Moving to Houston from Chicago

[so_good124]

I plan on moving from Chicago to Houston once I finish my ASN degree and have at least 1-2 years experience.

After getting my Illinois license (non compact) I plan on getting my Texas license asap so I can apply to Texas jobs and have a better chance of getting since Ill have some experience ( moving $ saved too)/ already have a Texas license .

1. Has anyone successfully landed a Texas job without living there. If so tell me more (how was the interview process handled, city, your specialty ,experience in years)

2. I will only have a Associates in nursing

- sidebar cant afford to get BSN currently. I have a useless bachelors (got me no good job) and 46k debt from that . My ASN is currently free (thank God) ...want higher education after I get a real paycheck/tuition reimbursement ....been looking at rn to msn programs down in Texas (will end the program with a bsn/be a family nurse practitioner) so that's what I want to do eventually .

- I lived in Texas before and I love the food, houses (you get way more for money compared to Chicago) , better education (single mom of 1 ) ,friendlier people.

[HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD]

Sounds like you have a well thought-out plan in place. The only snag will be your lack of a BSN. All hospitals in The Medical Center (TMC) are pretty much closed to non-BSN nurses unless you are a 'unicorn'...... have very rare & hard-to-find qualifications.

Based on your plan, you will be moving here in ~ 3 years or so, right? You will also have to get your Tx RN license which will take some time. By that time, things may change but right now it looks like the "BSN preferred" status will be extended well beyond TMC into community & suburban facilities because there are so many schools pumping out BSN grads in the area.

I advise you to wait until you have those 2 years of experience to start looking in the Houston area. Recruiters have an abundance of applicants for every job so they don't have any incentive to deal with non-local applicants. So, it may be a good idea to set yourself up as a 'virtual' resident ahead of time - LOL. If you are planning to make a visit down here, arrange to get a cell phone with a local number on it while you are here. Use the (local) address of a friend or family member along with your new phone number & email as contact information on your resume. That may help ensure that your resume stays in the 'keep' pile rather than being discarded.

Best of luck to you!