I plan on moving to the DC area somewhere around Aug 2013. At that time I will have had a total of 2 years RN experience and 1 year and 4 months on the telemetry unit. I will be moving from the Duke Health System network and was wondering what to expect in pay. I would love a simple comparison of all the DC area hospitals but of course that is not possible. Anyone with some advice on not only pros and cons but also average pay for someone with my experience I would love to hear from them! Also if you have any recommendations on areas to live that are affordable with my possible salary. PS I would love to use the metro for transportation but I do have a car if need be. I am a young single professional just looking for some tidbits of info and advice. Thanks in advance!!!

I plan on moving to the DC area somewhere around Aug 2013. At that time I will have had a total of 2 years RN experience and 1 year and 4 months on the telemetry unit. I will be moving from the Duke Health System network and was wondering what to expect in pay. I would love a simple comparison of all the DC area hospitals but of course that is not possible. Anyone with some advice on not only pros and cons but also average pay for someone with my experience I would love to hear from them! Also if you have any recommendations on areas to live that are affordable with my possible salary. PS I would love to use the metro for transportation but I do have a car if need be. I am a young single professional just looking for some tidbits of info and advice. Thanks in advance!!!

Best wishes for you as you prepare to move to the DC Metro area.

If you're planning to live in the city, there really is no need for a car and it might be a little more expensive to maintain parking in the city. Metro is very accessible to most places and should be fine. However, if you happen to shift gears and need to access a hospital that's not in the path of the Metro, your car might come in handy.

regarding salaries, check salary.com to get a gauge on salary range for RNs with your experience:

http://swz.salary.com/SalaryWizard/registered-nurse-Salary-Details-Washington-DC.aspx

That chart is not really accurate given your years of experience. With a year more than you I make around 65k a year, give or take a couple thousand. That's not including overtime. I live in a suburb, which is Metro accessible, I haven't driven in the city in 5 months. Parking in my building is $75, which is very cheap for the area. My rent is 1655 for a studio in a building with concierge, 1 block from the Metro. If you want to private message me, I can give more specific details, and help you decide where to live/apply