Another RN wanting to come to Florida

smalltownhero · Mar 21, 2015

Most people from up north complain about nurse pay. From what I've seen, pay starts in the low 20's/hr for even the most experienced nurses ( this is for central Florida). Out here by the beach, quality of living is high, cost of living is fairly low. It's just a matter of how much you need to make vs. the lifestyle you want to live. Keep in mind beach areas outside

of major cities ( jax, Miami) have a much much higher cost of living and with that usually follows a higher nurse pay. Personally, I was born and raised by the beach and I'll never sacrifice the lifestyle for a paycheck. There's nothing like it. Good luck!

caroladybelle, BSN, RN · Mar 22, 2015

Good luck with Key Largo or any of the Keys. Pricy and generally not the best pay. I doubt if any of the hospitals are very state of the art.

Homestead is too close to Miami to be a small town. I know about preHurricane Andrew, and have been led to think that it did not completely rebound. Housing was somewhat more reasonable than nearby Miami, but it had more to do with military in the area, which took a big hit from Andrew. Do not know about experienced wages, but usually much less than up North, with weaker benefits, few and relatively weak union presence. Be aware for many FL hospitals, and virtually all of them close to Miami, it is very preferable that you be able to speak passable Spanish, and understand basic Spanish.

Naples is beautiful place but the rep among nurses, especially is dicey. Pricy housing, especially during the season. The hospital - there have been strike discussion by nurses periodically. When you consider the distain with which locals consider unions and strike talks, that says a lot. They do have a bad habit of wholesale canceling numerous traveler's contracts mid season, if census is not up. Ft. Myers and the Lee Memorial chain of hospitals might be preferable.

I am a native Floridian. I am a former traveler. I would love to say that there are good hospitals that pay well, that offer a decent and safe ratio, that are in areas that pay adequately, and that were up to date with practice. Regrettably, I have not ever seen it in 8 of them in the central to south part of FL. And with healthcare criminal, Rick Scott, running it is unlikely to change. Ratios tend to be poor, most of your patients elderly with several comorbidities, necessitating more care with poorer Medicare/Medicaid reimbursement. Staff get overworked and run ragged during The Season, only to be low censused or floated for days on end in the off season. One is forced to use PTO for too many low census shifts. FL is a "right to work" state, so you can be cancelled, conditions changed or fired at a whim. As an example, nurses at one Orlando hospital group were to have sustained and draconian cuts to their pay, with little notice. Add in the poorer pay and it is not such a good deal.

People note that FL has no state income tax. Psssytt! Roads have to be built , utilities updated , parks and civic buildings maintained, Police and emergency services paid. And the money has to come from somewhere...so there are fees and taxes on everything else. Add in the astronomical costs of property insurance since the hurricane season.

Please be aware people look to FL as a panacea, beaches, sunshine, cheap prices. You need to look at the bigger picture. I moved up here from FL to the MidAtlantic . It snowed yesterday. And I regret it not one bit . I would love to stay here. But at sometime move back to be near my mother and family. I dread having to ever go work back there.beaches else.

njc2rn · Mar 22, 2015

It is so sad that the hospitals in the south seem to not value nurses... when without them the hospitals would cease to exist. I will say my job satisfaction is a huge reason I'm still in the Pacific Northwest.

Lâ™¡vER · Mar 22, 2015

Full time with benefits you would take a pay cut nearly in half =(

elkpark · Mar 22, 2015

I am another native Floridian -- I left the state the first chance I got (18 yo), and have never considered returning. The economy sucks. Because people from all over the country (world) want to move there, it is v. much an employer's market. My sister moved back several years ago to be closer to our aging parents. She is not a nurse, but has the best credentials and many years of experience at the top of her field. When she went looking for a job, she got offered bare minimum, entry level salaries with lousy benefits and, when she attempted to negotiate a better package, she got told, basically, take it or leave it; if you don't want the job, there are plenty of people in line behind you who do. (She ended up taking a lousy job with a big salary and benefits cut, plus buying a ridiculously overpriced condo just before the FL real estate bubble "burst." But she was determined to move back because of our parents.)

