How to find an accommodation during USCE?
There are a couple of ways to find accommodation.
WhatsApp Groups:
There are multiple groups of particular cities, usually for non-medical students who come here for longer durations. In those groups, you can easily find places way cheaper than all of those websites. You may find a deal of around $500–$800 per month through those groups. But be aware of scams, as they target WhatsApp groups easily.
Website:
Furnish Finder: It was basically designed for traveling nurses, but hosts are usually open to medical professionals as well. You can directly send a message to the landlord in the app/website itself. I usually booked most of my rotations through this website. It has cheap options compared to rotating rooms and Airbnb.
Rotating Room: It is the most used website to find places by US MD students during their away rotation. To register with the website, you have to first verify yourself by sending them your invitation letter for rotation. Most of the time, hosts are the medical students or residents, so you can get a good deal as well as a good connection. The main advantage of this is that as they are themselves professionals working in the hospital, you can easily find the places nearby to the hospital.
Roomie: It is another website, similar to Furnish Finder. But it is not as structured as those two websites; you just send the message to the person who is usually looking for a roommate. I used it only for one time during my rotation.
Airbnb: I would say this would be the last option. Compared to Furnish Finder and Rotating Room, Airbnb offers fewer cheaper options. It has a platform ranging from $50 to $150.
Your nonmedical friend from school:
Yes, you heard me right! Call your nonmedical friends who are studying here; they may help to find a place. If your friendship is good, you may live free for a month at his/her place!
Residents:
Try to contact the residents of the program you are planning to do a rotation in. Sometimes residents sublease a room in their apartment, only just for medical students. You may find residents' profiles on LinkedIn.
What to take care of while booking your places:
Transportation:
Ask your landlord about the exact location. And try to figure out how public transport is accessible from your place during weekdays as well as weekends. Check the fares on official websites and then decide whether you should book your place or not.
If not sure, ask your landlord directly what your options are for transportation. Local people might have a information which sometimes you can’t get on website or Reddit! 😅
Always consider this before booking your place; most of the time monthly passes cost you around $50 to $200.
Talk with your landlord before paying anything. Try to sign a lease, especially if you are booking through third-party websites such as Furnished Finder. But as international medical students, we have to trust anyway. You can pay a small amount of deposit to confirm your place and then give full rent once you get to the place and after verifying that the person and place are both good!