I have an Associate's in Nursing (currently practicing as a mental health RN in a fairly small town) and am considering taking an online RN to BSN program. My goal is to move to a metropolis (or at least have the freedom to do so if I wanted). Is it really hard to find work without a BSN in somewhere like New York City or Philadelphia? Or are they more just looking for experience? Any other tips?

In a word - YES. Metropolitan facilities are 'under the gun' to comply with the IOM recommendation (The Future of Nursing: Focus on Education - Institute of Medicine) - 80% of RN staff should have BSN by 2020 even if they are not pursuing Magnet (same requirement). As a result, ADNs may only be hired if they meet requirements for a specific (hard to fill) position.

Many facilities are either Magnet or Magnet wanna-be. So yes, pursuing the BSN is worth it.

It's not impossible to get hired as a ADN in a Magnet-heavy city--I did--but I also had experience and specialty certification to help my case. But I will admit that more options would have been open to me had I had the BSN.