Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween readers! While I am on call for the official All Hallow's Eve, I'll be out with the rest of you enjoying my weekend playing up the likes of someone else! I can't wait to see the costumes! Please be safe on your adventures!

Small Town America

New England's Smaller Towns

Massachusetts
Average Medical Liability Premium: $20,000 to $107,000
# of physicians/100,000: 214
Average # of disciplinary actions of boards/1,000: 2.6
State Income Tax: 0%

Northampton
Location: Western Massachusetts
Population: 28,978
Ethnicity: 84% Caucasian, 7% Hispanic, 3% African-American, 4% Asian
Median Resident Age: 37.3
Crime Index: 259.1
Average High Jan/July: 33/82
Average Low Jan/July: 13/59
Median Household Income: $50,455
Unemployment Rate: 5.3%
Cost of Living Index: 112.2
Median House/Condo Value: $289,766
Average Home Price in 2009: $325,319
Median Rent: $844
Getting There: 45 minutes from Hartford Airport

Newton
Location: Boston Suburbs
Population: 84,600
Ethnicity: 81% Caucasian, 4% Hispanic, 2% African-American, 10% Asian
Median Resident Age: 38.7
Crime Index: 90.0
Average High Jan/July: 34/81
Average Low Jan/July: 18/62
Median Household Income: $108,686
Unemployment Rate: 4.5%
Cost of Living Index: 140.3
Median House/Condo Value: $685,400
Average Home Price in 2009: $745,249
Median Rent: $1471
Getting There: 45 minutes from downtown Boston

Edgartown
Location: Martha's Vineyard
Population: 4,067
Ethnicity: 93% Caucasian, 1% Hispanic, 2% African-American, 1% Asian
Median Resident Age: 40.3
Crime Index: 163.3
Average High Jan/July: 39/79
Average Low Jan/July: 22/62
Median Household Income: $68,675
Unemployment Rate: 16.4%
Cost of Living Index: 110.7
Median House/Condo Value: $667,632
Average Home Price in 2009: $875,155
Median Rent: ---
Getting There: 45 minutes from Boston airport or Providence airport to ferry

New Hampshire

Average Medical Liability Premium: $20,000 to $107,000
# of physicians/100,000: 214
Average # of disciplinary actions of boards/1,000: 2.6
State Income Tax: 0%

Nashua
Location: Southern New Hampshire
Population: 86,494
Ethnicity: 81% Caucasian, 9% Hispanic, 2% African-American, 7% Asian
Median Resident Age: 35.8
Crime Index: 201.0
Average High Jan/July: 33/83
Average Low Jan/July: 12/59
Median Household Income: $58,789
Unemployment Rate: 5.5%
Cost of Living Index: 118.8
Median House/Condo Value: $248,500
Average Home Price in 2009: $287,823
Median Rent: $1014
Getting There: 40 minutes north of Boston

Portsmouth
Location: New Hampshire Coast
Population: 21,233
Ethnicity: 90% Caucasian, 2% Hispanic, 3% African-American, 4% Asian
Median Resident Age: 38.5
Crime Index: 174.6
Average High Jan/July: 35/80
Average Low Jan/July: 18/59
Median Household Income: $58,492
Unemployment Rate: 4.1%
Cost of Living Index: 136.7
Median House/Condo Value: $309.723
Average Home Price in 2009: $385,926
Median Rent: $1077
Getting There: 55 minutes from Boston airport, 50 mintues from Manchester airport, 50 minutes from Portland airport

Maine

Average Medical Liability Premium: $20,000 to $107,000
# of physicians/100,000: 214
Average # of disciplinary actions of boards/1,000: 2.6
State Income Tax: 0%

Credit: Deborah Andrews http://www.preservationnation.org/

Portland
Location: Maine Coast
Population: 66,194 (516,826 metro)
Ethnicity: 85% Caucasian, 3% Hispanic, 6% African-American, 3% Asian
Median Resident Age: 35.7
Crime Index: 303.0
Average High Jan/July: 31/79
Average Low Jan/July: 13/59
Median Household Income: $42,010
Unemployment Rate: 6.5%
Cost of Living Index: 104.7
Median House/Condo Value: $257,245
Average Home Price in 2009: $304,245
Median Rent: $830
Getting There: Portland Airport

