Nurses who have relocated.What would you do? Your opinions please.

anotherone, BSN, RN · Nov 26, 2011

i relocated. and i would keep in mind that the facility will not care if they let you go to cut costs. i wouldn't worry too much about this now as you have no idea if you will even get hired at your current place, find a job in nyc, or either. just apply to positions you actually want and worry about it when it comes? also if you leave them while on your icu orientation or shortly after, because you applied to and got a job elsewhere, they might feel very burned and resentful. it all depeneds. some managers/companies might understand others you can cross them off as references and consider them a burned bridge.

xtxrn, ASN, RN · Nov 26, 2011

I moved 1200 miles away from home 6 months after nursing school (when we took boards the same 2 days (1000 questions) , and waited 2-3 months for results). When I left, I LEFT.

It takes time to put down roots in a new place. Now, I'm stuck back here in my hometown d/t health issues of my own- but my heart is still back where I had moved to as a 22 year old.

If you have a job you like, adjust your family time. If you don't like the job, that's something else. Your family will always be your family; a decent job with possibilities to grow aren't all that common. jmo :) When I got together with family when I was living in the "good" place, it was great. I came back d/t some health problems w/my mom (who died 3 months later after getting sick during the winter south). So, I came back for nothing.

What do YOU need.....a decent job, or family down the block. 3.5 hours is doable. :up:

madwife2002, BSN, RN · Nov 26, 2011

I moved initially from England to Arizona spent 4 years there

Then

I moved from Arizona to Ohio and have spent 2 years here

Total of over 7000 miles

Worst move of my life was to Arizona but I love it here in Ohio!

I would move again for work if I needed to but I am hoping this is where I will stay until I retire

madwife2002, BSN, RN · Nov 26, 2011

I moved 1200 miles away from home 6 months after nursing school (when we took boards the same 2 days (1000 questions) , and waited 2-3 months for results). When I left, I LEFT.
It takes time to put down roots in a new place. Now, I'm stuck back here in my hometown d/t health issues of my own- but my heart is still back where I had moved to as a 22 year old.
If you have a job you like, adjust your family time. If you don't like the job, that's something else. Your family will always be your family; a decent job with possibilities to grow aren't all that common. jmo :) When I got together with family when I was living in the "good" place, it was great. I came back d/t some health problems w/my mom (who died 3 months later after getting sick during the winter south). So, I came back for nothing.
What do YOU need.....a decent job, or family down the block. 3.5 hours is doable.

Family down the block is very desirable and should not be taken lightly by who ever is moving area's, sometimes it can be a case of not knowing what you have until you no longer have it.

Sometimes it is great to be free!

Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN · Nov 26, 2011

It's a benefit versus sacrifice. I moved and it wasn't easy being away from family. It still isn't easy....that was the sacrfice. The benefit? My husband and my beautiful children. Discuss this with yoru family see what they say. The market is very bad right now. You have a job giving you what you need (experience) to get where you want to go (back home) and a lifetime to get there.....get the experience.

Good Luck

xtxrn, ASN, RN · Nov 26, 2011

family down the block is very desirable and should not be taken lightly by who ever is moving area's, sometimes it can be a case of not knowing what you have until you no longer have it.
sometimes it is great to be free!

this was the biggest perk for me :) plus, i loved texas...hellinois still stinks - imo.

caliotter3 · Nov 26, 2011

i relocated. and i would keep in mind that the facility will not care if they let you go to cut costs. i wouldn't worry too much about this now as you have no idea if you will even get hired at your current place, find a job in nyc, or either. just apply to positions you actually want and worry about it when it comes? also if you leave them while on your icu orientation or shortly after, because you applied to and got a job elsewhere, they might feel very burned and resentful. it all depeneds. some managers/companies might understand others you can cross them off as references and consider them a burned bridge.

I am in total agreement with this post. Do what is best for you. One way to look at it, would be to take the first offer, then move on from there.

