Houston info needed

best paying jobs are in the medical center area. there are several large players with outlying hospitals in the suburban area. check st. lukes, methodist, md anderson, Texas children, memorial herman. there is st. joes in downtown. every suburban area has several hospitals (clear lake, sugarland, kingwood, woodlands, tomball). check to see if the hospitals are hiring, i understand that some of them are cutting back on hours and holding off on hiring until the economy is better. i know the UT system is still in a hiring mode but only for nurses and doctors. rice and baylor college of med. are supposed to merge but what that means for the new hospital that baylor is building is questionable.

in general houston fared better during this downturn but the hospitals are still very cautious as they have no idea what obama is going to do with the health care plans. as far as the outlying hospitals go, it is dependent on two things, people having jobs and insurance and how the hospital system that owns it is doing. i have heard but can not say for sure, some of these hospitals may questionable. there have been numerous hospitals that have gone out of business but that has to with competition and poor management.

als1124,

I want to be the first to say WELCOME TO HOUSTON!! I am always so glad to see experienced nurses heading our way. It's good to know you have already visited H-town - and you still like us anyway :chuckle.

It's true that hospitals are being cautious, but I haven't heard of any that are turning away experienced nurses. New grad programs may be cut back because they are pretty expensive to manage.

What area of Houston will you be living in? That should servea as a guide for your employment decisions. The far west areas (Katy) are still in full growth mode with expanding populations... Katy was noted as the #2 "boom town" in the nation by Business Week magazine last month. 2 new hospitals are under construction in that area - scheduled to open in late 2009 & early 2010, I think. The Woodlands (north) is also still expanding and it's a lovely area.

As a Houston native, I feel obligated to let you know about some other unique Houston "issues" that tend to catch people unaware. Be sure to examine the Harris County Flood Control & evacuation maps http://www.hcoem.org/HCMap.aspx?P=Evacuation before deciding on where to live. I don't know if you want to live in a hurricane evacuation zone. Most people are kinda put off by the idea of seeing their house going 150 mph. Insurance rates in those areas are also pretty high. Also beware of the MUD (Metropolitan Utility District) phenomenon. These are independent utility companies that can charge highly variable rates in addition to a separate tax. Another biggie - the city of Houston does not have zoning... never have, never will. This means that if you're not careful, a mini-mart or 5-story apartment building can become your neighbor overnight. We rely instead on Homeowner Associations (HOA). HOA's can be pretty ruthless also - dictating when you have to cut your grass or what bushes you can plant and charging you high annual 'dues' ... so be sure to scrutinize their bylaws before making a commitment.

hmmm - sounds like we're not very user-friendly, doesn't it? Oh well, I still love it here!