California Nursing!!

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Hello!!! Any nurses in The California area?! I am interested in moving to LA once I finish nursing school. I would like to know a little bit about the nursing world there!! How is the pay? Cost of living? Job opportunities for new grads? Any advice? Any and all would be helpful ������

Thank you!!

I am not sure if I am reading your comment wrong, and do not want to take it the wrong way. But what is the point of you telling me the black population?? And how diverse Sacramento is? And by the way, I was actually thinking of Sacramento as well. I want all the 411 you can give me

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Specializes in ICU.
I am not sure if I am reading your comment wrong, and do not want to take it the wrong way. But what is the point of you telling me the black population?? And how diverse Sacramento is? And by the way, I was actually thinking of Sacramento as well. I want all the 411 you can give me

Made the observation from the profile picture. I have edited the post and back to the topic. Good luck I have provided tools. Happy searching.

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Specializes in ICU.
I don't know what your problem is with Redding. My clinic treats a lot of Hispanics and Native Americans. Yes, Redding has a relatively low African American population and I have no idea why. As far as I know, there is nothing stopping African Americans from moving there. There are a lot of healthcare jobs in Redding, as the 2 major industries are tourism and healthcare.

I don't have a problem with Redding. I could totally be wrong that the poster is AA based on the profile picture. Relocating to a new environment that does not have diversity can be hard for someone who is of a different background trying to adjust to the area. I have edited the post and back to the topic.

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Specializes in Tele, ICU, Staff Development.

As previous posters said, it's all about location in CA.

The Sacramento area pays very well, but the cost of living is high.

In many inland regions in CA, it is possible for new grads to land residency positions if you know how to stand out, and the cost of living is affordable. New grads are buying homes after 2-5 years of employment.

One of the best things about nursing in CA is the nurse-patient ratios. Best wishes.

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Well, can't speak for the RN side of the shop (new LVN here), and I don't live near LA proper (east of there by about 60 miles) , but I can comment on the Inland Empire end of things. First, endorsing your license in California's likely to take awhile - think several months. Took me about 5 months to get my VN license, and about 5 weeks to get my first job. Employer - well, psych facility in an 'underserved healthcare population' would be a politically correct way of putting it, and I had to network to get that. Class president is STILL looking for work, and she got her license about the same time I did. Salary-wise, a new grad LVN can expect anywhere from $15 to $25 an hour (I'm in the middle of the range). Area apartment rents - I'm renting a bedroom for $500/mo. Apartments are about $1100-$1600/mo for anyplace you'd feel safe. Climate-wise, most of the homeless head for the beach or out of town about November or so, then head back this way in the spring and fall. Summer? Think mid-100's during the day, high 60's to upper 70's at night. Winter - when the Santa Anas are blowing it can be pretty balmy (80's - 90's during the day, 50's - 60's at night) but more typical is mid-50's to mid-60's for the high, mid-30's to mid-40's at night. Had a longtime friend from Colorado ask for advice about relocating back here & told him point-blank he's probably better off where he is.

TL;DR - might be worth your while to rent a hotel room for a week in an area you fancy, rent a car and look at what you're getting yourself into.

----- Dave

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I want to be clear: licensure by endorsement takes 10-12 weeks. The processing times are right on the California BON website. You can get a temp RN license in 8-10 weeks.

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Specializes in medical surgical.

They used to be about 10 to 15 years ago. That changed. COL through the roof. Now everyone is coming to my state ....Ugh.

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Omg!!! 😱 I would have never thought that! I heard the RN's were paid really good!! Thank you ladies soooooo much for your honesty. I kinda have second thoughts now haha. I really wanted to move there. I thought with the cost of living, and the pay, that everything would even out.

Try working for Hollywood and/or law enforcement/corrections as a nurse. Work for the County as a Public Health Nurse.

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Specializes in Emergency, Trauma, Critical Care.

From what I can tell your a pre nursing student so things in several years can be very different form now.

I've lived in several locations in California. Here is my insight.

Southern California does not adequately compensate for cost of living. Most homes are 500k for a shack in LA. Even the inland empire which has cheaper home property taxes are insane. On a crappy house with no central air near the desert my property taxes were 7k a year. I wouldn't bother unless you are one of those that desires that "LA lifestyle.". Most of the nurses I knew were running up credit cards or working a lot. I lived in Orange county for a bit and picked up a ton of overtime and we were still looking for things to sell to make rent. It was depressing and I'll never do it again. My rent was cheap. I paid 1600/mo for a 2 bed apartment. Adding in student loan payments. We were broke.

Sacramento has much better pay because it competes with the bay area. Cost of living is the most reasonable I've encountered. I'm actually paying things off for the first time in my life. I own a modest nice home and my husband is a stay at home dad. I know many RNs here who work part time or their spouse stays at home.

My work conditions are some of the best I've encountered. The ratio laws are honored. I've gotten more lunch breaks here then I ever got in southern California. It's been good.

The ugly side is it makes the job market incredibly challenging. I would not come here as a new grad. I would seem employment in an undesirable part of California, rural nor Cal, Bakersfield, Fresno, etc. Get your year to 2 years experience then move on.

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Ignore all the negativity. I just saw a post from a new grad in Orange County who got 3 job offers! As a new grad, you can share an apartment or house to save $. California is about middle of the pack of all the states in terms of employment prospects. People in every single state will say job prospects suck in their state. There are many parts of California that are nice and are affordable. Good luck.

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@ Nickilaughs

Thank you so much!!!! I would love to stay in contact with you. You've been really helpful!!!

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Thank you!!!

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