I REALLY need some direction from Mi RN's!

TigerBlood01 · Jun 11, 2011

I highly recommend that you stay where you're at if you're making good money and have a job. PRN jobs are not very plentiful right now. Michigan has one of the worst economies in the country. Driving through Detroit is like going through a war torn country. Foreclosed, abandoned and vandalized buildings everywhere and people walking around with a haunted and lost look in their eyes downtown.

Like the other posters said, crime is increasing in many areas where it was considered safe to live a year ago. Drug abuse is rampant and the state is making budget cuts everywhere. Teachers, firemen, police officers, ect are getting laid off and becoming unemployed. The quality of education is getting worse with students getting less money this year. Nurses that are close to retirement or should be retired are hanging on to their jobs for dear life because their husbands got laid off, especially if they worked for the automobile industry. Hospitals are putting on hiring freezes like U-M. I plan to move soon as well. It is very depressing living here and it has become a struggle to survive even with a Master's degree in nursing and qualified as a Psych NP. Sorry to sound so negative, but it is better to know the real situation before investing time, energy, and money moving to a dying state.

Magen1021 · Jun 29, 2011

It is bad but it is not that bad. UofM just lifted their hiring freeze last week so I'm hoping that's a good sign of growth in the area

You may not make as much as you're making in Florida, but you'll find a job with decent to good pay. I'm a new grad and if I had your experience, I could snatch up every job opening I've applied for!! Experienced nurses are always a good thing so don't stress!

And regarding the theft, drugs, danger everyone is talking about...its not that bad! I'm in Novi, and it is just as great an area as it was 5 years ago. Oakland County is still doing ok and Northville is a really nice area.

westieluv · Jul 3, 2011

Wow, to read some of these posts, you can just tell that these are people who are tired of Michigan, have never lived anywhere else, think that the grass is greener anywhere else, and have an exaggerated negative opinion because of it.

We lived in the Phoenix area a couple of years ago for my husband's job, a place that many of these people probably think would be awesome to live in. All hospitals were on hiring freezes, crime was rampant, as in, I didn't feel safe no matter where I was, and the economy was really, REALLY bad. People with bachelor's degrees were literally standing in line to apply at In 'n' Out Burger and Krispy Kreme. It's true, the local paper, The Arizona Republic, did a story on it, as did all of the local news stations. Summers there were pure hell--115 degrees, no rain, no shade trees, and tons of car exhaust, since millions of people live in one valley, which holds pollution in like a bowl. People had stone for yards, since it was easier to maintain than grass, which had to be watered sometimes several times a day to keep it alive. We had a house with grass, and our water bill was $450 for three months!!! I won't even tell you what our electric bill was for running the A/C when it's 115+ degrees for days on end and there are no shade trees to cool your house down. Oh, and did I mention that there are scorpions in virtually every neighborhood? We had a few in our garage. YUCK!!!!

In light of that, I was so happy to come home to Michigan, I could have kissed the ground. The lush greenness of summer, the fresh, cool air of autumn, and the beautiful snowfalls in winter--guess there's no place like home. But...if you've never lived anywhere else and you feel like moving from Michigan will fix everything in your life, then yeah, you would probably look at everything through very jaded glasses, to say the least. Oh, and my husband found a great job with good benefits within a few months of moving home, and I had several offers after submitting applications to various facilities in Ann Arbor and other surrounding cities. I also have my Ohio license, so that was helpful, since we are pretty close to the state line.

Anyhoo...I live about 50 miles from Northville. There are plenty of RN jobs in SE Michigan, and good paying ones too. I recently got hired at a smallish hospital at $34/hr. as a contingent Med/Surg float. This hospital is not commuting distance from Northville (unless you would be willing to drive over an hour one way, longer in winter weather, if so, PM me), but if a small community hospital is hiring at those rates, then you know that the larger, suburban hospital systems in Metro Detroit are going to be too. Check out the websites for Henry Ford, Oakwood, and St. Joseph Ann Arbor. I know you will find something.

Welcome home!!!!:)

TigerBlood01 · Jul 3, 2011

I've lived in over half the states in the U.S. and have traveled extensively my entire life. I believe that SE Michigan has one of the worst economies in the U.S. I know many people with degrees that lost their jobs and can't sell their homes because they are "upside down". They just walked away from their mortage loans and homes. College graduates are leaving the state to find jobs including graduate nurses. Several nurses I work with want to retire but need to work because their husbands got laid off due to company downsizing or the company closed down.

I agree with people that the weather and scenery is nice in the spring, summer, and fall in Michigan. However, I am not focusing on the weather or scenery in Michigan when I give suggestions about researching the economy before someone moves here. Those things do not pay the bills.

