Looking to relocate, where to move to maximize my income.

Nurses General Nursing

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Hello all! Currently, I am a nursing student. I will graduate Spring 2013 with my ADN here in Wichita, KS. My husband and I plan to stay here for about 3 years, so that we can pay off my student loans,get my BSN and get things in order ect. We would love to move! I am a planner at heart and I have three children to think about. I am out of the loop as far as accurate hourly wages across the country. In Wichita, a new grad can expect to earn a base pay of $19 hr. plus shift diff ( not much to get excited over). The cost of living here is cheap I have to say, but def on the rise along with crime on the rise as well. So my question is where could I move to that is family friendly and make a great living? Thanks for your help!

Specializes in Cardiac/Neuro Stepdown.
I live in BC, Canada and RNs start at 30/hr as a new grad with no specialty. If you'd be willing to move to northern bc/Alberta or territories it would probably make it relatively easy to immigrate bc they really need nurses there. It gets cold but at least your kids will grow up in a rural setting if that's what you're into.

I also hear Manitoba and alberta pay great. Lots of nurses relocate there that I know. Ontario doesn't pay as well from what I understand and its a very urban province.

I actually made the move south from MB a number of years ago, keep in mind the difference tax rates are significant.

Plan on working alot of overtime to "catch up" ooohboy start at around 40% tax.

A big part of the reason for the move was being taxed to death.

http://www.smartmoney.com/personal-finance/taxes/whats-your-average-tax-rate-9548/

http://lsminsurance.ca/calculators/canada/income-tax

http://blog.taxresource.ca/high-tax-rate-on-overtime/

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To highlight the examples above....

My brother makes 6 figures as a nurse in NYC (Manhattan specifically). His measley eff apt ran $3K/mo! :eek: Then there is the NYS income tax, the NYC income tax, 8.25% sales tax, yadda yadda. I earn $22.05/hr + diffs. (I am still NG status.) My mortgage on a 2K sqft 4 br 2 ba house is $1300. I pay no state tax. Sales tax is 8%. Gas is currently $3.47/gal (not sure what it is in NY right now, but I guarantee it is higher! :p ) Because of the housing market crash, you could buy my house for $70K less than I paid right now and the hiring of RNs is up here. If you have exp.....a specific hospital in this town pays $25 + diffs. We have a few good neighborhoods and 2 HS's in the top 10 in the country (they are magnet schools so your kids would have to have great grades to get in.) There are problem neighborhoods and schools so you would have to avoid them.

The crux....I make far less than my brother but have a better purchasing power! Also, in many smaller areas, you may have census issues that cost you hours or PTO usage. Here...we never have census issues! In fact, my hospital allows OT if they have need and many nurses do it to pay off debt....including paying down their mortgages before retiring!

With 'average' salary sites out there....I wouldn't give much credibility to them. They are usually higher than what you can expect to earn. Cost of living sites are fairly accurate. Cost of Living Calculator, Salary Comparison - CityRating.com this site says that if you earn $50K in Jacksonville, FL....you would need to earn $156K+ to have the same standard of living in NYC!

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Specializes in Pedi.
Yes, but in some areas the gap between salary and cost of living is higher. Years ago I was considering a move from NYC to Seattle. The average salaries in Seattle were a little lower but the COL was MUCH lower so you averaged out ahead. OP, it might be harder to find accurate nursing salaries online but you should be able to find general salary and COL info and there are tons of articles out there on great places to live that aren't always obvious.

Well that was kind of my point. Living in an area that pays more is not necessarily the place to "maximize" one's income. I make a decent living as an RN in MA but the cost of living is significantly higher than other areas of the country that pay less... like my studio apartment cost almost $1000/month... and, given that, someone who makes less on paper could easily come out ahead in the long run.

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Your best bet is CA and NY. As far as I know, these are the 2 states that pay their RNs the most.

I'm from CA and Sacramento area and San Francisco area start at about $60/hr even as new grad. The lowest pay for CA RNs who work in other areas in CA in hospital settings start as $30+/hr. Los Angeles cost of living is pretty high, but pay rate there sursprisingly is not comparable to SF. LA pay started me at $38/hr nights (I had an interview with them). If you are interested in CA, start looking into the big cities as well as the smaller cities, I would skip out on LA personally but it all really depends on what kind of life style you are looking for.

