Just Looking Abit Of Advice From Other Posts And Other Sources Of Information I Am Aware California Tends To Be A High Costof Living, But How Do You Really Manage?? Is It Manageable With Your Wage Or Do You All Struggle??
Could You Maybe Give Me Rough Est Of Hourly Rate. Considering Taking Up Direct Placement With A Hospital There No Specific Location Yet They Are Coming To Interview In Oct And Id Liked To Be Prepared With Some Informationthat Im Hoping You Could Possibley Give Me.
Hope To Hear From You Soon
P.S ANYONE AWARE OF A GROUP OF HOSPITALS THAT CONSIST OF ABOUT 20 TOGETHER IN THE WEST COAST AREA??
Let me just add a few things about California, having lived here all my life. The state is huge. It has urban areas, rural areas, and vast, vast zones of suburban areas. The climate can differ dramatically, even within a few miles. There are coastal regions, mountain regions, forests, and deserts. Southern California is sunny all year round, while Lake Tahoe snows all winter (the amount of which is of great concern to ski and snowboard fanatics in all parts of the state). There are liberal areas and conservative areas and apathetic areas. There are places where the culture is museums and symphonies and places where culture is the local mall.
In short, it is difficult to make any generalizations about the state, except of course the nurse-to-patient ratio law which is shared throughout. Try to research the specific area you are considering--for example, if you move to Northern California expecting the sort of beach life you see on Baywatch, you will be disappointed as the waters here are freezing! Not that we don't have surfers, but they have to wear wetsuits and keep an eye out for sharks.
Bottom line: a Nor-Cal nurse can only afford a 1 bedroom 1 bath condo that is a fixer upper. So if purchasing a house is important to you, do not move to the bay area.
Unless perhaps, you are married (or plan on getting married) and your mate also pulls in >100K. You still won't be able to afford a nice house in a nice area, but you could save up for a single family dwelling that is decent.
Ideally, moving here you have to be OK with renting. It's not a bad idea -- perhaps with plans on building up a fat 401k for retirement? -- making the extra 40K (compared to most other areas) offsets the 1500+ rentals, higher gas and auto insurance, and higher cost of food, while letting you live in the land of sunshine =)
I am currently applying to Mad River Hospital and am curious to know if you have any idea what Sutter Coast in Crescent pays for new RN grads. $22 days at Mad River sucks! I make near 10 dollars more than that a same day surgery center! Don't know if I can make that change!
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.
-Kristin
I had no clue they had a discount for taking classes! I think I know where I want to work now when I am finished with the nursing program.
Bottom line: a Nor-Cal nurse can only afford a 1 bedroom 1 bath condo that is a fixer upper. So if purchasing a house is important to you, do not move to the bay area.
Unless perhaps, you are married (or plan on getting married) and your mate also pulls in >100K. You still won't be able to afford a nice house in a nice area, but you could save up for a single family dwelling that is decent.
Ideally, moving here you have to be OK with renting. It's not a bad idea -- perhaps with plans on building up a fat 401k for retirement? -- making the extra 40K (compared to most other areas) offsets the 1500+ rentals, higher gas and auto insurance, and higher cost of food, while letting you live in the land of sunshine =)
I don't agree with this...
The bay area is NOT THAT expensive to say a nurse can only live OK out here if he/she rents. Let's not over dramatize it.
My mom will be making less than me after I graduate and get a job and she is definitely living comfortably right now.
And I know some realtors out here who stated that making between 120,000-140,000 a year will definitely put you in the range of getting a nice house in a nice area. NOT a mansion, but definitely one of the nice new ones being built.
The bay area is NOT THAT expensive to say a nurse can only live OK out here if he/she rents... And I know some realtors out here who stated that making between 120,000-140,000 a year will definitely put you in the range of getting a nice house in a nice area. NOT a mansion, but definitely one of the nice new ones being built.
Esp now since housing prices have dropped. :)
I'm confused. Are you saying that a nurse might expect to be making between 120,000 and 140,000 and thus could afford one of those nice houses in a nice area?
I am sorry to hear that you having a terrible time landing a job. I live in Michigan and Detroit Hospitals are hiring like crazy, they also have new grad programs the pay is good and the cost of living is not as high, plus they have tons of Overtime. If moving is not an issue i would seriously consider moving yes the economy is hurting but there are pockets of opportunity and healthcare is booming in the Detroit area even for LPNs
I will try o explain why its difficult for new grads and even experienced nurses to land a Job in north cal. The pay is good and employers know there is a mismatch of supply and demand therefore they have the ability to pick and chose, they have become so creative such that they now have the ability to hire nurse, while avoiding the orientation costs. This puts the new grads at a great disadvantage. Some hospitals wanna take you on as an agency nurse first, while you are employed as a agency nurse they are also assessing you skill level and how well you blend then if they like you, they will take you on and since you have already worked in the system as an agency nurse they can bring you up to speed in a matter of 1-2 weeks whereas it takes much longer to orient a new grad and in these tough times they wanna make sure you will stick around. So I would advise you to find a hospital that is willing to take you on as a new grad, stick to your area of interest for at least 2 years, work on the necessary certifications they you will be a more competitive candidate in areas saturated with nurses and offer high pay. Like I pointed out in one of my posts, You might wanna consider Detroit Michigan, they have plenty of good new grad programs, the cost of living is much lower, and the pay is good. Yes, the Auto industry is struggling but health care is booming the other downfall might be the snow but remember you have to be willing to give in order to get. The cost of housing in Detroit and the surrounding areas is reasonable whether you chose to rent or buy. Airfares from Detroit to California are very affordable.
Yes you can buy a nice house with the salary RN's make out here. If you know how to manage your money. I say this because a lot of my nurse friends like to buy themselves super extravagant things all the time! I mean my friend just bought herself a 80,000 car. Its beautiful but I'd rather save that for down payment on a house. It will definitely be more expensive in San Francisco but if you move in the surrounding areas like Concord or Baypoint, which is like 30-60 minutes away from San Francisco depending on traffic, you will find the housing be be much cheaper. My friend who is has been working as a nurse now for about 2 years makes 130,000/year, she bought a brand new 4 bedroom 3 bath house for about $660,000. Very nice house, meditteanean style about 3315 square feet in Fairfield, CA. I know in other states you can get a house more less than that but still it's again a very nice house!
miss_cy
256 Posts
no im just kidding in there..but yes, i hope i could get a better paying job in oceanside or somewhere near he area.