First time travel nurse to California

[enoelle]

Hello! I am planning on moving to Southern California (Huntington beach area) in March 2021 and am trying to pick up a travel assignment there. As a first time traveler with 2 years of NICU experience in NYC, I am wondering what take home range I should be looking for, including housing stipend. I make a little over $50/hour now and am not expecting to make higher outside of nyc, but would like an idea of what I will be working with. Thank you so much!

[NedRN]

The best way to find out what you are worth is to shop around. Maybe you will be lucky and someone with two years of NICU experience who just landed an assignment in Huntington Beach will give you those details. But even with such luck, who knows if the offer is representative.

You are going to have to call a lot of agencies to get an answer specific to your abilities and search area. While it is a lot of work, it is also the only way to find a recruiter who is not full of it and will work in your best interests and with whom you communicate well with.

[LBC_RN, BSN]

Hi! I’m originally from NYC also. Queens native here ? I moved to Southern California 3 years ago. I don't do travel nursing so I can’t offer any salary advice in that area, But just wanted to give you a heads up about rent. If you won’t have any roommates (a lot of people I know do because the rent in Orange County is so high), you’re looking at about $2K for a decent apartment. If you’d consider commuting from Long Beach, you’ll find cheaper rent & a more liberal crowd ? best of luck!