Hans' interest in poetry began when he was quite young, but it was soon rivaled by the family tradition of medicine. The disparity between the impractical, otherworldly realm of the poet and the very down-to-earth life of a medical doctor haunted him for most of his life. He studied medicine at three universities, Munich, Würzburg, and Leipzig. Practically all of his spare time, however, was spent in literary circles. Just after the turn of the century the twenty-four-year-old Carossa began medical practice in the south-east Bavarian border city of Passau. In 1907, the successful young doctor married a patient, Valerie Endlicher, and moved to the country.