Possibly relocating from NJ to Texas!

[JetBlitz]

hello all! i believe this is the first time i've written a topic so i'll be brief.

i have been unemployed for the past 7 months and have been aggressively looking for jobs even before i resigned from my previous employment (long story but trust me i was in a toxic work environment and even my own colleagues would not speak up for me when they were there witnessing all of this).

i was at a career fair that nurse.com had sponsored in which i pulled all the stops and did phenomenally well! the recruiters who i felt were doing well in asking questions asked me "so what made you leave your last place of employment? what have you been doing since then?"

i had responses i practiced and with all of my preparation and practice, a couple out of the 15 recruiters had set-up an interview! one of which will require me to travel to tx.

now, with the recruiter in tx, they mentioned that it is an all-expense paid trip (food, lodging, rental car, etc).

my dilemma: since they are paying for everything, am i [color=#00cc33]obligated to accept the offer (if they are willing to go all out and pay for my travels)? i don't even know if they will pay for my relocation, and i'm really short in finances right now to do it alone...

i wish to see if the offer here in nj will actually work out. i spoke with the recruiter in tx and i told him i would call him back tomorrow [after my interview with another hospital, which is tomorrow; an information which i did not want to disclose for fear that tx might rescind their offer].

what should i do? when i travel to tx for an in-person interview, am i obligated to work for them because they paid for my trip?? i want to hear back from my interviewer in nj first. but i only have until 4pm on may 3rd to reply to tx on my decision to fly down.

if i take the tx interview but if nj gives me an offer and i accept, am i obligated to pay them back? i'm the type of guy that does not like receiving free things especially if they are going on a limb to provide for my travel needs.

background info: i researched the hospital in tx and although they are medium sized they are top notch comparatively to the hospitals here in nj; employee benefits also meet my needs. the only thing lacking is my exploration of that area in tx and to find out if they have a solid church community which makes the transition easier and allow me to live in comfortably. i am very loyal to my employers and intend to stay in tx greater than 5 years (permanently if i find a wife there haha) so i can help build up the hospital and train new nurses as well.

i have traveled to tx recently (first time!) and enjoyed the place very well! the congeniality of the people are phenomenal compared to the tri-state area here. i was actually a little torn up with flying back to nj because there is definitely nothing like tx here at all; i will sorely miss the friendliness of the people, being able to randomly start a conversation, and building a bond with them.

i also spoke to my loved ones here and although i hate to leave them, i have a higher obligation to continue serving wherever i may be going.

please reply with any wisdom at all! in the end, i will be the one deciding so any further input is greatly appreciated.

thank you :-d

[MomRN0913]

I live in NJ, and lived here nearly my whole life, except I was born and lived in Brooklyn for 6 years. (I think we are pretty nice folk)

Anyways, back in 2008 a bunch of my coworkers relocated to TX. The offers were good, relocation, sign-on bonuses, and they can have the beautiful houses they could not afford here.

Almost everyone was happy. But, most already had family in TX or didn't really have family here in NJ either..... The ones who had noone out there and everyone back here weren't as happy but adjusted.

My frieIf you are single with no obligations, I say go for it. You can always move back.

And no, you are not obligated to take the job.

[amoLucia]

Advice - be ABSOLUTELY ABSOLUTELY positive your travel expenses offer is NOT contingent upon a job offer being made (not just being accepted!). You don't want to be $tuck. Good luck.

[Nurse SMS, MSN, RN]

As long as the expenses paid is not contigent on an accepted job offer, you are home free. You are interviewing them as much as they are interviewing you.

[classicdame, MSN, EdD]

unless you signed a contract you are not obligated to take the job. I relocated to TX 14 years ago and am SO GLAD I did.

[Nurse SMS, MSN, RN]

And I am dying to get OUT of Texas

[JetBlitz]

Thank you all for your quick reply! I called TX back and they confirmed that the all-expense paid trip was NOT contingent of getting a job offer. So I'm in the clear *phew! I then told them that I wanted to go down for the interview! The ball's finally rolling :yelclap:

All I gotta do is pay for my own car rental and food, and submit those receipts for reimbursement. Again, I'm making sure everything is in writing so I definitely saved all of the emails just to make sure; though I have no doubt that they are very genuine in their interest with me and are eagerly trying to fly me down and have me enjoy the local area.

I must say, this is the first time anyone has went out of the way for me to have me interview with them across the country. I'm quite humbled actually. But interviewing is a two-way street so I'm definitely preparing a whole list of questions for them, too. :-)

@not.done.yet - I actually understand what you mean of dying to get out of Texas lol. I spoke with the locals at two different towns in TX (a man in his 30's working as a salesman for Hertz; a college student working in a museum; two guys 23/31 who love adventures/to travel) and if you're unable to make your own fun like the two guys (who love to hunt and fish; 'clean' an axis/ or whitetail deer, freeze a fish) you may get bored easily.

Thank you all for your help!

[Nurse SMS, MSN, RN]

Oh no boredom here. I live in the New York City of Texas. There is PLENTY to do.

I just hate the mind-choking heat 5-6 months out of the year the same way people up north hate their winters. It is just as miserable and just as quality-of-life limiting.

[SandraCVRN]

To the OP, what city/town are you talking about? PM me if you don't want to list on board.

Alot of TX hospitals are looking for experienced nurses. Just look at the jobs section. Good luck.

[CrunchRN, ADN, RN]

I would wonder why they are so desperate......

[JetBlitz]

@SandraCVRN - I'll PM you once I get the chance but it will take me a while. When I looked at my PM option, I received a notice that says the ability to send a PM has been disabled because of the prevalence of PM solicitors who abuse accounts.

The only way this option of using PM can return is if I create/start 15 quality topics (I guess it's one way allnurses.com can verify if the account is real). If my memory serves me right, I've only started 1 topic (this thread). Haha!

Give me about 2-3 days to PM you. Thinking up 14 more quality topics will be a challenge haha.

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

Thinking up 14 more quality topics will be a challenge haha.

You have accrued 4 posts at this time, so you will need approximately 11 more posts before your private messaging privileges are enabled.

You do not need to necessarily start new topics. However, you will need quality posts, not the one-line posts that some people use to quickly boost their post count.