fraja

Thanks Rob for that informative message! :) That actually helped a lot. It seems as though right now I may not be able to do the state to state hopping that I was hoping for... Definitely good to know! Alibaba I'll check out cort thanks! As for renting out furniture for each assignment....well right now I am planning on how to get to my FIRST assignment :) Thanks for bringing this up though because I was under the impression that the furniture was provided! Well I rather get all the information from people who have experienced this than to get a rude awakening! Once again, thanks! Any more advice is welcome please and thank you!

I had to open this thread since I have typed pretty much everything I could to find this kind of info on allnurses and on google and haven't found anything. Thank you and sorry. I am thinking of travel nursing but I don't have a home. I rent an apartment currently, but once the year's contract is over I don't want to renew it and pay the rent ($1000/month) when I will not even be living here. Will that be a problem? Has anyone else been in my situation of not having a 'home to go back to' while travel nursing? I have been researching a lot and the only thing remotely close to this was an article written by an RN who mentioned taking a week off between assignments and traveling in her car from the old to the new assignment without having to go home. Any information/ideas will be helpful. One more question...when should I consider selling my furniture? Is there enough time after the job offer to set aside for selling furniture or will I be rushing myself and freaking out if I waited that long? Thanks in advance for anyone taking the time to read this post!

I am sorry you are experiencing this...I remember hitting that same wall when I was a new grad. Personally, when I was looking for positions, I disregarded the "you need a minimum of this much experience" and applied regardless. Network and find out there will always be places where the turn-over is high so the employers dont have a choice BUT to hire newgrads. Obviously, the turn-over is usually higher because of some issues with management or what not but I think in the times of recession even if you get your foot in...it helps. You can always do inter-facility transfers...hope this helps :) Good luck!

Aww I am sad re CA being badly hit and the bad timing... but thanks for letting me know! Yes, I know it is a long and complicated process; I am at the information gathering phase... Thanks for that website, I did look at it and it is helpful. I need to check it out more thoroughly again...and maybe ten other times to understand the entire step-wise process :) ... I know it will take me about atleast a year for the entire process and I am hoping by then things are better. Right after I am done with this course I plan to get in gear for the nclex exam. Anyhow, I need to get back to my books but I wanted to drop a quick thankyou to both of you for taking the time to respond! :)

Hi, I am a Canadian RN and I would like to move to california (predominantly because of the weather) within a year (and the more I think about it the more GLEEFUL I get! and I haven't even started the first step yet!)... However, I am confused... I just started a new job in the PACU and my employer sent me for the ICU course because she wants everyone to be ICU trained. Which is great except now after having put so much effort in learning so much I will not be using all the ICU acquired skills in the PACU setting. So I am not sure what is the best skill-set to move to California with? As in... say I stay in PACU...does that mean I will not be able to apply for a critical care position in california and thus waste my certification? Is there a descent enough market for PACU nurses in california?... I am just so confused... So, I guess my question is that if you were in my shoes, would you rather transfer to the ICU after the course completion and gain experience there before applying to california or would you just stay in the PACU? Also, not related to my course but to my wish to move to California... Does anyone know if it is better to do the agency way or if I should just apply directly? It all seems so complicated...and sometimes agency seems like they'll tell you all the steps but then I am not too sure if I can deal with the 3month travel assignments...Oh and also I have heard many many times California being really expensive...How do nurses live there if the average cost of a 1br rental is $2000???...I mean what's the point of living in a gorgeous place when you'll spend every day working overtime just to pay the rent? Or are those just horror stories?...(oh and that was not meant to be offensive!! PLEASE PLEASE dont take that as offensive! I will admit I am totally ignorant to this entire thing...except for this feeling that I will TOTALLY LOVE it there! - I still need to figure out which city...oh sorry I am side-tracking again!) Shheeesh! I know I just unleashed my ramblings upon all of you...however, if you read through it I am SOOOOOOOOOOOO greatful! Any advice would be ginormously appreciated!! THanks so much!!