Anybody left a FHEN/Surveyor Job in California?

[urnurse072b]

Hi!

I worked as a dialysis nurse and make enough salary working 3 days a week, supposedly a 12-hr shift but we barely have patients on third shifts so we mostly work an average of 9 to 10 hours daily but still bring home an okey income. I also live in a low-cost town. The management and most patients are nice and this is one of the best jobs around. It's a small unit so we only have 1 RN on the floor and, on some days, my RN-Mgr is around and sometimes we have another part-time RN doing some paperwork. Since there is only me and another RN alternating as charge nurses, we pretty much just arrange our work schedule. Every month we each get at least one 5-7 days off between a 2 week period. The doctors are all nice and well-mannered. Except for the early start of 0530, this would have been a perfect job.

My dilemma: I want a stable job with better benefits so I applied for HFEN job. I have been offered the job verbally and have done my medical. But this job will be in a big city with big traffic, long commute to affordable apartments, expensive rent, 5-day work week and 20-25k lower than my current pay. My first DON used to be a surveyor and quit because of the low pay.

I am getting tired of working for private companies as there is the unmistakable undertone or threat of being fired at any time they want to. Plus, I don't want to be doing patient care when I am older. As one of my patients said, nothing is more depressing to look at than a wrinkled nurse (no offense).

I live in a stand-alone 1 bedroom/mother-in-law unit in a small town and will be able to buy a house here if I want to. But this town is 1 to 1.5 hrs away from bigger towns or cities where my friends are. I got tired of driving to big cities and staying over at friends' places that now I almost do not have a social life as all of my co-workers are married with young kids. Frankly, being a transplant here and non-hispanic, I am not really "in" in their cliques. I don't really care.

Given all the facts above, would any of you, if you were in my position, leave my current job to work in a more stressful job in a bigger city with lesser pay in exchange for a better retirement that I am may not even live to enjoy? Anybody left a surveyor job with the state of California? I would love to hear from anybody. If you worked as a surveyor, please include the county. Please help me decide.