Relocating to PA

[NYCRN16]

Hello all! I am looking to relocate to the Philly area of PA, and I was wondering if anyone could help me with some information.

I would like to know:

*What hospitals in Philly or the surrounding areas are nice places to work? Which places are known to be really good or really bad places to work?

*What is the average salary for RN's there?

I want so bad to move there within the next 3 or 4 months, but I really need info on salary in order to make the decision on whether or not I need to wait to move there. (I am paying for my wedding next year (fiancee lives in Philly area), and if I cant make a similar salary to what I am making now, than I have to wait until after the wedding in July. I miss him so much I really want to do this ASAP.

Thank you all in advance for any help you can give me!

[EmeraldNYL, BSN, RN]

New grad salary averages around $24/hr. Expect to pay about $700/mo. for a one bedroom apartment or $1100/mo. for a 2 bedroom apartment. The cost of living here is not nearly as high as some other large cities but the cost of car insurance does really suck. There are tons of great hospitals in Philly: CHOP, HUP, and Jefferson in the city, or Abington and Lankenau in the suburbs. Rent in center city is really expensive; if I were you I would look a little farther out toward the suburbs, or some of the nicer less expensive areas of the city like Manayunk.

[bonjovigirl]

Hi,

I don't know if you had a particular area of the city you were interested in. THe northeast is very reasonable, I had paid $450 for a simple one bedroom apartment before we bought our house. City wage tax is kinda brutal, but the overall cost of living here is great (in my opinion) compared to what you can earn. I am still a student, but from hearing graduates of my program they all started as a GN base pay of $23-25 an hour. You can buy a rowhouse in the northeast anywhere from $55-115,000. property taxes are reasonable, actually cheap compared to the suburbs. I think its a great city.

Good luck