Rhode Island

Average Medical Liability Premium: $44,000 to $57,000

# of MDs/100k: 376

# of cases/1,000: 2.85

State Income Tax: 9.9%

Newport
Location: Rhode Island Coast
Population: 24,672
Ethnicity: 88% Caucasian, 3% Hispanic, 6% African-American, 1% Asian
Median Resident Age: 34.9
Crime Index: 266.2
Average High Jan/July: 38/78
Average Low Jan/July: 23/64
Median Household Income: $55,916
Unemployment Rate: 12.8%
Cost of Living Index: 117.5
Median House/Condo Value: $408,894
Average Home Price in 2009: $616,510
Median Rent: $1021
Getting There: 45 minutes from Providence, 90 minutes from Boston

Vermont

Average Medical Liability Premium: $20,000 to $107,000
# of physicians/100,000: 214
Average # of disciplinary actions of boards/1,000: 2.6
State Income Tax: 0%

Brattleboro
Location: Southern Vermont
Population: 12,046
Ethnicity: 93% Caucasian, 2% Hispanic, 1% African-American, 2% Asian
Median Resident Age: 39.2
Crime Index: 291.5
Average High Jan/July: 31/83
Average Low Jan/July: 9/57
Median Household Income: $37,382
Unemployment Rate: 5.4%
Cost of Living Index: 98.0
Median House/Condo Value: $196,999
Average Home Price in 2009: $206,378
Median Rent: $704
Getting There: Providence Airport

Providence

Providence, RI

The People:

Population Metro: 1.6 million

Population City: 178,052 (July 2010)

Ethnicity: 41% Hispanic, 36% Caucasian, 14% African American, 7% Asian

Median Resident Age: 28.1

Crime Index: 440.1 (US average 319.2)

The Weather:

Annual Rainfall: 45.5

Annual Snowfall: 35.9
Days with Precip: 125
Days with Snow: 19
Sunshine Hours: 2607/yr

Average Jan/July High: 28/73

Average Jan/July Low: 19/63

The Money:
Median Household Income: $37,619

Unemployment Rate: 13.3%

Cost of Living Index: 99.3
State Income Tax: 9.9%

The Homes:
Median House/Condo Value: $227,600

Average Home Price in 2009: $345,750

Median Rent: $914

The Medicine:

Average Medical Liability Premium: $44,000 to $57,000

# of MDs/100k: 376

# of cases/1,000: 2.85

Getting Home:

Distance to Amarillo: 1897 miles
Airlines: Continental, United, Southwest

Manchester

Manchester, NH

http://www.photopro44.com/

The People:

Population Metro: 400,721

Population City: 109,395 (July 2009)

Ethnicity: 84% Caucasian, 8% Hispanic, 4% African-American, 3% Asian

Median Resident Age: 34.9

Crime Index: 322.9 (US average 319.2)

The Weather:

Annual Rainfall: 40

Annual Snowfall: 47
Days With Precip: 121
Days with Snow: 17

Average High Temp Jan/July: 32/82

Average Low Temp Jan/July: 5/55

The Money:
Median Household Income: $48,720

Unemployment Rate: 5.7%

Cost of Living Index: 119.5
State Income Tax: 0%

The Homes:
Median House/Condo Value: $230,900

Average Home Price in 2009: $256,276

Median Rent: $936

The Medicine:
Average Medical Liability Premium: $37k-$49k
# of MDs/100k: 275.0
# of cases/1,000k: 2.1

Getting Home:
Distance to Amarillo: 1971 miles
Airlines: Continental, United, Southwest

Boston

Boston

www.hotelsbostonma.org/

The Place
Location: Eastern edge of Massachusetts on Boston Bay

The People:
Population Metro: 4.6 million
Population City: 645,169 (July 2009)
Ethnicity: 51% Caucasian, 22% African-American, 16% Hispanic, 8% Asian
Median Resident Age: 31.1
Crime Index: 420.5 (US average 319.2)
Politics: 32% Republican, 68% Democrat (2008 Results)

The Weather:
Annual Rainfall: 41.5 inches
Annual Snowfall: 42.4 inches
Days with Precip: 126
Days with Snow: 22.5
Sunshine Hours: 2638
Average High Jan/July: 36/82
Average Low Jan/July: 22/65

The Money:
Median Household Income: $55,979
Unemployment Rate: 6.8%
Cost of Living Index: 140.2
State Income Tax: 5.3%

The Homes:
Median House/Condo Value: $375,700
Average Home Price in 2009: $553,032
Median Real Estate Property Taxes: $2,652
Median Rent: $1,196

The Medicine:
Average Medical Liability Premium: $40,000
# of MDs/100k: 469
# of cases/1,000: 2.46

Getting Home:
Distance to Amarillo: 1933 miles
Airlines: Southwest, American, Continental, United

Where I'm Coming From

While looking into moving to New England, it's only fair to compare it to "where I come from", i.e. Amarillo and as of late, Dallas. Essentially, these are the only places in Texas I'd want to live if I stuck around.

