Stanford Neurology Resident Life

Welcome

Welcome to our resident page! We hope that both applicants and incoming residents will find this information helpful in understanding what life is like for neurology residents at Stanford. As you can see, we are a close knit group of residents with a strong sense of community, spending a lot of time together both in and out of the hospital. If you have any questions about Stanford neurology, we welcome your emails and are happy to answer any questions about the application process itself or about life as a neurology resident here!

Housing

Stanford is located close to two main highways (280 and 101) which allows incoming residents to search for housing not only right around campus but also in the surrounding areas, offering a lot of flexibility with easy access to the hospital. It is recommended that junior residents live within 30 minutes of all the sites, including Santa Clara Valley Medical Center. When looking for off campus housing, you can try expanding the search to include nearby cities such as Redwood City, Menlo Park, and Mountain View. These cities also have the benefit of being somewhat less expensive compared to Palo Alto.

For on campus housing, Stanford offers subsidized resident housing at Welch Road Apartments. This is across the street from the hospital and has 108 unites that range from studios to 2 bedroom/2 bathroom apartments. These apartments are awarded using a lottery system. Applications should be included in registration packets or are available online; the lottery runs in early May of each year so be sure to submit the application early. For more information, contact the rental site manager at:

Resident Manager
1180 Welch Road, Apt. 816
Palo Alto, CA 94304
650-497-0101, Email: welchroad@stanford.edu

Other Stanford-affiliated housing options include Stanford West Apartments and the Colonnade. As medical residents, you may have a lower eligibility priority at these residences so you will likely be put on a waitlist and may need an alternative housing option in the meantime.

For off-campus housing, there are many options available. Most popular is our resident-wide mailing list dedicated to housing opportunities; incoming residents find this the most useful as options become available directly from graduating residents. After the match, you can email our program to be placed on this mailing list. Alternative options include craigslist, www.places4students.com, and www.supost.com. The latter 2 options are specific to the Stanford community and may require a Stanford email address.  The University Housing Office also keeps a list of rentals. You will need to bring your house staff contract with you and some form of university ID. Finally, there are many hotel/motel options for short term housing in the area while you look for housing, though many of our residents are able to secure housing prior to moving to the area. 

Where do our current residents live?


Transportation

Stanford is located close to interstate 280 and not too far from 101 to the east. All Stanford residents who do not reside on campus are eligible for a free "Go Pass", which allows unlimited trips on Caltrain at no cost. Caltrain runs up from San Francisco and down to San Jose, allowing a quick and convenient way to get into the city or down to San Jose, including a short shuttle to San Jose Airport. We also receive bus passes as part of our benefits. There is also a free shuttle called the Marguerite that runs around the greater Stanford campus, providing access around the area as well as to/from the Caltrain stop.

This being said, all residents will need to have access to a car for transportation to/from work and in case they need to go into any of our hospital sites when on call. Parking at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center and the VA is complimentary. At Stanford, parking passes can be purchased through the transportation office. For those individuals who elect to bicycle or take public transportation, they are eligible to receive Clean Air Cash. More information on parking at Stanford can be found at http://transportation.stanford.edu/.


Entertainment


Annual Stanford Neurology Resident Retreat

The Stanford Neurology Resident Retreat is a time honored annual tradition. During this time, our fellows and attendings cover all inpatient services and we take the Friday and Saturday off to go and spend some quality time with each other, renting a house somewhere around Stanford. The retreat is fully funded by the department. It is planned by residents and the location changes every year. In past years, we have gone wine tasting in Sonoma, apple picking in Watsonville, made smores over a fire on the beach in Santa Cruz and worked on building up our sea legs riding around a chartered boat in Half Moon Bay. It's a great chance to meet incoming junior residents and spend some time all together outside the hospital.


Surrounding Area

The School of Medicine is located on the main campus of Stanford University, one of the world's premier institutions of higher education. Students and residents have access to all of the remarkable intellectual, cultural, and recreational opportunities of Stanford. Resources include the graduate and undergraduate libraries, athletic facilities, Pac-12 sporting events, concerts, theater, and film series. About two-thirds of the 8180 acres of the campus are open space, and are popular among hikers and joggers. The region is a haven for outdoor activities. The Northern California coastline, coastal mountains, San Francisco, and San Jose are within an hour of driving. Yosemite and Sequoia/Kings Canyon National Parks, ski areas around Lake Tahoe, Carmel, Big Sur, Napa and Sonoma wine country, the Marin Headlands, Point Reyes, Santa Cruz, Half Moon Bay, and many other attractions are within easy driving distance. It is no wonder that people come to visit Northern California from all over the world. To live here is a great privilege.