Exp. RN looking to move

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hey everyone! a little background information: i'm in my late 20's and live in chicago and am sick and tired of the weather! my husband and i are looking to move somewhere nice and warm with a great outdoor life. i started as an rn in august '09 on an ortho/neuro floor and we aren't looking to move until after august '10 so i'll have at least one year experience. ideally i'd like to get into the icu or er but depending on the market i'd work med/surg again too. we haven't decided on an area of az to move yet, and were hoping to visit some time in the late spring, early summer. i was wondering how the job market is, especially with only a year experience. i only want to work in a hospital, but don't mind if it's really big or a smaller community hospital. but my other questions include the cost of living (esp house prices vs. pay rate), neighborhoods/areas anyone suggests, outdoor activities. i have 3 dogs (2 pugs and an english bulldog) so i'm a little worried about the heat during the summer months and the creepy crawlers (scorpions, spiders, snakes) that could possibly hurt them. is that something i should be concerned about? any information anyone could offer would be greatly appreciated! thanks you all!

- stephanie

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Specializes in VA-BC, CRNI.

I would line up a job before moving.

The job market is tight but not impossible like NY or CA yet. With only 1 year experience it will not be easy but you can find acute care jobs.

There are three main areas to Arizona, the rim area, the valley, and North Mexico...ie Tucson (don't move to Tucson).

If you like outdoors but don't mind seasonal weather including some snow then check into Flagstaff, (small to medium sized hospital) or Payson (very small hospital). Jobs are hard to come by up on the rim but the outdoor activities are awesome, skiing, hunting, fishing, camping etc.

The valley really isn't too terrible for outdoor activites. Arizona has one of the best urban lakes fishing programs in the country. The rim, forest, is only 1.5-2 hours from the valley. There are several large lakes with excellent fishing (mind you they are desert lakes) only 30 minutes from the valley (depending where in the valley you live)

The river, ie the Salt River is a very popular outdoor recreational destination. There is tubing during the summer and best of all, they stock trout through the year. The river hosts several lakes that are only mintues from the valley, all these lakes tend to have good-excellent fishing and boating.

Personally the pay to cost of living in AZ is very reasonable, esp compared to other larger metropolitan areas. Expect pay in the low to mid 30's per hour. You can buy a very nice large house for about 200-250k in the East valley (Mesa, Gilbert, Chandler). I am a new grad (started working in Aug) at a LTC/SNF and make 80k a year so expect more at acute of course.

The general rule is the farther East and South you go the nicer and less expensive the houses become. It is not unheard of to be able to buy a new 1,300sqft house for 90k in Queen Creek. Many people have moved and are still moving to Queen Creek just because of the cheap houses, personally I would not advise that. Queen Creek sucks for commuting reasons. Look into Gilbert or Mesa for cheap, nice housing.

Now Arizona is extremely seasonal. Our state bird is the Snow Bird, all the midwest old retirees escaping the winter. Fortunately they are a boom to our local healthcare system. Our patient load BOOMS during the winter due to the fact that our tourists tend to develop DVTs, break hips, and have MIs/CVAs regularily. Bad thing is the census goes waaay down during the summer.

Hope this helps.

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Thanks Bug! Yeah that was a HUGE help! I'll definitely find a job before I come out, and it sounds like it would definitely be worth the effort. If anyone else has any suggestions/comments or anything please keep it coming!

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Specializes in ICU, Research, Corrections.

Personally the pay to cost of living in AZ is very reasonable, esp compared to other larger metropolitan areas. Expect pay in the low to mid 30's per hour. You can buy a very nice large house for about 200-250k in the East valley (Mesa, Gilbert, Chandler). I am a new grad (started working in Aug) at a LTC/SNF and make 80k a year so expect more at acute of course.

I think the pay rate is too optimistic. An RN with one year experience will definitely not make mid 30s per hour unless you throw in shift differential on top of your base pay. New grads at hospital make approx 25.50 - 27.00 an hour. That is if they can find a job. I think a better estimate would be in the high 20s an hour.

Phoenix still has a very tight job market even for experienced RNs. So, yes, make sure you have a job first!

