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.
I found a handy cost-of-living calculator that lets you input the city you live in, your salary and the city you're thinking of moving to. It's not perfect, doesn't have all cities, etc., but it's quite enlightening. It tells you how much you would have to make to maintain your current standard of living. In some cases, it's a lot less, and in some cases, it's a lot more. The calculator also gives a lot of detailed information, like the average cost of a doctor visit, how much a pizza costs (!), etc. in each city. Be sure to click "refresh listing" if you choose another city you're thinking of moving to. Here's the calculator:
Thanks to the OP for this. We've been thinking about moving out of San Diego because it is so darn expensive. We can't buy a decent SFH for less than $700k and that is a small house. But when I look at new grad pay in other areas, I'm discouraged. Here it is averaging $25-27/hr +4/hr night shift diff. I graduate in December with my ADN but BSN get $1 more an hour. These are the rates where I currently work.
We still might move but I might have to seriously consider some places I hadn't thought of before.
Well, here's the thing - for the poster considering leaving San Diego - there ARE parts of the country where you can still get a decent single family home for between $150-$300,000. Florida is certainly one of them. Especially with the housing market crash. So if you start out at $22 an hour here base pay, but could get a decent house in many parts of the state for $250,000...that still seems to make more sense to me than starting out at $28 an hour in a place where you couldn't get a decent house for less than $700,000.
Well, here's the thing - for the poster considering leaving San Diego - there ARE parts of the country where you can still get a decent single family home for between $150-$300,000. Florida is certainly one of them. Especially with the housing market crash. So if you start out at $22 an hour here base pay, but could get a decent house in many parts of the state for $250,000...that still seems to make more sense to me than starting out at $28 an hour in a place where you couldn't get a decent house for less than $700,000.
Prices are coming down. My sister just bought a 3-bedroom house in Tampa for $225,000 that was originally on the market for $260,000. Of course the owners who had lived there for five years still made a $50,000 profit.
hi everyone! i was just reading over the salary vs. cost of living for rn threads and was wondering if anyone knew anything about salary vs. cost of living for lpns? hope to hear from yall thanks!
Specializes in burn ICU, SICU, ER, Trauma Rapid Response.
Well, here's the thing - for the poster considering leaving San Diego - there ARE parts of the country where you can still get a decent single family home for between $150-$300,000. Florida is certainly one of them. Especially with the housing market crash. So if you start out at $22 an hour here base pay, but could get a decent house in many parts of the state for $250,000...that still seems to make more sense to me than starting out at $28 an hour in a place where you couldn't get a decent house for less than $700,000.
*** Heck there are places where you can buy a decent house for $50K-$150K and still make much better pay. Look here and look at the second house listed:
This in a state where new grads can make $26.61/hour plus $4 NOC diff and $2 weekend diff.
I am thinking of applying for a job with the critical needs team at my hospital. Pay is $45/hour, $67.50 for over time, with one year experience and only 16 weekend hour a month are required and no NOCs.
How cold does it get in Wisconsin? COLD!!! There are days in the winter where things get shut down and people can't even leave the house because it is so cold. Can get down to -20 with the windchill. That is not to mention snow storms! Summer can be nice or extremely humid. Fall is nice but doesn't last long. I think WI is a good place to raise a family, pay is decent and cost of living is reasonable (Milwaukee is expensive in my opinion for what it is). I am graduating and moving to CA...I have to get away from this weather. It isn't for everybody but if you're not used to the cold, I would take a trip here in the winter and experience it for yourself.
Specializes in burn ICU, SICU, ER, Trauma Rapid Response.
How cold does it get there? What kind of heat do most of the folks have there and what is the average heating cost in the coldest part of the winter?
*** It gets plenty cold, however unlike another poster I have never seen a day when nobody goes out to work, school and other normal things because of cold. We usually have a a few days each winter of 0-20 below but usually days in winter are 20 to 30 degrees. My kids spend most winter days outside sledding and playing in the snow. Summer is very nice. Few days in the 90's but mostly in the 80's. Where I live there is a lake around every corner. My family spends most of the summer boating, skiing, fishing and camping.
Most people around here use wood heat supplemented by either natural gas or fuel oil. I don't know what average heating cost is but I can tell you we had to fill our oil barrel 3 times last winter at about $400 per fill. We don't have A/C and don't feel the need more than 3-5 days a year. I spend less on heating out house than I used to spend on electric to cool my house in southern Ca.
Wisconsin isn't for everybody, but then neither is anyplace else. Nursing wages are very good here compared to the COL. It's a great place for outdoor stuff like hunting, fishing, camping, boating ect. Our schools are among the best in the country. The winter IS long and cold but no more than any of the other northern states.
None of my comments apply to Milwaukee. That's a large city with all the same problems and advantages of other large cities and I don't know much about living there.
In NZL starting rate for a new grad is about 33grand a year, and if you wanna buy a house in Wellington you're looking at $400,000+ and in Auckland it'd be about the same.
NZL dollar is sitting at about 79c American.
Moral of the story: NZL don't pay their nurses jack.
Specializes in burn ICU, SICU, ER, Trauma Rapid Response.
In NZL starting rate for a new grad is about 33grand a year, and if you wanna buy a house in Wellington you're looking at $400,000+ and in Auckland it'd be about the same.
NZL dollar is sitting at about 79c American.
Moral of the story: NZL don't pay their nurses jack.
*** Maybe that's why NZ has shuch a shortage of nurses and teachers. They can make much more money abroad. My family and I hold dual citizenship NZ & USA. We have often considered spending a year or two in New Zealand but nurses pay is so low I don't see how we could afford it.
AtomicWoman
1,747 Posts
I found a handy cost-of-living calculator that lets you input the city you live in, your salary and the city you're thinking of moving to. It's not perfect, doesn't have all cities, etc., but it's quite enlightening. It tells you how much you would have to make to maintain your current standard of living. In some cases, it's a lot less, and in some cases, it's a lot more. The calculator also gives a lot of detailed information, like the average cost of a doctor visit, how much a pizza costs (!), etc. in each city. Be sure to click "refresh listing" if you choose another city you're thinking of moving to. Here's the calculator:
http://www.bankrate.com/brm/movecalc.asp