NYC RN x7 yrs, -moving to Fl! (help)

U.S.A. Florida

Published

Hello all!

As the title states, I am an RN for 7 years, working at New York Presbyterian Columbia, but at the Children's hospital. I am relocating as my BF of many years has a job offer in Miami. I know of Miami children's, which there appears to be no job openings, and Joe DiMaggio, which looks much more promising.

I will prob rent before buying, which leads me to the next issue- I have 2 pit bulls, one puppy and one 3 years old, both well behaved beautiful dogs, no biting, both have ears and tails, not violent, little lovable dogs. I hear I cannot have them in Miami/Dade county.

next issue is- are there any bad areas that I should avoid?

I am also going to be taking a major pay cut, but I do understand the relevance of the cost of living being lower, just hard to see my annual salary will be cut in half, but if you want the lifestyle, you'll take the pay cut to be happier!

I appreciate any feedback.

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Specializes in ER, PACU.

I moved to Florida from NY less than a year ago. I considered Miami, but the cost of housing is not that much cheaper than in NY if you want to be in a nice area. 1 BR apt's can be $1500 or so. If you are splitting the rent with your BF it may not be that bad, but with the dogs in tow, you will have to rent outside of the city.

I would think twice before moving here. Nursing sucks, there are no breaks, no unions, unsafe staffing.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, ICU, ER, Peds ER-CPEN.
http://www.miamidade.gov/animals/pitbull-law.asp unfortunately your babies are illegal in Miami Dade, however it appears Broward county may be more friendly, still pricey but not as bad, not sure commute times as it depends on where in Miami your boyfriend will be working
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And Joe DiMaggio children's hospital is in Broward Cty so that might work.

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Joe D is south Broward county. U r like a few minutes from Miami. It's a nice hospital. Pay is low as most places in FL. But go there if u want to do peds. I work down there. At memorial regional

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Oh man, thank you so much for your helpful replies.

I wrote another thread under this one because although he has a job offer in Miami, another job offer just came through in Polk county, so now we have to decide whether or not we want to live in Polk county west coast or near Miami east coast. My good friend works at Joe D that left here to work there and loves it! That's where I want to go, but until he decides I'm looking at both coasts. Even Polk county, we can live outside of the county but not too far, within an hour drive. The options are slim pickings for nurses.

honestly, I don't know how you all do it....the salary-- I know the cost of living is lower but I can't imagine working as hard as I am now, and getting paid half of that. Hat's off to you!!! Has there been any progress toward increasing the pay of RN's in the state?

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Specializes in ED.

I just interviewed for a large hospital in Miami and base was $28.45 with 4 yrs exp and BSN. More than likely going to pass on the offer cause I doubt they will come up to a point where I can actually afford live in the area and not have to commute in. I agree its depressing/sad/travesty knowing the nurses in Florida work just as hard as we do, or even twice as hard with no pt ratios for half the pay.

Maybe gulf side is a little more realistic since houses are cheaper??

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Ouch. $28.45? that hurts to look at. I knew this was going to be a hard fight for salary but I'm hoping there are other options available for OT or other jobs I can do as 2nd job like home care.

My update is that the Miami job for my BF seems to have more pro's and positives than the Polk county job. We are looking into housing in Miramar and Broward counties, and I hope to work at Joe Dimaggio Children's hospital.

Thank you so much for that helpful link on the pit bulls. I would prefer to rent but who is going to rent to us with 2 pit bulls? People stereotype the breed, which is sad, because they are angels, but there's nothing we can really do about it.

Out of curiosity- I know there are no unions, etc-- is anything being done through the state of Fl to increase the salary for nurses? I'm just wondering if anyone is advocating for us. I'm used to working for a union that will fight for salary increase but - for the hospital, not for the entire state.

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I actually live in polk county and I would live here any day over Miami. I live right on the border of polk and osceola. There are many hospital options within a 25 minute drive. I am here if you have any questions on the area. And living expenses are soooo much lower in this area. I live in a very safe family area and I recently bought a 3/2 for $100,000. You can rent a beautiful apartment for around $1200 for a 3 bedroom. Don't let the pay cut discourage you because the cost of living doesn't even compare to Miami and New York

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Arnold Palmer hospital and Nemours are both children's hospitals in orlando they are always hiring nurses.

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Specializes in Primary Care, OR.

Aww no pits in Miami/Dade. :(. Stay away from Hialeah. Pembroke Pines is a beautiful neighborhood and affordable, great schools. It's very south broward county so your babies can come. Joe D is a great hospital! But the pay cut :( boooooo:sorry:

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