Commuting vs. living on campus

[jesustakethewheel]

If any dentistry/med students could chime in on commuting vs. living on campus that would be great as I'm having a hard time deciding. The financial argument is already a given and I am trying to save as much money as I can but at the same time I don't want commuting to come in the way of my studies. My commute would be around 45min one way to UofT. Basically is commuting doable or does it get very difficult?

Cheers.

[Bambi]

When I went to med school, I literally lived less than 60 seconds away. And I was always busy studying. I know I could not have dealt with a commute, it would have created difficulties for me.

[DentalDayum]

Also, adding another question to this thread, is it a good idea to live at grad house? It looks all right online, but I wanted to get your opinions!

[Super Nova]

All depends on what type of student you are. Are you the type of student to be studying all the time or has bad time management? Have you had a commute before to school for say, undergrad? 

I had a 70 minute one way commute to university everyday for 3 years for my undergrad and i found it to be just fine. After i got into professional school, i had a 25 minute one way commute to the university for a while and now i have a 45 second walk commute. 

So i will say this, it really will not matter. You will adapt to your situation. Living far away has its perks but none of them really have to do with academics. Living close will give you ease of mind and the luxury of coming and going at leisure.  So ask yourself if saving the money is worth it. I was lucky to get a place that has me pretty much paying what i was when i was far away but it all comes down to this;

Will the money i save be as valuable as the time i lose? And honestly, having done both, and being in a professional program where you know you are going to make a lot of money afterwards makes it a no brainer. I would go for the ease of mind and just get a place closeby and not worry about the money. Money will come and go, it's just that for the time being, it will mostly 'go' haha.

[marwii]

hey, welcome to U of T first of all~

As a current U of T dental student, I'd highly highly recommend living close. Ultimately the extra few hundred dollars per month won't matter in the long run, but your experience while at school will. I really appreciate living close by (4 min walk door to door) because of the extra sleep, and peace of mind I won't be stuck on the TTC trying to get to exams etc. Plus, it's easier to meet up with friends and go to events since everyone else is mostly in the DT area.

Every year, there is a bunch of people who thinks that they'll just commute, but pretty much most of them end up moving closer by Jan... so go figure.The only people I know who commutes are the married with kids people, so can't blame them. I mean, it's doable but that commute time will add up over time, and for the sake of your sanity and social life, live closer to school is your better bet. 

No, I wouldnt recommend grad house lol, the people who lived there in first year all moved out by second year. It's not cheap for what you get, it's loud and small, and pretty far from school still. Only perk is the proximity of the gym.

For the record, I had a 1hr commute in my undergrad days and it didn't bother me, but professional school is kinda different. Now thinking back about my 8min walk in first year dental school... and that seems too much lol!

[DentDreaming]

So where is a recommended place to stay for U of T? 

[marwii]

'My list of most popular/common places:

-111 elizabeth st 4 min walk: closest condo building, a LOT of dental students here (me too lol), nice building, good amenities, more modern, has a lot of restaurants/coffee near by with longos (grocery store) literally connected to the building. more expensive (duh.)

- motion 5min walk: connected to 111 elizabeth but is pure rental. nice place, popular choice, usually long waitlist.

-633 bay 4 min walk: old building, larger units (so consider multiple room mates), good location but just kinda run down

- 222 elm 6-7min walk: rental apartment, cheap (850 per person if in shared 2bdrm), infested with roaches... no AC. not recommended unless your budget is tight...

-9T6 6-7min walk: moderately new/modern condo, pretty close by and a good choice too but usually not many listings.

-222 simcoe and others along simcoe 8min walk: pretty new condo, modern, nice, expensive though. 

- college park/aura/the liberties (10-12min): couple of buildings all along bay, south of college area. kind of expensive, but close to the subway (underground access) and Metro grocery store.

then around that 12-15min walk, there is murano, burano (nice, newer, more expensive) at college and bay. Some more buildings further north but gets kinda far.

- grad house 25min walk: far, kinda expensive (950/mth from what i heard), loud and is kind college dorms. close to AC (the gym). 

- ZIP house (25-30min): its owned by the dental fraternity, but any gender can apply to live there, its really cheap (maybe 600-700 depending on the room), but cleanliness isnt great as parties are held there, so recommended for more party types. 

- another option is a house share, which is renting out one room in a large house with communal kitchen/living space near by chinatown. look on beverley street. rent ~800-1100. close to stores/restaurants in chinatown and 8-15min walk depending on where you are along the street. That's what I did in first year, which was EH OK depending on your housemates. The common areas was gross but I paid extra for my own washroom, so highly recommend that if you are doing houseshare. 

- consider buying if you can afford it too!

For a pretty nice place on average, I'd say cost is around 900-1200 if you share and 1500-1600 for a bachelor, 1700+ for 1 bdrm. 

Hope that helps~ 

 

[DentDreaming]

Highly appreciated! Thanks so much for the input. Will have to start making some decisions soon. 

[Fakedoctor]

@marwii wow, thats was actually really helpful thanks

 

 

[jesustakethewheel]

11 hours ago, marwii said:

'My list of most popular/common places:

-111 elizabeth st 4 min walk: closest condo building, a LOT of dental students here (me too lol), nice building, good amenities, more modern, has a lot of restaurants/coffee near by with longos (grocery store) literally connected to the building. more expensive (duh.)

- motion 5min walk: connected to 111 elizabeth but is pure rental. nice place, popular choice, usually long waitlist.

