Moving to Arizonia

I don't know about Arizonia, but I wouldn't move to Arizona, regardless of which part of the state, without having a job in hand; especially as a new grad.

LOL

Make sure you have a job first. There are many new grads here with few job opportunities for them. I can understand leaving MI, though. I left 2 yrs. ago. Love it here. Good luck to you!!!

What line of work do you want to do? I know companies like Humana hire nurses to work at home. They call patients on the phones. Also a friend told me that the Mayo clinic is hiring new grads out in Scottsdale, he will be graduating around the same time, he has a friend that does the residency for the new grads.

If you don't mind the heat Arizona is ok. I hate it here and cannot wait to get out of here. The only nice time of year is during the winter months and the sun sets at like 5pm when it is nice out.

The market here is tight. New grads in state are having a hard time finding jobs...I would really line something up first before moving. From talking to others the average time it takes to land a job is anywhere from 2-4 months depending on past experience.

LTC/SNFs might be the best bet for quick jobs...the money tends to be much better than in the hospitals too.

I live in Phoenix and I can tell you that the job market for RN's here is not good. I have sent out countless resume's and applied at all of the local hospitals. It seems that you can only get considered for a nursing position if you have previous experience. I am a foreign trained nurse with 4 years experience, passed NCLEX and Toefl, so I recieved my nursing license for Arizona, but there are just no jobs available.......

I moved to Arizona from Michigan, and I hate it here. I'm a teacher. I have gone on vacation at least ten times in the past few years here and it just isn't the same when you actually live here. I hate it!

I feel sorry for those who hate living in Arizona! Wanna trade places?! I went to school there for 4 years and I absolutely loved living in Tucson. I moved back to Colorado so I could have in-state tuition for nursing school, but my heart is still in Tucson, Arizona!

I can't imagine that Tucson and Phoenix have a lot of nursing jobs available, though; the U of A's accelerated nursing program just cut its slots for nursing students by half because some of the hospitals where new grads get contracted to work at backed out of the program due to the economy.

However, if you're interested in rural areas, Yuma County has a nursing shortage of 1400. Rural areas are almost always neglected and could use extra help.

I just don't like the weather, and I don't like finding scorpions in my house. Apparently that is a normal occurence here....

I will look into Yuma. I am just beginning the whole process here and am still teaching, so I can only do a program that is on weekends/nights. My options are limited. I would have done the nursing program in Michigan, but they have a 2 year+ waiting list.