So, over on the Florida thread, we frequently bemoan the fact that nursing pay in Florida bites - about $19-22 an hour for a new grad, I'm hearing, and housing is nowhere near as cheap as it used to be. I am in one of the cheaper parts of Florida, and I've been in my house for several years - but for a halfway-decent not fancy 3/2 house in a decent neighborhood in my county, it would most likely run $175,000 to $250,000, and that is only because the housing market has slowed down.
In Tampa or Orlando, from what I hear, it would be more like $300,000 on up. Maybe $275,000 on up.
When I see nurses in New Jersey and New York and California talk about making $35 to $40 an hour base pay, I drool...then I remember that houses cost a lot more.
Sooo....what states start out with higher pay then I'm mentioning for Florida, or end up with higher pay then I'm mentioning - we're taking RN base pay here, just to compare apples to apples - and have affordable housing? And for those who answer, how much is an average 3/2 house or rent on a 2 or three bedroom apartment in your area? (In my area, $800 to 1000 for 2 bedroom, $1100 to $1500 for a three.)
I may move when I get through school, although I love Florida. Or I may do the travel nurse, working for an agency, working nights and weekends thing just so I can make ends meet.
When living near Washington, DC as a new grad my base was $21.35/hr (that was changed to $24 a year after I started). Rent on my one bed apt. was $1250. Average price of a 3 bed townhome was $400,000-500,000. Forget a single family house for under $650,000. I recently moved to south carolina and my husband and i are both making about $3,000 more per year than we were in DC and out rent is $800 less per month. My last rent when I left DC was $1800 for a 2 bedroom!
i would suggest moving to atlanta if you want decent pay and cheap housing. but if you already own a house then why not stay in florida...
Specializes in burn ICU, SICU, ER, Trauma Rapid Response.
Wow! Where do you live in Wis? I am a new grad in Milwaukee, and just started out at one of the major hospitals for about $22.00 which sounds standard according to other friends in the area. I am looking to buy a house and am looking at at least 130,000 in one of the seminice areas. I have heard that new grads in Madison start at about $25-26.
*** I live in Richland county. About half way between Madison and La Crosse. $28.61 an hour is new grad starting pay at Meriter hospital in Madison. They also get $4/hour nigh shift and $2/hour weekend differential. A friend who I went to nursing school with just became a weekender there and they make 1.66 x their base pay for every hour they work so she is making over $45/hour with one year experience.
The reason I would think of moving out of Florida, once I have my nursing degree, is that the salaries here are significantly lower than other parts of the country. I do have a house here, with a mortgage - not a super high mortgage actually, but with the high insurance and property taxes here, I'm sure paying more than I'd like. But anyway, when I get my degree, if I could earn 30 percent more per hour somewhere else, and the cost of living was the same or less, I'd have to seriously consider that.
We think of moving TO florida about every jan/feb when it's freezing cold. But then the euphoria of spring hits and I realize how nice seasons are. I can't imagine xmas without snow or fall without some honey crisp apples and crunchy leaves!! Plus I'm stuck, my fam is here.
I wish that before we had kids we would have done some moving around to see if we liked it other places. We could have even been seasonal. But it's not feasible with two kids. My husband is a resp therapist so we could have just traveled around together LOL...
I am not a huge fan of freezing my buns off all winter - I like a few weeks of snow and then I'm over it. But I could imagine, say, nursing somewhere that pays well from May through October, and then going back to Florida to work for the winter months.
Live in Long Island & making $35.68/hr [2 years experience] for evening shift with a BSN differential, with plenty of OT available (at time and a half) and an additional $1500.00/year for certification. Also, the daily break is one and a half hours versus the standard 1/2 hour I have had elsewhere. The 3 bedroom house rental is steep at $2500.00/month; but, I rent in one of the more expensive areas. A decent size 3 bedroom rental apt. would run about $1400.00 - $1800.00/month. Although the cost of living is one of the highest, the salary and OT more than make up for it & you can enjoy the coastal beaches, be a train ride away from NYC; and, even work in the city to make more per hour than what I make.
Wow, that Long Island pay is great! I went to NYU a long long time ago - I love New York. It's just the housing costs that get me. Then again, it sounds like you make about $50 an hour for time and a half, so you'd have a lot more money for housing.
*** The best states for nursing pay vs cost of living are Tx, Mn, &
Wi. I live in Wisconsin and new grad starting pay is $28.61/hour and a decent house can be purchased for under $60K and a real nice house in the country with some land can be purchased for
As I've said many times, in the area of Texas where I live, there are too many nurses, and no jobs. Every nurse I know from this area has become a traveler, because we can't find employment locally. Sure, my house was a bargain, but I can't live in it anymore, because I'm traveling all the time. I think I want to move to WI!
*** I live in Richland county. About half way between Madison and La Crosse. $28.61 an hour is new grad starting pay at Meriter hospital in Madison. They also get $4/hour nigh shift and $2/hour weekend differential. A friend who I went to nursing school with just became a weekender there and they make 1.66 x their base pay for every hour they work so she is making over $45/hour with one year experience.
That surprises me to hear about an area with no nursing jobs! One of the appeals of a nursing career, for me, was hearing about the endless job opportunities.
Oh well. You guys have given me some great perspective on salaries and costs of living - and I'd love to hear more if anyone has some!
I don't know if the current housing market crash will affect things any - maybe by the time that I am out of school in a couple of years, housing will be a little cheaper. Although probably not enough to help. Anywhere in the country, on a nurse's salary, if a house costs more that $200,000 and you're having to pay for it alone, I think it's a challenge.
mer_RN
41 Posts
When living near Washington, DC as a new grad my base was $21.35/hr (that was changed to $24 a year after I started). Rent on my one bed apt. was $1250. Average price of a 3 bed townhome was $400,000-500,000. Forget a single family house for under $650,000. I recently moved to south carolina and my husband and i are both making about $3,000 more per year than we were in DC and out rent is $800 less per month. My last rent when I left DC was $1800 for a 2 bedroom!
i would suggest moving to atlanta if you want decent pay and cheap housing. but if you already own a house then why not stay in florida...