Nursing Salaries in SW Florida

U.S.A. Florida

Published

Hi...

I am currently residing in New Jersey and I am very interested in relocating to the Port Charlotte area in Florida. I just have a few questions and concerns:

1)I am a nurse with 25 years experience working in the ER and Trauma units. I would like to know the current salary range for someone with my experience to see if it would be beneficial for me to move to Florida.

2)Do the hospitals offer 12 hour shifts and Baylor positions?

3)Are the nurses expected to be physicians hand maidens? Are nurses considered respected professionals and treated with the same accord? I only ask this because at my current position the nurses are encouraged to use their critical thinking skills and work as a team member with the physician.

I'm looking forward to your input in regards to these issues as I just got back from a Florida vacation and would really enjoy living down there. :)

Actually in Florida, especially this area...from about October/November until Eastertime we get an influx of "Snowbirds" coming. This, of course, requires an expansion of all types of services. From Restaurants and stores that hire new help to the hospitals who need more staff as well. As one of the poster's stated it can work well if you have one family member who works for benefits, then the other can do the seasonal work making $40/hour.

I'm not sure I understand the seasonal thing. And I have never heard of wages being higher or lower with an option to take benefits. I have a lot to learn to begin to understand all of that. :imbar Thank you for your responses.

BETSRN, I'm all for working in the NE and maybe one day I will be able to move back to NY, but when I'm spending January here where the temp has been in the upper 70s and going to NY which is really, really cold...I think for the time being, I'll stay down here.

Kris

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I live in Philadelphia and am planning on moving to the Tampa area as soon as I graduate. They start new grads at $19/ hr. Here it is about $24/hr. Thats a considerable difference. HOWEVER, cost of living is a HUGE factor. I live in a miserable liitle rowhouse in the city. prop taxes are pretty cheap ($1300) but there is the city wage tax 4.5%, state tax 2.5%ish and living here I won't ever be able to buy a "single" home like I grew up in. Our car insurance is astronomical, the gas company tries to torture us every season, and you can't send your kids to the public schools, so when we have kids thats another $3k a year for private. Sure, groceries are the same, and utilites are mostly (except in winter here). It all really does equal out. We are looking at houses in a tampa suburb for around $140k. THats a real house with a yard and a school system you can actually use. I am a little biased because I grew up there and am anxious to go back, but we carefully did the numbers stuff, and really, we could never afford to buy a house here like we can there, and the prop taxes anywhere here in the suburbs are in the $3k's (we went house shopping here too.) For the most part its about where you want to live. I lived in COnnecticut, Philly and Florida and I have to say the northeast gets you good on cost of living. We get nickle and dimed everywhere. BUT, I am mostly talking from the standpoint of living in the second highest taxed city in America.

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Specializes in Geriatrics, DD, Peri-op.

Thanks Patrick. I am so excited to be in school and CANNOT wait until I can get back to the hospital. I worked at a hospital in Alabama when I first finished LPN school and cannot believe how much I learned there. I didn't realize it until now that I am back in school. :chuckle

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How is the cost of living there?? here in syracuse NY( relocating to west palm beach) the average LPN is getting approx 14 dollars, but most places here pay according to experience. I will be 2 years young this summer at i am at 15 for a ltc setting but right now its snowing and minus 3 degrees so for the same money or more and hot sun, i would deal with 14- 15 dollars to start. the cost of living is not that bad here. you can get a decent 2 bedroom apt for 500-600 a month.

OOOPS! pardon the typo:"The avg income of LPN here is from 38 to 32K." I meant to say 28 to 32K. :imbar
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Specializes in Critical Care, Home Health.

Angelkay

In West Palm area you can expect to get $16-$19/hr in LTC. Rent here is expensive. For a 2 bedroom in a decent area it will cost $900-$1,200. I just found a one-bedroom for a little over $800 it was the cheapest I could find. Also, since the hurricanes all the utilities have raised their rates (to pay for repairs??), it costs me over $150 in electric every month for a tiny apartment (900 sq.ft.) Atleast the beaches and sunsets are free.

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Hello? Hello? Anyone out there?

