San Francisco nursing

U.S.A. California

Published

Specializes in ER/Trauma/Critical Care.

I am strongly considering moving out to Cali after i graduate (Have family in SF area). I am single, have no kids but do have student loan debt. I really want to hear from some others who have similar situations as mine, and just find out what I can expect. i read all these posts about people who swear no one can afford to live there on a nurse's salary, but then they talk about buying houses and stuff, and that is not where I am. I am just looking to move out there and find a one bedroom apartment and take care of myself! I am from St Louis and the market here is saturated due to the abundance of nursing schools in the area. I work for BJC and I think they are starting nurses around 18 right now. People think that the midwest is so much cheaper, but when you consider how much lower the wages are here, imho it sort of works out to be about the same. At least in Cali you get better weather, laws that protect nurses, the beach and more diversity! it just seems like overall it is the place to be right now in terms of nursing. My Aunt works part time for Kaiser and makes 100K a year. granted she is on call a lot but still... well i am going on here, but if anyone can give me some info it'd be great :balloons:

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Depending on where you are living in the SF area, or expect to, the average rent for a 1 bedroom apt is about $1200 to $1500 per month. That doesn't include utilities. Taxes are also very high. Sure salaries are higher, but then so are all of the living expenses that go along with being there. Most nurses that have purchased homes, have not done so in the immediate SF area, they have been further out and they commute.

And new nurses are not going to be making $100,000 per year unless they are doing quite a bit of overtime.

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Specializes in ER/Trauma/Critical Care.
Depending on where you are living in the SF area, or expect to, the average rent for a 1 bedroom apt is about $1200 to $1500 per month. That doesn't include utilities. Taxes are also very high. Sure salaries are higher, but then so are all of the living expenses that go along with being there. Most nurses that have purchased homes, have not done so in the immediate SF area, they have been further out and they commute.

And new nurses are not going to be making $100,000 per year unless they are doing quite a bit of overtime.

Well yeah I know it is expensive out there, and I know I am not going to be making 100K. I think you have to be living under a rock not to know it's expensive out there. I've done a lot of research about how much apartments cost, etc, and my cousins live there so they have told me a lot too. I am not looking to buy a house, I just want to be able to support myself. And it would be great to hear from some nurses who worked out there, especially people who moved there from other places. Were any of your perceptions different once you got out there? What about nightlife, meeting people, etc.? Can you live comfortably there if you don't have any expenses other than yourself?

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Specializes in NICU.
Well yeah I know it is expensive out there, and I know I am not going to be making 100K. I think you have to be living under a rock not to know it's expensive out there. I've done a lot of research about how much apartments cost, etc, and my cousins live there so they have told me a lot too. I am not looking to buy a house, I just want to be able to support myself. And it would be great to hear from some nurses who worked out there, especially people who moved there from other places. Were any of your perceptions different once you got out there? What about nightlife, meeting people, etc.? Can you live comfortably there if you don't have any expenses other than yourself?

Talked to my sister-in-law who lives in San Francisco - she said, if you can find a roommate, getting a 2-bedroom apartment would be so much better than trying to rent a 1-bedroom on your own. She said you'd get so much more for your money (either more room or better neighborhood) and you'd be splitting the utilities as well. So that's definitely an option, at least for maybe that first year you move out there. After that, you'll have a better idea of what you can afford and you can find a place of your own. Plus, being in a new city, it might be nice to have some company. Maybe your cousins could find someone for you? Good luck!

ETA: By the way, she loves it out there, absolutely loves it. And she's lived in Chicago and Boston, so she does have some nice cities to compare SF to!

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Specializes in mostly in the basement.

I dont know why Suzanne says that about the money. I am a new grad at 48/hr in Berkeley. I calculate that it would only take just barely over one extra shift per month to be over 100,000---not take home, of course.

The Bay Area is wonderful! Come try it--if you hate it you can go back home with some good memories and money. I still don't exactly love nursing but I would damn sure hate it a lot more if I was only making 18 or 25/hr--regardless of the cheaper living in those other states.

Best of luck!

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Specializes in ER/Trauma/Critical Care.
I dont know why Suzanne says that about the money. I am a new grad at 48/hr in Berkeley. I calculate that it would only take just barely over one extra shift per month to be over 100,000---not take home, of course.

The Bay Area is wonderful! Come try it--if you hate it you can go back home with some good memories and money. I still don't exactly love nursing but I would damn sure hate it a lot more if I was only making 18 or 25/hr--regardless of the cheaper living in those other states.

Best of luck!

Wow, is that 48/hr with or without benefits? What hospital is it? Thanks for sharing :nurse:

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Higher salary means higher taxes, if you take off 1/3 that is going for taxes, etc. And I live in CA currently.

And is that 48, your blended rate, and including nights, etc?

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Just do it now!!

SF is magic. I was able to make ends meet here on an LVN (that's LPN in the rest of the world) salary, with a very nice studio apartment. Now that I'm a new grad RN, it's even easier. Sure things are more expensive here. It's certainly worth it. This is among the greatest cities on earth. There are a few things you can do to economize, some of which have already been mentioned.

Get a roommate, or a studio. Check out craigslist for both. Two neighborhoods to avoid are the Tenderloin and the Bayview/ hunters point. the rest should be ok.

If you both live and work in the city, rather than commuting to the East Bay, Marin, or the Peninsula, get rid of your car. Parking alone will eat up between 100 and 200 dollars a month. A MUNI pass is only 45 dollars, and is good on all the metro, bus, and cable car lines. If you need a car, get a CityCarShare, Zipcar, or Flexcar membership.

Eat in the ethnic neighborhoods. SF has great diversity and that means, among other benefits, good value food. A gigantic veggie burrito in the mission is less than 4 bucks!! It's easy to find lunch plates in chinatown for $5. The farmers market is your friend.

Buy live theatre tickets at the half price booth at Union Square. Many shows open here before they hit broadway.

SF has a wealth of museums, make friends with someone who has a membership at one or more. Memberships get the member and a guest in all year long.

If you would like any more info, just PM me through this site.

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Specializes in mostly in the basement.

Of course you will be paying higher taxes. I don't think I have a perfect situation by any means, and actually, money isn't all that important to me, never has been, but my point was that new grads can and do make more than 100 grand w/out doing extensive OT. As I mentioned above, not take home of course. I'm not a number crunching type but I would assume your salary would have to be base more than 150,000 to take home that amount.

I do work nights--by choice--so that is the benefitted NOC rate. Base day is 40.68 and evenings is 44.92. I do know we just got a 3% raise on the 1st and another 3% coming July 1st so I guess those numbers will inch up just a bit.

Taxes do take out quite a bit---that's not unique to nursing. I still say if I'm going to be doing this for however long, I'd rather be able to bank and save some while I figure out my next move!

Ps> Also, someone just PM'ed me about my hospital and I will say here what I am telling her. The $$ is nice but I would NOT recommend my hospital for a new grad. Or at least not my unit(ED). I think some of the floors are great at orienting new grads and they get paid the same.

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I got a job at Marin General Hospital (about 10 miles north of San Francisco) on the evening shift (3p-11p) on the medical unit and I am being paid $43.81 ($39.xx base rate). I get full benefits. I don't necessarily agree with the whole 'high-cost-of-living' excuse. True, you have to pay a couple of HUNDRED dollars a month more to live in SF, but you're making a few THOUSAND dollars a month more working in SF.

I say: DO IT!

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