Info about California DESPERATELY Needed

beausud · Feb 17, 2006

hey, why dont you check out good samaritan hospital in san jose its about 30 minutes from palo alto. they may have er positions for you, i like this area... i am housed in los gatos, about 10 minute drive to the facility, los gatos is an affluent area, safe and clean.. close to the major highways... good luck.

91CRN · Feb 17, 2006

I'm waiting to start my first assignement as a travel nurse. I'm from a medium sized Ontario city and currently work in two different Level 1 trauma centres -an adult and a pediatric ER.
My recruiter has offered me a position at Oakland Children's Hospital. Not being familiar with California, I'm not sure it's the place for me, as it seems awfully busy and I have no idea if the area it's in is safe or not. Any suggestions from other people?
My friend is going to be working at Stanford in Palo Alto (no jobs for me in ER there) and I"d like to be near her. We were supposed to work in the same vacinity and share an apartment, but I'm not sure this is going to happen if I take the job in Oakland. Is it as dangerous as I've heard? My company has told me they'll find an apartment outside the city and that I can take the BART to get around, but I'm still pretty uncertain. Plus, where would we live that is close to the BART and still not too far from Stanford? This is beginning to become such a headache!
Personally, I'd rather work in a combo ER (adult and peds) in an area closer to Palo Alto, but she says right now there isn't a lot of demand for travellers in Emerg in that area. Should I hold out or see how the position goes?
Any suggestions greatly appreciated as my LOA from work starts in 2 weeks and I'd really like to have a job lined up by that time.

Hello,

I work in an ER in Marin County, CA. This area is considered the North Bay. Oakland is considered in the East Bay, Palo Alto is extreme South Bay. Oakland realistcally is about 1.5 to 2 hours to Palo Alto depending on traffic. BART IS NOT A GOOD OPTION FOR SHIFT WORKERS--you should keep that in mind. Oakland Childrens hospital is in a rough neighborhood. It is considered a very rewarding place to work though. I don't know how hospitals in CA stack up to others "busy wise", because I have only worked in CA. I think they are BUSY. Getting around in the Bay Area, if you don't live near where you are working-- seriously cuts into quality of life as far as I am concerned. If I were you, I'd wait for a position near your friend. It would be easier for you to live a little south of her than north or east. I hope your travel company is VERY generous with housing allowance because the hospitals around Palo Alto and the BAY AREA in general have a hard time because DECENT HOUSING IS SOOOOO EXPENSIVE that folks cannot reconcile their salaries with the cost of living. We have a hard time recruiting doctors in my area because of the cost of housing. Teachers, police and fire, lots of people-- fleeing the area because they are sick of just getting by. Seriously it's a real problem here, in the news almost on a daily basis. Good luck with your assignment. California is a beautiful place. THE NORTH BAY IS THE BEST:) THE MEDIAN HOME PRICE IN MY AREA IS APPROACHING 900K--FOOD FOR THOUGHT--

slapsilly · Feb 17, 2006

Why do you say the BART isn't good for shift workers? I'm just curious, as my company suggested it as a transport option. Also, what would the commute be like if I lived directly across teh bay in SF? My company finds the apartment adn pays for rent/utilities, so cost isn't exactly an issues. I just need to get out of Ontario soon, since my leave of absence starts awfully soon.

91CRN · Feb 17, 2006

Why do you say the BART isn't good for shift workers? I'm just curious, as my company suggested it as a transport option. Also, what would the commute be like if I lived directly across teh bay in SF? My company finds the apartment adn pays for rent/utilities, so cost isn't exactly an issues. I just need to get out of Ontario soon, since my leave of absence starts awfully soon.

