From NY to California, LA?

Dranger · Dec 26, 2017

Salaries from what I have seen range from 120-140k. Housing is 2.5k+ for rent easily if you want a decent place. Paying will cost you 750k-1mil+

Are you coming from NYC?

supernursejason · Dec 26, 2017

I'm actually from Long Island.

The rent is Pretty expensive

Pachinko · Dec 28, 2017

Dranger is correct. You might find something cheaper if you scour Craigslist, but a 1 bedroom in a decent area will be around 2k, a 2 bedroom 2.5k. S/he's also correct about salaries of 120-140k. If you decide to rent, try to find a rent-controlled building, which applies to all buildings built before a certain year. Otherwise your rent can be raised with impudence. Buying is insanely expensive. People are moving further and further out of LA in order to own and are now localizing around Palmdale/ Lancaster, which are 45-60 min away.

I work primary care so can't recommend employers based on NP experience. I worked bedside at UCLA for ten years before becoming an NP and the experience was very positive, excellent standards of care, good benefits, etc.

caliotter3 · Dec 28, 2017

Even if you find a rent controlled building, that does not mean that the rent won't be raised on an annual basis. It only means that there is a limit to the amount it can be raised at one time, still substantial enough that unfortunates on fixed incomes are forced out of their homes eventually. Also owners will "upgrade" their units and use that as an excuse for raising the rent to market rate. The Palmdale/Lancaster commute gets old fast. You should try to be realistic when assessing the housing situation.

FullGlass, BSN, MSN, NP · Dec 29, 2017

Honestly, I have no idea why you want to move to L.A. I was happy to get out of L.A. and most of my friends have also moved away. The ones left in L.A. are planning to move out. Housing costs are ridiculous. $120K to $140K isn't going to go very far.

In addition, to the insane housing costs, L.A. also has horrible, horrible traffic. And unlike NYC, L.A. lacks good public transportation. So almost everyone has to drive. Housing is most expensive near the coast and in desirable areas like Westwood, etc. Typically, the farther from the coast one goes, the less the housing cost. Therefore, it is very common for people to commute long distances, for example from Riverside or the San Fernando Valley into the West side of the L.A. area. Many Angelenos spend 2 to 3 hours or more every work day sitting in a car in bumper to bumper traffic. Not only that, there is no "rush hour" anymore - rush hour is almost 24 hours a day.

San Diego is more affordable, but prices are skyrocketing there, too. If you want to live in California, consider some of the inland areas and smaller towns and cities. You will make the same, or more money, than in LA and the cost of living will be less than half as much. I just got a job offer for the Nevada side of Lake Tahoe for $120K and I am a new grad NP. Nevada also has no state income tax, very low property taxes, and a lower sales tax than California, yet I am within a 1 hour drive of California, not to mention being near beautiful Lake Tahoe and within a 30 minute drive of Carson City and Reno, 2 hours to Sacramento, 3 hours to San Francisco. There are many beautiful towns in Northeast California that are similar - Placerville, Oroville, Redding, etc. These cities are all within an easy drive of Sacramento and San Francisco. While people often sneer at places like Fresno, these are big cities with a high need for providers, a low cost of living, surprisingly nice, and an easy drive to both L.A. and San Francisco, as well as the Sierra Nevada mountains.

yogagal · Jan 3, 2018

Honestly, I have no idea why you want to move to L.A. I was happy to get out of L.A. and most of my friends have also moved away. The ones left in L.A. are planning to move out. Housing costs are ridiculous. $120K to $140K isn't going to go very far.
In addition, to the insane housing costs, L.A. also has horrible, horrible traffic. And unlike NYC, L.A. lacks good public transportation. So almost everyone has to drive. Housing is most expensive near the coast and in desirable areas like Westwood, etc. Typically, the farther from the coast one goes, the less the housing cost. Therefore, it is very common for people to commute long distances, for example from Riverside or the San Fernando Valley into the West side of the L.A. area. Many Angelenos spend 2 to 3 hours or more every work day sitting in a car in bumper to bumper traffic. Not only that, there is no "rush hour" anymore - rush hour is almost 24 hours a day.
San Diego is more affordable, but prices are skyrocketing there, too. If you want to live in California, consider some of the inland areas and smaller towns and cities. You will make the same, or more money, than in LA and the cost of living will be less than half as much. I just got a job offer for the Nevada side of Lake Tahoe for $120K and I am a new grad NP. Nevada also has no state income tax, very low property taxes, and a lower sales tax than California, yet I am within a 1 hour drive of California, not to mention being near beautiful Lake Tahoe and within a 30 minute drive of Carson City and Reno, 2 hours to Sacramento, 3 hours to San Francisco. There are many beautiful towns in Northeast California that are similar - Placerville, Oroville, Redding, etc. These cities are all within an easy drive of Sacramento and San Francisco. While people often sneer at places like Fresno, these are big cities with a high need for providers, a low cost of living, surprisingly nice, and an easy drive to both L.A. and San Francisco, as well as the Sierra Nevada mountains.

Agree some of what you wrote but if you are thinking of moving to Fresno or anywhere in the Central Valley please read up on the air quality. I worked my first NP job there as a new grad (great pay, lots of need for NPs) but had to move because my son literally could not breathe the air there. I took a pay cut, gladly, to move to San Diego.

Ok, people always talk about how horrible LA is with traffic etc. I lived in LA for 9 years and as a single person with no kids I found it doable and fun! This was BEFORE I was an nurse, I was a college grad working mediocre jobs but I managed to live in large but nice apartments WITH ROOMMATES in Santa Monica and Brentwood while I had jobs in Westwood, Culver City, Manhattan Beach. My commutes were never terrible. But if you have kids, need a bigger house, good schools, etc I would not recommend LA.