wage to cost of living ratio for nurses. This is an important concept because a locality might pay on average MARGINALLY more than another, but at the same time have SUBSTANCIALLY higher costs of living. So here's my question where ELSE besides Texas has a better than average wage to cost of living ratio? I think Indianapolis might be a good canidate given that you can buy a decent house around here for 100k (or rent a decent place for $600 per month) and I know SEVERAL nurses (RN's) earning thirty per hour with less than five years experience. Any input on some other good places?

I hear NC is great. Haven't been though.

Doesn't Florida have a decent cost of living..I guess I figured it must since so many snowbirds go there and retire there(and Texas--for the same reason)

Wages sound great on the right and left coasts until we take into consideration the $$$$ to live there..

I thought FLA wages for nurses looked low. Wouldn't mind moving outta here, but PGH has a decent cost of living and wages here are going up- hospital near me just advertised $30/hr prn. May be seeing resourceful ways to get nurses into the hospitals. LTC starting 25/hr some places. But beware LTC has it's woes, see my thread on nursing homes.

Blessings,

Fla has a pretty steep cost og living. Water, Electricity,Food and housing are not cheap.wages are average I think.

The bonus in Fla as compared to here, just north, is Fl doesn't have the taxes on food, etc that we have. BUT, the wages are lower in general.

I think all the wages will pretty much reflect the cost of living in the area, BUT someone here was talking about making over $100k in Houston last year..and she went on to post about the cost of living (ie; cost of housing, etc) and the cost of living sounded pretty much the same as here..the salary sounded..well, unbelieveable compared to here..lol

Coming to FLA from NY, I expected a lower cost of living...boy was I mistaken! I live on the west coast and the cost of living is close to Long Island (my origins). Food down here is more expensive than up in NY (i.e. qt of milk 1.50 here, .75 on LI), electricity and phone are really no different. To live in a nice place it takes a some money too. When I looked at the wages of the hospitals, RNs make about $17/hour.

I live and work in Houston. My husband and I just bought a brand new (almost finished now!) house. 3/2/2, nice area 125,000. Milk well today it cost 1.69 for a quart. I work in a sm community hospital and and make 21.50/hr + $4.30 shift diff, and they only pay $1/hr for charging Housing is definatly more affordable down here. Though summer never seems to end!

Tried Texas...could not stand the weather.

in terms of pay when you factor in cost of living. Why do you think that wages are above average in Texas? Couldn't it be that increased illegal immigration in the area places greater stresses upon the health care system and increasing demand for nurses?

Houston wages sure do seem higher than the Fort Worth area...seems the farther south you go in Texas ( metro areas) the better the wages are. When I look at national averages Fort Worth is average, Houston seems quite a bit higher.

And yes, the cost of housing, food, gas etc here is quite reasonable. We also do not have a state income tax here...so it was a nice break for me to migrate from Mn, get a raise, and to pay 1/3 less income taxes each year. :)

Agree that the illegals and migrants definitely place stress on our healthcare system (also educational system, etc.)and may account for some of the higher wage. I suspect another reason the wages are a bit higher here is to discourage any union activity...Texas (and the south in general) is very anti union.

I do miss a 'White Christmas', and the summers are killers here. I've raised my son down here in Texas and I gotta say we've had a pretty good life here overall. :)

I lived in Florida for 11 years, and now live in Dallas, TX where I have been for over 4 years. There are good and bad points with living in either state. Your preferences will make your decisions for you.

If you work in the right place in Florida, you can find wages comparable to Texas. The Florida climate is warmer than Texas and more humid than Dallas (but comparable to Houston). Houston wages are higher because that city is much larger than Ft. Worth.

In regard to utilities, Texas ranks VERY high for electricity cost. A few years ago when we had summer temperatures over 110 degrees many homeowners were paying as much as $400 per month for electric. Be suspicious when a homeowner tells you he/she is paying a low figure like $100 (and probably for a 5,000 square foot home too!). They are obviously going without climate control. A LOT of them hide this fact from themselves. They will hide it from you, and claim they have ice-cold air conditioning and toaster warm heat all the time. Beware.

An inexpensive one-bedroom apartment can be found in either Florida or Texas. $600 per month is quite possible for a one-bedroom apartment. I pay $550, and many people pay more like $700. For a two-bedroom apartment $600 would be a bit low. You might have to deal with unpleasantries like crime and insects.

Taxes are comparable for these two states. Both have no tax on personal income. With regard to divorce, Florida is much more fair with equal division of assets to both parties.

Another interesting point is the different types of housing available. Florida has numerous condos, if you prefer low cost and less maintenance. When I lived there the going rate was $60,000 and up for a new unit. It is probably more now with the recent housing boom. By contrast, you just don't find those condo deals here in the Dallas area. I suppose the same is true for Houston. Houses rather than condos dominate the housing market here in Dallas.