[babybluefeather]

I am interested in relocating to the Augusta area and was interested in the Burn Center there. Could anybody give me the low down on this hospital, area, pay scale, ect. thanks

[jb2u]

I guess if you like burns you would like the burn center. I don't hear too many people praise the hospital itself, but the burn center is praised. I do not work for doctor's hospital and I do not like working with burns; so, my experience is limited. When I was in nursing school, I did a rotation at their rehab center, and I really thought it was nice. I'm not sure about the pay, but they did send out an email asking for area hospitals' nurses to come work for them prn. I believe the pay was $40/hr. I am not sure if that is still going on or not. Like I said, I'm not into burn nursing!!!!

As far as the area, well that is a tough one for me. Cost of living is LOW, but crime is HIGH. A lot of wanna be thugs and lack of parental involvement. However, if you move outside of Augusta, say Columbia county or North Augusta (which is actually South Carolina), the schools are better, the crime rate lower, and it is a lot nicer in general. Columbia county homes are more expensive around $250,000 will get you a nice home. Some areas of Columbia county will go for less, but I wouldn't suggest those areas. North Augusta has nice homes in nice communities for $130,000. Of course, you can have a home in North Augusta, SC for $50,000 and still have a safer neighborhood than Augusta!!! Things move slllooooww in Augusta, mainly because it is very racially divided. You would think that an area that was pretty much 50/50 when it comes to race that it would be a great place where race was not a big deal. Sadly, this is not the case!!! The county commisioners are divided equally between "black/white" and things just do not get done!! It seems they make every issue into a us/them thing. Augusta is the second biggest city in Georgia, but yet you would never know it. They are so far behind Atlanta it isn't even funny. Also, my second complaint about this area is that there just isn't anything really to do. Most people will either go to Atlanta or Columbia,SC if they really want entertainment. That being said, I believe Augusta will eventually "make it." It has great potential. I think, in time, it will realize it's potential. However, right now, it is a tough place to be, IMHO. I say come check it out for yourself!!! You may just fall in love with it. Some people would say not being as big as Atlanta is a great thing; so what do I know? I wish you all the best. Feel free to ask me anything else.

Regards,
Jay