MEET THE CARLSONS
Names: Moriah and Luke
From: Moriah is from New Hampshire. Luke is from Minnesota.
How did you meet your spouse? We both grew up ice skating. Luke played hockey since he was four, and I grew up skating on a lake near my house. We met on the ice rink at college in Florida.
Where are you in the medical journey? Luke will finish year three in August.
Medical School Timeline:
- Accepted to Trinity School of Medicine in the fall of 2015
- May 2016 decided to go to Trinity
- Married July 2016
- Moved August 2016
- Started school September 2016
- Moved back to America April 2018
- Moved to Maryland August 2018
- Started rotations August 2018
Where did you move from and to?
After our wedding in New Hampshire, we moved from Minnesota to the small Caribbean island of St. Vincent, down near South America. That was our first place together. In between years two and three, we moved in with his parents in Minnesota, then moved to Maryland to finish school.
Read more about their experiences on the island here at the Carlson’s Caribbean Adventure.
How much did you budget for the move?
It’s hard to budget without any money. We just tried to keep it as inexpensive as possible.
How did you make the move?
- Move 1. We flew. Each of us had one small carry-on size suitcase, one large suitcase, and a backpack. There were no direct flights at the time, so we had to fly to Barbados, stay overnight and fly to St. Vincent the next day.
- Move 2. We drove with two cars full of stuff from Minnesota to West Virginia. In WV, we added a U-haul to get the stuff from his brother’s house to our new apartment.
There’s too many crazy flight stories to list from all the trips to and from the island. Between storm delays and other complications, we had stuff happen like our bags going from Boston to Barbados and back without us, and we slept outside of the Barbados airport on the benches overnight once.
How did you find housing?
On the island, the school partnered with apartment complexes to provide housing for the students. We knew which complex we would be at before we arrived, but we saw our apartment for the first time the day we arrived.
In Maryland, we drove out to apartment hunt after searching online. We saw multiple places, and applied to one. With our complicated financial situation, we did not get the apartment. A friend from college let me know that her church owned apartments and that they had one available for a teacher. I applied for the job and the apartment, and we got both. Again, we saw our apartment for the first time the day we moved in.
What would you have changed?
There were probably things we could have done differently, but I love all of the memories we made.
What are you glad you did?
I’m glad we packed light. I’m also glad we used vacuum storage bags to save space.
Best moving tip for med school?
Look at it as an adventure and try to have an open mind about it. Make a bucket list for the area that you’re moving to. It gives you something to look forward to.