A comment you hear frequently (only semi-joking) is "we pay you in sunshine!" The great weather and proximity to the beaches and various tourist attractions are supposed to make up for the lousy pay, working conditions, and benefits. My response to that is that, when I can pay my mortgage and utility bills in "sunshine," we can talk ...

As for the absence of a state income tax, I agree with caroladybelle. Several US states don't have a state income tax, and I'm always sort of amused when I hear people talk about that like it actually means something. Those states still need money to run the state government and services, and they're going to get that money somehow. All the lack of a state income tax means is that you're going to be paying other kinds of taxes and fees.

njc2rn · Mar 23, 2015

Thanks for the replys. It's so sad.. maybe I just need to vacation to the beach more than every couple of years..

Maybe once the kids are out of the house the pay wouldn't seem so bad.

I literally could see myself fishing down there everyday I wasn't working, weather permitting í ½í¸†

NewYorkerGirl · Mar 24, 2015

There's not much I can add that hasn't already been said. I'm in one of the better hospitals in FL, and it's still rough. Pt ratios are too much, dangerously so, because no one cares about acuity levels. On paper, 6 patients max isn't bad in MS, until you see what these patients are like. When 2 of your 6 patients are 90 year olds with Alzheimer's/sundowners jumping out of bed all night long and the other 4 have so many co-morbidities you don't know what to treat first, each patient is more like 2. Acuity is not taken into account when creating ratios in med-surg. And the drs and nurse managers are furious when you have a patient fall (which is all the time, I'd like to know how to keep these people in bed without a posey since sitters are no longer "evidence-based practice". pfft!). Everything's your fault. Document, document, document and get malpractice insurance. Teamwork doesn't exist: if you turn your back, someone will stab it.

I'm moving to a hospital up north with a union ASAP. Anyone who moves to FL from a good state is nuttier than my patients.

smalltownhero · Mar 24, 2015

If you live to work,move to New York and make better money. If you work to live, stay in Florida and meet me poolside in January. It's all in the perspective :-)

haba89 · Apr 6, 2015

hello guys. I am moving to Panama city, Florida for a job offer on orthopedic and neuro surgical unit begin on May 2015. I am currently working in bismarck, North Dakota. I am very curious about nurse life in this hospital : Bay medical center? and life in panama city in general? any apartment suggestion? I am done with cold weather and now looking toward beach life.. super excited.

empatheticRN · Apr 6, 2015

There's not much I can add that hasn't already been said. I'm in one of the better hospitals in FL, and it's still rough. Pt ratios are too much, dangerously so, because no one cares about acuity levels. On paper, 6 patients max isn't bad in MS, until you see what these patients are like. When 2 of your 6 patients are 90 year olds with Alzheimer's/sundowners jumping out of bed all night long and the other 4 have so many co-morbidities you don't know what to treat first, each patient is more like 2. Acuity is not taken into account when creating ratios in med-surg. And the drs and nurse managers are furious when you have a patient fall (which is all the time, I'd like to know how to keep these people in bed without a posey since sitters are no longer "evidence-based practice". pfft!). Everything's your fault. Document, document, document and get malpractice insurance. Teamwork doesn't exist: if you turn your back, someone will stab it.
I'm moving to a hospital up north with a union ASAP. Anyone who moves to FL from a good state is nuttier than my patients.

Everywhere you go there are issues I guess. The maximum ratio for my tele floor is 6. Most nights I have only 5. I guess its not bad. But I plan to move to Florida because I want to be close to my mom. Not having family nearby is about to make me "nutty" lol. I'll be going to Southwest Florida before the year ends.

PacoUSA, BSN, RN · Apr 6, 2015

I left Florida to pursue nursing up north. Smart move on my part. Sunshine money means nothing in my world. Now I do travel nursing, and I wont even consider an assignment in Florida.

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