Amarillo

www.redwingaerials.com/amarillo.html

The Place

Location: Panhandle of Texas

The People:

Population Metro: 249,881

Population City: 189,389 (July 2009)

Ethnicity: 62% Caucasian, 27% Hispanic, 7% African-American, 2% Asian

Median Resident Age: 33.5

Crime Index: 533.0
Politics: 56% Republican, 44% Democrat (2008 Results)

The Weather:

Annual Rainfall: 19.6 inches

Annual Snowfall: 15.5 inches
Days with Precip: 72
Days with Snow: 12
Sunshine Hours: 3299/yr

Average High Jan/July: 50/91

Average Low Jan/July: 23/65

The Money:
Median Household Income: $41,759

Unemployment Rate: 5.3%

Cost of Living Index: 84.4
State Income Tax: 0%

The Homes:
Median House/Condo Value: $102,800

Average Home Price in 2009: $121,401

Median Rent: $657

The Medicine:
Average Medical Liability Premium: $20,000 to $107,000
# of physicians/100,000: 214
Average # of disciplinary actions of boards/1,000: 2.6

Dallas

Dallas Convention and Visitors Bureau

The Place

Location: "North" Texas

The People:

Population Metro: 6 million

Population City: 1,299,543 (July 2009)

Ethnicity: 43% Hispanic, 31% Caucasian, 22% African American, 3% Asian

Median Resident Age: 30.5

Crime Index: 546.2 (US average 319.2)
Politics: 35% Republican, 65% Democrat (2008 Results)

The Weather:

Annual Rainfall: 33.3 inches

Annual Snowfall: 2.5 inches
Days with Precip: 79.2
Days with Snow: 1.9
Sunshine Hours: 2849/yr

Average High Jan/July: 55/96

Average Low Jan/July: 36/77

The Money:
Median Household Income: $39,829

Unemployment Rate: 8.6%

Cost of Living Index: 94.4

State Income Tax: 0%

The Homes:
Median House/Condo Value: $135,600

Average Home Price in 2009: $210,881

Median Rent: $784

The Medicine:
Average Medical Liability Premium: $20,000 to $107,000
# of physicians/100,000: 214
Average # of disciplinary actions of boards/1,000: 2.6

Getting Home:

Distance to Amarillo: 363 miles (Southwest, American Airlines direct flights 1 hour)

Could I Make the Move?

I'll admit. When I travel, I often come home thinking "I could live there. Forever." But no where does that really feel more true than when I visit the northeastern coast and New England. So where am I headed when residency is over? These days, I'm looking to call New England home. My biggest problem is figuring out WHERE. New England isn't easy, and leaving Texas isn't either.

Yes, it's colder than Texas. I'm welcome to that change after this year's miserable summer. 

New England's cost of living is much higher than here in Texas, even Dallas. 

Besides Boston, New England proper doesn't have a lot of really BIG cities. 

New England has a lot of medium sized cities and thousands of small towns.

I have no clue what hospital does what, where, etc.

I have no clue what it's like to commute up there or even if it's worth commuting.

What I do know is that I love the architecture, the weather for 9 months a year, most of the people, and overall sense of infatuation I have when I'm there.

So, New England show me what you've got. Over the next week, I'm going to examine some of my top prospects for the next step. Feel free to chime in!

Also, if you have advice for moving to the Northeast, it's much appreciated.

New England: A Place in My Heart

Maine Coast

Maine Coast

York Beach, Maine

Oqunquit, ME

God Bless America

Taking in the breeze on Marginal Way

Catching the sunset in Kennebunkport, Maine

Seriously good sunset.

Luxurious night in Stowe, Vermont

Playing tourist in Killington, Vermont

Capturing history. You can't actually use this bridge except as a pedestrian or on a bicycle these days

Moose. Always Brake for Moose.

Essentially a watercolored landscape

More beautiful trees starting to turn

Can't get enough of fall

I love oranges and reds.

Oh The Places You Will Go

So, until I know I won't ever be liable for HIPAA stuff, I don't want to mention my patient's name on my blog...even though it has been referenced on their Caring Bridge website. But I know many of you are wondering how he's doing these days...he is now 70 days out from the crash. I also know many of you know all the details of his days with his mom at his side. She is a great writer herself.

He was transferred from the skilled nursing facility to the rehab facility right before I went on vacation. Since that time he has made DRASTIC improvements.

