Moving to Cali

MidLifeRN2012 · Jan 4, 2015

^^SMH....and I am a believer in Jesus and that God can provide miraculously. But that doesn't mean we jump into things foolishly

I would never move anywhere out of state without a job start date and an apartment lined up. Call me crazy or faithless but that's why God gave us brains and discernment .

RunBabyRN · Jan 5, 2015

Valley Fever is a fungal infection and has nothing to do with air quality.

I am aware of this, but it is rampant in Bakersfield and the Central Valley. It is in the air there. Coccidioidomycosis

OP, try not to think of these responses as negativity, but rather, discouraging you from making a decision that you may very well live to regret. Nurses are a tough love kind of group, as I'm sure you know, so please recognize it for what it is. :)

babeinboots, MSN, NP, CNM · Jan 5, 2015

Hi Grace4life,

I have to agree with the previous posters, LA is not all its made out to be on the t.v. and magazines; I personally cannot wait till I graduate next year and am able to move. With that being said, there's nothing wrong with you wanting to move out here, you just have to be smart about it.

I understand when you are excited and motivated about something, it can be hard to slow down and follow God's time and plan as oppose to our own, but when the time is right, everything will fall into place. You just have to be willing to put in the time, dedication and patience to make it work.

As for job opportunities, they are hard to come by, but they are out there! Try sites such as simplyhired.com and indeed.com. I know that several school districts are hiring for their special needs program, including Torrance, Alhambra, Long Beach, and Compton. Some are for CNA positions, but I know several LVNs who have been hired for the position and the pay isn't too bad (starts off about $17 and change an hour). Also, I know Kaiser Permanente (idk if they have any in Michigan, but they're pretty big out here) still hires LVNs for their clinics, as well as Children's hospital and the county hospitals.

It won't be easy and it won't happen over night but if you put in the time and do your homework, you may get lucky. Good luck and God bless!

ShondaJ · Jan 5, 2015

Try the registries too. You may be able to get hours. I hear they pay good but you may not get full time hours like you want to live on. But check Craigslist.org. In the healthcare section on jobs and there are some registries looking for RN, LVN and CNA. Careerbuilder.com and usajobs.gov as well. VA I believe hire some LVNs.

guest769224 · Jan 5, 2015

When I get my BSN I plan to move back to Northern Cal because in Southern Cal there are alot of nursing programs graduating nurses and not enough jobs to handle it.

Please understand you will run into the same problem in Northern California. The issue is state wide.

ShondaJ · Jan 6, 2015

Yea ICU I know people have the same issue there. That's California Period.

I have an advantage there because I Know way more people in the medical field in Northern California (that where I am originally from and worked in the medical field for over 10 years) than out here in So Cal where I know less than a hand full.

I will land my job there way quicker than here. Plus I work for the Federal Government. Transferring into a nursing position won't be hard for me. That's one reason why I am not quitting my job. Transfer ability, career stability, great income and benefits and I am back to doing what I love. Help heal people.

I won't have any issues.

Grace4life · Jan 6, 2015

Thanks for the words of encouragement.

RN-BSN2015 · Jan 6, 2015

What is wrong with you people? Making all these assumptions about the OP, she never said she was going to run out to LA with no job or money, she was only asking advice about the job market and you all act like you need to swoop in and save her. Tell her the market is terrible and why, then move on. No need to lecture her like a child for wanting to move to LA. How annoying. Sheesh

ShondaJ · Jan 6, 2015

What is wrong with you people? Making all these assumptions about the OP, she never said she was going to run out to LA with no job or money, she was only asking advice about the job market and you all act like you need to swoop in and save her. Tell her the market is terrible and why, then move on. No need to lecture her like a child for wanting to move to LA. How annoying. Sheesh

I believe she already made that clarification herself. No need for the lashing out at people. many were just trying to help out. No one was lecturing her nor treating her like a child. She is a grown woman and I am sure she can handle herself.

Sorry you felt offended.

Offer some guidance if you know of any to help with some information.

zzbxdo · Jan 7, 2015

What is wrong with you people? Making all these assumptions about the OP, she never said she was going to run out to LA with no job or money, she was only asking advice about the job market and you all act like you need to swoop in and save her. Tell her the market is terrible and why, then move on. No need to lecture her like a child for wanting to move to LA. How annoying. Sheesh

Uh. The majority of the points were pretty mature and to the point.

