Behind The White Coat - Real Talk For Physician Spouses
Being married to medicine comes with challenges—long hours, relocations, and feeling like you’re navigating it all alone. That’s where this podcast comes in.
I’m sharing the things I wish someone had told me—how to survive medical training, juggle parenting, manage finances, and actually build a life you love. We’ll cover everything from making friends in a new city to understanding insurance, finding childcare, and staying connected as a couple.
Some episodes will be just me, sharing real stories and lessons learned. Other times, I’ll bring on expert guests—financial advisors, physician spouses, and those who’ve been through it all—to offer practical advice.
Most of all, this is a place for community. A space where you can feel understood, supported, and even laugh along the way. Because being married to medicine doesn’t mean doing it alone.
So grab a coffee (or wine!), and let’s talk about the real side of life Behind The White Coat.
Behind The White Coat - Real Talk For Physician Spouses
#26| How to Buy a Home From Afar Without Losing Your Mind
We share a step‑by‑step plan for buying a home from a distance with less stress by defining non‑negotiables, using smart tools, and leaning on a local agent who understands physician life. From commute realities to flood zones and school intel, we map how to choose well and protect your peace of mind.
• naming three non‑negotiables and a firm budget
• commute constraints for call and late‑night returns
• school research using niche.com and local input
• using Google Maps for routes, railroads, and sidewalks
• validating safety, crime, and risks with homefacts
• trusting measurements over photos for room fit
• leveraging recorded and live video tours
• gathering neighborhood intel via social media groups
• planning for local realities like hills, ice, and floods
• selecting an agent as true proxy, not a doorman
• balancing present needs with resale considerations
• practical reassurance for sight‑unseen closings
If you need someone to be your boots on the ground here in Nashville, come find me on Instagram.
If this episode was helpful, share it with a fellow physician spouse, or email me at amanda@abtnhomes.com with your thoughts, topic ideas, questions, or even guest suggestions.
Hey guys, and welcome to another episode. Today we're going to be talking about something I know many of you have lived through, myself included, or you will live through soon. And it is house hunting and moving from a distance. So whether you're moving for residency, fellowship, or your big attending job, sometimes you are searching for a home in a city that you've never even stepped foot in or you've only been there once. So today we're going to talk about how to set yourself up for success when you can't physically be there to search for a home, figuring out which details matter most and tools that you can use from a distance, how to work with your realtor so they can become your eyes and ears and boots on the ground. And then just a few other little things sprinkled in. So the first part is I would set your priorities, meaning before you even look at a house, look at a listing, you need a game plan. So here's the thing: when you are house hunting from a distance, you can't see everything. You have to decide what is truly your non-negotiables. So for you as a physician family, what I mean by that would be a lot of times you are restricted by your commute time to the hospital because of your specialty and your call schedule. That's going to be something that is going to be super important when you're looking for a house in an area. If you have kids trying to decide if you're doing public or private school, what those school ratings look like and how important that is to you, or programs that the schools offer, whether it's before or after care, if it is programs for a second language, sometimes there are programs for fine arts. So that may be a factor. And then obviously, what type of neighborhood vibe you're going for? Are you wanting it to be walkable? Have specific amenities? Do you want it to be new construction? Are you okay with it needing work? And then obviously your budget. And so the thing that I tell people a lot of times when they are looking at Zillow, Zillow has a lot of great qualities. I have used Zillow many times, but keep in mind it's not necessarily a reality. And Zillow can be off. It can be high, it can be low. Zillow has never been inside these houses. So that's where you have to kind of take those numbers with a grain of salt. So pick at least like top three must-haves and stick to them. And all the other stuff obviously is important, but these things may be most important. And then the other tip I give people is there's so much technology now at your fingertips that make it work for you. So not only can it make looking at homes from a distance a little bit more manageable, but it can also save your sanity if you use it properly, you use it well. So, first thing I tell people, Google Maps, that's going to be huge for you so that you can see kind of a bird's eye view of where the home is located. Is it close to railroad tracks? Is it close to the highway? Are there sidewalks if you did the street view? Um, what are traffic patterns? What does the neighborhood look like where you can take your little man and walk up and down the street? Is there new construction around that may increase home values and equity? So Google Maps is going to be one of your best friends when looking from a distance. The other thing is niche.com, which can give you school ratings if that is something that is super important to you. I highly recommend you use that. And that way you can do a little bit of research both for private and public schools on there. Another one is called homefax, f-acts.com. And it's interactive. You can put in an address and it would basically spit out any information that you're looking for. So if you want crime in the area where registered sex offenders live, it does do school ratings as well. It does unemployment. I mean, it gives you a plethora of information and you can kind of pick through it to find what is important for you. Your MLS sheet, it's going to be really important for you, especially if the MLS sheet for a house you're interested in gives the home measurements and it gives the room measurements. So for example, you live in an apartment and right now your bedroom is 10 by 10 and it is way too small. You need a bigger home or you need a bigger bedroom. When