Best of luck

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Hi Stephanie

I can't help too much with job information, but I can shedd some light and answer questions regarding Real Estate and such, so please feel free and ask away. I have been working in Real Esate since 2001 and have been on the waitlist for nursing school here in the valley for over a year. It certainly is slow going...lol..

There is plenty of housing available and prices have come down a lot over the last few years. You should be able to find a nice 3 BR newer ( 10 years or less) home in the 200K - 250K price range. That applies to most areas of the valley. Some, like Scottsdale, Paradise Valley, parts of Tempe and parts of Phoenix are higher priced while Queen Creek and the San Tan Valley offer homes at much lower prices. Please feel free to pm me as well. I can send you my e-mail address to make communicating a little easier in case you have more questions regarding housing and such.

My daugter lives in Des Plaines. ( She went to school here and graduated, but moved to Chicagoland because of her hubby.) She is not a happer camper right now even though she prefers the four season type of weather over our weather here. She works as a RN in L&D and said that her starting pay was a bit lower in Chicago than what she would have made here.

Anyway, stay warm and do drop me a note if you have further questions.

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Specializes in oncology, med surg & corrections.

If you come to the West side, my son/wife bought a brand new 4 bedroom for 99,000 and daugh/husband bought a 2 story for 104,000 brand new. Acroos the street from me is a 4bed/3bath sante fe on 1 1/2 horse property for only 189,000. Oh yeah- the town i live in is Goodyear. There are alot of good deals out there and the west side is next to the freeway and on dayshift I can get downtown in 40 min. Goodluck to you:yeah::yeah::yeah:

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Specializes in Telemetry.

Hey!

I wouldn't recommend Flagstaff. Job situation is very tight there as well. My classmates that work at the only major hospital there Flagstaff Medical Center are getting their hours cut, increase in patient ratio's, just not a good place to work right now. Otherwise, Flagstaff is a beautiful place to visit and live if you like small towns. If you live in Phoenix it's a short drive away!

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Specializes in ED. ICU, PICU, infection prevention, aeromedical e.

Phoenix is a real city. I have never seen a scorpion in my home life other than at the zoo or some guy brings to the ER for identification. I have never had a snake in my home. My big problem is simply ants. But I live in a well developed area. The farther you go out, the greater the possiblity of crawling things.

Job market is iffy, but not untouchable. If you aren't picky, there are jobs.

Housing market went to the dogs. It is a total buyers market!

Summer is hot, but we have airconditioning. :)

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Thanks for everyone's replies. They have all been very helpful. The more I look into AZ the more excited my husband and I get! We're in the process of planning a trip some time in April. Please keep the suggestions coming about neighborhoods, hospitals, and job opportunities. Thanks again!

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Specializes in ED. ICU, PICU, infection prevention, aeromedical e.

The phoenix metro area has many towns interconnected.

To name a few: There is Glendale in the west. Surprise. peoria.

in the east there are chandler, higley, mesa

in the middle is phoenix, scottsdale, tempe.

All areas have good and bad. There are hospitals everwhere. It takes a good hour in good traffic to go from one side of the valley to the other. What are you interests? family, schools, activities, etc.

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We'd love to be able to go hiking and enjoy the outdoors. We don't have a family yet, but we would like the typical suburb living with a nice neighborhood with parks and activities, I'd also like to be semi close to work, (but I have to find a job first!) :) Is there much of a difference between the west and east side of phoenix? more bad areas compared to good on one side or the other? Thanks for your help!

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Specializes in ED. ICU, PICU, infection prevention, aeromedical e.

I live in the NW valley. Arrowhead area. I love this area. It's close to the freeway to go up north (Flagstaff is 2 hours away with snow to visit and some great hiking trails in Oak Creek Canyon and Sedona).

I work at John C. Lincoln - Deer valley hospital. It is a midsize facility - like 200 beds or so. I think it is a great place to work and do recommend it. They have a website that lists jobs. You can also look into Banner hospitals, they have a network through the valley. Thunderbird banner is on my side and has a good reputation. The Abrazo facilities always seem to be hiring. I don't like abrazo, but if they help you move, I'd say it may be worth it. On the West side Arrowhead hospital is an Abrazo. There are some hospitals that would be easy to get jobs at, but you really don't want to go there. If you find one you want some inside info and I can give you a heads up, let me know. I feel confident that you can search any of these facilities to get job info online.

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