Moving to Charleston South Carolina

live4rachael · Jul 28, 2006

malman- That's great you're at MUSC's CCU! I start volunteering at MUSC's Children's Hospital in September after orientation... just had my tour on Wednesday - I'll be in the pediatric cardiac ICU. My goal is to apply to MUSC's accel. BSN program next year for Fall 2008 and graduate in Dec 2009 - with the idea of working at MUSC to boot. Thanks for the comments you made about MUSC, you have even furthered my dream to work there.

I agree with pretty much everything you said about Charleston. It's a great city to be in and there's so much to do. School districts - definitely Dorchester or Mt Pleasant. Hubby is a teacher and is in complete agreement with you there. I tell our new folks on base (I work at the AFB right now) that it really comes down to how much you want to pay, Charleston has it all. :)

malman2100 · Aug 4, 2006

Live4rachel~~~thats great!! I wish you the best of luck and maybe ill see you around MUSC (if you work nights!)

Take care!

KiKiLVN · Sep 21, 2006

hey to nikki and everyone else. I just grad from LPN school in august and I am moving with my fiance' to Charleston, SC. he is flying cargo planes there with the airforce. anyways, I was wondering if yall could offer me any help into what schools are good (for LPN-BSN) and where I could start looking for a hospital job. is it hard to dot that kind of thing with just my LPN? I will be able to work full time until Jan, bc I will have to start taking pre reqs for my RN about that time. I have read all of your posts and I think yall are great and very helpful... so keep up the good work, and send some info my way! Thanks in advance, Kristy LPN (ps. my experience is well, I was a student for 2 years and I did home health after grad until now, so thats about 1 month of work. yikes!)

live4rachael · Sep 21, 2006

hey to nikki and everyone else. I just grad from LPN school in august and I am moving with my fiance' to Charleston, SC. he is flying cargo planes there with the airforce. anyways, I was wondering if yall could offer me any help into what schools are good (for LPN-BSN) and where I could start looking for a hospital job. is it hard to dot that kind of thing with just my LPN? I will be able to work full time until Jan, bc I will have to start taking pre reqs for my RN about that time. I have read all of your posts and I think yall are great and very helpful... so keep up the good work, and send some info my way! Thanks in advance, Kristy LPN (ps. my experience is well, I was a student for 2 years and I did home health after grad until now, so thats about 1 month of work. yikes!)

Welcome to Charleston! I'm currently assigned to Charleston AFB myself and am currently working on pre-reqs so that I can separate from the AF and get into an Accelerated BSN program at MUSC (using my previous degree too). Local schools include MUSC (Medical University of South Carolina), Charleston Southern University, and Trident Technical College (offers up to an ADN). I can't help you on the job search front as I have no idea, but I can help you with local-area type questions at least!

softstorms · Oct 7, 2006

I have just read most of this thread and can tell you that as a transplant from Ohio to S.C. in 1996, every thing you have read is true. You may give up "great pay" for being able to get to the beach in less than 15-20 minutes. You can have fresh seafood for less than you pay for chuck steak inland. You will trade ice and snow for daily rain at 3pm LOL. You will realize that a hurricane is a very bad thing. (that is why most of us live inland a bitLOL) Like every place else, you trade one thing for another. Would I recommed it? OH YEAH. Charleston.net is the local paper here, you can look at the classified and get info on jobs. Good Luck

karenmlucas · Oct 16, 2006

Hi Cookie! Where in VA are you? I am from Radford/UVa. I am a nurse educator in home health here in Charleston. If you are interested in a nursing job...let me know. We are always looking for experience. Thanks, Karen

cookielady,rn · Nov 20, 2006

Could anyone tell us the average starting salary? It's at least a gauge. Looks like apartments are around $750/1 bdrm, so if the pay is under $20 I don't know how anyone makes it on their own.

gitterbug · Nov 21, 2006

Nikki,

Good luck on your move to S.C. Like so many of our young people, I hope you take fond memories of WV with you and come back to visit from time to time. My daughter lives in NC, she has adjusted well, and does not plan on moving back. There are lots of opportunities for work and fun, so let us hear what you finally end up doing down there.

malman2100 · Nov 29, 2006

I dont think the avg. RN salary in Charleston is 30k/year. That cant be right. I make 55-60k perdiem and my wife makes just over 50 with full benefits at MUSC.

Jbeachgrl · Dec 29, 2006

I am also from WV and graduate in May :) I grew up down south though and am looking to move back. Right now I am torn between Wilmington, NC and Charleston, SC. Both towns are beautiful coastal communities, and have hospitals that appear to be very accomadating to new graduates. I found a website Sperling's Best Places that details the cost of living, population statistics, health issues etc of many US cities so this might help you get a better idea about the cost of living. Do you know what the starting salary is for New Grads at MUSC? Thanks :)

malman2100 · Dec 30, 2006

There arent any new grads in my unit beachgirl but I will see if I can find out for you. Also, if you call and talk to MUSC's nurse recruiter you will find her VERY helpful. She is awesome.

Jbeachgrl · Dec 30, 2006

Thanks Malman... I read on the MUSC website under benefits that they provide relocation assistance as well. Do any of y'all know if that also applies to new grads? Sorry so many questions!! I am starting to feel the pressure to start making some decisions as graduation nears!!