1. He no longer has a wound VAC on his abdominal wound.
2. His cervical collar for his neck fractures is OFF.
3. His tracheostomy tube is out and the hole it left behind is healing well.
4. He spends a vast amount of his time in a wheelchair, not the bed.
5. He is working on the treadmill with physical therapy.
6. He has to have his achilles tendon released on the left side so that he can start walking a bit better. This will happen tomorrow or early next week.
7. He can feed himself and will likely have his diet advanced from pureed to ground/chopped foods in the next couple of days!
8. He is talking more and more clearly every day.
9. He says "thank you" all the time. If you listen to him intently enough you can catch him say things like "thank you" (which he has already said to this person a number of times) followed by "thank you for everything".
10. He's reading as well. His mom finally had the chance to introduce us earlier this week, and she introduced us again today. As I was standing there talking to him, at one point we heard him say "Brittney" and asked what he said and he repeated it. He was reading my name tag!
11. I'm not quite sure how many shirts he has now, but the surrounding fire departments have been amazing in getting him shirts from each of the departments in his county (and beyond). Yes, he's training to  be an EMT and finished fire school in May. That's why his bracelets say "Keep Fighting".

I can go on and on about how cool it is to watch him. I always try to go say hi and plan on a quick 30 minute visit or so. I used to stick around to talk to his family for hours, now I stick around to watch him progress. We rarely get to see this side of it. The recovery, the therapy, the going home. I've been given a great opportunity to see what it's like once they are discharged from the hospital and what the long road to recovery really means.

Besides the outstanding amount of support that's showered upon him and his family, I think I'm most impressed by his family's strength. I know they have their weak moments, sometimes I'm there to witness them and sometimes I'm not. It makes my heart hurt to see them worry (especially his granddad), but I can always feel the love between all of them. His mom has dedicated so much time and effort to his recovery and making sure he's always on schedule, keeping nurses on their toes, and helping him to understand the process of what he's going through. I know everyone around him is doing the same, but his mom is the person I see the most. (And somehow she's still managing to get some work accomplished during all this too.) I constantly compare this to watching grass grow. If you stand there and try to watch your grass grow, you'll never notice any difference. Even if you check on it every day, it doesn't seem to make much progress from one day to the next. But if you leave for four days and come back, it's grown like a weed! I used to be the one checking on him every day, then he was transferred to the SNF. Now I check on him once or twice a week depending on my own work load. I imagine if I was still seeing him every day it would be hard to really notice the big improvements, but it is so amazing to see how much he progresses in the span of only 3 to 4 days. His words are clearer, his motions more controlled, his thoughts more coherent, his memory improving, his weight gain, all of it. I admire that his family can see him every day and still notice the progress he's making.

I can only imagine what it feels like for them 70 days out. He's come so far. He obviously still has a long ways to go, but some of the biggest hurdles have already been jumped. Soon enough, he'll be doing too well for rehab and he'll be off the next place which I'm fairly certain isn't a place that's going to be easy for me to keep checking in...at least not in person. But the pictures and texts from his mom, his Caring Bridge, and his spirit will keep me updated I'm certain.

Winning Bets

Dear New England Patriots,

Thank you for winning the game in the last couple minutes against the Cowboys. While a native Texan, I am huge fan of the Patriots (and Wes Welker in particular). Because you sent the Girls back here to Dallas with another loss, I am reaping the rewards of betting on the Pats. Next Friday, my good friend is treating me to dinner at The French Room here in Dallas. I made a good bet! Jealous anyone?

All because of 83 I became a fan...

And now look what I get!

From: http://www.hotelfandb.com/biol/july-aug2009-hiring-practices.asp

The Real Outfit

Dear Readers,

I've been on quite the hiatus. You can thank my day job for that one. Anyhow, last time I talked about my pinterest-inspired wardrobe for my fall vacation. Here's what it really turned into:

For the Maine Coast: Cute, fun, ready for pictures, and a jacket to keep cozy.

Bee by drbculp featuring long sleeve shirts

Driving Thru New Hampshire/Vermont: Comfy and autumnal.

Vermont Drive by drbculp featuring high waisted jeans

Cheering for the Longhorns in the Midst of a Bunch of Yanks: Burnt Orange and Boots!

Poor UT by drbculp featuring old navy shirts

Hanging out in Boston Common: Relaxed but Put Together

Boston Common by drbculp featuring black leggings

Leaving on a Jet Plane: Simple and All Packed Up

Simple Home by drbculp featuring straight leg jeans

More about the trip coming soon!