Relocating to DC - what's the life of a RN in DC like?

[minibee]

Hi all!

I am currently a RN in a step-down unit in Seattle, WA. I am looking to relocate to DC hopefully by this November. I was wondering what the nursing situation is like over there. Any facts or tips would be nice. I'm in the process of applying for a DC nursing license but was wondering if I should apply for a RN license in Virginia as well to cover more areas of job hunting. I wouldn't mind working towards the northern part of Virignia.

Hope to hear back!

[CalicoKitty, BSN, MSN, RN]

The area is the DMV (DC, MD, VA), mid-atlantic, sometimes NoVA (northern Virginia). If you live in Maryland or Virginia, and get their respective nursing licenses, they are compact states and you can work in either state (but, DC is still separate). I lived in Maryland, applied a bunch to MD and VA positions), eventually got a DC license (and work in DC now).

There are some big hospitals and universities in the area. Since I am (was) a new nurse, I can't say how the job situation is for experienced nurses (but there were many experienced position openings when I was looking for the new-grad types, so I figure it is fine). For the job search, I tended to look on various job search sites, then go to the individual hospital sites from there, and applied.