From Windy City to Mountain West: Our Exciting Cross-Country Move to Salt Lake City for a Medical Fellowship

We’ve been keeping a monumental secret, a piece of news that has been simmering for over a year, and the time has finally come to share it with all of you. Get ready for some incredibly big news: we are officially leaving our beloved Chicago and embarking on a thrilling cross-country journey to **Salt Lake City, Utah!** And yes, you read that right – this whirlwind adventure is kicking off in just two short weeks. It feels a bit surreal, even to us, but the excitement is palpable.

This announcement has truly been a long time coming. To be precise, it’s been one year and two months since we first knew about this significant life change. We’ve been bursting at the seams to share, but the uncertainties of the past few months, particularly the global climate, prompted us to hold off until we were closer to the actual move. Now, with the packing process underway and the moving truck booked, the reality is setting in, and we couldn’t be more thrilled to finally bring you all into our confidence.

Five Years in the Heart of Chicago: A Chapter Closes

For those of you who have followed A Beautiful Plate for a while, you know that our journey brought us to Chicago five years ago. This vibrant city became our home when my husband, Connor, matched here for his orthopaedic surgery residency. Those five years, as hard as it is to believe, have flown by in a blur of intense learning, personal growth, and unforgettable experiences. It has been a wild ride, marked by incredible highs that brought immense joy and, in all transparency, many lows that tested our resilience.

Chicago truly welcomed us with open arms from day one. Its bustling energy, diverse neighborhoods, and incredible culinary scene quickly won us over, making it feel like home sooner than we ever expected. We’ve been incredibly fortunate to meet so many wonderful friends within this fantastic city, building a community that has supported us through thick and thin. Beyond the friendships, Chicago gave us so much, including our beloved Marley, our furry family member who has brought immeasurable joy to our lives. The memories forged here, from exploring new restaurants to enjoying countless walks along the lakefront, will forever hold a special place in our hearts.

The Marathon of Medical Training: Residency to Fellowship

The journey through medical training is nothing short of a marathon, and for Connor, it’s been a decade in the making. Last week, he officially graduated from residency – a milestone celebrated virtually via Zoom, a true sign of our #2020 times. Now, his focus is entirely on studying for his board exams, which are just around the corner. Once those are behind him, we’ll be gearing up to embark on the next, and thankfully, final year of his rigorous medical training: a surgical fellowship.

This fellowship represents the culmination of years of relentless hard work, dedication, and countless sacrifices. After ten years of medical school, residency, and now fellowship, we can finally, truly see the light at the end of what has felt like an incredibly long tunnel. The anticipation of this new chapter, one that brings us closer to the end of formal training, is both exhilarating and a massive relief.

Navigating the Competitive Fellowship Match

While we knew this day was inevitable for years, the reality of it still crept up on us surprisingly fast. As the saying goes, the days are very long, but the years are short, and never has that felt more true than looking back at Connor’s residency. The preparation for this final stage began back in the fall of 2018 when Connor started his fellowship application process. What followed was a grueling interview schedule that took him all across the country, lasting well into early 2019.

The competition for these positions is incredibly fierce. In his chosen orthopaedic surgical specialty, there are only 180 fellowship positions available nationwide. This scarcity makes the entire application and interview process intensely competitive and undoubtedly stressful. Connor traveled to 14 cities in less than three months, spending countless days on the road. All of this was on top of his already demanding residency responsibilities, which often exceeded 80-100+ hours per week. As you can imagine, it has been an immense undertaking for both of us, and reaching this point, where we’ve almost made it to the other side, is a monumental achievement.

The Match Day Revelation and Future in Utah

In April of 2019, after months of interviews and careful consideration, we submitted our rank list of fellowship programs across the country. For those unfamiliar with the medical match process, it’s a unique system: residents rank the programs where they’ve interviewed, the programs, in turn, rank the interviewees, and a complex computer algorithm then processes all this data to reveal the results weeks later. It’s a high-stakes, nerve-wracking waiting game.

The exhilarating news arrived while we were on our trip to Budapest last spring: we had matched at Connor’s first-choice program, the **University of Utah in Salt Lake City**! Learning this news abroad, in such a beautiful city, added an extra layer of magic to an already incredible moment. It was a testament to Connor’s unwavering dedication and hard work.

The match process, throughout all stages of medical training, is an exciting yet incredibly insane experience. It’s truly difficult to grasp the emotional toll and uncertainty involved unless you’ve experienced it firsthand or know someone who has. It’s a period fraught with ambiguity, which, I’ll admit, is not exactly my strong suit. However, this time around, we’ve been incredibly fortunate to have more than a year to process the news and meticulously prepare ourselves, both mentally and literally, for the move. This extended preparation time has made this transition significantly less stressful than our residency match years ago, which felt like a sudden plunge into the unknown. I am immensely proud of Connor’s perseverance, hard work, and the countless sacrifices he’s made throughout his residency to reach this pivotal point.

Despite the ample preparation time, never in a million years could we have imagined how these last few months of residency would unfold, or how our cherished time in Chicago would come to a close, at least for the time being. The departure is very bittersweet, filled with a mix of gratitude for the past and eager anticipation for the future.

Embracing a New Chapter: Salt Lake City Beckons

With movers scheduled to pack up our belongings and just under two weeks until we hit the road, the logistics of a cross-country move with a cat and dog in tow are becoming very real! This transition comes with a complex mix of emotions. There’s immense excitement for the unknown and the opportunities that await, tempered by the natural nerves that accompany such a significant change. And, of course, there’s a profound sadness at the thought of leaving Chicago – saying goodbye to dear friends, familiar haunts, and an amazing city that has truly become our home. The added layer of stress and anxiety of moving during a global pandemic has made this process even more challenging, requiring extra precautions and thoughtful planning.

That being said, I’ve felt an undeniable restlessness these last few months, a sentiment I’m sure many can relate to in our current world. While we’re certainly sad to bid farewell to our vibrant neighborhood, which has given us so much over the past five years, we are incredibly excited for the fresh start and what we’ll be gaining in Salt Lake City. The promise of expansive green spaces, including a much-anticipated fenced-in backyard for Marley, quick access to stunning hiking trails, and the breathtaking natural beauty of Utah, is a huge draw. It will undoubtedly be a significant transition, but it’s a welcome change, and one we are truly ready for.

Looking Ahead: An Adventure Awaits in Utah

It seems to be a curious trend in our lives, but much like our initial move to Chicago, I’ve spent absolutely no significant time in Salt Lake City itself (aside from a short blogging trip to Park City years ago!). Similarly, we won’t have family close by, meaning we’ll be starting completely fresh once again. Starting over, building a new life and community from scratch, comes with its own set of challenges and a myriad of emotions. It’s particularly hard given the current global climate, where social connections can feel more complex, but our optimism for this new chapter and the adventures of the coming year is unwavering.

We can’t wait to share more details about our journey, our new home, and our explorations of Salt Lake City and the surrounding Utah landscape in the coming weeks. In the meantime, you can follow along with more behind-the-scenes glimpses and real-time updates over on Instagram. The next year will undoubtedly be an incredible adventure, full of new discoveries, culinary experiments, and outdoor escapades, and I am so looking forward to bringing you all along for the ride. Your support and engagement mean the world to us.

Thank you so much for your patience during these last few months as we’ve been quietly preparing for this momentous change, and thank you in advance for your understanding and continued support in the coming weeks as we navigate the move and get settled into our new life. I truly appreciate each and every one of you more than you know.