Moving to NorCal!

How much experience do you have? The market is tough in NorCal, but Redding might have better prospects for you than somewhere like Sac, just based on what I've seen posted and the response I've seen. Sac is a VERY competitive market.

I would highly suggest a visit to see what you think of the area, as Redding and Sac are very different from one another. Where are you coming from? Both cities are hot in the summer and cool and rainy in the winter. Sac is of course a bigger city, more metro. Very flat, but Tahoe is about 2 hours away if you want snow and mountains, and the coast is about 2 hours away in the other direction. The coast is about 3 hours on a windy road from Redding. The ocean is cold (mid-50s) along the whole North Coast.

Nurse patient ratios here are highly regulated, and salaries are generally based on union-negotiated scales, so no room for negotiation from you.

I can't speak to your other questions, but I hope this helps some. Good luck!

Pretty much what RunBaby said. It's a very tough job market. I like Folsom...it's pricey, but its really a cute area with lake and river access. There's four systems:

UC Davis- lowest paying, best benefits and it's only one hospital

Sutter - they're all over, pay better, going through a lot of changes

Mercy - pay good, but most of the hospitals look pretty ran down and Dignity Health enjoys eating people's soul

Kaiser - the hardest to get into, the best paying, benefits are decent

Nurses are well paid and ratios are good because of the union. You can expect to make in the 50s/hr but this is all based on experience.

UC Davis is not the only hospital. There are plenty of other UC medical centers spread throughout the state. Your years of service, etc transfer from each hospital to the next, just like any other hospital system.

There is also St. Joseph/Covenant, Adventist, and more, not to mention the local hospitals.

UC Davis is not the only hospital. There are plenty of other UC medical centers spread throughout the state. Your years of service, etc transfer from each hospital to the next, just like any other hospital system.

True its not the only hospital in the system. However OP was asking about the hospitals in the Sacramento area.

None if the other UC hospitals are within driving distance. There are multiple Mercy, Sutter and kaiser hospitals in the region within driving distance.

Hopefully all our posts have assisted with their question.

I live in Sacramento and know nurses that work for the various hospital systems in the area. I can't really add much but just echo everyone else's sentiments. The job market here is extremely competitive. The Folsom area is probably the most expensive city in Sacramento county, but it's easily one of the nicest (the newer developments over there are beautiful).

Redding is nice but its very different and personally it's not somewhere I could live. It's just very separated from everything else. At least here in Sac you're not only in a large area but you're still close enough to the Bay Area and Tahoe as others have mentioned.

Good luck!