BART IS NOT AN OPTION FOR SHIFT WORKERS BECAUSE IT ISN'T SAFE TO BE USING BART AFTER PEAK HOURS. THIS IS MY OPINION BASED ON THE NEWS AND THE PEOPLE I KNOW THAT USE BART; NOT A VERY SCIENTIFIC STUDY--BUT YOU WERE ASKING FOR ANY INFO.---WHEN I GIVE MY OPINION IT'S BASED ON A CONGLOMERATION OF KNOWING A LOT OF PEOPLE/THE AREA/THE VIBES I GET. THE ADVICE I GIVE/OR THE SHARING I DO IS BASED ON WHAT I WOULD DISCUSS WITH A FRIEND. SO NO HATE MAIL FROM THE HOOD OR BART PLEASE. IT WOULD BE A DIFFICULT COMMUTE TO PALO ALTO FROM SAN FRANCISCO. IN THE BAY AREA THE ONLY GOOD OPTION IS TO LIVE NEAR WHERE YOU WORK!! I STAND FIRMLY BEHIND THIS ADVICE. IF THE COMPANY IS PAYING--INSIST ON IT. YOU CAN CALL THE RECRUITERS/REALTORS, ANYONE IN THE AREA AND THEY WILL SHARE INFO REGARDING AREA AND WHAT SEEMS TO WORK FOR PEOPLE. ALSO, DOES YOUR COMPANY OFFER ANY PEER ADVISING REGARDING ASSIGNMENTS? IT SEEMS THAT WOULD BE A GOOD RESOURCE. KINDEST REGARDS

91CRN

HEY IT OCCURS TO ME THAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT OAKLAND INSTEAD OF PALO ALTO. I REREAD YOUR MESSAGE. PALO ALTO ISN'T ACROSS THE BRIDGE FROM SAN FRANCISCO, IT'S ON THE SAME PENINSULA. IF YOU ARE STILL CONSIDERING OAKLAND, IT'S MY OPINION THAT THE SF TO OAKLAND COMMUTE WOULD BE VERY DOABLE. SF IS AN AWESOME TOWN. SO IS OAKLAND FOR THAT MATTER. DEPENDING ON THE DISTRICT YOU LIVE IN THE COMMUTE COULD BE ANYWHERE FROM .5 TO 1.5 HRS-(WORST CASE SENARIO); REMEMBER IN THE BAY AREA WE ALL DEPEND ON THE BRIDGES, IF THERE IS AN ACCIDENT, MAINT., ANYTHING AT ALL REALLY OTHER THAN SMOOTH SAILING--IT SIGNIFICANTLY AFFECTS THINGS. I WAS THINKING YOU WANTED TO BE NEAR YOUR FRIEND AT STANFORD?

TRYING TO ASSESS THE SAFETY OF NEIGHBORHOODS IN OAKLAND AND SAN FRANCISCO CAN BE VERY TRICKY. IT LITERALLY VARIES FROM ST TO ST.; DO YOU HOMEWORK AND INTERVIEW A LOT OF PEOPLE/ VISIT THE AREA.

slapsilly · Feb 17, 2006

Wow, thanks for the help. I've heard great things about SF and not-so-great things about Oakland. And Ontario's version of a "rough" area probably varies greatly from Oakland's. Anyway, still not sure what's going to happen, but I'll probably wait until the end of next week b/f I consider the job in Oakland -it just might be out of my league.

kitten77 · Feb 19, 2006

I don't mean to offend anyone out there but that area of Oakland is very rough. Bart is great transportation (I commuted from the Rockridge area of Oakland to UCSF Med Center for 5 years), even on weekends but I would NOT recommend this alone, late at night. I have lots of experience with this. I did like living in the East Bay, more sunshine than SF.

cos69.98 · Mar 1, 2006

Wow, thanks for the help. I've heard great things about SF and not-so-great things about Oakland. And Ontario's version of a "rough" area probably varies greatly from Oakland's. Anyway, still not sure what's going to happen, but I'll probably wait until the end of next week b/f I consider the job in Oakland -it just might be out of my league.

I have a friend that was offered a job at Stanford's ER to start in a few months. Was wondering what the working conditions were like. Can you ask your friend ? Tks - Cos

CaGuy · Mar 1, 2006

I've never lived in the Bay Area. However, I do have lots of family there. Keep this in mind: The more populated an area, the more crime, WHEREVER you go. I've traveled BART late at night several times, and for quite a distance (Hayward to SF). I felt relativly safe. But then again, i'm 6' 2'' and 230. My uncle works security for BART. While I don't talk to him often (1-2 a year), I've never heard of it being all that bad. Just my 2 cents.