Live in NYC, Work Perm Staff Job in CA

Bluebolt · Jan 16, 2016

There is a nurse here at Stanford thats been staff for 20 years in the ED but actually lives in Reno, Nevada. Her family and kids live in Reno, she flies into town the night before her shift, works 6 (12 hour) shifts in a row and flies back after her last shift, sleeps on the plane home. She has 7 to 8 days off then comes back. She has tons of frequent flyer miles. Her nice $250,000 home in Reno would probably cost her 2 million here and the taxes living in Cali is out of control.

NedRN · Jan 17, 2016

There are a number of nurses who do commute from out of state, but I've never heard of one from so far away. You are talking about more than 6 hours each way including ground transport. Why not consider Boston instead? Roughly the same pay as San Francisco and the commute options a lot more palatable.

MrCAPR, LVN · Jan 17, 2016

Wow I want to that ![emoji5]ï¸ it's Stanford the hospital name?

PacoUSA, BSN, RN · Jan 18, 2016

There are a number of nurses who do commute from out of state, but I've never heard of one from so far away. You are talking about more than 6 hours each way including ground transport. Why not consider Boston instead? Roughly the same pay as San Francisco and the commute options a lot more palatable.

Sounds good to me!

Bluebolt · Jan 18, 2016

Yeah I agree that Boston would be a better option in proximity, nobody wants to fly 6 hours one way twice a week. Although, I hear that planes in NYC and Boston can get delayed and be troublesome sometimes in the worst of winter.

Yes, the hospital is called Stanford, as in the university.

NedRN · Jan 18, 2016

There are train options to Boston. Any weather issues in the NYC area will affect flying to California as well.

It can be hard landing a staff position in California without having traveled to a facility who then extends an offer.

PacoUSA, BSN, RN · Jan 20, 2016

There are train options to Boston. Any weather issues in the NYC area will affect flying to California as well.
It can be hard landing a staff position in California without having traveled to a facility who then extends an offer.

I was at Stanford this past fall, and was definitely offered to stay on as perm. I would have grabbed that opportunity if I didn't have family ties in the East ... [emoji22] ... I really enjoyed it there.

Redsox07 · Jan 24, 2016

I am currently visiting family in Boston. I have my RN in Calif and Mass but it seems financially, it makes more sense to work in California.

Seems to me California is the only state that pays overtime in one day after 8 hour. That enables a chronic dialysis RN to work 3 12's a week and make a decent paycheck. I, too, have been looking at living in a state like NV. Seems like a nice decent state. And if one were to become an NP there, you could open up your own office while you couldn't do that in California or Massachusetts.

I have worked a travel nursing job in San Jose summer of 2015 and was surprised - seems like there's a big need for RN's in Northern California. Might be a real good place to check out.

NedRN · Jan 24, 2016

Time and a half after 8 on a 12 hour shift is practically non-existent for staff in California. There is an alternative workweek agreement everyone agreed to if they wanted to preserve their 12 hour shifts. Some hospitals whose staff wouldn't agree to alternative workweeks just eliminated 12 hour shifts. If you are on an 8 hour shift, then yes, you will get overtime after 8. If you are on a 12 hour shift, it is all straight time.

The travel experience is somewhat more mixed, with some agencies paying time and a half after eight, and some not. Really though, it doesn't matter as the hourly pay is adjusted for either one so that the weekly gross is the same (based on the same bill rates).

For years, highest hourly pay in the country was routinely swapped between San Francisco and Boston every time a new union agreement was negotiated. Of course, there are many more hospitals in California offering exceptional pay than Boston.

California does have some other advantages in that the state mandates minimum staffing ratios and missed breaks and meals penalties by state law rather than hospital by hospital union agreements in other states with enforcement by union work actions rather than the state labor board. That is significant in my opinion.

However for a resident of NY who is not willing to move, commuting to California is just crazy. There are high paying jobs in the NE that will be better in time and money spent commuting to rather than the West Coast.

Michi66 · Jan 28, 2016

think of your carbon footprint! And being "bi-coastal" sounds so pretentious, I think.