I had to move to a new town to start my medical residency. I needed housing, but I also had to accommodate my soul cat. I decided that I really had to buy a house so that I wouldn’t have to deal with pet-unfriendly landlords.
I went out on a limb and, as luck would have it, the best house I found was less than a block from the hospital where I would be doing most of my training (and where I would subsequently take a faculty position). I sold the house shortly after finishing residency. Local real estate was booming at the time, and I actually made more money on the house than I was paid in salary for my five years as house staff.
Thank you, Puck!
—2p