Moving from Florida to Maine...have some general questions.

Nurses General Nursing

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Hi all! My husband, I and our 3 boys (12yo, 10yo, & 8yo) are planning to move from Florida to Maine in a year. We will be moving sometime during summer 2016. We currently live in a LARGE city and are completely over it! We are so tired of the rushed, keep up with the Jones' attitudes.......and the violence/crime is OUT-OF-CONTROL!

The top 3 locations on our list are Bangor, Portland, Augusta; in that order. We are looking forward to something completely different. We're excited about all the new experiences but are also grounded and realistic. I currently work nights in PCU/ICU. My husband is an office manager for a construction company. I'm wondering what the Maine nursing job market is like these days (availability of jobs, salary, benefits, working conditions, etc.). I'm also curious what the job market for non-healthcare is like for my husband. In terms of our children, how are schools there? We enjoy getting out together as a family; what are the activities like in the area(s)? We will be traveling to Maine for a week in March (I know......probably not the most picturesque time of year w/ the mud and melting snow) to look at different areas.

We are tying to do our research, but I figured getting some answers from natives would be invaluable. Any help/suggestions are really appreciated!

Hi Oceanpacific, RN! The cost of living is something we're trying to prepare ourselves for. I'm not so sure about the heating/cooling costs though. Our electric bill is about $550-$600 during the summer; our AC doesn't stop running. :cool: We plan to spend a couple of days each in Bangor, Portland, & Augusta to get an idea of each city. Thanks so much for your thoughts!

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In MN an average heating cost is about $1,000-$1,500/year.

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Hi Lola Lou, BSN! Thanks for the info on Bangor! I understand that it may not be some people's first choice when compared to Portland. We've never been to either, so I'm anxious to see them for ourselves. I understand that Portland has more to offer because it's a bigger city, but we're looking for more of a small town with available resources nearby.

My husband and I are trying to find a way to get up there for a quick trip this fall.

Is it difficult to get into EMMC? I'd like to transfer into an ICU or PCU, but would be ok w/ another Dept if that was all that's available initially. Also, if you don't mind me asking, what is the typical base pay/hr? Are differentials and benefits decent?

Thanks for the information! :)

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Specializes in Urgent Care, Oncology.

My advice: don't move to Florida. I hate it here and I'm a Florida native. It is too. damn. hot. I liked North Florida (Tallahassee specifically) better because you actually have a change of seasons but my husband is a Geologist and sinkhole investigations which keeps us in Central Florida. It sucks, Geology isn't like nursing - once you have a license you can't move state to state. It also just rained here for like 40 days straight and flooded the majority of the area. Also, sinkholes eat people alive. Sorry for the tangent, but Florida is awful. But on the bright side, there (in my experience) a variety of nursing jobs available!

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I guess we all think the Grass is always greener. Try not being able to use your boat for 5-7 months of the year and dealing with cold so bitter it burns your bare skin within minutes (less than 10 minutes).

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Specializes in Med-Surg, Precepting, Education.

I don't actually work at EMMC but I will ask a friend who does. It is not difficult to get a job at EMMC. They hire a lot of pool and per diem people. So if a FT position isn't available immediately I'm sure you could get your foot in the door that way, especially with experience. EMMC's nursing union recently negotiated a new contract for lower pt to RN ratios on nights so I'm expecting them to hire more RNs if they have not begun doing so already. St Joseph's is more difficult to get in to because rumor has it that they have high staff satisfaction with lower turnover. Keep in mind that I have just under 2 years experience and my base pay is $26 and I know that EMMC pays higher than my facility.

A few other nearby towns to consider are Orono, Old Town, and Veazie. They're just 5 minutes north of Bangor and close to the University of Maine at Orono. The campus is beautiful and they have great Division I hockey, basketball, and football games for a family to enjoy.

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Specializes in Med-Surg, Precepting, Education.

So my friend who works as day shift pool gets $25. Shift diff is $2. Unionized nurses start at $27.20. Not sure about benefits though. I hope that this helps. Let me know if I can help answer any other questions for you.

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Yep, got to love the weather in the northern states.

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Wade B,

I can't wait for some cooler weather! :cool:

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Lola Lou, BSN,

Thanks for the info! I've always worked nights and am hoping to keep it that way. I'm not familiar w/ "pool". Here we have "flex", which is basically prn and floats to just about any unit, as long as they have experience in that acuity/specialty. They do get a little higher base pay than staff RNs, but I don't think they get shift diff. Is this similar to pool? Also, I don't have any experience w/ nursing unions. I did read some about the negotiations at EMMC for better staff/pt ratios.

My understanding about St.Joseph's is that it's a little smaller than EMMC. Is that right?

I'll look into some of the surrounding towns you mentioned. :geek:

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Specializes in Med-Surg, Precepting, Education.

Yes, I would say that "pool" and "flex" are the same thing.

I have worked at two different facilities in Maine that had different unions. The first, was actually a teacher's union that for some reason the nurses as well as CNAs and ward clerks were members of. I felt that it really served no purpose other than to say that we were unionized. The second facility has the same nurse's union at EMMC and I have seen a huge difference in how the nurses are listened to by the higher ups. Our concerns are at least acknowledged and I feel respected. Our union reps are fantastic at what they do. Maybe that is what made the difference between my two experiences.

Yes, St Joseph's is smaller with 112 beds while EMMC has 350ish beds and always seems to be expanding.

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Yep, got to love the weather in the northern states.

That sounds like heaven to me right now.

Signed,

Elle from Hell, er...I mean Texas.

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