new grad looking to move to Tucson?

Nurses General Nursing

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Hello all,

I will be taking my NCLEX exam soon in KY, or OH (I live near Cincinnati), but am thinking of moving to Tucson in Summer/Fall '08. As a new grad, can I do this? What is involved in getting my license in AZ? Any help is appreciated.

Nursing is a second career for me, I'm in my 40's and my mother-in-law lives in Tucson with my only brother-in-law. Both are in poor health but refuse to move. I'm tired of worrying about them (and the cold winters in KY) so-o-o I'm thinking it would be good for me to make a move. We've lived in Tucson for a couple of years many years ago and loved it. Any help you can give is appreciated.

tc

Good point. Oh boy! I'm really not sure on a specialty or location!! (How do you know what you want to do when you've never done it?) From what I've read on other threads, I figured I really needed to have 6 mths to 1 year of Med-Surg before I jump into a specialty. (I know this topic is hotly debated.) Anyway, I'm leaning towards Operating Room or Mental Health! What a difference! As far as location.....Geez. There's just my husband and myself. We want to downsize so I'm thinking a house or a townhome with a courtyard under $150,000. We're ok with fixer-uppers. (I know the real estate market is crazy. I've been on the web and have seen what's out there.) I prefer the north side of Tucson. My mother-in-law lives on the NW side, but I find the NE side prettier. I hear the south side of Tucson is dangerous and the air force base is loud with planes? Central, downtown Tucson is also attractive. Again, I'm just looking for a small old house with some character that can be fixed up. However, if I'm going out there to get tabs on my relatives, the closer I am to my mother-in-law the better. I found that I can get from the west side of town to the east in about 30 minutes. Not too bad.

So you see, ANY advice is appreciated. Thanks again. Keep it coming.

tc

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Specializes in Cardiac.

Well, you will hear the air force base anywhere in town...

I think all hospitals are good for OR.

Med-surg- I'd pick UMC

Mental Health-St Mary's.

Housing is very soft right now! You can easily find a home for 150K. In fact, right now, you can even get new construction for that price. Now is the time to buy.

Of course, lots of cute, charming houses in Central Tucson.

I would just stay away from TMC.

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Specializes in Med/Surg and Wound Care, PACU.

i have to agree, do not go to tmc

also i did not and do not speak spanish, usually you will have at least 1 other person on your unit that speaks it

personally i would move to the university area, it is very cute there

nici;)

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Specializes in PeriOp, ICU, PICU, NICU.

My good friend and I both moved to Arizona from the east coast days after pinning. We have never looked back and have found AZ to be very welcoming. We both applied to the AZ BON for licensure and tested here. She lives in Tucson, I don't but both are very happy with the move.

Best wishes to you!

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Thanks for the advice. It is REALLY useful!

It's good to hear I'll be able to find a place without paying a fortune. Also, I found out KY is indeed a compact state with AZ, so I could sit for the NCLEX in KY and work in AZ. They did say that if I decided to live in AZ as my primary residence that I would have to apply for a license from them, pay a fee, and drop my license in KY. KY requires 120 hours of paid work experience after graduation (besides role transition in school) before you can sit for the NCLEX.

It's good to hear there isn't any problem with taking the NCLEX in AZ. I would hate to take a job in KY just to get the hours in to pass the NCLEX, then turn around and leave. So-o-o-o-o, now I just have to figure out how to get everything done. What comes first.

Jesse, did you two have jobs lined up already when you came to AZ?

tc

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