-633 bay 4 min walk: old building, larger units (so consider multiple room mates), good location but just kinda run down

- 222 elm 6-7min walk: rental apartment, cheap (850 per person if in shared 2bdrm), infested with roaches... no AC. not recommended unless your budget is tight...

-9T6 6-7min walk: moderately new/modern condo, pretty close by and a good choice too but usually not many listings.

-222 simcoe and others along simcoe 8min walk: pretty new condo, modern, nice, expensive though. 

- college park/aura/the liberties (10-12min): couple of buildings all along bay, south of college area. kind of expensive, but close to the subway (underground access) and Metro grocery store.

then around that 12-15min walk, there is murano, burano (nice, newer, more expensive) at college and bay. Some more buildings further north but gets kinda far.

- grad house 25min walk: far, kinda expensive (950/mth from what i heard), loud and is kind college dorms. close to AC (the gym). 

- ZIP house (25-30min): its owned by the dental fraternity, but any gender can apply to live there, its really cheap (maybe 600-700 depending on the room), but cleanliness isnt great as parties are held there, so recommended for more party types. 

- another option is a house share, which is renting out one room in a large house with communal kitchen/living space near by chinatown. look on beverley street. rent ~800-1100. close to stores/restaurants in chinatown and 8-15min walk depending on where you are along the street. That's what I did in first year, which was EH OK depending on your housemates. The common areas was gross but I paid extra for my own washroom, so highly recommend that if you are doing houseshare. 

- consider buying if you can afford it too!

For a pretty nice place on average, I'd say cost is around 900-1200 if you share and 1500-1600 for a bachelor, 1700+ for 1 bdrm. 

Hope that helps~ 

 

I love you 

[marwii]

yea you're welcome~ I wish someone told me this before, when I was deciding and figuring things out, especially since I'm OOP. see you all in a couple of months, I'll be in fourth year then so I can pretty much answer any questions you guys may have!

[DentalDayum]

pm me if you're OOP (or IP) and want to live together lmao. Just trying to save that $$$

[Fakedoctor]

3 hours ago, marwii said:

yea you're welcome~ I wish someone told me this before, when I was deciding and figuring things out, especially since I'm OOP. see you all in a couple of months, I'll be in fourth year then so I can pretty much answer any questions you guys may have!

if you don't mind me asking, what was your day to day class schedule like in first year? and does everyone take have the same schedule/classes? 

[whitecab]

20 hours ago, Fakedoctor said:

if you don't mind me asking, what was your day to day class schedule like in first year? and does everyone take have the same schedule/classes? 

Same schedule for everyone, we have everything together. Pretty much ~9-5 each day, some days you start earlier or later, and may end earlier or later.

[longteethgriffy]

On 3/2/2018 at 10:29 AM, jesustakethewheel said:

If any dentistry/med students could chime in on commuting vs. living on campus that would be great as I'm having a hard time deciding. The financial argument is already a given and I am trying to save as much money as I can but at the same time I don't want commuting to come in the way of my studies. My commute would be around 45min one way to UofT. Basically is commuting doable or does it get very difficult?

Cheers.

45 min one way really doesn't sound that bad if you enjoy living at home and the luxuries it offers ie laundry, meals, family time, commitments, etc. My commute is right now 1hr to 1hr 15 minutes and at times its a little tiring but really if you told me I had to do it for the rest of my time at UofT in order to keep attending I'd do it. Luckily you always have options so if you want to test the waters for a semester thats totally doable as well 

[stressed1948]

On 2018-03-05 at 9:09 PM, WE WUZ KANGZ said:

45 min one way really doesn't sound that bad if you enjoy living at home and the luxuries it offers ie laundry, meals, family time, commitments, etc. My commute is right now 1hr to 1hr 15 minutes and at times its a little tiring but really if you told me I had to do it for the rest of my time at UofT in order to keep attending I'd do it. Luckily you always have options so if you want to test the waters for a semester thats totally doable as well 

Living in the burbs as I do, I found during underground that the commute in and out of Toronto was also great study time (depends also on whether you want to save some $ - cheaper to go further out - better apartment for the money)

[WomboCombo]

On 3/2/2018 at 10:29 AM, jesustakethewheel said:

My commute would be around 45min one way to UofT. Basically is commuting doable or does it get very difficult?

Totally doable. That's how long my commute is and I end up i) studying, ii) going on my phone to check updates (since there is wifi in TTC stations and data in some areas between stations) and relaxing after a long day of school, iii) eating breakfast, iv) sleeping, v) talking with friends, etc. I also like having a physical and mental distance away from the school. It does mean you need to wake up a bit earlier and get home a bit later. But if you use your time wisely on the commute, it's really financially economical and it's quite nice to live at home.

[cleanup]

I already lived in the area so my choice wasn't exactly difficult, but there's something to be said about rolling out of bed 5 minutes before class and still being able to make it.

Not that I did that.

Not all the time, at least.

That said, everyone keeps talking about the commute, and all I'm thinking of is that I just want to live downtown. I think part of your decision should also involve your personality; living close to school is great. Living at home is great. But do you want to enjoy the city, go out, be able to go out with your friends without worrying about your trip/drive/commute home? Personally, I think most people would benefit from being in the city, however financially more taxing. You're young. Take advantage of it. You can still go home whenever you'd like to see your family, but having the option to be on your own shouldn't be taken lightly.

[Aconitase]

I recommend a commute 

 

I went to med school and despite what people say you don’t study all the time. Also spending 45 mins or so each way isn’t going to kill you but will save a lot of money and prevent ukuleles from going into debt and also ensure that you eat well etc. 

 

Also fornus  is clerkship is able to be chosen closer to home so it only mattered for the first couple of years.