Hello all! I'm currently in school for my ADN, and am considering moving up to Washington when I graduate in April '06. I just wanted to get some advice from nurses that have been out there. Hoping to gain from others experiences. I'm a 24 y/o single female without children and other than my family I have nothing holding me back. I'm just trying to figure out what I would like to do when I graduate. Now rather than later and panicking. I currently live at home while I'm in school and am considering two things. First, I could stay down here in San Diego after I graduate, make use of the contacts I've made so far, work for a year, then go into traveling. Second, I could move right after i graduate and enter a new-grad program up there, then if I still want to travel, go for it.
I really want to move and think starting fresh right when I graduate would be best, but I am interested in your opinions. Could it be too overwhelming? New job, new state, and everything else that goes along? I'm just scared that if i stay down here I will become attached to my colleagues, doctors, etc. and end up staying for them. I moved to San Diego right when I started as a medical asst. and loved it! I adjust well and know it was the right decision before. Any advice?
You are right...Portland is nice too. I am biased to Seattle because I live in Washington...but no sales tax in OR!
just thought i would put a word in for portland, OR. It is similar in weather, feel and culture to Seattle (about 2.5 hours south) and it's cheaper. Has some big city qualities but also plenty of suburbs, coffee houses, theaters, festivals, art districts etc... I love Seattle too, but its quite pricey.
just thought i would put a word in for portland, OR. It is similar in weather, feel and culture to Seattle (about 2.5 hours south) and it's cheaper. Has some big city qualities but also plenty of suburbs, coffee houses, theaters, festivals, art districts etc... I love Seattle too, but its quite pricey.
WA (Seattle area) weather is highly unpredictable and not liked by a lot of people....
I really have to disagree with this statement, our whether is 100% predictible, we have the warm wet season and the cold wet season....Because we don't have sunny warm weather every day, when we do get it, we really appreciate it and go out and enjoy it. If you love the outdoors...mountains, beaches, forests, hiking, camping....all of that is within 2 hours of Seattle, there is not a more beautiful place on this earth.
Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.
IT depends, do you LIKE rain and clouds 8-9 months out of the year? If so, come on up. It's not for some, but I find it ok myself. It's good for the skin---I have never seen elderly w/better skin than WA natives have. But the saying "we don't tan, we rust" is ooooh so true.
Yes we do rust. Natives are born with webbed feet, it usually takes those who move up here a couple months before the webbing starts.
IT depends, do you LIKE rain and clouds 8-9 months out of the year? If so, come on up. It's not for some, but I find it ok myself. It's good for the skin---I have never seen elderly w/better skin than WA natives have. But the saying "we don't tan, we rust" is ooooh so true.
Specializes in Clinical Research, Outpt Women's Health.
Wasup,
I am from that area, and really, once you have been there a while no one bothers to carry an umbrella or "bumbershoot" around. The rain is usually kind of a fine misty thing. You keep one in your car for the hard pours and wear a coat with a hood.
Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
well, if this makes any sense at all, i kinda feel like seattle is calling me. i just feel like it would be the right place for me. i really don't think i was meant to be a so. cal. girl even though i've lived here my entire life. i don't like the beach, at least not the ones down here. i love the rain! i would much prefer a rainy day than a temperate cloudless afternoon. i hate the heat, too! and i would like to be somewhere a bit more laid-back. everything/everyone down here is so image-oriented. does any of this make any sense to you? those are pretty much my reasons for wanting to move.
you sound like a perfect candidate for seattle! a lot of folks don't like the pearl gray skies and the drizzle, so live there for at least a year before you think about buying a house. but by all means, give it a try. the pacific northwest is so beautiful! the beach is totally different in march in the rain -- no one there, but it's somehow quite magical. very rare hot days . . . usually nice and cool. and it's definitely a laid back place to live. the people are mostly pretty nice -- when i first moved there, i was sure there was valium in the city water supply! i loved it there, and i miss it a lot sometimes . . . family obligations forced me to move east.
ruby (hating the d.c. traffic, the capital beltway and the east coast attitudes!)
OOOPS Didnt mean to be rude, but its getting crowded here.
Oh I solved California's water shortage.....
All the CA xplants in WA can stop and get a 5 gallon bucket from the columbia river.......on the way home!:rotfl: :rotfl: :chuckle :) :yeah: :bowingpur :lol_hitti
:) 
:yeah: :bowingpur :lol_hitti 
Sheri257
3,905 Posts
Number one reason to stay in Cali: The Ratio Law. They can't give you more than five patients.
Washington has no ratio law, so you could get lots more patients.
Of course, it's up to you. But I'd personally want a law that promotes better working conditions.
Weather, culture and all that other stuff doesn't matter much if you hate your job/working conditions.