Moving Medicine Podcast

What Physicians Don’t Expect About Moving to Chicago with Christine Tepper – Ep21

Relocating to Chicago as a physician family is about much more than picking a downtown condo near the hospital. In this episode, Zoe Taylor talks with Chicago Compass agent Christine Tepper about what physicians and medical families actually need to know before moving to the city — from the realities of running a private practice in a post-COVID Chicago, to the differences between Northwestern, University of Chicago, Rush, and the Illinois Medical District, to how Illinois property taxes affect what you can really afford. Christine also opens up about her own journey: meeting her ophthalmologist husband through medical staffing, raising three kids in the city while helping run his solo practice, and eventually transitioning into real estate to help other medical families find the right neighborhood, school, and lifestyle fit in Chicago. GUEST BIO — CHRISTINE TEPPER Christine Tepper is a Chicago-based real estate professional with Compass and a physician spouse of more than 22 years, married to a solo-practice ophthalmologist whose Chicago practice has been in operation for 26 years. Before real estate, Christine built a career across theater, performance, and medical staffing — and it was through medical staffing that she first met her husband. After their oldest was born, she stepped into the practice alongside him, learning credentialing, coding, insurance navigation, and the operational realities of running a private medical practice from the inside. Five years into her real estate career at Compass, Christine has become a trusted guide for physicians, residents, fellows, and medical families relocating to Chicago. She brings firsthand understanding of the pressures medical families carry — the long hours, the practice-side stress, the demands on the spouse at home — and pairs it with deep working knowledge of Chicago's 77 neighborhoods, condo warrantability, Illinois property tax realities, and the proximity considerations that matter when you're matching into Northwestern, University of Chicago, Rush, the Illinois Medical District, or Endeavor. Christine and her husband raised their three children in the city, sending them through Chicago Public Schools and putting down deep roots in their North Side neighborhood. That lived experience shapes how she works: she's not just helping clients find a house — she's helping medical families build a life in Chicago that holds up through residency, attending years, practice ownership, and everything in between. Connect with Christine: 🌐 Website: https://www.compass.com/agents/christine-tepper/ [https://www.compass.com/agents/christine-tepper/] 📸 Instagram: @christinetepper 💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christine-tepper-07b342268/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/christine-tepper-07b342268/] ✉️ Email: christine.tepper@compass.com [christine.tepper@compass.com] 📞 Phone: 312-213-6047 📍 Based in Chicago, IL ABOUT THE SHOW The Moving Medicine Podcast is a space for physicians and physician spouses navigating relocation—not as a transaction, but as a life transition. Hosted by Zoe Taylor, founder of Moving Medicine Partners, the show centers the human side of medical moves and offers clarity, grounding, and shared understanding for families at every stage of the journey. CONNECT & FOLLOW 🌐 Website: https://movingmedicinepartners.com/ [https://movingmedicinepartners.com/?utm_source=chatgpt.com] 📸 Instagram: @movingmedicinepartners [https://www.instagram.com/movingmedicinepartners/] 📘 Facebook: Moving Medicine Partners [https://www.facebook.com/movingmedicinepartners] 💼 LinkedIn: Moving Medicine Partners [https://www.linkedin.com/in/zoecangas/] ✉️ Email: hello@movingmedicinepartners.com [hello@movingmedicinepartners.com] ABOUT THE HOST Zoe Taylor is the founder of Moving Medicine Partners and someone who has sat at that kitchen table herself. Through her work supporting medical families across the country, Zoe has seen the unseen labor of relocation up close—and built this podcast to make sure no one has to navigate it feeling invisible, rushed, or alone. Learn more…  [https://movingmedicinepartners.com/about-us]

What Physicians Don’t Expect About Moving to Hawaii with Nathalie Champion – Ep20

