Q & A - SO to SO

A friend of mine in Grenada is looking to move to MI and is crossing all her fingers that her husband is placed at St. John's (so cross yours too!)  I'd love to have her and her sweet family nearby!

Here are a few questions she asked me and I'm happy to have a topic to blog about.... keeps me on my toes.  Thought I'd share for anyone else wondering the same things.

*Disclaimer - I have only lived here for about 10 days.  I am in no way an expert.

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What do you think about St. Clair Shores to live... too far?  I want to live in Grosse Pointe if we can find something in our price range, but I've looked at SCS and it seems to be cheaper.

I think that living in St. Clair Shores would be great.  It isn't far, just about 10 minutes away from the hospital (maybe a little more with traffic or depending where in SCS you live.  We've driven through a few times and it is absolutely beautiful.  The lake will remind you of Grenada and make you feel at home.  SCS and all the Grosse Pointes run together and are more like one large residential area.
St. Clair Shores will actually be closer to shopping malls and a Target, KMart, Walmart, etc.
SCS also has a park that residents can join (as do all of the "Pointes") http://scsparksrec.net/ and I think that , that is the one with the big water slides!! so the kids will love it! You can get a pass for a family of 4 for $50 for the year (or pay per time)  and that is all information I got off of that website.
The parks in the "Pointes" are free though to the best of my knowledge.

City Place Properties is who we used to get our apartment so it couldn't hurt to call and ask what they have to offer (and you could always drop our name and maybe we'll get a discount or something! hahaha) 


What about houses outside of Grosse Pointe... like right outside the limits... safe or too risky?

To the South and West of Grosse Pointe or SCS - NO.  As you can probably tell I am fairly adventurous and I have explored a tiny bit into Detroit city limits and the shift going along Mack Avenue and Jeffereson Avenue is instant from Grosse Pointe Park to Detroit.  The police from Grosse Pointe will not respond out of city limits and I've heard that the Detroit police basically have deserted parts of the city. Think on the level of Grenada police, but worse.  or so I've heard.  A lady I work with lives in Eastpointe and she says it is absolutely terrible and they sold their house to a rental company cheap just to get out.  The office I work for used to be located about a mile into Detroit and they said that the city literally crumbled around them and they had to get out.
Lee heard yesterday that to save money the city of Detroit was going to stop using street lights in certain neighborhoods..... dark Detroit streets? yikes.
You will be amazed at the difference between the two communities when you get here.
I also want to make a point to say that EVERY person I have met in Grosse Pointe or Detroit has been extremely friendly.  Male and female, black and white, from the doctors who visit the office to the girl taking my order at McDonalds.  Nice people.  Detroit is just on a terrible track with corruption in the government and police and lack of education and a system that isn't helping the people do better.  It's so terribly sad.
There is a rebuild Detroit initiative going on, but I think it is more of a downtown thing.

Is there a Walmart close by? Sam's Club/Costco?

There is a Target really close at the Eastland Mall.  But the Dr. I work for said that is isn't a good place to go alone, especially in the summer when the teens are out of school.   It's in a rough neighborhood.  Buuuuuuttttt, I can probably guarantee I'll be going there.  Lee and I went together and as long as you go during the morning, I think it'd be fine.  There is a mall there, but not with much you'd want to shop at other than Target or Macy's.  They have a Lowes and Home Depot.  Applesbees and Chilis.
A little further is a KMart and a Walmart, in Roseville maybe?? I've only been there once.
I've heard people talk about a Costco but haven't seen one.

In Grosse Pointe there is a Kroger and a Trader Joe's Downtown and a Village Market on Mack, about 10 blocks from the hospital.  As well as lots of pharmacies, restaurants, and other shopping.
The Pointes will have everything you'd ever need, but I've heard about 15-20 minutes north is more variety.

Do the boys need Smart Phones?... (this is a rumor I'm hearing)

Basically no.  Lee doesn't have one and has no intentions of getting one.  He has a pre-paid phone and infrequently needs to text a resident or someone else at the hospital.  Residents at St. John's receive ipads and Lee says EVERYONE else at the hospital have smart phones though.  But we don't exactly go with the flow....
Interesting tid bit though - with a St. John's Hospital ID you get a discount with AT&T!  It's about 22% or somewhere in that range.  We just found it to be too expensive for us and unnecessary really because we have survived just fine this far without smart phones or data plans.  Target has a phone that you can get pre-paid for $30 a month unlimited text and calling.  I have that and Lee has just a basic pre-pay like top up $20 here and there type thing... just like in Grenada!! 

So Lee has weekends off? 

YES!!  Occasionally he'll have to do a weekend shift or be on call.  But for the most part he has Saturday and Sunday off.... and he NEEDS it!   It's just as taxing as school if not more because of all the emotional and physical stress.  

When he comes home does he have to study or can he just relax?

When he comes home during the week he usually has some homework to do, which his residents will assign or just things he's noticed during his shift that he doesn't understand or needs to brush up on to prepare for a patient he is going to have the next day.  We usually have at least a full 2 hours to spend together at night... but he also has been going to bed really early because he gets up at 4:45 and it is a looooong day.

At the end of each rotation he'll write a Shelf Exam on whatever subject he just did so as much studying as he can get done throughout is best.
And then as we get closer to Step 2 (end of 3rd year) time he'll have to study more for that. 
... those stupid tests just keep coming......

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So, there is my little interview.  Have any more questions about medical school, being the spouse of a student, the clinical years, Michigan??  I'd love to answer them!