I really wish someone would answer this post. :sniff: I will be moving to Fort Myers area ... or let's say I will be moving somewhere between North Port and North Naples in 27 months. I will have a brand new grandbaby there waiting for me! :) I am currently beginning my second career starting as a CNA and will be then going for my LPN. I would love to have an idea as to whether I need to be planning to live in a trailer home, a tent on the beach, or if I will be able to afford to buy a little house somewhere there, and still be able to eat. Would love some realistic input on hospital pay and benefits. Pretty please?

I live in S. Fort Myers and I'm currently attending High Tech Central for LPN. The Salaries are about 16.25hr (LPN) in some nursing home facilities and about 17.hr(LPN) in the hospitals. Some of the staffing companies start @19.25hr(LPN) fresh out of school. The CNA salaries are not great down here because a lot of immigrant (Haitian mostly) workers will work for less amounts. No prejudice intended. I think the homes pay 9.hr and I'm not sure what the hospitals pay, but u can go to Salaries.com and type in 33912 (a FT. Myers area code) and they are pretty accurate.

I live in San Carlos Park and the rent around here ranges from about 600.mo - 1100.mo. You really can't buy a house for any less than 130,000.

Punta Gorda may be cheaper??, but Ft. Myers is the way to go for your budget. They have a lot of great programs around here for tuition reimbursement and our workforce councel here (Florida Workforce Counsel) is awesome. They pay for EVERYTHING! Not your bills, but childcare, mileage, tuition, books, uniforms, supplies, etc.

Their are a few major hospital systems here...we have Cleveland Clinic, SW Regional Medical Centers(2), Lee Memorial Health Systems (huge, 4 hospitals, and lots and lots of clinics and such), and that's just in Ft. Myers. The healthcare field is booming down here with the majority being seniors.

Well, I hope I helped you a little. Good Luck!!!!

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:w00t: :thankya: :thankya: :thankya: WOW... Thank You, Thank You, Thank You,

for sharing such helpful information!!!

I am so excited about getting to move to the Fort Myers area!!! I have wanted to live there since the first time I visited there in 1981! That's a 25 year dream that is going to get to come true and I just can't tell you how happy it is going to be for me! It is all I can do not to pack up my bags today and head SOUTH!

I have really been worried about the wages there, but what you quoted is so similar to what they pay here in Denver that there is really very little difference, but the difference inthe cost of living is tremendously less there than here! You can't rent a shed here for $600. and we pay $1,200. for a townhome and that is at the low end of the rent table for a decent area where you aren't bombarded by drive-by-shootings, car jackers, and high rates of intruder break-in, incidents.

I have been trying to decide if I want to get my LPN here or if I should wait until I get down there. I would love to have more information about the Florida Workforce Counsel, and find out how and or if they could help me get help with my education. Would you mind sharing what it is costing to go to the High Tech Central program for LPN, how much time it takes to complete the program and what kind of waiting list they have? What are the pre-recs for the program? Maybe I could get that all out of the way here and get on their waiting list and be all ready to go when I get down there!!! I hope that we can keep in touch. It was really nice of you to take your time to respond to my post. I look forward to continued contact with you. Thank you again!!! :)

I live in S. Fort Myers and I'm currently attending High Tech Central for LPN. The Salaries are about 16.25hr (LPN) in some nursing home facilities and about 17.hr(LPN) in the hospitals. Some of the staffing companies start @19.25hr(LPN) fresh out of school. The CNA salaries are not great down here because a lot of immigrant (Haitian mostly) workers will work for less amounts. No prejudice intended. I think the homes pay 9.hr and I'm not sure what the hospitals pay, but u can go to Salaries.com and type in 33912 (a FT. Myers area code) and they are pretty accurate.

I live in San Carlos Park and the rent around here ranges from about 600.mo - 1100.mo. You really can't buy a house for any less than 130,000.

Punta Gorda may be cheaper??, but Ft. Myers is the way to go for your budget. They have a lot of great programs around here for tuition reimbursement and our workforce councel here (Florida Workforce Counsel) is awesome. They pay for EVERYTHING! Not your bills, but childcare, mileage, tuition, books, uniforms, supplies, etc.

Their are a few major hospital systems here...we have Cleveland Clinic, SW Regional Medical Centers(2), Lee Memorial Health Systems (huge, 4 hospitals, and lots and lots of clinics and such), and that's just in Ft. Myers. The healthcare field is booming down here with the majority being seniors.

Well, I hope I helped you a little. Good Luck!!!!

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