When my husband Ben made the choice to take the long road of surgical residency in Cincinnati, OH I also had to make the choice to support him and embrace an experience that included spending some of our biggest life milestones in a city we knew absolutely nothing about. General Surgery residency happens to be SEVEN years long – if you don’t know, now you know. By sharing my own experience I hope to pass along some tips and tricks I learned along the way that made me truly fall in love with the city of Cincy.
Buying Our First House: The first time I set foot in Cincinnati was also the first time my husband and I would purchase a house. Making such a big purchase without knowing much about the neighborhoods was scary. Luckily we had a great real estate agent Liz Lemon who, as a Cincinnati native, was able to take our wish list and recommend an up and coming area that led us to make a beneficial investment. We have owned our home in Oakley for more than six years now and have grown to love our active, and still growing neighborhood. If you haven’t researched physician loan options with your bank and are thinking about buying then I strongly recommend doing so!
Getting Our Barings: Everyone likes to have comfort zones. Finding the right restaurants, gyms, coffee shops, etc. in any new city can be tough. One of the best perks of the Resident Spouse Association is trying different restaurants each month free of charge. When I first came to Cincinnati I knew no one and by attending some of the dinner clubs I found local spots my family and I have come to love like Mezunte and Dewey’s while connecting with people in my similar transplant situation. As a UC Health and/or Cincinnati Children’s resident/fellow there is also a great perk of getting a reduced membership at Cincinnati Sport’s Club. Now that we have kids I couldn’t imagine not having the sport’s club as a resource! There is a great kid’s center, pools, classes, social outlets, and even a salon/massage center. In case you are a coffee snob like me I strongly recommend checking out Coffee Emporium and Deeper Roots.
Settling into a Job: As a resident’s spouse it seems like we are always moving for our significant other’s job and our own career can get thrown on the back burner. Any time we have moved to a new city I have found that networking is the best way to get your foot in the door. RSA is a great networking source and has some truly empathetic members who have had similar experiences. When we first moved to Cincinnati I could not get a teaching job. I had just left a job in Omaha as a middle school language arts teacher. Through networking at job fairs I was able to find a nanny job and low and behold we had a surprise move to Denver, CO after our first two years in Cincy for a research opportunity. This made me feel fortunate I didn’t have to leave another teaching job.
*For any of the lucky ones who take their job with them the RSA has a great remote worker meet-up, check our Facebook page for details
Starting a Family: One of my favorite things about the city of Cincinnati is how absolutely family friendly it is. Staying home with my kids I have had ample opportunity to experience all that the city has to offer. Some of our favorites include: Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Gardens, Cincinnati Museum Center and Union Terminal, Newport Aquarium, Krohn’s Conservatory and of course the numerous Cincinnati Park options. Memberships to these places make them way more accessible for families and we often ask the grandparents to renew these memberships instead of birthday or Christmas gifts for the kiddos.
It is bittersweet that my family and I will be moving to Seattle, WA in six months. While it will be hard leaving the community we have built in Cincinnati we are thrilled to be moving to the place my parents, sister, and brother call home. It’s been real Cincinnati! I hope that many resident spouses continue discovering this city’s wonders for years to come.
Kim Huebner is from Phoenix, AZ and currently lives in Cincinnati, OH with her husband of seven years, Ben Huebner. She is a stay-at-home mom of Jonah, four years, Amelia, two years, and Harrison, five months. Kim obtained her BA in Journalism at Arizona State University and her MA in Education from University of Phoenix. She met her husband on a spring break cruise in undergrad. Ben’s medical training has since taken them from Omaha, NE, to Cincinnati, OH, to Denver, CO then back to Cincinnati. Their last stop for a Trauma Surgery Fellowship will be Seattle, WA in 2020.