Relocating to Hawaii as a physician family comes with far more than beautiful scenery and ocean views. In this episode, Zoe Taylor talks with Honolulu-based real estate professional Nathalie Champion about the emotional realities of starting over in Hawaii during medical career transitions. From rebuilding community and adjusting expectations to navigating physician life in Hawaii, this conversation explores the human side of relocation that often gets overlooked. Nathalie also shares her journey from running a successful art gallery in Santa Fe to helping physician and military families create stability through real estate and relocation support. Nathalie Champion is a Honolulu-based real estate professional with Compass who specializes in helping physician, military, and relocating families navigate major life transitions through thoughtful, relationship-driven real estate guidance. Before transitioning into real estate, Nathalie ran a large art gallery in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Her move into the housing industry was inspired by a difficult personal experience with a sales agent, which reinforced the importance of trust, competence, advocacy, and service during life-changing decisions. As the spouse of a forensic psychiatrist, Nathalie understands firsthand the unique emotional and logistical challenges medical families face while relocating, rebuilding community, and creating stability in unfamiliar environments. Her work is deeply rooted in appreciation, service, and helping people feel at home during seasons of transition. CONNECT WITH NATHALIE CHAMPION 🌐 Website: https://nathaliechampion.com [https://nathaliechampion.com] 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/youdeserveachampion/ 📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/YourOahuHome/ [https://www.facebook.com/YourOahuHome/] 💼 LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/youdeserveachampion [http://www.linkedin.com/in/youdeserveachampion] About the Show  The Moving Medicine Podcast is a space for physicians and physician spouses navigating relocation — not as a transaction, but as a life transition. Hosted by Zoe Taylor, founder of Moving Medicine Partners, the show centers the human side of medical moves and offers clarity, grounding, and shared understanding for families at every stage of the journey.  Connect & Follow  🌐 Website: movingmedicinepartners.com  📸 Instagram: @movingmedicinepartners  📘 Facebook: Moving Medicine Partners  💼 LinkedIn: Moving Medicine Partners ✉️ Email: hello@movingmedicinepartners.com

Smart Money Decisions During Medical Transitions with James Nutter — Ep19

Physicians spend years mastering medicine — but very little time learning how to navigate money, home buying, debt, and long-term financial planning during major life transitions. In this episode, Zoe Taylor sits down with fiduciary advisor James Nutter for a grounded conversation about the financial side of moving through medicine. Together, they unpack physician loans, home buying during training and attending transitions, how to evaluate financial advisors, and why so many physicians end up overwhelmed by financial decisions despite being highly educated professionals. Rather than focusing on “getting rich,” this episode centers on building a life that actually aligns with your goals, values, relationships, and long-term vision. EPISODE SPONSOR This episode is sponsored by Bob Hall at Truist. Bob works closely with physicians and medical families navigating relocation, home buying, physician loans, and major financial decisions during career transitions. Whether you're relocating for residency, fellowship, or an attending position, Bob helps physicians think strategically about financing decisions so they can build stability without becoming financially overextended. 🌐 Truist.com/Bob.Hall [https://www.truist.com/finder/mortgage/bob-hall-mortgage-loan-officer-alpharetta-ga-30009] EPISODE SUMMARY James Nutter is a fiduciary financial advisor and partner at IM Wealth, where he helps physicians navigate the often-overwhelming world of money, investing, debt, and long-term financial planning. In this conversation, James and Zoe explore how financial decisions intersect with physician life transitions — especially during residency, fellowship, relocation, and early attending years. They discuss the realities of physician loans, why getting approved for a large mortgage doesn’t necessarily mean you should take it, and how physicians can reverse engineer home-buying decisions around lifestyle goals instead of external expectations. The conversation also dives into the financial advising industry itself — including fiduciary standards, commissions, hidden conflicts of interest, and how physicians can better protect themselves from poor financial guidance. This episode is practical, honest, and deeply relevant for physicians trying to create financial clarity during some of the busiest and most transitional years of their lives. IN THIS EPISODE, WE COVER * Physician loans and common misconceptions * Home buying during residency and attending transitions * How to determine what house you can realistically afford * Why physicians are often targeted by commission-based financial products * The difference between fiduciary and suitability standards * Questions physicians should ask before hiring a financial advisor * Dual registration and hidden conflicts of interest * Budgeting and understanding cash flow during life transitions * Emergency funds and financial peace of mind * Lifestyle creep in medicine * Financial conversations inside relationships and marriage * Aligning financial decisions with personal values * Building wealth without sacrificing quality of life WHAT MAKES THIS EPISODE DIFFERENT * A physician-focused financial conversation through the lens of medical transitions and relocation * Honest insight into how the financial advising industry actually works * Practical guidance around physician loans and home buying * Transparent discussion around fiduciaries, commissions, and financial conflicts * A realistic conversation about balancing financial goals with real life * Advice physicians can immediately apply during training or attending transitions ABOUT THE GUEST James Nutter is a fiduciary financial advisor and partner at IM Wealth, a physician-focused financial planning firm helping medical professionals make more intentional financial decisions. After beginning his career inside a large Fortune 100 financial firm, James transitioned into boutique financial planning to better serve physicians through transparent, relationship-driven guidance. Today, he helps physicians navigate investing, student loans, home buying, cash flow systems, retirement planning, and long-term wealth strategy. James is also the host of A Physician’s Guide to Wealth podcast. CONNECT WITH JAMES NUTTER 🌐 https://www.imwealth.com  [https://www.imwealth.com] 📸Follow James on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/jamesnutter_imwealth/].  🎙 Podcast: A Life Well Lived: A Physician’s Guide to Wealth [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a-life-well-lived-a-physicians-guide-to-wealth/id1799302525]

