how expensive is california? CAN A NURSE MANAGE WITH HER WAGE??

cariad · Aug 9, 2006

hi curlysin, lots of groups of hospitals in the west of california.

theres sutter , kaiser and catholic health care west. thats the only 3 that come to mind right now. they are all known for different things, kaiser tend to float the staff in the middle of shifts, chw tend to be the lowest paying, and sutter are supposed to be halfway decent...they are the only ones that i have worked for. once you know anything about the hospital, search on the travel boards for some info. usually someone who has travelled will know them.

KLeigh · Aug 9, 2006

Hi,

Yes, California has a very high cost of living, although it does differ slightly depending on where in the state you live. First off, just letting you know that I am not a traveller, so my experience is probably much different from that of people who did travel nursing in CA. I'm not sure which aspect you're interested in, but I guess it can't hurt to get as much info as you can!

I have lived in San Diego, CA for over 4 years now, and I absolutely love it. It is beautiful here, sunny almost every day, and you're within a short drive to the ocean, the mountains, the desert, and Mexico all at once! I've been working as an RN at the University of California (UC) hospital in San Diego (I also have my BSN, which does nothing for my personal salary, but when I interviewed in LA about 5 years ago, several hospitals mentioned that they pay slightly higher if you have your BSN, just in case that matters/applies to you). Overall, I'd say that you can certainly live on an RN salary out here, but definitely not as "luxuriously" as you could in other regions with a lower cost of living. I'll get into more specifics in a sec, but basically what I mean is that, although the salaries may be higher here, they aren't high enough to offest the crazy rent cost out here.

When I first moved out to California in 2002, I had only one year of experience as an RN, and had been earning about $20/hour at a hospital in Ohio, where I lived in a 2 bedroom apartment and paid $500/month rent. Well, it was a huge shock to me when they offered me the exact same salary in CA, and I moved into my $1300/month ONE bedroom apartment. At that point, I really couldn't afford to pay my bills/rent, etc., if I wanted to continue to live by myself (admittedly, I was pretty picky about my choice of apartments at that time, so it was probably a little pricier than necessary. However, you really can't find a place out here for under a grand a month). I ended up moving in with someone, which I think is really what you have to do, because 2br apartments aren't that much more costly than 1br ones, and it saves you a whole lot of your hard earned cash.

Fortunately, I started at UC at a critical bargaining time for nurses, and immediately received a raise...and then another, and another, etc., and now I make $33.25/hour working as a staff nurse. I have 5 years RN experience, and I work on a clinical research/med-surg unit, but I have heard that UC nurses do not make as much as other nurses in San Diego. They do have excellent benefits, though, and the main reason I stuck around is because I was interested in research, plus I was taking classes at UC for only 34% the total cost. But I would recommend working at a hospital other than UC, unless you had a specific interest in research/academia.

The 2 br place where I live now is definitely nothing deluxe, but it does have a washer/dryer inside the unit, and it is $1500/month. I'd say that's about average for a 2BR place in San Diego, and, like I said, I have heard that San Fran is more expensive, and I think LA is either the same or slightly cheaper. The pay rates in San Fran are higher, but I'm not sure exactly what they are.

Depending on your experience and specialty, I don't think any RN, including new grads, would start out making anything less than $28-$31/hour. I just checked, and the starting pay for a day shift new grad RN at UC is $28.21/hour, and they give you guaranteed raises based on the amount of time you've worked there, usually 2 per year (which I don't nec agree with, since they don't do merit raises, but that's a different story...). So I'd say you'd be making roughly around $30/hour, which is about $5000/month, and after taxes and other junk, I'd say you'll bring home an average of about $3800/month, which is enough to pay for an apartment out here.

You're "supposed" to use about 1/3 of your salary on housing, I think, so depending on what type of place you get, and whether or not you have a roommate, you can certainly do it. As far as other costs, I'd say the only other necessity that is hugely expensive out here in CA, as compared to the rest of the US, is gasoline. Today, Gas is about $3.52 per gallon at the station near my place. From what I've heard, it's quite a bit cheaper almost everywhere else. As far as groceries and that stuff, I'd say those costs are about the same as they were for me when I lived in Ohio.