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Jan 8, 2015

What is wrong with you people? Making all these assumptions about the OP, she never said she was going to run out to LA with no job or money, she was only asking advice about the job market and you all act like you need to swoop in and save her. Tell her the market is terrible and why, then move on. No need to lecture her like a child for wanting to move to LA. How annoying. Sheesh

No one has lectured the OP in a childish manner, IMHO. Rather, the vast majority of respondents have presented a realistic picture of what one might expect as an LVN in the LA area employment market, although some would rather cling to happier dreams instead of unpleasant realities.

Nothing is wrong with 'us people.' Rather than complain about other peoples' replies, you can be a part of the solution by furnishing information that you deem helpful. Good luck to everyone! :)

**NickiLaughs, ADN, BSN, RN** · Jan 9, 2015

I was an LVN in southern california and also an RN. I'll add my insight. I am only covering the OC and IE areas as I never worked or lived in LA.

IE:

As an LVN, I made 17.50 to low 20s in 2005 to 2006. I had a good government job.

Cost of living is better than OC/LA. I worked mostly riverside/san bernardino and lived in beaumont, about a 30 to 35 minute commute. However during high traffic times could be much worse. Rent was around 1000/mo i think for a 1 bedroom. My friend had a 3 bedroom for 1300.

There is much less to do than in LA, it's getting better, but so hot in the summer it's hard to want to go outside unless there's a swimming poo. You have to drive for things to do.

Some neighborhoods are much safer than others, as is with everywhere. Definitely drive in the area you are looking at at night, to get a feel for what it is like. In the IE, there is a rampant meth problem, but I've noticed meth heads every where at this point so it's best just to pick nice stable neighborhoods.

Regarding jobs, I had an easier time getting a job in IE than I did in OC. I imagine in LA because it's more urban and a much higher population, there are more job opportunites.

Regarding LVN to RN programs, I had all my prereqs done, most A's, a couple Bs, and had the highest GPA at 3.94 in my LVN program as well as strong letters of recommendation. I applied for years at community colleges from OC, LA and IE, never got in any of them. I was told as an LVN you have to hope someone drops out of the program and you're a third string. A first string is someone who completed that schools LVN program and is continuing on and a second string is someone who is repeating their third semester. The wait lists were insane, and I ended up relocating to private program in the bay area (fastest and cheapest I could find) when my situation changed and I needed to make more money and then returning back to southern california after.

As an RN, I was very lucky, most new graduate RNs weren't even finding jobs, I applied to every job every where and was one of a lucky few who got in the last new grad program at place. However, it depends on your goals, I wanted a hospital job and those are hard to come by as a new RN. I had a couple clinic job offers, and those may have worked if that was your goal, but they also pay less.

IE pays new grad nurses around 30/hr base.

OC:

The pay is actually a little lower than what I made in IE, per everyone, "because it's more desirable." My rent was much higher too. Honestly, looking back, as the sole income, I just couldn't afford it. I did however have ludicrous student loan payments. Even had I not had them, we would have been barely scraping by.

As an RN I made 32$/hr and then 6/hr for night shift. Considering rent/utilities took up almost one entire check, it was rough. The plus side is our electricity bill was nothing because we never had to run AC, two miles from the beach you don't need an AC.

I recommend on top of having a job lined up/money saved:

No car payment, it should be paid off. If we'd had a car payment we just wouldn't have been able to get by.

Get used to grocery clipping, I had to.

You figure you MIGHT take home 3k a month if you get a good LVN job paying 25$/hr. State taxes are almost as much as federal taxes here. Additionally more or less could be deducted depending on your insurance coverage, etc and such. So if you bring home:

3000

-1500 minimum for rent

= 1500 left over. Can you get by on 1500? Between Utilities/food/cable/phone bill/gas and kid expenses.

My husband and I only were able to make southern california work when we were a 2 income household, once we no longer were, then I absolutely had to relocate. I hope this helps prepare you for the future whatever you decide. Good luck to you.