How to research many cities all at once (applying for medical match)? (live, best)

[mtn_guy]

My wife is in medicine applying for a fellowship, and I am in IT(programming, Java) and we are trying to decide which places to apply to. There are ~150 programs across US, and we need to pay like $15 or something for each program we decide to apply. People generally apply to 20-40 places, and interview and them, and the programs also interview the students, and after all the interviews are completed, students rank programs 1 to 40, programs rank students 1 to x, and people get best matched to a program and you aren't allowed to change your mind after the matches are made.

What's the easiest and best way to decide which 40 places out of 140 to apply to in terms of weather, affordability, job growth for IT/Tech and what order to rank them in?
Preferences:
1)Access to mountains and beaches would be preferable but less important than jobs and weather
2)A yard for our lab (we've only lived in apts and condos so far) and plenty of dog hiking trails would be nice
3)Be able to commute to work with 5-30 min drive instead of having to take 1.5hr commute on public transit
4)Variety of international cuisines and restaurants
5)Availability of outdoor activity options, but can make do without


In the top of our list, we have Denver(aurora), Nashville, San Diego(too expensive?), Pittsburgh, Atlanta (commutable?), Raleigh/Durham, Scottsdale/Phoenix(too hot?).
In the bottom of our list, we have Houston (humid?)

