AZ nurse ?'s hospitals, pay, location etc

[freezebabyRN]

Hi everyone! Any help would be greatly appreciated! My hubby and I are looking to move South. Yes, hence my username I am a freezebaby. We live in WI, and I dislike the 30-40 degrees below zero with the windchill. We have family in the burbank area; however, we do not want to live in CA, but thought AZ since some family is there and LA is only a few hours from Mesa, Gilbert, Phoenix etc. My question is what are the nice areas to raise a family? What are the best school districts? What is the average pay for RN's? I have three years of being a nurse experience. Also, looking at what hospitals to avoid, and which ones are great. Not only with pay, but benefits. I love union (I know some people are against that), but are there any union hospitals in AZ? It would also be nice if there are some hospitals that offer $ for relocation. Does anyone work in the correction field? I've done that before; however, they told me one thing and then gave me something else with hours, so I quit. I wouldn't mind working for the state if they have good benefits like they do in MN.

We are looking into this now. We plan to list our house for sale April/May and IF it sells (We all know how the housing market is now) then we will look at moving. We plan to rent, but will want to rent where someday we will buy so the kids won't have to change school districts.

Thanks for all of your help!

[AZ hopeful]

Gilbert school district is really good, also Chandler which is right next to Gilbert, if going for Mesa I would say stick to East / SE Mesa. There are LOTS of new homes and communities springing up in the East Valley, plenty of choice. Banner and CHW are the most convenient hospitals for East Valley living but because I'm international don't know what relocation they offer.

[EricJRN, MSN, RN]

To the AZ Forum for the best responses. Good luck!

[Hoozdo, ADN]

You might want to check out this thread:

https://allnurses.com/forums/f135/experienced-rn-help-finding-work-276214.html

Arizona is a "right to work" state. The only union in Phoenix is the VA hospital. I believe the only other unions in the whole state are other VA hospitals and Flagstaff Medical Center.