You'll never make it in California

danielleny2cali · Nov 23, 2006

I am so glad to hear from more of "us". Sometimes I really feel people are miserable and have nothing good to say. Big cities are not for everyone, thats why there is also suburbia, little towns, depressing cities, etc. Different strokes for different folks. :cool:

invisiwo · Nov 23, 2006

Always remember, never forget....you are a part of people, but you are also your own adult !!! your own person!! you are not your mom, dad, sister, brother. Go and live your life (I can not seem to underline these, otherwise they would be underlined) enjoy the journey !!!! it is then that you will learn!!! The freedom you will get from knowing that you are your own person is incredible!!! So..............go out and live your life!:nuke: :specs:

twotrees2 · Nov 24, 2006

I am sick of people telling me this!! Its realy discouraging and when you hear it so many times you start to believe it. I'm going to be graduating from nursing school in may and I plan on moving to CA sometime before september to work as a new grad.
I live in pa right now and I'm going to pack up all my stuff and relocate. I might be moving with 2 friends, but I'm not really sure about it. I might end up just living by myself for a while. A lot of people tell me that I'll never make it because its sooo expensive.
I'm going to be living in the orange county area. When people start with all this negative talk about how expensive CA is and how congested it gets on my nerves.
It is possible for someone to live in an apartment and work at a hospital in Orange county and live comfortably correct? I won't be pinching pennies will I?

have thought of relocating myself - but have many friends and relatives in cali all over - they all givemne prices of things and it is way above what i could afford to pay even with the higher pay in cali - but then i have a family- relocating would notbe just me - however - if goig with firends and sharing expenses until you get on your feet and then go on your own you may just be able to do well. its the starting out that seems to be the hardest from what i hear.

invisiwo · Nov 24, 2006

Dear 2trees2. Some hospitals will hire new grads for specialty units. You just have to either check the Sunday ads or call the hospital and see if they have an internship program for critical care units. I came out of school and went into an open heart surgical unit(adult & Pediatric). It was stressful, but you can do it. Good luck!

twotrees2 · Nov 24, 2006

Dear 2trees2. Some hospitals will hire new grads for specialty units. You just have to either check the Sunday ads or call the hospital and see if they have an internship program for critical care units. I came out of school and went into an open heart surgical unit(adult & Pediatric). It was stressful, but you can do it. Good luck!

thanks fo rthe vote of confidence :) wish i was a new grad sometimes - means id be a bit younger but then do i wish too go trough hell all over again hahha. i have been in the field for a quite while and realy have no ambitions to go into a hospital aagain - wonder hwo the LTC pay is in cali lol. think you meant to post this to someone rather than me :) have a blessed day. tracie

chuchie, ADN, BSN, MSN, LPN, APRN, NP · Nov 25, 2006

Yeah, don't worry what anyone in your family thinks. You are young and the wonderful thing about nursing is that you will have lots of flexibility to find a job if it doesn't work out. This is the time in your life where you should be traveling and taking on new challenges. Would you rather be married with kids and wondering "Oh...what if......" I certainly don't! I moved here because I have always wanted to move here and experience it. Yes, it is expensive......yes, my family ALWAYS brings that fact up along with how I am not living the same "quality of life" as I was when I lived in Minnesota, but I always tell them that I am young and that this is something that I really wanted to experience for myself. Usually this shuts them up!

luv2shopp85 · Nov 26, 2006

Thanks for all your help everyone! I was looking on craigslist just to browse and I found some nice apartments. My whole thing is I want something thats spacious, 2 bedrooms at the least -maybe 3. I want a pool outside, either washer and dryer in teh apartment or washer and dryer hookup and some utilities paid. I guess I'm pretty picky!

i just don't want to be living in a little box. if i'm paying over $1,500 i want something a little bit more spacious.

Does anyone know if theres any way to contact nursing recruiters through email? I'd like to talk to some of them to get more information about the new grad programs and I hate calling because i forget what I want to ask when I'm on the phone and i forget what they tell me.

augigi, CNS · Nov 26, 2006

You may be able to find email addresses on the hospital websites. It's always better to call about a job though so they have an idea of you in their mind. Maybe you could write down what you want to ask, and practise it before calling. Then write down their answers.

I always do that or else I forget as well! Good luck.

danielleny2cali · Nov 28, 2006

Just go to the hospital website and you will see stuff about new grad programs/nursing, and there is contact info. there.

cindy_619 · Dec 4, 2006

Ok so after all of this do you still want to move here to CA? If I were you I would try moving to a different part of CA and not Orange county! The rents will take up at least 1/3 of your pay check. Is that worth it, NO! I was born and raised here all my life, have a college degree (UCSD), and am getting now another in nursing and still making ends meet now with school loand and this rent is really hard. If you do not mind sharing an apartment or renting a room in a strangers house then come on down. If not look into Bakersfield, El centro (there is not much there but its still CA), Visalia (new homes for under 350,000, everywhere else 450,000 + ). Im just ttrying to help here but Im getting ready to leave to a different area. I live in San Diego (close to the same as San Francisco in rent) and I am not happy. So its your choice. And yes it is congrested so move abt 5 miles from work if not plan on driving or not really driving but sitting in traffic 1 hr each way even if you live 15 miles from owrk. Good Luck.

ERTRAVELER · Dec 4, 2006

just my 2 cents, for whatever it's worth. i'm doing a travel assignment near palm springs and absolutely hate it. the 1:4 ratio is great as long as you don't get all 4 critical patients at the same time, and the management and flow of this er is terrible. of course, the staff thinks we make this astronomical money and we (the travelers) should do all the work. their regular staff "floats" and the travelers have assignments.

i don't think it's anymore expensive than pa. i lived in pa most of my life and paid $1500 for a townhouse in se pa. the traffic is another story. it took me almost 6 hours to get from la to palm springs on columbus day weekend. it was bumper to bumper traffic for over 100 miles.

i've been away from my family for almost a year and it's really making me crazy, i think it's just the holidays. i'm going home and going to try to get a travel assignment closer to home for now. don't know if i'll do ca again, really don't enjoy the people here and last week it was in the 30's at night. one other things you might want to consider is car insurance, i actually live in myrtle beach with my son for the past couple of years and the car insurance was astronomical compared to what i paid in pa.

you have to follow your dreams or you will regret it your entire life, just :xmas_smilies_daz:don't burn your bridges bridges at home. that way you can always go home if it doesn't work out. best of luck!

follow your dreams, and dance like no one is watching!!!

parisgirl · Dec 6, 2006

I moved out to LA from the midwest 2 years ago. Culturally it was shocking but Imade it. Yes its expensive out here but you also make a lot more money. traffic is horrific but u can solve that by just living close to work. I live in hollywood-its very congested. with traffic it can take me a good 30 minutes to drive 5 to 7 miles-it all depends on what neighborhood you live in and what direction you are traveling-just dont live far away from where u work. If you live 5 miles with in work trraffic should not be too much of a nightmare for you.