The programs:
Albany Medical Center Program albany NY
Albert Einstein Healthcare Network Program philadelphia PA
Allegheny Health Network Medical Education Consortium (AGH) Program pittsburgh PA
Arnot Ogden Medical Center Program elmira NY
Baylor College of Medicine Program houston TX
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Program Boston MA
Boston University Medical Center Program Boston MA
Brigham and Women's Hospital Program Boston MA
Brown University Program east province RI
California Pacific Medical Center Program San Francisco CA
Case Western Reserve University/University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center Program cleveland ohio OH
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Program Los Angeles CA
Chicago Medical School/Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine & Science Program North chicaco IL
Cleveland Clinic Foundation Program cleveland ohio OH
Coney Island Hospital Program bROOKLYN NY
Cooper Hospital-University Medical Center Progra Camden NJ
Creighton University School of Medicine (Omaha) Program Omaha NE
Dartmouth-Hitchcock/Mary Hitchcock Memorial Hospital Program Lebanon NH
Detroit Medical Center/Wayne State University Program Detroit MI
Duke University Hospital Program durham NC
Eastern Virginia Medical School Program Norfolk VA
Emory University School of Medicine Program atlanta GA
George Washington University Program Washington DC
HCA Healthcare Sunrise Health Graduate Medical Education Program las vegas NV
HCA Healthcare/USF Morsani College of Medicine GME: Regional Medical Center Bayonet Point Program hudson FL
Henry Ford Hospital Program detroit MI
Howard University Program washinton DC
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (Mount Sinai Hospital) Program new york NY
Indiana University School of Medicine Program indianapolis IN
Jersey Shore University Medical Center Program/hackensack meridian neptune NJ
Johns Hopkins University Program baltimore MD
Lahey Clinic Program burlington MA
Larkin Community Hospital Program south maimi FL
Lehigh Valley Health Network/University of South Florida College of Medicine Program allentown PA
Los Angeles County-Harbor-UCLA Medical Center Program torrance CA
Louisiana State University (Shreveport) Program Shreveport LA
Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center Program new orleans LA
Loyola University Medical Center Program maywood IL
Marshall University School of Medicine Program huntington WV
Massachusetts General Hospital Program Boston MA
Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science (Arizona) Program scottsdale AZ
Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science (Jacksonville) Program jacksonville FL
Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science (Rochester) Program rochester MN
McGaw Medical Center of Northwestern University Program chicago IL
medical college of georgia augusta ga
Medical College of Wisconsin Affiliated Hospitals Program Milwaukee WI
Medical University of South Carolina Program charleston SC
MedStar Health/Georgetown University Hospital Program washigton DC DC
MedStar Health/Union Memorial Hospital Program baltimore MD
Methodist Hospital (Houston) Program houston,tx TX
Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine (Moses and Weiler Campuses) Program bronx NY
Nassau University Medical Center Program East meadow NY
National Institutes of Health Clinical Center Program bethesda MD
New York Presbyterian Hospital (Columbia Campus) Program NEW YORK NY
New York Presbyterian Hospital (Cornell Campus) Program new york NY
NYU Grossman School of Medicine Program new york NY
NYU Long Island School of Medicine Program mineola NY
Ochsner Clinic Foundation Program New orleans LA
Ohio State University Hospital Program columbus OH
Oregon Health & Science University Program portland OR
Penn State Milton S Hershey Medical Center Program Hershey PA
Prisma Health/University of South Carolina SOM Columbia (Columbia) Program columbia SC
Rochester Regional Health/Unity Hospital (Rochester) Program rochester NY
RowanSOM/Jefferson Health/Virtua Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital Program voorhees NJ
Rush University Medical Center Program chicago IL
Rutgers Health/New Jersey Medical School Program newark NJ
Rutgers Health/Robert Wood Johnson Medical School Program new brunswick NJ
Scripps Clinic/Scripps Green Hospital Program la jolla CA
Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University/TJUH Program philadelphia PA
Southern Illinois University Program springfield IL
Sparrow Hospital Program east lansing MI
St Louis University School of Medicine Program st louis MO
St Luke’s Hospital – Anderson Campus Program easton PA
Stanford Health Care-Sponsored Stanford University Program stanford CA
Stony Brook Medicine/University Hospital Program stony brook NY
SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University Program brooklyn NY
SUNY Upstate Medical University Program syracuse NY
Temple University Hospital Program philadelphia PA
Texas A&M College of Medicine-Scott and White Medical Center (Temple) Program temple TX
Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (Permian Basin) Program odessa TX
The MetroHealth System/Case Western Reserve University Program cleveland OH
Tower Health Program West Reading PA
Tufts Medical Center Program Boston MA
Tulane University Program New Orleans LA
uc fresno fresno ca
UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine/UCLA Medical Center Program Los Angeles CA
UMMS-Baystate Program Springfield MA
University at Buffalo Program Buffalo NY
University of Alabama Medical Center Program Birmingham AL
University of Arizona College of Medicine-Phoenix Program Phoenix AZ
University of Arizona College of Medicine-Tucson Program Tucson AZ
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) College of Medicine Program Little Rock ak
University of California (Irvine) Program Irvine CA
University of California (San Diego) Medical Center Program La Jolla ca
University of California (San Francisco) Program San Francisco CA
University of California Davis Health Program Sacramento CA
University of Chicago Program Chicago IL
University of Cincinatti Medical Center Cincinnati OH
University of Colorado Program Aurora CO
University of Connecticut Program Farmington CT
University of Florida College of Medicine Jacksonville Program jacksonville FL
University of Florida Program Gainesville FL
University of Illinois College of Medicine at Chicago Program Chicago IL
University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics Program Iowa City IA
University of Kansas School of Medicine Program Kansas City KS
University of Kentucky College of Medicine Program Lexington KY
University of Louisville School of Medicine Program Louisville KY
University of Maryland Program Baltimore MD
University of Massachusetts Program Worcester MA
University of Miami/Jackson Health System Program Miami FL
University of Michigan Health System Program Ann Arbor MI
University of Minnesota Program Minneapolis MN
University of Mississippi Medical Center Program Jackson MS
University of Missouri-Columbia Program Columbia MO
University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine Program Kansas City MO
University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Medicine Omaha NE
University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV) School of Medicine Las Vegas NV
university of new mexico Albuquerque nm
University of North Carolina Hospitals Program Chapel Hill NC
University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center Program Oklahoma City OK
University of Pennsylvania Health System Program Philadelphia PA
university of Puerto rico San juan pr
University of Rochester Program Rochester NY
University of South Florida Morsani Program Tampa FL
University of Southern California/LAC+USC Medical Center Program Los Angeles CA
University of Tennessee Program Memphis TN
University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston Program Houston TX
University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio Joe and Teresa Lozano Long School of Medicine Program San Antonio TX
University of Texas Medical Branch Hospitals Program Galveston TX
University of Texas RGV (DHR) Program Edinburg TX
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center Program Dallas TX
University of Toledo Toledo OH
University of Utah Health Program Salt Lake City UT
university of vermont Colchester vt
University of Vermont Medical Center Program S. Burlington VT
University of Virginia Medical Center Program Charlottesville VA
University of Washington Program Seattle WA
University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics Program Madison WI
UPMC Medical Education Program pittsburgh PA
Vanderbilt University Medical Center Program Nashville TN
Vidant Medical Center/East Carolina University Program Greenville NC
Virginia Commonwealth University Health System Program Richmond VA
Wake Forest University School of Medicine Program Winston-Salem NC
Washington University/B-JH/SLCH Consortium St Louis MO
West Virginia University Program Morgantown WV
Westchester Medical Center Program Valhalla NY
Yale-New Haven Medical Center Program New Haven CT
Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell at Lenox Hill Hospital Program New York NY
Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell Program Great Neck NY

