Drive or fly from BC to CA?

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Hi, I'm a first time traveller in Vancouver (BC), going to take an assignment in San Francisco (CA) in December, and most likely will stay there for couple of years. I can't decide whether drive my car or take a flight for this trip.

If I drive this 1600km(18hr) for two days (stay in motel at night), I can take all my luggages with me (too much for the flight), and see some places along the trip, and keep my car during this assignment. But I am inexperinced in long distance driving ALONE, not familiar with the road condition and weather (rain or snow at this time of year), and most important, not sure if my car (1989 Toyota-tercel) is capable for this long trip. So if anything happens to the car, I don't have a plan-B.

If I take the flight, I would have to pay for extra luggage, and rent a car in SF (heard it's quite expensive).

This question might sound stupid for you, who have been travelling a lot. But any advice would be very appreciated!

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Specializes in L&D, High Risk OB, OR, Med-Surg, PHN.

]:idea: If you are planning on staying for a couple of yrs then maybe drive and trade you car in on a newer model when you get to San Fran. Good luck.

Lisa ;)

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Thank you for your advice, Lisa.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Telemetry.

Take your car and the adventurous trip down the coast! There is so much to see on the way. The Oregon coast has some of the most beautiful beaches in the US. Stop at Mount Rainer or Mount St. Helens near Seattle. Check out a some of the local music in Portland. Plan on extending your trip so that you can explore the westcoast a little. I took a trip last winter from Chicago to Seattle and had a great time.

It'd probably be best to recruit a friend or family member to take the trip with you. They can get a one way flight back to Vancover when you get to San Fran. If youre good at negotiating, I've heard that some agencies will actually provide travel reimbursment for a friend/family member that travels with you. Lisa suggestion was a good one too, if youre nervous about your car. If you have the funds, maybe trade it in before you leave Vancover? Especially if youre gonna be in San Fran 2 years, renting will be expensive.

On a different note, where are you working in San Francisco? Do you know what neighborhood you will be living in? I'm going to be driving from Chicago to San Fran with a fellow traveler in January for a 3 month assignment, but havent found an assignment yet. I dont know much about the San Fran hospitals or neighborhoods.

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Specializes in DOU.

Most of Oregon is covered in thick fog in the winter. Although this would be a beautiful drive during nice weather, if your goal is to see beautiful vistas, I wouldn't count on it. I also wouldn't want to do 18 hours in two days during the winter... You won't have time to stop and see anything.

That being said, I love road trips, and have driven all over the country by myself. I've never had a problem.

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Specializes in OR, and more recently PACU and SDC.

Driving is the best plan. But, there are a few things of which to be aware. When crossing the US/Canadian border the license of your vehicle is important. If it is registered in Canada, they may be very sticky about emissions testing and a variety of other things. A friend of mine was turned back and had to sell her vehicle before going into the US thus flying, with a dog and 2 cats into the US. There she purchased another vehicle. IF, she said she was going on a 13 week contract, she might have avoided all the fuss. The drive, by the way, will be spectacular. Take some time and enjoy it. When you get to CA you will have to license your vehicle in their state. Lots of money ( approx $360, 2 years ago) and higher insurance premiums. The state troopers don't particularly like transients. If you are caught with out of state tags and "living/residing" in CA they can be not so pleasant, even though according to uncle sam, you are not a perm. resident. And the residency status is the same (or should be) with all travel companies. Your status changes after 1 year of consistently living in that state. Check with your company, they should be able to help you with all the legalities of being a "traveller". In San Francisco you'll want to find a complex that includes parking. Driving in San Fran takes alot of patience, especially during the rush hours. Public transit is very good. Taxis are an effective way to get around since there is a huge and very expensive parking problem in the city. Expect $20 - 25 to go across the city by cab. Apart from these few negatives I have to say that as a traveller, this was the best city to experience. And since leaving it 2 years ago, I have enjoyed going back on several occasions. Have fun!

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Specializes in Peds, ER/Trauma.

If you decide to drive, make sure you join AAA or a similar organization- they can help you plan your route, and provide roadside assistance should you run into any problems, plus you'll get discounts on hotels and other things.

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Thank each of you so much for sharing your precious experience and giving me the advice. I will take the flight to SF this time, and try to drive for the next assignment.

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Specializes in LTC, Med/Surg, Peds, ICU, Tele.

You can go straight down I-5 most of the trip, it's an easy drive. Then you cut over to the Bay Area, I don't remember the name of the road but it's a snap.

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Hi Karen,

Thank you very much for giving me the advice. I will be working at UCSF medical center for three month through NursesRX. As it is my first assignment in US, I can hardly give you any info in that area now. All I know is the medical center is near Golden gate park. But I would be in SF for one month when you come in Jan, so I would love to tell you something more by then.

Because I wanted to go SF for a long time, so I just googled all the hospitals in that area, then chose the large teaching hospitals (Stanford, UCSF) to search for the job vacancies, and contacted travel agencies at same time, and visited this forum almost week (a lot of good info)... please feel free to contact me when you are in SF, good luck!

Take your car and the adventurous trip down the coast! There is so much to see on the way. The Oregon coast has some of the most beautiful beaches in the US. Stop at Mount Rainer or Mount St. Helens near Seattle. Check out a some of the local music in Portland. Plan on extending your trip so that you can explore the westcoast a little. I took a trip last winter from Chicago to Seattle and had a great time.

It'd probably be best to recruit a friend or family member to take the trip with you. They can get a one way flight back to Vancover when you get to San Fran. If youre good at negotiating, I've heard that some agencies will actually provide travel reimbursment for a friend/family member that travels with you. Lisa suggestion was a good one too, if youre nervous about your car. If you have the funds, maybe trade it in before you leave Vancover? Especially if youre gonna be in San Fran 2 years, renting will be expensive.

On a different note, where are you working in San Francisco? Do you know what neighborhood you will be living in? I'm going to be driving from Chicago to San Fran with a fellow traveler in January for a 3 month assignment, but havent found an assignment yet. I dont know much about the San Fran hospitals or neighborhoods.

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