living arrangements - around foothills or downtown??

[tea_and_oranges]

Hi All,

 

Was just wanting to bounce this off of those who are currently in the program or who already live in Calgary and have a good sense of the layout:

 

I have an opportunity to live in a good place on 12 ave and 7th St. SW, but am unsure whether I should take it considering that the commute would be around 40-50 mins (from what I can gather, this would involve a ctrain and a bus, or perhaps two buses).

 

My question is whether other people would recommend this, since it pretty much boils down to being in an interesting neighbourhood with bars/cafes/grocery stores etc., versus being close to school - where realistically most of our lives will take place. I realize that things are going to be very busy next year, and that being in a more trendy areas may not really matter much most of the time...so long as there's ready access to a beer (e.g. moose's?), I figure that's all that matters.

 

Would you be phased by having to commute? Or is it more important to just be close to school?

 

Any thoughts/comments would be most appreciated!

[Martin Louis the King Jr.]

I personally would rather live close to the hospital and do the bus/train/bus trip to downtown whenever i want to unwind in a cafe, restaurant etc. Calgary doesn't have a great public transport system and doing the bus/train/bus every day can be a pain. The longer commute is going to cut into your sleeping time... something to keep in mind.

[TeaHatingBrit]

You'll have plenty of time (believe it or not) to enjoy the area around your house/neighborhood. So if you want to live in a trendy area - go for it.

 

But, the transit system in Calgary isn't the greatest, so it may be a bit of a headache to get too and from school, esp. in winter.

 

I moved from about 20-25 minute drive from school, to within a 5 minute walking distance, and haven't regretted it. Infact, I am ever so glad I did (esp. in winter!).

 

If you're keen on visiting places downtown, someone in our class is always doing something or rather, we have plenty of nights out downtown, so that part of life tends to get covered.

[krispe]

I thought I might revive this thread to get some more feedback.

 

As I search for somewhere to live, it is becoming increasingly apparent that there are more vacancies in the downtown area than there are in the vicinity of Foothills (or I'm just not looking hard enough!).

 

I am not adverse to long-ish public transit commutes. I can get up early in the morning; that's no problem. On the other hand, I currently live a one-block walk from my place of work, and I love it.

 

Is there anyone that lives downtown who can give some more pros and cons?

Would being more centrally-located have its advantages in clerkship?

[Who M.D.]

Would being more centrally-located have its advantages in clerkship?

 

In terms of travel by public transportation, both aren't bad to get to the hospitals, though being near Foothills is better. During clerkship, being near the hospital is nice since days can be long (05:30 rounding in surgery; late evenings in some rotations) and after being overnight on call, one might not feel safe driving home when half asleep.

[NewfieMike]

I spent 3 months looking for a place in Calgary. I ended up finding a sweet place in part of the Foothills Village condos. 2 minute walk to the hospital every day is going to be KEY. I think its going to save a lot of time/energy by living close to school, but then again I don't have a car so I was a bit biased to finding some extremely close.

[TeaHatingBrit]

I spent 3 months looking for a place in Calgary. I ended up finding a sweet place in part of the Foothills Village condos. 2 minute walk to the hospital every day is going to be KEY. I think its going to save a lot of time/energy by living close to school, but then again I don't have a car so I was a bit biased to finding some extremely close.

 

 

Ahhh you're going to love the Village.

 

We have a nice little community of med-hobos that stick close. It is good times.

[bloh]

I thought I might revive this thread to get some more feedback.

 

As I search for somewhere to live, it is becoming increasingly apparent that there are more vacancies in the downtown area than there are in the vicinity of Foothills (or I'm just not looking hard enough!).

 

I am not adverse to long-ish public transit commutes. I can get up early in the morning; that's no problem. On the other hand, I currently live a one-block walk from my place of work, and I love it.

 

Is there anyone that lives downtown who can give some more pros and cons?

Would being more centrally-located have its advantages in clerkship?

 

The problem with downtown is the commute. The train does not go to the hospital; it goes by main campus, which is a 20-30 minute walk. So if you live downtown you will have to:

 

1. walk to the train

2. Take the train

3. Then walk or take the bus to the hospital

 

 

Your best bet, if you can't get a place within walking distance to hospital, is to find place that has a direct bus route to it so that you only rely on one piece of the mostly ****ty transit system that we have in Calgary.

 

 

p.s. Before I smartened up and got a car, I have had to endure the following transit ****ups:

1. Train shut down for more than 45 minutes. You can guarantee that this will happen on the first snowfall and then quite frequently during bad storms subsequently

 

2. Buses missing stops. This was a common thing with a bus on main campus. The morning rushhour driver had no idea that he had to do 1 extra loop to the hospital before being relieved of his duty. No idea if this has been fixed.

 

3. Buses never showing up leading to more than 1 hour long waits while I got frostbite on my feet.