Wow--what a long, long reply that was!! Sorry about that! I hope you found some of that info helpful, and good luck to you in your searches for the right location!!

-Kristin

nursinguy · Aug 10, 2006

The pay rates in San Fran are higher, but I'm not sure exactly what they are.
-Kristin

San Fran new grade starting rates are $40.00 a hour and experianced nurses can make $54.00 a hour. Most work in San Fran and live in cheaper Sacramneto.

FutureUSRN · Aug 10, 2006

Is it true that most nurses in California have double jobs (working in two different hospitals/facilities) to cope up with the standard of living? Does it translate to about 10K a month?

nursinguy · Aug 11, 2006

Is it true that most nurses in California have double jobs (working in two different hospitals/facilities) to cope up with the standard of living? Does it translate to about 10K a month?

It can be if you choose to work two jobs. At $54 a hour, woking 40 hours a week, you will gross $8640 monthly. 60 hours a week you make $12,960 gross.

FutureUSRN · Aug 11, 2006

Where do most Californians spend their extra money? In Las Vegas...hehe...just joking...

sdmommie · Aug 11, 2006

I love questions about living in California. I (unfortunately) left once to live in Portland, OR. It made it on some list as one of the most desirable places to live. Anyhow, cost of living there was lower, pace was slower, people were nice, etc. Looks good from the outside, eh? Once you live there, you know. It drizzles 9 months out of the year. I'm talking everyday. What I'm trying to say is that California is expensive, but you can do it if you want to. Lots of people want to live here because of the nice weather, proximity to the beach, mountains, etc. It's wonderful here. Once you've been here, you'll see. Weather is just amazing.

Sheri257 · Aug 11, 2006

San Fran new grade starting rates are $40.00 a hour and experianced nurses can make $54.00 a hour. Most work in San Fran and live in cheaper Sacramneto.

It can be if you choose to work two jobs. At $54 a hour, woking 40 hours a week, you will gross $8640 monthly. 60 hours a week you make $12,960 gross.

That is not what the Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows:

Average RN pay in San Francisco is $38 an hour. In Silicon Valley, average RN pay is $42 an hour.

http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oessrcma.htm

Different pay rates for different areas are on that list also.

:typing

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Aug 11, 2006

It's wonderful here. Once you've been here, you'll see. Weather is just amazing.

The weather is not amazing everywhere in California. It is quite common for the temperature in Palm Springs to reach 120 degrees during the summer. Lancaster, Palmdale, Victorville, Barstow, and Hesperia are all sizzling hot. Bakersfield, Fresno, Visalia, Sacramento, and Modesto are also extremely hot places. San Bernardino, Riverside, and certain cities in Orange County are also scorching hot.

sdmommie · Aug 11, 2006

The weather is not amazing everywhere in California. It is quite common for the temperature in Palm Springs to reach 120 degrees during the summer. Lancaster, Palmdale, Victorville, Barstow, and Hesperia are all sizzling hot. Bakersfield, Fresno, Visalia, Sacramento, and Modesto are also extremely hot places. San Bernardino, Riverside, and certain cities in Orange County are also scorching hot.

Oh yes! I forgot about those areas. I've always tried to live as close to the coast as I can afford. I have a friend who lives in Bakersfield who loves it. It's hot there though. I guess you just have to see what you're willing to pay for. For me, it's about avoiding snow and temps close to freezing.

Sheri257 · Aug 11, 2006

The weather is not amazing everywhere in California. It is quite common for the temperature in Palm Springs to reach 120 degrees during the summer. Lancaster, Palmdale, Victorville, Barstow, and Hesperia are all sizzling hot. Bakersfield, Fresno, Visalia, Sacramento, and Modesto are also extremely hot places. San Bernardino, Riverside, and certain cities in Orange County are also scorching hot.

Not necessarily. It all depends on the marine layer and which town you're talking about. When the marine layer came in a couple of weeks ago it cooled down substantially, even in Hesperia and Victorville where we got down to the '80s.

We haven't had as much marine layer this year as last year so it is hotter than normal, but it's not like that every year. Last summer wasn't bad at all.

:typing