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Hi! Welcome! Good luck in pursuing your dreams.

I'm a nurse in Florida and I can say your impression of the wages is not true. It's a very livable wage. Most nurses in Florida don't struggle to barely survive. Alothough in NY the wages are much higher from what I've seen. :)

Hi

Well, I'm not familiar with either state, but in Chicago, we make excellent wages--at least where I work & in the surrounding hospitals. We live well.

Remember, Chicago is also a big city--you might like us, as well. Plus, we also have a nsg. shortage.

Hope everything goes well for you!

We need night nurses, too!!

If you stay with a bigger hospital you will do very well. Depending where you are you can expect to make around $40K a year. I make about $70K but I am in Miami. Most the nurses I know do about the same.

I am from the NY area. You will make about $70K. starting or more but you will have some extras; NY State Tax, NY City Tax, snow, dark cloudy rainy days, very crowded. I still enjoy visiting once a year but Florida is so much nicer.

Where I live, we make probably some of the lowest wages in the US. But, I will start at 31,000 a year working 36 hrs/wk. I personally will work more. I wouldn't feel like a professional or a man if I didn't work 48 hrs/wk. So, soon after I start, I figure I will make about, 42,000 a year. For me, that's the best money I've ever made. And to think I get that for doing what I love to do. I get that and I get to build the Kingdom of God at the same time. I get that, and I get to build the Kingdom of God and hold one of the most highly respected professional positions in the world.

It's like some kind of Divine joke, or gift, or something. But Jesus said, seek first the Kingdom of God and all these things will be added to you (Food, clothes, shelter, etc.). I guess he was right.

The Monist

Welcome! The cost of living is going to be higher in the city, too...don't forget to take that into consideration!

I was considering Chicago, but is the lifestyle similar to New York? Do you need a car ? How are the people ? Where can I read up on Chicago?

Chicago's great. It's much the same as New York, and it lacks some of the big hassles of the Big Apple. You can actually find a halfway decent apartment in Chitown for one thing. The winters are a bit harsher, but if you're coming from Florida, anything north of Baltimore is going to feel harsh. You'll get over it.

Now, here's a side question: I hear that, because the AMA is based there, NPs in Illinois are fairly restricted in terms of their autonomy. Is this true? I'm considering Loyola for school, by the way.