Detroit has been and is still dying is because it was a one industry city focused on the Big 3 in the automobile industry for many years. The state of surrounding suburbs was and still is directly dependent upon the health of that industry. When the industry is prospering so is the host city like Detroit, and surrounding towns/suburbs. In Detroit’s case, it overly relied upon the automotive industry, the Big 3 economically. The difficulties of the Big 3 caused tens of thousands of job loss in Detroit and adjoining cities.

Even with the recovering domestic automotive industry, jobs in Detroit and the suburbs still remain bleak. The reason is the automotive industry that once located facilities and facilitated jobs in MI are moving to lesser unionized cities down south such as Tennessee and Alabama.

People in more affluent neighborhoods around Detroit sometimes lose sight of the daily struggle that the blue collar workers and lower income folks are going through to survive in lesser affluent neighborhoods. The majority of these folks are my patients and I see it everyday. Many do not have jobs and no health insurance. Even the hospital where my husband works is laying people off because this is the majority of their clientele and the hospital needs to cut costs to survive.

CorazonDeOro · Jul 4, 2011

I don't think Michigan is that bad for RNs, or even Grad Nurses, at least not the ones I went to school with (community college). We just graduated in May and a good chunk have found great jobs (some without even having an RN license yet). These include specialty areas as well as med/surg. Compared to some of the states I read about on here it seems that metro Detroit really isn't that bad.

westieluv · Jul 5, 2011

More good news for Michigan nurses!

http://www.myfoxdetroit.com/dpp/news/local/u-m-health-system-hiring-500-for-expansion-20110705-mr

Aren't we blessed to be living in a state with so many well-paying nursing jobs? Based on what I'm reading on these forums, this isn't the case in most states. Not only are there far fewer opportunities, but the pay is considerably lower as well.

I'm guessing that the OP has found a great job by now and is enjoying her homecoming with her parents. :)

jessi1106, BSN, RN · Jul 12, 2011

Northville is a very safe place and great community. Yes, Michigan's economy in general has taken a downturn (along with the rest of the country). But there are certainly jobs and it is a truly beautiful State!

A previous poster mentioned Providence Park is a new hospital (in Novi, not far from Northville)--and I think that they are hiring with good wages.

University of Michigan has great benefits. There was a hiring freeze, but some units DO post to the general public at this time.

Best of luck to you and I hope you have a smooth transition! Let us know what you find!

MuddaMia · Jul 19, 2011

:flwrhrts:UPDATE: I packed up the car, the kids, and the dog and we left for Michigan june 23rd. While on the road between Michigan and Florida I was called by St Johns and St Mary's/ I set up interviews at both and was offerred both jobs. I also interviewed with Henry Ford the following week and was offered that job also! I ended up accepting the job at St Mary's because of the hours and location. I really wanted to work in Novi at Providence...but the offer was for nights and that doesnt work for me. The Henry Ford job was for urgent care 5 - 10 pm...weird hours but job sounded interesting. I have already gone through orientation and started with my preceptor at St Marys.....not bad for landing here 3 weeks ago with no job! We love Northville and the girls have already made friends. Thanks EVERYONE for their input and advice.:heartbeat

TigerBlood01 · Jul 19, 2011

Muddamia (I like your name by the way :)

Congratulations on your move and new position!!!!! :)

I wish you the best. You sound like an adventurous person and I respect that.

Since my last posting, I have been offered a couple positions. I guess the economy is improving around here. That's a good sign.

However, there must be something in the air because I'm packing up and heading out west. Cali is calling. I guess I''ll always be a gypsy at heart :)

westieluv · Jul 19, 2011

Awesome, I :heartbeat happy endings!

It doesn't surprise me that you were offered several jobs. As I said in an earlier post, there are good RN jobs right here in SE Michigan, and I'm so glad that that proved to be the case for you. Northville is a beautiful town, I hope that you and your kids will be very, very happy there.

fairydogmother · Aug 14, 2011

I've been hearing from more and more people that while nursing and other medical fields aren't necessarily recession-proof, but these fields have continued to grow in Michigan. Fingers crossed that it keeps getting better!

fleetfoxRN · Aug 16, 2011

Glad to hear about the good news with the sweet job find. I live across the river and hope to commute to Michigan for work. There's way more nurses in the states getting jobs than a lot of nurses I know in Canada (as far as full time). Mostly because how our hospitals are funded and pay RN's. As far as the crimes going on in Michigan, that's everywhere. That's here where I live, that's out in the county, that's in big cities - I mean look at London, England. It's bad everywhere because we're in a recession (yeah yeah.. the government says we're out of it, whatever, we aren't). Jobs are hard to come by. My brother lives in the UK and he can't even sell is house because it's not even close to what it's worth when he bought it and the bank won't let him sell it. It's not just bad in Michigan - it's everywhere.