Moving to Jacksonville for residency or a hospital job: a relocation guide for clinicians

I'm a registered nurse, and I worked critical care and emergency nursing here in Northeast Florida, so I know what a hospital move asks of you: a new badge, a new EHR login, new unit politics, and somewhere to sleep after your first string of nights. This chapter is for residents, fellows, nurses, physicians and other clinicians moving here for a hospital or cancer center job. For taxes, insurance, your driver license and the rest of the basics, see the main relocation guide.

I'm not a lender, attorney or licensing expert, and nothing here is medical advice. I'll point you to the official source for each rule so you can confirm it.

Moving to Jacksonville for residency: from Match Day to July 1

If you're in the Match, the calendar is tight. For the 2027 Main Residency Match, the rank order list certification deadline is March 3, 2027, Match Week starts Monday, March 15, and Match Day is Friday, March 19, 2027 (NRMP). The NRMP's applicant overview lists training as beginning on or about July 1 (NRMP). Your program sets your actual orientation date, and it may be earlier.

That leaves roughly 15 weeks between learning where you're going and showing up. Here's how I'd use them:

If you're buying with a conventional loan, ask your lender how they treat a signed contract for a job you haven't started. Fannie Mae's Selling Guide lets a lender use a signed offer for a job that starts no later than 90 days after closing, and depending on the option the lender uses, it may also have to document extra reserves (Fannie Mae). Physician loan programs set their own rules. Your lender also has to give you the Closing Disclosure at least three business days before closing (CFPB), so don't plan a closing for the day before you leave your old city.

Hospital campuses and cancer centers in Jacksonville

Start with where you'll report, then pick the area. These are the main campuses and cancer programs I confirmed on each organization's own site, with the nearest community pages on mine. My guide to moving to Jacksonville for a hospital job has the full list of 13 campuses with sourced road miles.

A few details that help with the search:

• Mayo Clinic Jacksonville residency. Mayo's Internal Medicine Residency in Jacksonville began in 1994 and offers 24 categorical positions each year (Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science). If you're looking for Mayo Clinic Jacksonville residency housing, the closest community pages on my site are Jacksonville Beach, Ponte Vedra Beach and Southside.
• UF College of Medicine, Jacksonville. The college lists 39 accredited residency and fellowship programs and 453 residents and fellows on its fact sheet, last updated April 2025 (UF College of Medicine, Jacksonville).
• Baptist MD Anderson is a partnership between Baptist Health and MD Anderson Cancer Center (Baptist MD Anderson). It also lists sites at Baptist South and Baptist Clay (Baptist MD Anderson).
• UF Health Proton Therapy Institute treated its first patient in 2006 and is part of the UF Health Cancer Institute (UF Health Proton Therapy Institute).
• Baptist Medical Center Nassau is at 1250 South 18th Street in Fernandina Beach, and Baptist Medical Center Clay is in Fleming Island (Baptist Health), if your job is outside Duval.

Florida licensing basics for clinicians

Licensing isn't my field, but it drives your timeline, so here are the official starting points.

Physicians (MD). Residents, interns and fellows without a full Florida license register with the state, and that registration expires automatically after 2 years unless the board approves renewal (Section 458.345, Florida Statutes). For a full license, graduates of U.S. allopathic schools need at least one year of approved residency, initial applicants submit fingerprints through a Livescan provider, and the board says it could take up to 10 business days to issue a license once the application is complete (Florida Board of Medicine).

Physicians (DO). Osteopathic licensing runs through the Florida Board of Osteopathic Medicine. DO residents, interns and fellows register under a separate statute, renew that registration every year and can't be registered for more than 5 years total unless the board approves more (Section 459.021, Florida Statutes).

Nurses. Florida is part of the Nurse Licensure Compact under state law (Section 464.0095, Florida Statutes), and the Florida Board of Nursing has issued multistate licenses since January 19, 2018 (Florida Board of Nursing). The board's compact FAQ makes a few points worth knowing before you move:

• If you move from one compact state to another, you get a license from your new home state, and the old one is no longer valid.
• If you move from a non compact state to Florida, you apply for a Florida license, and your old license isn't affected.
• Your primary state of residence can be shown with documents like a driver license or voter registration card with your home address.
• The compact covers RN and LPN licenses only, not advanced practice nurse licenses.

That driver license point ties into the main guide, since Florida expects new residents to get a Florida license within 30 days of establishing residency (FLHSMV). Confirm your own situation with the Florida Board of Nursing and your employer.

Renting or buying during training

There isn't one right answer for a three year residency or a two year fellowship. I own rental property, so I can talk honestly about both paths. The questions I'd ask first:

• Do you expect to stay in Northeast Florida after training?
• Will you rotate between campuses that sit far apart?
• If you sell in three years, what would it cost? My closing cost calculator gives a rough idea.
• If you kept the home and rented it out, would you want to be a landlord?
• What's the full monthly cost with taxes, insurance and HOA or CDD fees? Try the monthly cost calculator.

One Florida detail for buyers. To get the homestead exemption, you need to own the home and make it your permanent residence on January 1, then file by March 1 (Section 196.011, Florida Statutes). With a June or July closing, the January 1 that counts is the next one. I go deeper on physician loans, student loans and license timing in buying a home as a resident or new physician.

What to check in a home when you work shifts

A house can look great and still fight you when you need to sleep at 10 a.m. after a night shift. When I tour with someone who works shifts, here's what I look at:

• Bedroom placement. A bedroom over the garage, on the street side or next to the laundry is louder in daytime.
• Light control. West facing bedroom windows get the afternoon sun. Ask whether blackout shades or shutters will fit.
• Daytime activity. School pickup lines, lawn crews and trash day all happen while night shift sleeps. I'd visit at your sleeping hours.
• Parking. A garage or covered spot matters when you get home at 7:30 a.m. in a summer downpour.
• The route at shift change. Drive it at 6:15 a.m. or 6:45 p.m., not on a Sunday. Note which bridge you'd cross and whether there's a backup.
• Call distance. If your department has a rule about how far you can live while on call, get it in writing before you shop.

How I help clinicians who are still out of state

You don't need to be here to start. I do live video tours and tell you what I notice in person, including the street noise a listing photo won't show. Before I tour a home with you, in person or virtually, REALTORS® ask you to sign a written buyer agreement, and the compensation in it is negotiable (NAR). My buyer representation page explains ours in plain language. Nursing taught me to listen first, so tell me your campus, your start date and your schedule, and we'll plan the search around them.