[military spouse]

For those familiar with either of these two cities, please tell me why or why not a nurse should relocate to either city. Staffing ratios? Pay? Co-workers? Cost-of-living? Quality-of-life? Weather?
Thank you!

[k_cole21]

I'm from Oklahoma & do visit Dallas quite often. I have several classmates that moved there to work after graduation. They all seem to love it. The pay seems to be less that what it is in the NW. I took a travel assignment in WA and loved WA. The weather was awesome as compared to the scorching heat in Dallas. I didn't mind the days that the sun wasn't shining bright. The cultural diversity was great and the people were so friendly. Another thing I liked about the NW was the invisible class line! I never knew that my pts or pts spouses were surgeons, lawyers, microsoft execs b/c they were all very nice and personable. You'll probably get more house for your money in Dallas....unless you live on base it wouldn't matter.

[military spouse]

Thanks for the reply! Did you work in Seattle? We were looking at houses in Puyallup that seemed reasonable. Did you feel that there was a shortage of nurses in WA? Were you able to self-schedule?
Thank You!

[k_cole21]

Yes I worked @ Swedish in Seattle. They used travelers but it didn't seem like the staff was over stressed. They did do their self-scheduling & the base pay for new grads was $22. It was great facility.

[diannal]

I lived in Seattle for 14 years. My cousin still lives in Puyallup and the houses are much more manageable than closer to Seattle. They enjoy the city. I know Meridian is a very busy street, so it takes a while to get to the freeway. I'm currently a student, so I cannot comment on the professional end of it. Seattle is rainy, though I have heard they have been getting less of it. Swedish is a nice hospital, but there are many options available in the area. I recently visited Denver, and actually was more attracted to this area, probably due to the sunny skies, though the city is quite clean.

[military spouse]

I really appreciate the replies! My husband is retiring from the military and we've considered several places, but I believe we've narrowed it down to these two areas. Dallas is appealing because of the lower cost-of-living. But Seattle/Tacoma just seems to have so much to do. My husband wants me to relocate during the month of August, so I'm feeling some pressure to decide upon an area.

[shel_wny]

Dallas is very hot, right wing, metropolitan, and suburban.
The NW is rainy, cooler, liberal, beautiful, and full of nature.
I was raised in Dallas and I've visited and dream about living in WA or OR.

Shel

[CrunchRN]

grew up in Seattle area - now living in Fort Worth. Dallas-Fort Worth: hot in the summer, cold in winter, but not too cold. Traffic the same (about) in both places. Homes: much more affordable. Beauty of area: Seattle by a wide margin. Seattle rains a lot and the :high" today is 71, here in DFW high today is 98. Moving too the south = complete and total culture shock, however, people are much, much more friendly in DFW. Plenty of work in both places. You could do much worse than either of them. It just depends on what things are important to you.

[carolinapooh]

Originally Posted by CrunchRN

grew up in Seattle area - now living in Fort Worth. Dallas-Fort Worth: hot in the summer, cold in winter, but not too cold. Traffic the same (about) in both places. Homes: much more affordable. Beauty of area: Seattle by a wide margin. Seattle rains a lot and the :high" today is 71, here in DFW high today is 98. Moving too the south = complete and total culture shock, however, people are much, much more friendly in DFW. Plenty of work in both places. You could do much worse than either of them. It just depends on what things are important to you.

CULTURE SHOCK? Hey, ease up, now....

I've been to both cities several times and love them both for different reasons. (My brother lives in Bremerton, directly across the sound from Seattle, and I was stationed for 4 years in OK, so I spent a lot of time in the D/FW Metroplex.) Being retired military, you will have INFINITELY more access to military installations (there's the sub base in Bremerton and McChord AFB outside of Seattle) in WA; there are none within decent driving distance from Dallas (I don't know what facilities the joint Navy Reserve/ANG base in I believe it's Carrollton, just outside of Dallas, may or may not have) so that may be a consideration.

My husband has never been to Seattle. I know if he went he'd never want to leave!

I love Texas, but if I had to choose, I think I would give Tacoma a good hard look. Sometimes I remember the 1999 F5 and think, no way...not again....and of course Texas is a PRIME TARGET...

[CrunchRN]

I agree with Carolinahpooh - access to all things military is better in the Puget Sound. I forgot to mention another difference:

Seattle: every 2 feet you hit a starbucks

DFW: every 2 feet you hit a church or school