Making the Move to Florida

[indigo girl]

I wonder if any of you could clarify something for me. I am moving to

Florida in about 2 months. My agency, which is a national one, has an

office down there. They are telling me that I will not be able to work in

LTC because I am an RN. Is this true?

They did say that I could work in Rehab facilities. Now, where I currently

work, most LTC facilities do rehab. Is this different in Florida?

I would appreciate your thoughts. If I need to make a specialty change

as well as a big move in location, I guess I'll just have to bite the bullet,

and get on with it.

Thanks for any reply,

indigo

[anc33]

Are you in Gainesville? If so what't the salary for graduate RN's?

New grad RNs in Gainesville start at $19 at Shands now.

[cooblu]

no wonder i get blank stares from nurse recruiters - however,$19 when i was a new grad would have been fantastic. but now.. i can,t see showing up. sorry, i have no info regarding tampa areas to live & work. there are i'm sure an array of possibilities and if you have any experience at all don;t settle for less than $25 w/benes(staff). that's low but this is florida.

[anc33]

no wonder i get blank stares from nurse recruiters - however,$19 when i was a new grad would have been fantastic. but now.. i can,t see showing up. sorry, i have no info regarding tampa areas to live & work. there are i'm sure an array of possibilities and if you have any experience at all don;t settle for less than $25 w/benes(staff). that's low but this is florida.

For $25 with benes one would definitely need to go south of Orlando. North florida doesn't pay at all. In fact in Gville, staff nurses at Shands are capped at $32 I believe.

[indigo girl]

I thought it would never come but I just received notification that I have met

the Florida requirements and now have a license number in that state. I am

so relieved...

Now all I need is more money to make the move, and I am NOT praying for

snow. I hope the weather holds for the next month so that I can continue to

work at a decent wage. I had to turn around and head for home last night

due to dangerous road conditions. Give me six more weeks of work here,

that's all I'm asking.

[akanini, MSN, RN]

Best of luck with your move and your job. I too hope to move to Florida but keep hearing that the pay is low. I'm curious to know about the housing factor price rance because $19 an hour is extremely low!!!!

[nurz2be]

Best of luck with your move and your job. I too hope to move to Florida but keep hearing that the pay is low. I'm curious to know about the housing factor price rance because $19 an hour is extremely low!!!!

It depends on which part of Florida you move to. Where I live, 2 hours south of Daytona, the average apartment (2,2 : 1100 ft.) runs around 800 - 1100 per month with nothing included. An average size 3,2 home renting can cost between 12-1800 a month. A home 3,2 1500 feet can run around 150 - 220,000 depending on the age and location of the home. You also have to factor in the wages with that. Wages are low compared to most other states. Even urban areas the pay is considerably lower than those in other states. Housing prices are lower now than they have been in a few years because building has finally slowed down, in my area. If you get near Orlando, Miami, West Palm Beach, Jacksonville, the housing prices increase dramatically and you REALLY have to be careful where you buy or even rent in those areas. GOOD LUCK to you all.