.

http://www.healthforceontario.ca/en/Home/All_Programs/Clerkship_Travel_Program

[HailmadeMode]

Man that commute is Rough! Hope youre able to find better options close to McMac. If this is an elective, you dont want to be drained by the commute, and traveling that long will have its toll after a few days. Try your best to find cheap alternatives in Hamilton (its generally cheaper than other major cities). You may have to bite the bullet on this as 4th year really is expensive, but it's better to pay up now than suffer the consequences of a subpar elective potentially because of your commute/housing issue. Hope you figure something out !

[Edict]

On 3/7/2019 at 4:30 PM, anesthete said:

Hi all,

I'm not from the area so don't know the geography well - I am hoping somebody from the region will be able to lend their perspective to this:

I have a 2 week 4th year elective at McMaster in a field where the hours are likely going to be 7am-5 / 8am-6 with minimal call expected. I have a friend who lives in downtown Toronto who has offered their place to stay. I am trying to minimize costs associated with renting, as 4th year expenses are already accumulating in a big way. How possible would it be to drive in to Hamilton (St Josephs) every day from Toronto?

 

Thanks!

 

 

 

I can probably help. Its about a 1 hour drive from Toronto to Hamilton with no traffic. If you start at 8am everyday you'd probably want to be leaving Toronto at 6:30-45am and if you start at 7am, you'd probably want to leave at 5:45-50am. The traffic heading out of the city at that time shouldn't be bad at all. 

Coming back there will be traffic especially if you leave at 5pm, but it would only delay you by about 30-40 minutes or so. if you leave at 6pm it will be similar around 20-30 minutes delay.

So you'll likely spend 2-3 hours commuting each day, if that sounds alright with you, then do it.