To give you a better idea, I have one year experience, pay is $54/hr with night differentials and one bedroom apt is $1250 - which I think is considerably fair because it includes all utilities. However, in the area where I am currently at, real estate is very expensive - $850,000 for a one bedroom shack, but you do live right on the coast, and I love it here. However, my previous RN job which I started as a new grad was in a smaller city in central valley of CA and my pay was $36/hr on nights and $40/hr on weekends, my 2 bedroom apt rent was $840. So the area where you live also plays a role in pay rate as well.

In the end, in my opinion, with the higher pay I think you still make more. It all depends on what you really want and the kind of lifestyle you are looking for.

BUT... if you are looking for a high paying job so that you can pay off your school loans, do you know about the School Loan Forgiveness Program??? If your school loans were from the FAFSA, especially Direct Student Loans, give them a call. They have a program where you can qualify for a forgiveness under the PUBLIC SERVICE as an RN - that is if you work FULL TIME as an RN for 10 years, your loans will be forgiven (you can also consolidate all your school loans together and be in this program). Also, if you have PERKINS Loans, call your school finanical aid advisor and ask them about the PUBLIC SERVICE FORGIVENESS PROGRAM, you will qualify for them. Also, there is this too:

http://www.finaid.org/loans/forgiveness.phtml/

http://www.hrsa.gov/loanscholarships/repayment/nursing/

GOOD LUCK!!! :)

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large metro ateAs in general will pay more, cost more, sometimes A LOT more and more crime. but it varies greatly across the country. you can work in a big city and then live in a white fenced suburb but prices will be very high

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Specializes in Home Care.

I'm Canadian and relocated to Calgary, Alberta last year.

I'm an LPN, I make more money than a new grad RN in Florida. But a house here costs something like twice the price of a house in FL. My small 1 bedroom apartment close to downtown costs $850 a month, gas is over $4 a gallon and groceries and food cost more. But I'm still farther ahead here, my healthcare costs are close to free and I'm not paying hurricane insurance on a house.

Yup, its all pay vs cost of living. And since you have kids you'll have to research the quality of education.

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Okay, itsmejuli, isn't it bitterly - and perhaps for some unbearably - cold up there, tho? I'm just askin'. I haven't lived anywhere cold since I was about eight. (That's a long time ago, sigh.) Of course, down here in FL it's unbearably hot, and in August I'm not at all sure it's an improvement.

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COL for NYC from Forbes. You can find other areas as well.

New York, NY - Forbes

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To highlight the examples above....

My brother makes 6 figures as a nurse in NYC (Manhattan specifically). His measley eff apt ran $3K/mo! :eek: Then there is the NYS income tax, the NYC income tax, 8.25% sales tax, yadda yadda. I earn $22.05/hr + diffs. (I am still NG status.) My mortgage on a 2K sqft 4 br 2 ba house is $1300. I pay no state tax. Sales tax is 8%. Gas is currently $3.47/gal (not sure what it is in NY right now, but I guarantee it is higher! :p ) Because of the housing market crash, you could buy my house for $70K less than I paid right now and the hiring of RNs is up here. If you have exp.....a specific hospital in this town pays $25 + diffs. We have a few good neighborhoods and 2 HS's in the top 10 in the country (they are magnet schools so your kids would have to have great grades to get in.) There are problem neighborhoods and schools so you would have to avoid them.

The crux....I make far less than my brother but have a better purchasing power! Also, in many smaller areas, you may have census issues that cost you hours or PTO usage. Here...we never have census issues! In fact, my hospital allows OT if they have need and many nurses do it to pay off debt....including paying down their mortgages before retiring!

With 'average' salary sites out there....I wouldn't give much credibility to them. They are usually higher than what you can expect to earn. Cost of living sites are fairly accurate. Cost of Living Calculator, Salary Comparison - CityRating.com this site says that if you earn $50K in Jacksonville, FL....you would need to earn $156K+ to have the same standard of living in NYC!

Three thousand a month rent for an apartment in NYC/Manattan?:eek:

Where was your brother living? On Park Avenue?

While not cheap with a little effort one can find an apartment in NYC and yes that includes Manhattan for say between $1500 to $2500 per month. While they may not have an onsite pool, sauna, gym, and so forth I'd rather pay less in rent and join a gym, go to the "Y" or use Central Park.

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