Thinking of moving to Providence,.........

U.S.A. Rhode Island

Published

I'm curious about the job availability and the pay in the Providence area. I'm in the Midwest now, and have spent a great deal of time visiting the Providence area and have fallen in love, actually I really like the Newport area,.but it seems a bit small to expect a lot of job openings in nursing. I'm an RN with over 10 years exp,.the last 2 1/2 yrs in a trauma center ED. Will I be able to find a job? Is there a better area than Providence? Thanks for the help!

suzy253, RN

3,815 Posts

Specializes in Telemetry/Med Surg.

Hi. I live in RI.

There are a couple of hospital networks you can check out. Lifespan incorporates RI Hospital, Miriam, Hasbro Childrens, Newport Hospital and Bradley. www.Lifespan.org

Then there's Care New England which includes Kent, Women's and Infants and Butler http://www.carenewengland.org/default.cfm

There are other hospitals including South County, Our Lady of Fatima, the VA in Providence, Roger Williams Hospital

Providence is lovely but like other metropolitan cities, it has some not-so-good areas. There are lots of smaller towns to choose from as well.

Feel free to PM me if you'd like more info.

FFMedic2RN

14 Posts

Over 10% unemployment rate in little ol' Rhody. Make sure you have a job in hand first. St. Joseph's Hospital Providence & Fatima...layoffs and pay cuts in local newspaper (projo.com) and my hospital has a BIG meeting between Management & President/CEO in the AM. Can't be good news. If you like the Newport area, Newport Hospital has a waiting list for RN openings. (newportdailynews.com, posted this past Friday.)

Just plan your move carefully. Other than that, Welcome to RI,

FFMedic2RN

Specializes in Cardiac, ER.

Thanks sooo much for the replies. This is more overwhelming than I first thought it would be! I'm looking at homes in Bristol, Tiverton, and Warwick RI,.and also in Fall River MA. I'm really just wanting to be close to the water, which the Realtor says is pretty much anywhere in RI, although I think I really mean water front property. Would I be better off to look for jobs in MA? The housing costs are much higher than where I'm living now,..is it realistic to expect say $38/hr as an experienced RN in the area?

My main concern now it that on line it is very hard to get a feel for the area and I don't know enough about the area to know the good places to live and the ones to stay away from. I'm used to driving 45min one way to work so the drive isn't an issue. Thanks again for your help!

RhodyGirl, RN

823 Posts

Specializes in Med/Surg.
Thanks sooo much for the replies. This is more overwhelming than I first thought it would be! I'm looking at homes in Bristol, Tiverton, and Warwick RI,.and also in Fall River MA. I'm really just wanting to be close to the water, which the Realtor says is pretty much anywhere in RI, although I think I really mean water front property. Would I be better off to look for jobs in MA? The housing costs are much higher than where I'm living now,..is it realistic to expect say $38/hr as an experienced RN in the area?

My main concern now it that on line it is very hard to get a feel for the area and I don't know enough about the area to know the good places to live and the ones to stay away from. I'm used to driving 45min one way to work so the drive isn't an issue. Thanks again for your help!

1. I would stay far, far away from Fall River. They have gang problems, and overall it just isn't very safe.

2. Just for a comparison, a friend of mine has been a nurse for over 10 years, and has worked in the PICU at Hasbro for about half of that. She makes $30/hour. So, I'm not sure you'd see $38/hour.

3. Yes, housing costs in RI/MA are high, but they have come down significantly in the past year. Bristol and Tiverton are nice areas for the most part, and Warwick has some nice parts as well. Let me know what specific neighborhoods you're looking at and I can try to give you some more advice.

cjcsoon2bnp, MSN, RN, NP

7 Articles; 1,156 Posts

Specializes in Emergency Nursing.

I work for RI Hospital and I love it. Its a great place to work with plenty of OT available if you need it. RI Hospital is also the only level one trauma center ED in the state and immediate area so its a great place to go especially if your looking for ED/trauma. There are also nice places to live in the southern part of the state. I know quite a few nurses who commute from the southern part of the state to RI hospital (usually 30 min. drive at the most). Some nice places in the southern part of the state are North Kingstown, South Kingstown, Narragansett just to name a few.

!Chris :specs:

V9611

50 Posts

Specializes in CNA.

Hi, I grew up in Warwick , and it is great, close knit neiborhoods, good schools, right near the water too. You should really check out the Coventry area also, It is the city bordering Warwick, and East Greenwich,,,I also know of Kent Hospital (Warwick), which is in the Care New England group, here is a link to job openings for kent...good luck,

http://www.kenthospital.org/body.cfm?id=324&action=list I am starting my CNA class this month, and hope to get a job at kent sometime next year, I really want to work in the L&D unit. But I know I will have to start at the bottom. Talk to you soon,:rolleyes:

Not Sure if you are still looking but Dartmouth and Westport(both in Massachusetts) are nice areas esp South Dartmouth if you can afford that area of town. They are towns just outside of RI, on the water/state beach in Westport, and the commute isn't that bad to Providence (I go to UMass Dartmouth for nursing). Good luck with everything.

chrissy327

6 Posts

Specializes in thinking about cardiac, maybe pedi....

I am a 8 year employee at miraim hospital and a nursing student who wants to stay at miriam after completion.. Lifespan has been a great place to work... i have also done a clinical rotation for school at newport hospital.. Very Nice place and great staff.. you should check out their website frequently for openings. lifespan.org careers... good luck :nurse:

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