Living in Vancouver for Residency. Any Tips?

[ourlastnight 12]

Hi, I am wondering if there any forum members completing their residency at UBC/VGH who could pass on any advice regarding living near VGH vs. commuting to VGH. I am originally from Vancouver, and I have the option to live at home for residency. I am roughly an 8min drive to both VGH and UBCH. As a way to save money and curb the cost of living, I plan to live at home and drive to VGH. I have access to a personal car but, I am tempted to use EVO Car-Share instead to avoid paying for on-site parking. Does anyone have any experience in regards to using EVO and the long-term cost differences between EVO and a personal car? Thanks.

[bearded frog 459]

I know those that have done both. Cost of living is an important factor, so if you are comfortable living at home and saving that way then by all means do so. Your experience with car shares will be highly variable on the availability of cars around where you live. Depending on your program you might have atypical hours (home call?) which make it less convenient. If you can fall back onto transit pretty easily then that's fine, otherwise you will have to see how often you're driving in and paying for day parking, and if the cost of the car share subscription + N days of parking is more or less than the monthly rate offered to residents, and consider any stress from a not fully reliable mode of transport.