Gulf coast of florida

SeaH20RN, BSN · Aug 23, 2014

Check out Gentiva Home Health. I think they are hiring. Good Luck

nursearoo · Aug 24, 2014

Try PSA Healthcare...they pay the highest....HOWEVER...in FL you will get low pay...I worked for them and the pay rates when I left were...$15 an hr for LPN's...and $16/hr for RN's...on holidays you only get $5 an hour more than your base rate....plus if you are for example an RN and you work on an LPN case...you have to take LPN pay.....you get no shift diff either for working evenings, nights, or weekends. I lived on the Gulf Coast for 5 years....think very carefully before you do move.....I moved down there from the NE thinking I'd never go back ....wrong. All the rents are now higher than up north, food costs more....even things like the monthly water bill was $60 a month ....crazy!! Try living somewhere for 1/2 the pay but everything costs the same or more..... We left because we were sinking.....The hospitals pay more and IF you can get in one...they do pay shift diff etc......I don't know if you would be renting or buying, but rents were all up to $1200-$2500 a month......we suspect because of the multiple foreclosures, people HAD to move so landlords took advantage of that....you used to be able to get a big house with a pool for around $700 a month to rent.....not any more......Not trying to discourage you but really research before you decide for sure. Look on Craigslist or rentmeflorida to see the prices to rent (if that's what you are doing) and don't go unless you have a job secured ...because jobs are far & few down there.....I found (and many of my former co workers as well) that if you don't have exactly what they advertise for you WILL NOT even be given the time of day. I have a nurse friend who is amazing...she has done every area of nursing for well over 30 years.....could not get a job in a hospital....and she has done hospital nursing for many years, then peds homecare for the last 4.....(She was doing peds homecare at the time, needed a reliable schedule & job)....went for a job in adults, and she said the person interviewing her kept saying "but your a peds nurse"...she had to keep redirecting the interviewer that she has done adults for many years.....and has done everything from oncology to med surge......they didn't care. It's tough down there. ....So please just a supportive word of advice really research everything before solidly deciding......oh and plan on driving pretty far to go to and from work depending on where it is.......sometimes I would drive 75 miles one way......so 150 miles per day just for work......gets old real quick!.......Plus in HH PDN...you can be out ....of work with no notice for a couple of days to a month or more if you care for one pt who happens to go into the hospital...so also keep that in mind...........I may sound like "Debbie Downer" and i'm not trying to.....I am just letting you know the facts based on what I dealt with down there........... Others may have had a great experience, but lots of people I know who have moved down there...including myself...have moved back to wherever they moved from.......realizing it wasn't all they thought it would be.....and it's like a whole other planet down there......lol just sayin' Best of luck with whatever you decide to do :-)

PacoUSA, BSN, RN · Aug 24, 2014

I used to live in Florida when I decided to become a nurse. Did my prereqs there but decided to move back to the Northeast and attend nursing school in my hometown. Best decision I ever made. I'm paid what I am worth now as an RN. It's true what they said above, the pay rates for nurses in Florida are the pits, and the cost of living is not as cheap as people think. I don't regret living there for a few years but I would never move back to Florida. If I desire to move again to somewhere warm, I'd definitely opt for California ... at least there nurses are paid well and nurse-patient ratios are regulated by law.

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