[bus man]

I know nothing about the programs themselves, so I can offer nothing there. If there are any that you know you don't want, scratch them off first. Then, assuming that the ones that remain would be equally desirable, more or less, it's time to start eliminating places that are unappealing to you. Want beaches and mountains? Scratch off the places in the Great Plains. Don't want humidity? Say goodbye to any place within 50 miles (at least) of the Gulf of Mexico or southern Atlantic coastlines. Want pleasant weather for outdoor activities? There goes the Pacific Northwest (rain) and the upper Northeast (snow). Want a diverse food scene? Then eliminate places that are not culturally diverse, as these places tend to have less food variety. And so on. By doing these steps, you should be able to whittle down your choices quite a bit. Then, go ahead and apply to whichever ones are left.

[ckhthankgod]

What kind of outdoor activities are you into? Do you have a budget in terms of a rental or home?

[Ted Bear]

Easiest way? Zip.

You are making a life decision. It might be worth your while to invest a serious amount of time in researching where you wish to be.

On the other hand, this is not forever. I believe the first stint is 4-5 years for residents.

So, start building a matrix. Surely you know something about some of the areas. Begin with what is most important to you: Strength of program. Weather. Close to family. Colleagues.

Read. Search the internet. Network. From this build a list of best ten, then next ten, and so forth. If your SO is a strong candidate, you should know this. Grades. Experiemce. Strength of current program. You should know whehter you are a Harvard type, or maybe you need to look at a more regional/local program where you have a better chance.

And on and on. Just keep researching and willowing the list until you have 15 or 20 candidates. Then revise that list and rank it. That's where you apply.

There are no shortcuts. Invest the work and you will be happy with the decision and the match. My daughter just went through this where she and her spouse wanted to match. They got their number 2 selection and are extremely happy with it.

Now they are trying to buy a ahouse.....UGH !

[mtn_guy]

Originally Posted by ckhthankgod

What kind of outdoor activities are you into? Do you have a budget in terms of a rental or home?

Hiking, biking, kayaking, pickup sports soccer/volleyball, camping

Will be there for 2 years and didn't decide yet to rent or buy. If it's a big city, probably can't afford to buy yet. Probably spend about $2k/month for renting or mortgage

[mtn_guy]

Is there a website to check #of fortune 500 company branches in each of the location or # of tech jobs, and trends in tech jobs or search indeed or job boards for each of the city to find available jobs. My only concern was the current postings might not show # of companies especially if some companies don't have any postings right at this moment.

[MinivanDriver]

You'd be hard-pressed to find a better combination than UAB.

[arkroyal2223]

What fellowship is she applying for ?