From San Francisco to LA, with a Toddler and a Moving Truck — A Physician Spouse's System for Sane Relocations — Ep18

Lisa Alemi is a physician spouse, mother of three, and the creator of Move Mama Move — a relocation planning system born out of one too many moves done the hard way. Married to a general surgeon she met in San Francisco, Lisa has lived through the full physician-family relocation arc: a research-year honeymoon period, the brutal pivot back into clinical training, fellowship in Seattle, four years in Kansas City, and a cross-country move to Los Angeles with a six-month-old in tow. That last move, executed on no sleep and full mom brain, was the one that broke her — and built the planner. Now based in LA, Lisa walks host Zoe Taylor through the mechanics most physician families never get briefed on: how to vet a moving company with the right 30-plus questions, why a binding estimate matters more than people realize, what to put in the "do not move" box, how to color-code a household so movers don't need to ask where anything goes, and why mail forwarding will quietly fail you on the documents that matter most. They cover the nervous, expensive, emotionally taxing parts of relocation — and the simple systems that take the guesswork out. They cover: * Why the research years of residency can be a false sense of security — and what changes the moment a clinical rotation starts * The first traumatic move (a 26-foot truck, San Francisco, 5 PM rush hour, no plan) that became the catalyst for every checklist after * Why long-distance moves often involve two different companies — and what that means for accountability * Binding estimates, hourly traps, long-carry fees, stairs, parking permits, and the fine print physician families miss * The "do not move" box: passports, jewelry, electronics, and what should never touch a moving truck * Why air tags in a couple of boxes are now a non-negotiable for cross-country moves * The 60-cents-per-pound reimbursement rule, and why renter's or homeowner's insurance during a move is worth keeping * A color-coded labeling system that lets movers place every box and piece of furniture without a single "where does this go?" * Why mail forwarding fails for the documents that matter — and which institutions to call directly * How a planned move protects the energy of the home you're moving into WHAT MAKES THIS EPISODE DIFFERENT * A physician spouse who has moved through every training stage — residency, fellowship, first attending, and final relocation — and turned the lessons into a working system * Practical, granular logistics most relocation conversations skip: questions to ask movers, contract red flags, two-truck transfers, and the realities of long-distance moving company subcontracting * A hosting tip from real life: schedule a birthday party two weeks after move-in and watch every box get unpacked * A frank look at how a chaotic move imprints on a home — and why a calm, planned arrival changes the energy of the space you're walking into * A sister-podcast collaboration with The Medcommon and Moving Medicine Partners for matching-season residents who need help relocating, finding housing, and rebuilding community ABOUT THE GUEST Lisa Alemi is the founder of Move Mama Move and a physician spouse who has relocated across San Francisco, Seattle, Kansas City, and Los Angeles over the course of her husband’s general surgery training and attending career. Now done with training and settled in LA, Lisa knows firsthand how long it can take to find community after each move — and how much of that depends on creating a home that actually works for the family living in it. After cross-country moving with a six-month-old and finding nothing online comprehensive enough to actually use, she built the planner she had been searching for. Today, Move Mama Move offers three versions of the planner — a Relocation Planner, a Home Search & Relocation Planner, and a premium gift edition — all designed to take the guesswork, anxiety, and emotional cost out of physician-family moves so families can show up to their next home feeling grounded instead of frayed. CONNECT WITH LISA 🛠 Brand: Move Mama Move 🛒 Shop: shop.movemamamove.com 📸 Instagram: @move_mama_move ✉️ Email: lisa@movemamamove.com ABOUT THE SHOW The Moving Medicine Podcast is a space for physicians and physician spouses navigating relocation — not as a transaction, but as a life transition. Hosted by Zoe Taylor, founder of Moving Medicine Partners, the show centers the human side of medical moves and offers clarity, grounding, and shared understanding for families at every stage of the journey. CONNECT & FOLLOW 🌐 Website: movingmedicinepartners.com 📸 Instagram: @movingmedicinepartners 📘 Facebook: Moving Medicine Partners 💼 LinkedIn: Moving Medicine Partners ✉️ Email: hello@movingmedicinepartners.com ABOUT THE HOST Zoe Taylor is the founder of Moving Medicine Partners and a real estate agent based in St. Louis who has sat at that kitchen table herself. Through her work supporting medical families across the country, Zoe has seen the unseen labor of relocation up close — and built this podcast to make sure no one has to navigate it feeling invisible, rushed, or alone.

