Relocating to Houston!

livelikegold · Feb 4, 2015

I am an LVN with 2.5 yrs experience also relocating to Houston some time this summer I will be following this post as I have a 5 year old and her education is a top concern of mine. I am an LVN and I have no idea where I will work as of yet but im looking for an LTACH to gain some good experience. I have began to lurk and stalk this site for job leads and first hand info about good and poor places to work as i really have no desire to go to the nursing home as a primary source of income.

HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD · Feb 4, 2015

With your experience, you should go ahead and try for Texas Children's or Memorial-Hermann Children's. Even though they are strongly BSN-only with new hires, your background may grant you an exception, particularly since you are already pursuing your MSN. Those facilities are the ones that provide most of the NICU transport services for the Houston metro area. FWIW, there is a long waiting list of qualified nurses trying to jump on the transport wagon - good luck.

The TMC commute is compounded by the fact that you'll be parking in a remote lot & having to do the shuttle bus to work. During peak times, this can add 30 minutes. If it's your cuppa tea, some metro areas have public transport to the Med Ctr, which would save you some time & deposit you within walking distance of your workplace. Take a look at this site for additional details.

Your best option is to work with a well-established Realtor. There are a lot of very unique aspects to living in Houston - one of these veterans can help you find the location that is just right for your family. I suggest you start with HAR. There's a lot of good info on their site to get you started, including links to individual school district stats, maps for flood control & emergency evacuation zones along the coast..... hot tip - you really DON'T want to move into one of these areas.

Keep in mind that you'll also want to avoid accidentally landing in a MUD (municipal utility district) because of the extra taxes this will entail. Since we don't have zoning (never have, never will) - Home Owner Associations (HOAs) are THE governmental entity you have to deal with the most... and some of these are ruinously expensive & fraught with draconian rules *avoid avoid avoid*

If I were you, I would find a nice short term lease & wait a while before buying. We're experiencing an unprecedented upsurge in housing prices that is sure to peak soon as the lunacy fades. If you commit too soon, you're sure to be underwater (mortgage wise) for quite some time to come.

Welcome to Houston. I hope you like it as much as I do.

quittaRN · Feb 4, 2015

HouTx,

Thanks so much for your reply. I am definitely going to check out all of the websites you've mentioned. So I totally know about off site parking and shutting in so I will keep that in mind while searching for a job in the medical center. Also I'm going to take into account the waiting list for transport nursing I'm totally fine with just working on the unit for a while if need be. Oh and thanks so much for the housing advice because I was thinking about renting for a while until I figure out which area is best for my family.

smartypant · Feb 4, 2015

Memorial hermann is giving $8000 relocation and 1st day benefits

hopeful003 · Feb 5, 2015

Winny103, will memorial Hermann offer relocation to NICU nurse with 1 year and 4 months experience with associate's??

smartypant · Feb 5, 2015

Yes they will

anursedad · Mar 6, 2015

I am following this post too! I am an ER nurse from Guam and thinking of relocating in Texas. Houston is on the top of the list. I have 2 kids and also good neighborhood is priority for us.

I only have 1 year of ER nursing experience here in Guam and 3 years of medsurg experience in the Philippines - will this be of help in landing a job?

neonurse97 · Apr 1, 2015

Here a list of great suburbs to consider near Houston: Missouri City, Pearland, Sugar Land. Lots of TMC employees live in Pearland which is 20 min from TMC hospitals with no traffic. Consider night shift so you don't have to deal with remote parking and shuttle buses.

quittaRN · Apr 1, 2015

Thanks neonurse97 for the info I've been researching a couple of suburbs in your list.

EmilyMrn · May 3, 2015

Have you found a job yet? I recently was hired at Memorial children's and will start in July! They do offer relocation which is based on mileage from where your moving from. They are so much more organized then TCH. I have 4 years peds experience and a BSN and TCH was awful with their HR. Memorial Herman was amazing and very accommodating. I really set out for Texas Childrens however after having such a poor experience with TCH I opted for Memorial Herman. I will be moving to Pearland because my in-laws are there and I really liked it when I visited. However im moving from north Dakota so anything is better haha.

quittaRN · Sep 21, 2015

Have you found a job yet? I recently was hired at Memorial children's and will start in July! They do offer relocation which is based on mileage from where your moving from. They are so much more organized then TCH. I have 4 years peds experience and a BSN and TCH was awful with their HR. Memorial Herman was amazing and very accommodating. I really set out for Texas Childrens however after having such a poor experience with TCH I opted for Memorial Herman. I will be moving to Pearland because my in-laws are there and I really liked it when I visited. However im moving from north Dakota so anything is better haha.

Hello Emilymrn,

I am wondering have you started working yet and how you like it so far. I have not moved yet but I will be moving June, had to hold off but I am definitely moving in June. Just want to get more insight on hospitals to apply to. You can pm me if you'd like.

Thanks