Thinking of moving to NYC

33762FL · Jan 6, 2012

NYC is a tight market because people from all over the metro area apply to work there. NYC hospitals are still absorbing experienced nurses from St. Vincent's, a big hospital that closed in 2010. The job market is tight but if you have 2 years ED experience you may be able to land something, especially if you enroll in a BSN program now (and can put that on your resume). An online program will allow you to start now and continue when you move. The hospitals in NYC want BSN.

As for housing, NYC is unlike most other American cities in that you do not have to live near your workplace in order to have an easy, relatively short commute. The NYC subway system is fast and reliable. You do not have to live in Manhattan to work in Manhattan, and I recommend that unless you have a trust fund, that you live in Queens, Brooklyn, Jersey City, or Hoboken and take the train into Manhattan instead. The prices go way down once you look at the boroughs, you get far more space for the money, and you may not even have to live with roommates (In Astoria, for example, you can get a studio for around $1K/month and a 1 bedroom for $1200-$1300/month. Astoria is a ~20 minute ride on the subway to NYC). Even food is cheaper once you're in the boroughs as opposed to Manhattan itself. Jersey City is even cheaper and that's a similarly quick ride on the PATH train into NYC.

NYC is a great place to be young. There's tons of museums, bars, clubs, and great places to eat. If you're a young single woman I will warn you, there are tons more eligible women in this city than there are men who want a serious relationship or marriage, so if you're looking for a guy NYC is NOT the place. NYC and Washington DC are the toughest dating/marriage markets for women in the country.

annnais · Jan 6, 2012

I have lived in NYC for four years now. I moved from California. Where are you moving from? My parents are originally from New York so I have family out here which made the transition a little easier. A lot of hospitals out here will not hire a nurse unless she has a BSN degree. I do know that St. Lukes Roosevelt does hire Associate nurses. So, I agree with the previous poster that you might want to pursue your BSN prior to moving. Sounds like you have great experience and being bilingual is a definite plus! I also agree with the previous poster that the subway is excellent and you don't have to live in Manhattan per se if you want to work in a Manhattan hospital. I have lived in Manhattan since I moved here. I started out in the East village with roommates while I was in nursing school and stayed with them through my first year of working full time as a nurse. The support was great and sharing the rent was awesome because I could save money and walk to work! I now live by myself in Manhattan way East in a neighborhood called Yorkville on the upper east side. SO, it is possible to live in Manhattan if you want to. My rent is comparable to some of my friends who live in trendy areas of Brooklyn like Clinton Hill and Park Slope. This neighborhood is not as trendy as the eat village but I love the quiet/safety of it and also it is close to my work (just a 25 minute bus ride) and I love my gym (92nd Street Y) and I have found great restaurants and more things are starting to open on this side of town (great Fairway supermarket and WHole Foods is coming on 2nd ave in the summer). Let me know if you want any more information. I would be happy to share my experience living here.

yeyaRN · Jan 6, 2012

Thank you for the reply, so I guess a bachelors in another degree is not acceptable then? I am gonna start my masters online before moving there...do you think that's ok?

yeyaRN · Jan 6, 2012

Thank you for your reply, I was hoping to be able to get roommates because I really do want to live in the city, I love being right there in the middle of things, maybe after a while I can move out to other areas....as for the guy thing, I am not looking for a husband, I have a bf who plans on coming to visit...

yeyaRN · Jan 7, 2012

Annais I would love to hear/read the rest of your experience...for example how much do you spend on groceries? A lot of people say how expensive it is...when I was there I felt that the prices for eating out were the same as places out here, now I didn't got grocery shopping but how much more expensive can it be? If you could share that would be awesome...thank you!

libra.rn · Jan 17, 2012

hey there annnais, good to know that st.lukes hires nurses with ADN. at least i have hope now. thank you for the info.

yeyaRN · Jan 20, 2012

Thank you everyone for replying, I am gonna be enrolled in a masters level program, either online or plan on applying to nyc schools to do my masters, so does it really matter that I have a bachelors in another degree?

Another question I have is, I was looking on craigslist, and to me it seems like rent could be 1000 to 1400 depending on where I live and this would be with roommates which I do not mind at all, so why would you say I would need a trustfund to live there? I am just confused I guess, am I missing something?? I know about the taxes and I already calculated it out of what I would "suppossedly" be making which from doing research online would be around 70 grand, so what am I missing?

Thanks in advance!

PacoUSA, BSN, RN · Jan 22, 2012

Most all NYC hospitals I have seen that are hiring nurses specify BSN preferred, not an "ADN with a non-nursing bachelors." A BSN degree encompasses coursework that an ADN nurse would not have taken in their program (such as community health, leadership and in some cases pharmacology). And it does not even matter if those courses are relevant to the job at hand. From what I have seen, a BSN means a BSN, nothing less. Not sure if being in an MSN program will give you an advantage, but I would hope it would. Call some hospitals to see what they say.

However, I do agree with someone's post above about St. Luke's-Roosevelt taking ADNs with experience, that I have also heard more than the others in the city (they are actually 2 physically different hospitals on two different parts of Manhattan -- St. Lukes is in Morningside Heights next to Columbia Univ and Roosevelt is near Hells Kitchen -- not sure if they have the same HR dept, but at least you know it's more than one hospital, but part of the same system called Continuum Health Partners. Beth Israel and NY Eye & Ear are also part of that system).

BTW, being bilingual is a definite plus! Don't put "Fluent in [whatever your 2nd language is]" on your resume, put "Bilingual English/[whatever your 2nd language is]." It conveys that you are equally comfortable in both (if that is the case), and makes it seem more than just learning it in college or something. Just a tip from a nurse manager I met once.

yeyaRN · Jan 22, 2012

Thank you so much for your reply Paco! That is a good idea about calling ahead, maybe once I have my ny license and have filled out some applications online then I should give them a call. Once again, thank you!

Ronin185 · Jan 23, 2012

Hey ,yeya... i actually work at Lukes and they hired me as an ADN and i work in the ED. They also pay for housing for full time employees so rent can be doable in NYC. although i have lived almost my whole life in the outer boroughs, the city is WAY TOO EXPENSIVE and i love the diversity that the outer boroughs can provide, ie great food , experiences and people.

I now actually commute from Long island and the drive isnt bad, its faster than when i drove in from brooklyn...lol. good luck with your search and apply now. i hear they are looking at my hospital

yeyaRN · Jan 24, 2012

Hi Ronin! Thank you for your reply and info, that is awesome to know that they do accept ppl with associates in some hospitals, if you dont mind me asking, how much did they start you at? I know and have tried to understand how expensive it is to live in the city, what I dont get is why do sooo many people state that it would be too expensive to live there or would not be able to afford it. what I got from this website and other places is that usually hospital nurses in the nyc are started at around 70 grand a year, now I already calculated the taxes that they take out (a lot for sure!) and calculated how much it would cost to live with one or 2 roommates, and I figured I could spend around 1000 to 1300 a month to rent a room, I know that is a lot to just rent a room but I really want to live in the city. So what else am i missing? I come from a place in FL where the cost of living is quite high compared to other places in the US, but when I visited new york it felt that the other things like groceries and such were all the same price when compared to the places here, so what am I missing? if you got some info for me please let me know. And once again thanks for your reply, I am now gonna start the process of applying for my license up there. :)