Moving tips for residents

Now that I am moving given a job change just a couple of tips for those who will be doing the same next year. Broken it down into phases

Looking for a new place
Apps that kind of help you scope out the places and average rent. Generally, 1-2 months is ideal timing since old tenants move out and you would be moving in.

• Trulia- https://www.trulia.com/-  It gives you a sense of security, given you know the crimes that have taken place in the area and the average rent in the same region. Please note there might be a LOT of brokers in this place so you may have to pay a broker fee, WHICH IS A LOT! 
• Apartments.com- https://www.apartments.com/ - This was a lifesaver for me in my hunt, since I was expected to shell out a LOT for an apartment. And the ones I saw were pretty expensive compared to the size. In my head, apartment complexes were nonexistent in the place I was moving to. However, on this site, you can see the different complexes and the average rent that it might be, which was super helpful and extremely relieving. 
• Apartment List- https://www.apartmentlist.com/- This site helps you in shortlisting apartments based on your preferences of distance and budget.

Utilities/Mail
- Do note that you will have to end your electric/water accounts at your old place and start one's at your new place
- USPS has an amazing service whereby you can change your current address to your new one at this place and not worry about losing mail
- This is a website which helps in managing your electric utility bill. You get $25 off your electric bill via this referral link. The big reason I like it is that you can use your credit card when paying bills which helps in earning points. Review on Arcadia can be found here.

Bank accounts
- I would check whether your current banks have good coverage in the place you are going to move to. Eg- Chase is great in Ohio, but BoA is better on the East coast. Similarly, KeyBank is a major player in Ohio, not so much on the East coast.
- So either close or keep your current accounts depending on what suits your requirements.
- Update your mailing address with the accounts so as to not have issues when you make transactions.

Credit Cards
- This would be a good time to open a new credit card had you not already done so last year. Link to my credit card recommendations is here and flying tips with Amex referral is here. This is the link with all my current credit cards

Selling your old things
Apps like LetGo and OfferUp work well, or you can sell your furniture to your juniors/colleagues if you do not like to transact with unknown people.

If you have more tips please post below, or send me an email with your comments and I will update the same.

Travel experiences from a newbie on the fellowship interview trail

It seems like just the other day I got done with the residency interview trail and now I am going for the fellowship interviews! Please note the following is for fellowship interviews. If you are a medical student applying for residency I would use my earlier post.

Couple of differences that I noticed between residency and fellowship interviews is as follows

1. Given you are earning in dollars now, the pinch of money is NOT too much but still palpable
2. Most hospitals generally provide accommodation. The really fancy ones even pay for the airfare!
3. The fellowship programs are trying to sell themselves to you instead of vice-versa (at least that is what I felt)

One goes for interviews generally in the 3rd year of residency OR 4th year if you are Med-Peds/Chief in your program. So if you are in residency you generally travel on post-call days, eat pre-interview dinner and sleep at night in the hotel accommodation the program provides. Therefore as mentioned in point 1, you want the fastest yet cheapest option. This is generally flights unless the distance is not too far in which case people do drive.

Couple of tips that I felt that a candidate can do to make the experience easier (at least in my case; please note that different people have different options. This is my experience)
I highly recommend getting the Amex Platinum credit card since it gives you HUGE perks. My referral link is this. To list a few

• 60,000 membership reward points for spending 4k. You will definitely hit this depending on the number of places you interview at
• $200 airline credit- It works with only single airline
• $200 Uber credit ($15 per month)- One uses this feature A LOT on your interview trail. 
• $100 credit for TSA pre-check which is something US citizens can do but for IMG's only if you are one of the global entry countries can you do the same
• Access to a LOT of lounges during flights. I feel this is another BIG perk for residents who are interviewing and frequently flying
• You get complimentary gold access to Hilton, Marriot and Starwood preferred. (The hotels treat you like royalty)- As mentioned in point 2 on the top, the programs pay for the stay. So you can give your account number at check-in and you get rewarded for the stay.

The annual fee though high ($595), I feel the above perks are worth it.

Please note- 
- In case the program does not pay for accommodation, you can check Airbnb for a place to stay at a cheap rate and maybe rent a car to the interview/uber it.
- One can also apply for the Chase sapphire reserve since that has travel deals as well.

I flew the following airlines. Highlighted the perks and features which I liked. All the airlines generally give you pretzels/cookie with a drink (coke, Pepsi etc). You can spend money on hard drinks should you want to indulge in the same.

JetBlue- Loved this airline since there is free wi-fi with amazon prime video streaming. The food is amazing as well. The leg space is GREAT! Given I am a tall person, I love when I can stretch my legs without feeling like I am cramped in my seat.

Southwest- There is NO predetermined seating. Your seat is dependent on WHEN you check in. You get a boarding group number and at the time of boarding, you are broken into groups based on the same. You board the plane and call dibs on the seats. The biggest perk is the 2 checked bags for free, which you can use if you are changing your base-camp. You get wifi to watch cable channels to kill time. You have to pay for internet though.

Delta- The service was great. Loved the food. But depending on when you book your tickets you may get a good deal.

American Airlines- Cheap low cost but no special perks that I would run wild for. Had a couple of bad experiences but the flight crew made up for the same.










Just to get myself organized, I used the following apps. They are available for Android, Apple and windows.

Tripit Pro version- It is $49 for a year subscription which is okay per me for the interviews. It gives you notifications on when you can check in and gives you the shortest route to take to the next gate, which helps when your layover is just half hour and you have to run to the next gate. You can even store your hotel reservation, so you know your itinerary is not missing anything.

Awardwallet pro/free version- Helps you track your miles and know when miles are expiring. It also has a feature of letting you know when to check-in. My referral link is this