need advice on which city to relocate to in WA

U.S.A. Washington

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hello fellow nurses,

i currently live on the east coast of florida, and have had my share of sun for a life time :smokin:

my husband and i are in the beginning process of looking to relocate. we have absolutely fallen in love with the beauty and weather of washington. we would like to live in a small town where the cost of living is affordable with views of mountains and water near by ( 1/2 hr drive or closer is near to us) and commute to work to a bigger city where the wadges are higher than small towns. does anyone have any suggestions? we would like to be in the north west area, but again, we are open to many options at this time. we also have a school age child (middle school) and one starting college. i will very much appreciate any information, and would gladly share the east coast hospital information with anyone interested.

thank you,shannwol :o

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Specializes in Phlebotomist, nursing student.

How large of a city do you want to work in? If you want Seattle or Tacoma, it will be a challenge to get the small town with views with a 1/2 hour commute. Traffic here is among the worst in the nation, so around the largest cities you won't be going anywhere quickly.

If you don't need to be in the metro area, I would recommend looking at Anacortes, Oak Harbor, Burlington or Bellingham. There is also a new hospital over on the Olympic Penninsula, around Silverdale I think.

The job market here is not very good for nurses. There are quite a few schools turning out graduates so there is no shortage here on the West side of the mountains.

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How large of a city do you want to work in? If you want Seattle or Tacoma, it will be a challenge to get the small town with views with a 1/2 hour commute. Traffic here is among the worst in the nation, so around the largest cities you won't be going anywhere quickly.

If you don't need to be in the metro area, I would recommend looking at Anacortes, Oak Harbor, Burlington or Bellingham. There is also a new hospital over on the Olympic Penninsula, around Silverdale I think.

The job market here is not very good for nurses either. There are quite a few schools turning out graduates so there is no shortage here on the West side of the mountains.

AMEN!! PM me and we can discuss Spokane- smaller town, good for kids, lower cost of living, no traffic. But the job situation for nurses has never been very good. There are three schools of nursing here- two BSN, one ADN with an LPN program.

Right over the Washington-Idaho border is North Idaho College- an ADN program, less than 40 miles from Spokane. About 100 miles SE from Spokane is University of Idaho, with another BSN program, southern Idaho has Idaho Falls, with a BSN program, and also in the area is ISU. There are also several ADN programs in the Tricities area, southern-central Washington.

Idaho is also a very conservative state- read Red state- no unions!

However, as I said, PM me and we can discuss it.

Lindarn, RN, BSN, CCRN

Somewhere in the PACNW

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Specializes in Infusion.

Bellingham is beautiful. About 2 hrs drive you are skiing on the top of Mt Baker, and it's right on the coast. You really could sail and ski in the same day here! Population is about 70,000. There is 1 hospital in Bellingham, and another 1 about 1/2 drive away in Mt. Vernon. We are 1 hr from downtown Vancouver (Canada) and 2 hrs from downtown Seattle. So traffic is not a nightmare here.....Let me know if you want more info!

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thank you everyone for their suggestions so far :D i am going to do my last shift for the week tonight, and then sit down and investigate the cities you all suggested.thanks ttys

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Specializes in SRNA.

You may want to look into the Tri-Cities as well - They're in Southeast WA and right on the Columbia River. It's about a 3 hour drive to either Seattle or Portland, and this area of the state is more high dessert than evergreen. BUT, I find that the cost of living is relatively low, and the RN wages are healthy. The area is very family friendly and has good schools. I'm very happy with the hospital I work at - they have a great contract and the employer is very pro-RN.

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Specializes in SRNA.

By the way, the Tri-Cities are: Pasco, Kennewick & Richland

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If you're looking for a city in the northwest part of the state, I would suggest Mukilteo. It's on Puget Sound (the ocean) and has fantastic views of the Olympic Mountains. It's about a 45 minute drive to the city, depending on where you're going, but close enough to work in Seattle/Bellevue or even Everett. The cost of living is probably a little higher in Mukilteo (but not as high as living in the city). There are some very nice neighborhoods on the water, and some older neighborhoods where costs may be a little bit lower.

Slightly farther north and more rural are Snohomish and Marysville. These cities will likely have a lower cost of living, but they are also farther from any major hospitals. I would also look into Mt. Vernon. Very pretty town, also more rural. Bellingham is very nice as well, although about a 2 hour drive to Seattle, so finding a job in Bellingham would probably be your only option.

I'm from Bothell, Canyon Park, Mill Creek area. These are all suburbs of Seattle (north). It was a great place to grow up and the Northshore school district is excellent. I recently just moved away to go to nursing school, so it hasn't been long since I was there! Traffic is bad around Seattle, so traveling to a city to work, while living in a "small" town is hard to find. But, when you're not working, it's just as easy to take a day trip to the mountains, ocean, lakes, etc -- its all less than just a few hours away!

Hope that helps!!

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The Kitsap Penninsula is a beautiful place to live (and only a 50 minute ferry ride to downtown Seattle). Harrison Medical Center offers Seattle wages with housing costs 40%-60% less than Seattle proper. They have a nice variety a positions open on their website and they are doing really great things. Check them out!

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Are rural areas better places for new grads to find a job?

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