Ruby Vee, BSN · Nov 26, 2011

currently 8 months and counting on a medical floor. i relocated to the area alone(3.5 hours drive) after not being able to find a hospital job locally in nyc.
my goals:
1> find a job closer to home by summer 2012.i would have a little over a year's experience under my belt by then.currently, i see my family only q2weeks:-(.
2>land a specialty position ( icu, l&d or the or).
re: goal #2, i feel my chances to transfer internally up here at my current hospital are higher than applying elsewhere w/ no specialty experience. securing a specialty position up here would also mean extending my stay up here(which i don't want to). my fiance(who is not a nurse) thinks it is ok for me to transfer internallly to the specialty position but continue applying for jobs in nyc and then leave when i get one. i think otherwise.i feel bad taking into account that orientation in icu could last 3-6 months and no preceptor would like that i left apruptly mid training or end of training.
so, i'm thinking of sticking to only goal #1 for now, i.e forgo the idea of transferring into a specialty but stay w/ my current position, apply for job in nyc and leave when i get an offer. my goal to return home is summer 2012.
what do you feel?

when you said you only got to see your family every two weeks, i felt sorry for you -- that's a long time to go without seeing your kids. but then you mentioned fiancee. which makes me think you only see your parents every two weeks. what i feel is that you're an adult now, you have a job. seeing your parents every two weeks is actually a lot unless they're old and infirm and you're having to take care of them. which doesn't seem to be the case. what i feel is like telling you to grow up. you're on your own now, aren't you? your fiancee is your first priority. if you want to move to nyc because that's where his job is, i get that.

it is not right to transfer into a specialty, get 3 to 6 months of orientation and then abruptly leave because you got an offer in nyc. you already know this. explain it to your fiancee and then do the right thing.

if you're planning a life with this man, you ought to be planning ahead to see what his job prospects are are where those jobs might be located, and then planning your move based on that.

ICU_RN2 · Nov 26, 2011

I thought I'd comment because I was in pretty much an identical situation

I was on a med-surg floor for about 8 or 9 months when I decided I really wanted to apply for an open ICU position (there were 6 jobs posted, and I knew I would get one). I also was aware that my husbands job could leave us relocating in the next year (But there was also the chance it wouldn't, and we'd be in he same place for two or three years - odds were about 50/50).

I applied and took the ICU position. I oriented for about two months, before the hubs applied for a new job about three hours away (his job doesn't offer opportunities to advance every day...he gets the opportunity to apply for a new job/promotion about every two or three years). He got the job and a few weeks later we began our house search.

I was set to commute back and fourth from our new home, staying in an apartment in the old city for my three day stretches. I wanted to stay at least 6 months, or at least until the weather got too bad to continue making the drive. I did feel like I should tell my managers, so that I could be let off of orientation a little early and be productive (they had wanted me to do a 4 week open heart orientation as well - making total orientation 4 months).

I spoke with my managers, who told me there was no need to stay. I literally worked one day off of orientation, and was asked not to come back. Found a new job that same day in the new city.

Always try to do the right thing - but, remember, your employer isn't going to watch out for you like you're trying to watch out for them. I'd say, get the specialty job where you can get it...then, if one pops up closer to where you want to be, apply for it. Be honest with your employer though, as much as possible.

ICU_RN2 · Nov 26, 2011

I should add, if I had it to do all over again, I would have stayed on the med-surg floor until I was sure we wouldn't be moving. Although, the ICU positions were all filled by that time, and I would have likely be on the med-surg floor for another 6-9 months.

However, I am pretty sure my ICU experience greatly helped in getting my dream ICU job now (Trauma ICU, Level I trauma center, big city, awesome coworkers)...would I have gotten my current job without the ICU experience at the old job? Who knows...but I'm happy I'm here right now.

Flo., BSN, RN · Nov 26, 2011

I get wanting to be close to family. I love mine and it was extremely hard when I lived half way across the country. I was in a similar situation. I wanted to get the heck off of my floor so I applied for a ICU job and got it. I ended up declining the offer though when I was told orientation was 1 yr! I figured with an orientation that long I would have to stay at least a year or two post orientation in order to get favorable references. It just wasn't worth it to me. I just stayed on my floor and applied like crazy to jobs in my hometown. It took awhile but I'm happy at home now.

When you get down just try to remember how lucky you are to be less than 4 hrs from home. You can actually see your family, that is huge!