Major move..need good honest advice!!

Nurses General Nursing

Published

Hi,

I'm a RN and work in the ICU. I currently work in Indiana...NWI particularly. I've worked and lived here my whole life (I'm 33). I've decided to make a change..I've always wanted to work in a warm state...I hate the winter/cold weather. I do have a 13yr son. It's not a problem moving with him, in fact he wants ago...no family issues there. I just don't know where to go. I've been to a few states I have been considering.

Now i know the best scenario is to try a place before making a permanent move however, that can get a little expensive saying that there are many places to choose from.

I'm truly open to all options..I was even researching Hawaii! Yes, it's that's bad. I've been considering this for years and it's now time for me to make a move before it's too late.

What I'm looking for. Mostly year round warm weather, good hospital to work for, and low crime rate area. Help!! Suggestions??

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Hawaii is extremely expensive. A nurses salary doesn't even compare to the extra cost of living there. Indiana generally has a low cost of living as does most of the Midwest so it would be a huge adjustment financially.

There are places in the south comparable to the Midwest. I would look into Georgia and Florida but not urban areas.

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Specializes in Emergency Dept. Trauma. Pediatrics.

You are going to get such a variety of opinions. With your son I don't know how possible this is but what I did was travel nursing for a year to get a feel for different places and decided where I wanted to move. I moved my whole live, lived in 12 different states, so moving was never an issue for me. I primarily have lived on the Coast, primarily west coast. I was living in CO and Wyoming and although where I lived in CO was an amazing place to raise a family, I hate the cold. I hate the heat too. lol But not like the cold. I also hated not being near an ocean. I live in Wilmington, NC now and I absolutely love it.

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Specializes in Clinical Research, Outpt Women's Health.

Try Texas or Arizona. Many people move to Hawaii and end up homeless because it is so crazy expensive.

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Hands down San Diego. UCSD would be my first choice, followed by Scripps, and then Sharp. 75 degrees all year round, near the beach, disneyland, 2 hours to the snow, 4 to Vegas, and CA is the best for nurses money wise AND ratio wise.

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Specializes in Neuro.

It's going to be an icy 107-108 degrees in AZ next week í ½í¸‰

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Specializes in Neuro.

In all seriousness though, the southwest is a good place to start looking for warmer temps

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Specializes in orthopedic/trauma, Informatics, diabetes.

If you don't want to go that far west, I live in the Raleigh-Durham area and there are TONS of jobs available. I am originally from Chicago and couldn't stand the winters there anymore. I love the South, I lived in SC for about 10 years and more recently have been in NC for the past 12. I came here as a teacher, but ended up in Nursing. There are three major health systems here, all have a level 1 trauma facility. AS an ICU nurse with experience, any of them would eat you up!!! This is one part of the country where there truly is a shortage.

I have 2 sons 13 and 16 and they love being able to be outside all year round (for the most part). We are about 2 hours from the beach, the mountains, D.C. is close enough for a weekend trip. Disney is less than a day's drive. There are lots of sports teams to watch here, good concert venues. We really like it here. The house we have here, we could not afford in Ill.

What else can I tell you? :)

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