 What's up y'all? Okay, so I had a question asked to me by one of you all and it said essentially Where should you live while attending PA school? Like where's the best place to live? So we're gonna answer that question right now What's up y'all sit down and welcome back to my channel So this question is gonna kind of be just like how most of my answers are answered I guess just pertaining to me But also in terms of how you guys should look at this moving forward So I always talk about like cost of living and Making sure that you are looking at that when you're trying to figure out what PA school you're you want to go to because you're gonna have to pay for all of the PA school expenses in terms of like books and equipment and Then to try and add on like travel and commute to that those are all things that you really have to think about So the question was asked like should you live like close to campus or on campus or more in the downtown area? Like in the outskirts of campus on campus or in the downtown area and so I know When I went to PA school there were people that did several different options of these and at one point I did two versions of these and so I just will talk to you about my specific experience with that and then You can kind of make your decision based on that So when I first started PA school, I went and I lived in the state that my PA program was actually Established in that first year of PA school during didactic year So I looked at all of the various different housing in the area and there were different things the cost of living was pretty inexpensive It was like $500 for like two bedroom like townhomes and apartments and things like that Which was way cheaper than where I was from like $500 wouldn't even get you like a room and somebody's like house Okay, so it was like really really nice to see those prices And you know I was coming with my entire family like me and the kids So because of that we wanted to kind of look for a space that would be really beneficial and conducive to like us having a good life there So we got a townhouse. It was like a duplex and it was maybe like five minutes away from the school We really really love that I really love that because I could see my daughter off to school because the bus came and picked her up right Outside of the door and then go to my school, which was pretty much five minutes away I could always get there in five minutes and if there was traffic it would take me like seven minutes It was right down the street from the school not far away at all That was extremely convenient because it made it easy for me to commute I was able to spend time at school studying But at the same time I was able to come home and it not be like a long 20 30 40 minute drive to home While I've already been in school for eight hours So that's something that you really have to look at if you're going to be like 10 15 20 minutes away from school Like what does that commute look like? Okay? Is that 10 15 20 minutes in traffic on a highway? Or is it just like back roads because Trust me like in the morning when you're trying to get to school versus in the evening when you're leaving school And you're tired from being in school for eight hours and studying you're behind off Those minutes is spent in commuting is going to add up So I am of the opinion of if you can lower if you can lower sorry I saw my thing in the In the camera, but if you can lower your Commute time The the better off you will be at the end of the day Literally and figuratively because you are really going to want to be able to get home as quickly as possible Go take a shower relax and then get back to studying Versus spending you know an hour out of your day that you could be using more productively In traffic and in your commute when I came back for my summative months I stayed on campus, but it was like on campus off campus housing. That was nice It was literally a two minute walk If that to my program because it was right across the street I could throw a rock and beat in the parking lot of my program Now the location was great. My roommate was horrible I did not like her at all and for whatever reason she didn't like me and that was fine and we parted ways We were on a mutually exclusive Like understanding we parted ways I went and I stayed with a friend of mine and then from that We my husband came down and we stayed at one of those like executive hotels And it was further away and that was more of like a 15 20 minute drive Now that 15 20 minute drive wasn't like anything super significant. Um, it wasn't in traffic It was all back roads except for like one quick like highway like you get on and you get off And I didn't feel rushed or anything I think there were maybe one or two times when I was almost like tardy Um or late, but other than that it was fine Now I know some people want to be like downtown you're in the mix in the groove You're getting you like you're fun on because uh, you know when you're coming from pa school You want to actually be able to kind of like hang out and stuff as well Like after a long day at pa school. Well, that's okay It again all depends on where your program is and what you're willing to do So ultimately I don't think that there's any like true like what's the best option I think the best option depends on what you're looking for and then also your pockets So for me, obviously it was a lot less expensive to do the on-campus housing because there were they were They almost gave you like a built-in discount because you were a student So the on-campus housing was a lot less expensive than the executive hotel and then my um Initial home in the city that I was going to school in and so all of those things You kind of have to take into consideration Am I going to have the money to pay for this and if so how much money will I be spending What is the difference? What will I be gaining? Like look at the pros of what you're gaining versus being on campus versus being downtown Or just kind of on the outskirts of your program Versus not right. So what are those perks and does do those perks add up for the cost or Are they a negative now? You know, do they make things even that much more worse? So those are just kind of things that you really have to kind of source out for yourself for me I really liked my first home. It was just far enough away from school Where I felt like comfortable and just free and I was able to forget about it But still close enough so that if I wanted to go to the cadaver lab After hours or if I wanted to come back to the pro the school to study I could do so because we had 24 access to our programs building. So that was also like a really good thing So that was my take on things Hopefully this helps you and helps you make a good decision. Look at all of the factors money Commute what you're gaining versus what you're losing and then you make the best decision for you You know, because maybe it's okay for you to pay like $1,300 a month for a downtown apartment Versus 600 for something kind of a little more out in the suburbs Who knows it's up to you. Okay. Okay. Just wanted to add that for you guys Please drop a comment in the comment section below Like this video and subscribe to my channel. Follow me on instagram and on the pa and on instagram and get that See university. Thank you guys so much for watching. I will talk to you guys next time