Reinventing Herself After the Move — A Physician Spouse's Honest Story — Ep17

This episode is sponsored by Bob at Truist, who works closely with physicians and medical families navigating big financial decisions — especially around relocation, home buying, and long-term planning. If you're making a move, stepping into a new role, or just want clarity around how your money fits into your life, Bob brings a calm, strategic approach that's built for people with complex careers. You can connect directly with Bob — http://www.truist.com/bob.hall [http://www.truist.com/bob.hall] — EPISODE SUMMARY Leslie Mathews has worn a lot of hats — brain injury speech pathologist, attorney, health administrator, photographer, physician spouse, and now therapist, coach, and podcast host. Her path through her now ex-husband's training years, a relocation to the Tampa Bay area for his first attending role, and the long process of rebuilding her own career on the other side of divorce is a story most physician families will recognize: the year apart while one spouse went ahead, the rushed home purchase that became a years-long renovation, and the slow erosion of identity that comes when a hard-earned career gets shelved for the family's needs. Now based in St. Petersburg, Florida and working with women navigating divorce, career pivots, and trauma recovery, Leslie talks openly about what she'd do differently — and what she wants every physician spouse to hear. Host Zoe Taylor and Leslie cover the residency-era condo purchase, the site-unseen pressure of the first attending move, the gutted Florida house that nearly broke them, and the grief of selling a home you raised your kids in. They cover: * Why a one-year geographic separation between training and the first attending year is one of the most underestimated risks in physician relocation * The 'we'll just gut it' trap — buying a home before you know the city, the contractors, or the climate * Why physician families often buy too fast at the attending stage, and the average tenure at a first job that should change the math * The identity erosion of the physician spouse — and the body's quiet warning signs (inflammation, autoimmune flares, migraines) that something is off * Buying a house to feel rooted, and how a major renovation can pile pressure onto a family already running on fumes * Grieving the family home: why selling can feel like a third party in a divorce, and why it's often the cleanest path forward * How nervous-system literacy and modalities like EMDR and Internal Family Systems are changing the way she works with couples and individuals WHAT MAKES THIS EPISODE DIFFERENT * A physician spouse who has lived every stage — the training years, multiple fellowships, the geographic split, the attending-year reset, and the rebuild on the other side * A therapist's lens on the real estate decisions physician families make under pressure — and the ones they later wish they could undo * Honest talk about the 'doctor's wife' identity, the loneliness behind the curated life, and why 'at least you have a beautiful house' is the wrong response * A reframing of the home as a nervous-system regulator — what it means when parts of your house feel peaceful and parts don't * Practical guidance for spouses standing at a crossroads, whether that's a career pivot, a relocation, or a season of personal reinvention ABOUT THE GUEST Leslie Mathews is a licensed psychotherapist, non-practicing attorney, and host of the Pulling Threads podcast. She began her career as a speech therapist specializing in brain injury and trauma before pivoting into healthcare law, earning a JD and a Master's in Health Administration from Saint Louis University. After fifteen years of marriage to an interventional cardiologist and a season of stepping back from her career to raise her family, Leslie returned to school during her divorce — pursuing training in health coaching, mindfulness, and clinical social work, and earning her MSW. Today, based in St. Petersburg, Florida, Leslie runs The LooM Life, where she offers therapy, coaching, and a unique form of divorce support. She works with women going through divorce and big life transitions, as well as physician and physician-spouse clients navigating the pressures of medical careers and family life. Her clinical work draws on EMDR, Internal Family Systems (IFS), mindfulness, and polyvagal theory. Her mission, in her own words: to help people live more peaceful, grounded lives. CONNECT WITH LESLIE 🎙️ Podcast: Pulling Threads 🏢 Practice: The LooM Life 📍 Location: St. Petersburg, Florida 🌐 Website: theloomlife.com 📸 Instagram: @the.loom.life 🎵 TikTok: @parandpeace 💼 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/lesliemathewsmsw ✉️ Email: support@theloomlife.com ABOUT THE SHOW The Moving Medicine Podcast is a space for physicians and physician spouses navigating relocation — not as a transaction, but as a life transition. Hosted by Zoe Taylor, founder of Moving Medicine Partners, the show centers the human side of medical moves and offers clarity, grounding, and shared understanding for families at every stage of the journey. CONNECT & FOLLOW 🌐 Website: movingmedicinepartners.com 📸 Instagram: @movingmedicinepartners 📘 Facebook: Moving Medicine Partners 💼 LinkedIn: Moving Medicine Partners ✉️ Email: hello@movingmedicinepartners.com ABOUT THE HOST Zoe Taylor is the founder of Moving Medicine Partners and a real estate agent based in St. Louis who has sat at that kitchen table herself. Through her work supporting medical families across the country, Zoe has seen the unseen labor of relocation up close — and built this podcast to make sure no one has to navigate it feeling invisible, rushed, or alone.