Need advice -- California-- where to live and work?

U.S.A. California

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Hey nurses of California, I currently reside in Indiana and am looking to move to California. I have some questions that some Cali people may be able to help me with. Opinions welcome! I had older family in the Palm Desert area and spent summers there as a child. Therefore, that's the only area I'm familiar with. I think we are interested in central to southern CA. I have 2 very young children and a lovely husband, who has degrees in computer technology. I have an ASN & will be going back for my BSN soon. I've also thought of doing the NP track after that. I've worked as a tele med surg nurse in a 125 bed hospital for a year now. That's my background. We are just not sure what California has to offer other than sunshine. We just don't know where to focus our research on. Here are my questions. Thank you in advance!

1: Where should I work? Please offer your opinions and experiences.

2: How much will having a BSN help me? (In my state, it's not as important. Opportunities and pay are about the same.)

3: What areas are young family friendly?

Specializes in NICU, RNC.

Don't move to the central valley. We have the worst air in the country. Non-smokers end up with COPD, nearly every child has breathing problems. And we have this fun disease here called "Valley Fever" that is deadly and out-of-area people are more susceptible to it. Employment here is easy to find, and it's the cheapest cost of living in California, but there is a reason for that. Keep your kiddos away from the central valley. :D There are some really nice areas outside Sacramento. I have a girlfriend who just moved her family to Folsom a few years ago and she LOVES it. I have a friend in Yuba City and one in Dusmuir too.

futureprovider

61 Posts

Hi !

I currently live in SoCal. However I am not a nurse (yet :facepalm: ) but I do work in healthcare.

For working it really just depends on your needs and preference. I work in private practice and I love it. The benefits aren't amazing but enough for me (a single boring 28 year old lol) I have alot of flexability and a close knit group of coworkers. Things run smoothly. Alot of my friends however prefer big hospitals. For Socal health systems look into Kaiser, Cedars Sinai, UCLA, Providence, St. Johns, Olympia, and Torrance Memorial. Aside from hospitals I know some of those places have out patient surgery centers also. There are also alot of smaller private surgery centers in my area in socal. If you would like a list of those let me know. Good luck on your move :D

PS those places i just named are all in LA My friends that are young families live in areas nearby like Pasadena,CA or Sherman Oaks,CA

Specializes in Emergency, Trauma, Critical Care.

I have to second near the sacramento area. There is some great areas to raise kids, the cost of living is fairly low and our wages are pretty close to the bay area. I moved here and we get by just on my income and my husband stays home with the kids. I used to live in southern California and the cost of living to wages was just too rough to raise a family on.

RNDude2012

112 Posts

Specializes in ICU.

I've been considering making the move to the Sacramento area. I currently live in Redlands, and rent is getting crazy here.

ButtaflyRN

62 Posts

I'm from San Jose but currently live in KS and have for the last 10 years. I'm making my way back to the state but to be close to my best friend I am moving to Modesto, I have thought about moving back to San Jose but right now the cost of living is ridiculous so maybe it will be a future move, plus I am kind of hearing that rent is going down. Being from the Bay Area I never dreamed of moving to the Central Valley but looking at Modesto a little closer I'm pretty excited. I've never been a fan of Sacramento but that's just a person bias.

RNKPCE

1,170 Posts

Depending where you want to work a BSN will really help.

Lot of computer related jobs in the Bay area but the COL is atrocious. Also more likely to need a BSN in the bay area as it is still a competitive area for jobs.

I second the greater Sacramento area if you can stand the hot summers. The COL in relationship to wages is more affordable. Some high tech jobs in Roseville, Rocklin, Folsom areas.

Most hospitals are union in Northern Cal than Southern Cal, which is probably why wages are higher up North.

This has been said in every post regarding moving to California, but don't move until you or at least one of you has a job.

Specializes in Emergency, Trauma, Critical Care.
I've been considering making the move to the Sacramento area. I currently live in Redlands, and rent is getting crazy here.

I lived in Beaumont and worked at st bs in San Bernardino. Brief stint in OC but never regretted my move to sac. Pm me if you have questions

outriton

121 Posts

Specializes in ICU.

I moved from OK to Sacramento this summer and would highly recommend it. Sacramento has a low cost of living for a CA city but still has high RN pay. One of my OK coworkers with more existence moved at around the same time to San Diego and makes less than I do in CA even though SD is undisputedly more expensive than Sacramento.

Like your area, there's no real difference between ADN and BSN nurses in OK. However, that does matter at some hospitals in CA, particularly the ones with Magnet status. I don't think that's the rule everywhere though.

I noticed some people mentioned hot Sacramento summers. While Northern California has more extreme temperatures than Southern California, it's nothing compared to the Midwest. My native Oklahoman husband calls this summer in Sacramento one of the best in his life because, although hot, it isn't humid like the Midwest and actually cools down at night so mornings, evenings, and nights are still wonderful.

I grew up in Sacramento and really enjoyed it. There are some great public schools in the area (including my high school which was featured in Time magazine for being one of the most diverse schools in the US), lots of parks with family friendly activities, and a great location between San Francisco/the Bay Area (big city life, near the big tech areas in SF and Silicon Valley if your husband is willing to commute; I think there's an Apple location in the Sacramento suburb of Elk Grove too) and Lake Tahoe (winter sports).

RookieRoo

234 Posts

Specializes in Critical care.

I just did this move! Indiana to san diego. We moved to SD because of my spouse's job, because of family, because it's where I'm from and because of thw weather! Yes it is more expensive but the pay is also higher and so is quality of life. I don't regret this decision one bit!

Specializes in Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation.

I highly recommend looking into the IE. There are several hospitals that have been expanding their centers (which means more jobs) and/or are almost done such as San Antonio Regional Hospital, Pomona Valley Hospital, and some of the Citrus Valley Health Partners' locations (I think they're part of LA County but close enough to the IE). The IE IMO is a good location for a family. It's not overly crowded like the major cities, but not empty. Not only that, it's smack in the middle of SoCal. Beaches and LA are 1-1.5 hours west, mountains are just about the same distance north, and your close to the 15 freeway to take it up to Las Vegas! Haha. Cost of living is high (it IS SoCal...), but not as high as LA, SF, or SD. BSN will definitely help you anywhere you go.

Specializes in Emergency, Trauma, Critical Care.
I highly recommend looking into the IE. There are several hospitals that have been expanding their centers (which means more jobs) and/or are almost done such as San Antonio Regional Hospital, Pomona Valley Hospital, and some of the Citrus Valley Health Partners' locations (I think they're part of LA County but close enough to the IE). The IE IMO is a good location for a family. It's not overly crowded like the major cities, but not empty. Not only that, it's smack in the middle of SoCal. Beaches and LA are 1-1.5 hours west, mountains are just about the same distance north, and your close to the 15 freeway to take it up to Las Vegas! Haha. Cost of living is high (it IS SoCal...), but not as high as LA, SF, or SD. BSN will definitely help you anywhere you go.

Thats where I relocated from...Sacramento Is similar to IE but nurses make 15 to 20$ more hourly up here and cheaper cost of living. Hard to compete. I went from making 32$ an hour base to 46$ an hour 4 years ago and my base has almost doubled up here over the last four years. My mortgage here is less than what it was down there and my house is much nicer. Go figure.

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