[Hellllllo Nurse]

Originally Posted by aggieamy5

The job market really depends on which area of Texas you are working in. My husband is an RN in the Houston area and there definitely appears to be a shortage of nurses here. When he applied for jobs this past June as a new graduate, he was offered a job at every single place he applied. All of these jobs offered very nice wages and most pay the employee's health benefits in full. The nursing shortage here is only projected to get worse. As for housing in the Houston suburbs, it appears to be a buyer's market right now.

A number of the travelers I know from this area have done contracts in Houston. There are jobs in the big metro areas in TX, but we are a-hurtin in the small towns and rural areas.

[MBsGirl]

I do have some hope..I've seen positions posted in Ennis, Corsicana, and Waxahachie.
Has anyone worked in those hospitals? What about Agency work in those areas?

[anil25november]

I have read a lot about working in Houston, DFW, etc. But does anybody work in Mission, Texas? ---nursing homes or hospitals...Don't know anything about this place. Please send me a PM. thanks.

[ManRN2be]

1 good thing about Texas..... NO STATE INCOME TAX!

[scarlet]

In East Texas & in the Galveston County areas there is a nursing shortage if you want to call it that. It may be that the population has grown so much. Either way we can not get enough nurses & have been using agency nurses in east Texas. Pay in this area (East Texas) ranges from $16 LVN Hospital / $20 RN Hospital, $18 to $23 LVN LTC / $25 to $30 RN LTC. Weekend Super RN 32/40 paying $30 - $35. LTC LVN TILE / MDS $25, RN LTC TILE / MDS $30 - $40 hourly.

Good Luck!

[Ironclad]

What is RN LTC TILE / MDS?

[Ironclad]

Originally Posted by aggieamy5

The job market really depends on which area of Texas you are working in. My husband is an RN in the Houston area and there definitely appears to be a shortage of nurses here. When he applied for jobs this past June as a new graduate, he was offered a job at every single place he applied. All of these jobs offered very nice wages and most pay the employee's health benefits in full. The nursing shortage here is only projected to get worse. As for housing in the Houston suburbs, it appears to be a buyer's market right now.

What do you call a good pay rate? How much? What is a nurse to patient ratio at the hospital where your husband works?

[Ironclad]

Originally Posted by BellaCerraRN

I was born and raised in California and by no means jealous of ANYONE that still lives there. I got to Texas as fast as I can. In the podunk central valley town I was from crap box houses that are barely worth buying are going for 500K. The house I was born in (Santa Barbara) that my parents bought for 19,500 in 1965 just sold for 835K 4 months ago (3 bedroom starter home). The house I live in now (3 br on 2 acres) apraised at 110K would easily fetch upwards of 650K in many parts of cali.

Of course salaries in Cali are higher, but so are the headaches and the list goes on... I wouldn't trade my $34 an hour job here for ANYTHING in Cali.

I live in Modesto, CA area. Moved here in May 2007. The pay rate at my hospital is $34/hour. I rent my one bedroom for $650/month. If you want to buy a house here the price range from $200,000 to $500,000. Where do you live?

[scarlet]

TILE Nurse: Texas Index Level of Effort, a rating system to determine payment reimbursement.

MDS Nurse: Minimum Data Sets, Resident assessment required for Medicare / Medicaid reimbursement.

[BellaCerraRN]

"""I live in Modesto, CA area. Moved here in May 2007. The pay rate at my hospital is $34/hour. I rent my one bedroom for $650/month. If you want to buy a house here the price range from $200,000 to $500,000. Where do you live?"""

That's funny. I was referring to Modesto when I said "podunk Central Valley town.

I currently live in N. Texas. It's a lot like the San Jaquin Valley was 20 years ago. The town I live in reminds me a lot of the Modesto I grew up in and the cost of living here is what it was there when I left but the wages are much better.