you look at the MLS sheet, if that bedroom is 10 by 10, you already know it's going to be way too small for you. So don't waste your time wanting to look at that and trying to make it work if you already know that that bedroom is going to be too small. I had one client who he had this huge L-shaped couch that he loved. He spent a lot of money on. It was new. It was going to be coming to Nashville with him in his move. And there was no negotiating and it was massive. And it was going to be going in the living room. So we had to have a living room measurement that would fit this couch. So we knew what the measurements needed to be. And we were able to look online at any listing in the MLS sheet if the measurements were there, if his couch would fit. If the measurements did not work for the couch, we moved on. So nobody was wasting time having to go do virtual tours, driving out there. So you want to know measurements. So know your current home measurements, room measurements, because that's going to be really huge whenever you're looking at these sheets online. The other thing that I would recommend is video tours. So I have done a ton of recorded video tours, FaceTime tours, and it's super detailed. So if you want a huge primary bedroom closet, I give you details for that. If you want to know more about the actual area as far as walking, driving, I've done recorded videos of those and sent those to clients. So lean into that. Make sure you have an agent that will do that for you, especially if a lot of what you are doing is going to be virtual. The last thing that I would recommend as far as technology goes is social media. You can find a lot of information for specific areas, specific neighborhoods, good and bad, on social media. I know Facebook has a lot of neighborhood group pages. I have a Facebook page. It is National Physician Spouses that a lot of people join before they've even moved here. And they get on right away and start asking questions about schools, safety, commute time. And, you know, I don't live in all the neighborhoods. So it's really nice getting firsthand experience of people that live in the neighborhood. They are there during school pickup. What does that look like? Do your kids all walk together? Like they ask very specific questions. So I highly recommend you lean into that and find those local Facebook pages and social media pages. So don't just look at the house. You want to make sure that you're looking at all of that information and that your realtor looks at all that information for you. A little bonus tip for that would be you know, the Nashville area and surrounding areas is super hilly. And in the wintertime, we have a lot of ice, not necessarily snow, and we don't do the best job of taking care of the streets, plowing them, salting them. The main roads, yes, but side streets, no. So if you don't have an all-wheel drive, four-wheel drive, and it's hilly, you're in trouble because you still have to get to the hospital. So you want to have multiple routes to get to the hospital. You want to have an agent that's looking at those things for you. So, with that being said, make sure you've got that right realtor for you. It's gonna make a difference that they're not just unlocking the doors, but they're noticing smells and they're noticing if something's in a flood zone. We've got a lot of flood zones here, a lot of creeks and rivers. And so you want them to be looking into those things for you and know more of a resale value and what things may affect the resale value. Are you close to a railroad track and how's that going to impact not only your sleep when you buy a house, but also your resale? So if you can work with somebody who understands the physician lifestyle, their schedule, commute needs, timeline pressure. And, you know, a great agent should be sending you more than just the MLS listings, but guides that are helpful for neighborhoods and resources for you on the community and how you can actually connect into the community, recommendations for places to go. So make sure you guys are doing that. And, you know, the truth is buying a house from a distance can be stressful. You may second guess yourself, you may cry at one point, but you also might find your dream home without ever stepping foot inside until moving day. And truth be told, most of my clients are from out of state. Many of them have come sight unseen, relying entirely on video tours, inspection reports, my videos that I send to them. Sometimes they fly in for one day to put their eyes on something, fly out, and we do remote closings. So you just want to make sure you have a trusted partner here that really understands the ins and the outs of the area, the physician side of things, and then also just the real estate side of things. So if you remember nothing else, prioritize your non-negotiables, know your ceiling for your budget and stick with it and use every tech tool that you can. And you want to have the right partner on the ground for you. Your house is important, but so is your peace of mind. So thanks for joining today on our episode. And if you are house hunting from a distance right now, just know that you are not alone. And it is possible to make it a smooth and even enjoyable process if you are partnered with the right person. So if you need someone to be your boots on the ground here in Nashville, come find me on Instagram at Amanda Barron Realtor. And if this episode was helpful, share it with a fellow physician spouse who's facing the same challenges. And it's okay if you aren't moving to the Nashville area, maybe a different part of the country. I can help connect you to the right support there as well. So don't hesitate to reach out, do your research, don't always trust Zillow. And I am just always here to help. And feel free to send any questions that you have my way. Thank you guys so much for your time. And until next time, that's a wrap on this episode of Behind the White Coat. I hope today's conversation left you feeling more understood and supported. And if you enjoyed this episode, I would love for you to subscribe, leave a review, or share it with another physician spouse. Your support helps more of us to connect. Keep in mind this podcast is for you. So let's keep this conversation going. DM me on Instagram at Amanda Barron Realtor with your thoughts, topic ideas, questions, or even guest suggestions. I would really love to hear from you. Thanks for spending part of your day with me, and remember, you are never in this alone. See you next time.