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.
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.
We always managed to get to work. Although sometimes the snow was deep and you had to wait for a plow to go through or take an alternate route. Wisconsin has advantages and disadvantages like anywhere else. Spring is usually cool and wet. Summer is fine until about August when it does get hot and humid. But there are lots of lakes, rivers and public pools around. Fall is my favorite season, warm days and cool nights. Winter starts around Thanksgiving. You have your car winterized in the fall. Or you will breakdown. Last year they had 133 inches of snow. School is usually called off if they have 6 inches or more at one time. The coldest I had ever been up there was -35 below zero. Outdoor activities are year round. Schools are excellent, but property taxes are high to pay for them. I would recommend a small town outside Madison and commute. Look up my home town of Fort Atkinson. The air is fresh and the people are friendly. What are you waiting for?
Here in Central New York, the average pay for a new grad is 21-21/hr base pay. At my hospital we also get 2/hr evening diff and 3/hr night diff. Weekend differential is days 2/hr, eves 4/hr and nights 5/hr. The cost of living is pretty cheap, but then again it depends where you live. I live in the suburbs outside Syracuse and you get a 3-4 bedroom house anywhere from 90K-350K. The average 3bdrm house in my neighborhood is about 100K. I live in a beautiful subuuban neighborhood, nice sized yards, the school down the street, grocery store around the corner, county park down the road. Taxes are about 3000/year. The price of gas in CNY is currently about 2.50/gallon. It does snow alot here and gets pretty cold in the winter though. We are the lake effect capital of the world! But it's a great place to live! Not far from the Adirondacks, Thousand Islands, Canada or Niagara Falls.
AZ is the best. 2 years experience pay 28/hr, med/suge 1 rn to 5 pt, $200000 can get you a nice house. but Hot in the summer, winter is perfect.
Where in AZ can you get a nice house for $200,000? Just curious. My sister just left the Scottsdale/Phoenix area, and even with the real estate crunch, housing prices there are ridiculous, IMO.
^^Tucson perhaps? I'm guessing it would be cheaper there than in Scottsdale.
Why o why do all the cities I WANT to live in cities with high housing costs?
(Miami, San Diego, San Francisco, NYC)
I just want warm weather, (or somewhere with only a few days of snow at the most), world class shopping no more than an hour away and a decent amount of things to do! How hard is that!:zzzzz
I don't even need a big house with a yard- a new nice townhouse with garage will be just fine.
Specializes in Addictions, Corrections, QA/Education.
A few years ago, in Maryland - Eastern Shore side, starting pay for a RN was $21-22/hr. That is for hospital nursing. LTC is more... now the going rate is like $30+ an hour with evening, night and weekend diffs. I work in corrections and make $36/hour base. I get differentials too. Corrections is not for everyone. I also work in addictions and that doesn't pay well but I like the job. Houses? A real nice one is 250,000+... average nice house 180,000. (approx)
Its nice here. We are very blessed when it comes to bad weather like storms, tornadoes etc. Beach and resorts close by, great shopping. BUT I hate the cold weather. It is hot June, July and August and then we have ok weather Sept and October and then it gets cold. I hate it.
I want to live somewhere where its warm all year around. I work with a girl who's mother works in Arizona and gets paid well.
Where in AZ can you get a nice house for $200,000? Just curious. My sister just left the Scottsdale/Phoenix area, and even with the real estate crunch, housing prices there are ridiculous, IMO.
If you are interested in moving to Phoenix, right now is a good time. We moved there in Feb 2004 and left in Dec 2005. During that 22 months, our house doubled in value. Now, those same homes are listed for less than what we paid originally for ours. I still have many friends in the valley, one who paid $220,000 for her home in 1992 and in 2005, it was worth over $990,000. Now, it is worth $450,000. You definitely can get into a home for less than $200,000 if you are willing to live 20-40 miles outside of Phoenix proper (which is where most of the growth is anyway). Personally, my son and I received horrible care while living in Arizona. We love the valley dearly, but I would never live there again.
ETA: Scottsdale isn't a good representation of the Phoenix metro area--it is one of the more expensive areas. A good median area would be Chandler, Mesa, Gilbert....
Nurses in NW Tennessee make around $20 an hour base pay (differentials are usually a bit less than what they are in other cities/states). I live in a small college town (about 10k people) and my 2/1 house cost 45k, it was kind of a fixer-upper (first house for married couple) but I've done a lot of work to it and the house is really nice now.
Buddyken
73 Posts
AZ is the best. 2 years experience pay 28/hr, med/suge 1 rn to 5 pt, $200000 can get you a nice house. but Hot in the summer, winter is perfect.