Mercy General Sacramento

Hi thought I would ask if you took your job in California?
We fly out in March.

There seems to be a few positions comming up in the west more so than the east.

Hope everthing works out for you and your family.

Well, it figures I wouldn't check the Allnurses forums for weeks and during that time someone had a question on Sacramento!

I am familiar with MGH, but not with their OB floor. I did a bit of per diem work there in cardiac tele a couple years ago. There are four main hospital systems in Sacramento: UC Davis Hospital, Sutter General and Sutter Memorial, Mercy General and Mercy San Juan, and Kaiser. Most recently, I worked for 3 years with Sutter. Basically, all hospital systems in Sacto are going to offer very similar benefits and wages. They have to, there is too much competition for nurses.

Mainly, I just wanted to put in a good word for Sacramento. While we aren't close to the coast, we are within a 2 hour drive of some of the most interesting and scenic places in California: Lake Tahoe, the Sierra Mountains, the Napa/Sonoma wine country, San Francisco (some people go there every weekend, and it's a lot less expensive to live in Sacramento and visit there whenever you want!), and the beautiful, foggy and rugged Central and Northern coasts. There is Old Sacramento to explore, with it's Wild West atmosphere and Sacramento sits where the American River and the Sacramento River come together -- they call it the River City. There is a beautiful park that extends well over 15 miles along the American River from downtown Sacramento all the way to Folsom, with great bicycling and jogging trails and fishing and picnic spots.
In the summer, it's pretty hot here. But it's a dry heat, and the evenings are very pleasant. You can always go swimming at one of the river beachfronts, or go up to the Sierra to one of the numerous mountain lakes that allow it. In the winter, it is foggy and rainy, but never really cold. I never wear a winter coat at all. And great ski resorts are only about an hour's drive into the Sierra.
The Redwoods along the coast and in the mountains are all within easy day trip driving distance. And Yosemite National Park, where you find breathtaking waterfalls and the famous Half-Dome, is also fairly close.

So, if that Southern Cal deal doesn't come through, don't sell Sacramento short! I LOVE this place, and I've lived in many other cities. My dearest friends live in Orange County, and truthfully I dread going there -- the smog, the HORRIBLE congestion (Cali in general is pretty crowded, though), the Santa Ana winds and the whole general LA trip.