tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4733275816481882855.post2206474618808638984..comments2023-10-28T09:31:38.684-04:00Comments on Lives of Doctor Wives: PreMed Perspective: Two years down... How long to go?!Melisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06853815094926344439noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4733275816481882855.post-57816225723293161402013-06-27T23:49:10.915-04:002013-06-27T23:49:10.915-04:00Thank you ladies for your responses! You are very ...Thank you ladies for your responses! You are very encouraging! <br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14061556951379501424noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4733275816481882855.post-5364193840713473332013-06-26T00:20:31.991-04:002013-06-26T00:20:31.991-04:00i also don't usually comment on these! but som...i also don't usually comment on these! but something about your words are totally resonating with me. i think the fear and anxiety that comes with this whole process. the what-ifs and the mere thought of how long it all takes. i am not in your situation, but i am also a graduate student with no job (double loans...ick), we are looking to start a family in the next year, and we are officially starting our(/his) last year of medical school this week. and honest to god, i remember sitting exactly where you are...at the very beginning of the process after drudging through chemistry, etc. and the MCAT and the whole mess. and now i'm sitting here and honestly, like the commenter above, somehow you just make it work. and it truly is not that bad. there are days that are worse than others, but there are good days too and there are great days! i have a hard time with the doom and gloom stuff as well. you guys will get through it and everything will be okay! Ashhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16014126390410742402noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4733275816481882855.post-87525154145320649292013-06-25T13:37:51.225-04:002013-06-25T13:37:51.225-04:00I usually don't comment on most of these blog ...I usually don't comment on most of these blog posts, because I can't relate to a lot of the stories (we have no children yet, we've perpetually stuck in long-term relationships so I can't be a 'wing spouse', etc), but I wanted to tell you that somehow, in the end, it will all turn out okay!<br /><br />I agree that reading a lot of the doctor's wives blogs are scary, but everyone has a completely different experience. I read stories of homelessness, food stamps, not having electricity due to inabilities to pay the bills... and it's all totally foreign to me. It certainly doesn't HAVE to be like that.<br /><br />When my husband was in medical school, I was a Ph.D. student with a $22,000/year stipend. We lived in Washington, DC, so our rent was extraordinarily high compared to most areas of the country. We made it work. My husband took out as much as he could loan-wise to cover some extra living expenses, and sure, we'll be paying back his loans for a while, but you do what you have to do. We didn't own anything luxurious or extravagant, but we were never trying to scrape our last two nickels together, either.<br /><br />My husband moved away for residency, so we spent 4 years surviving on a resident salary and my same graduate stipend, while maintaining two separate residences in two separate states, adding in travel costs for both of us between the two locations. Again, we were able to make it work, with a lot of planning, budgeting, and saving wherever we could. We lived together for the past 10 months, but he just moved yesterday to another city for fellowship, while I still have 3ish years left here for my postdoc.<br /><br />There are a lot of scary stories out there, and my heart absolutely goes out to those with immense struggles, but a spouse in medical school doesn't seal you into a lifetime of poverty. The loans terrified me at first, but sometimes you just have to take out a little more money to get by, and after a while, you stop panicking when you think about the total debt accrued... Julie @ Bunsen Burner Bakeryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16279523327409654066noreply@blogger.com