Questions about Dallas

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Hello All,

I have been working as an RN in the pulmonary stepdown for a year in a NYC hospital and I am thinking of moving to Dallas, Texas. I had a few general questions:

I was wondering if anyone knew of any good RN to BSN programs?

Do the hospitals there tend to offer tuition reimbursement?

Is it recommended that I move Dallas a travel nurse initially?

How is the demand for nurses in the Dallas area?

finally,

Can anyone recommend any good hospitals?

I plan on changing my department to L&D or Peds and get about 6 months to year experience in the area I decide to go to, before I move. I have always wanted to work in those areas but every "experienced" RN that I met along the way, have always told me to get a year of med-surg under my belt first. I really thought it was good advice because I got to sharpen the skills that I learned in nursing school. The floor that I am on now is mixed with stepdown and medsurg patients, so we get a little bit of everything. We get floated to the MICU at times and I even had to cross-train there.

I have a 3 year old daughter and I live at home so I dont have a huge amount of living expenses. My salary here in NY is about 68k a year. I know that by moving to Dallas I will take a pay-cut but I have heard that in Texas you are only responsible for federal taxes, so I may not even miss it in the take home pay. I get about $800-$1000 taken out my check here bi-weekly in taxes because we pay a city and a state tax as well.

Sorry, I feel like I am rambling on but I wanted to give enough information to get the best advice.

Thanks for your help

Camille:flowersfo

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Specializes in Med/Surge.
hello all,

i have been working as an rn in the pulmonary stepdown for a year in a nyc hospital and i am thinking of moving to dallas, texas. i had a few general questions:

i was wondering if anyone knew of any good rn to bsn programs?

university of texas at arlington

do the hospitals there tend to offer tuition reimbursement?

some of them-especially the bigger hospital systems.

is it recommended that i move dallas a travel nurse initially?

i will let someone else answer that one b/c i am clueless.

how is the demand for nurses in the dallas area?

no shortage of jobs in the dallas/ft. worth areas what so ever!! all specialties!!

finally,

can anyone recommend any good hospitals?

baylor, presbyterian, childrens, scottish rite, medical city dallas, methodist, most of these hospitals are expanding out into the suburbs such as plano, richardson, and points in between.

i plan on changing my department to l&d or peds and get about 6 months to year experience in the area i decide to go to, before i move. i have always wanted to work in those areas but every "experienced" rn that i met along the way, have always told me to get a year of med-surg under my belt first. i really thought it was good advice because i got to sharpen the skills that i learned in nursing school. the floor that i am on now is mixed with stepdown and medsurg patients, so we get a little bit of everything. we get floated to the micu at times and i even had to cross-train there.

i have a 3 year old daughter and i live at home so i dont have a huge amount of living expenses. my salary here in ny is about 68k a year. i know that by moving to dallas i will take a pay-cut but i have heard that in texas you are only responsible for federal taxes, so i may not even miss it in the take home pay. i get about $800-$1000 taken out my check here bi-weekly in taxes because we pay a city and a state tax as well.

sorry, i feel like i am rambling on but i wanted to give enough information to get the best advice.

thanks for your help

camille:flowersfo

good luck on the move!!

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I moved to Dallas from Philadelphia and even with the pay cut, I felt practically rich at first!

I too, had to pay both state and city taxes out of every check when I lived in Philadelphia and I couldn't believe how nice of an apartment I could get in their version of a trendy neighborhood close to everything.

But it later becomes a matter of perspective.

Dallas, by Southern standards, is definitely not a cheap place to live.

There are good paying hospitals, but you have to shop for them.

If you want to break into a new specialty without any experience, Parkland will take you without a doubt. But shop around and use them as a backup plan, because their pay is among the worst in Dallas.

I recently quoted their pay in another post but I can't find it right now. I read it in a NurseWeek recent article about Parkland.

I'm only warning you of that now because you will get some people here that really try to talk Parkland up as a great place to work and how you can't beat their experience, but great experience is about all they have to offer.

I think that taking a travel assignment to Dallas at first is a great idea.

Many nurses here are constantly in search of the city that has the highest paying jobs with the lowest cost of living.

First of all, the two often go hand in hand (as in NYC pays well but it's also expensive to live there) and secondly, I think that there is a lot more to life than cost of living and pay rates.

If not a travel assignment, at least take a vacation there and check it out for a few days if not longer. Set up an interview or two ahead of time while you are there, drive around the neighborhoods (Yes I said DRIVE, you will need to rent a car in Dallas without a doubt) and take in as much as you can to determine if Dallas is where you want to be.

Dallas and Texas in general is a whole different world than the East Coast and it's not for everyone.

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Thank you both for all your advice. Overall though would you say that you are happy being a nurse in Dallas?

Is there anyone that's been a nurse in another state that can compare it to working in Dallas?

I have heard that some hospitals don't offer benefits is that true?

Do Nurses often get mandated to do overtime?

can someone briefly tell me about Group One, I have been looking for the previous post but been unable to find it

Thanks again

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Thank you both for all your advice. Overall though would you say that you are happy being a nurse in Dallas?

Is there anyone that's been a nurse in another state that can compare it to working in Dallas?

I have heard that some hospitals don't offer benefits is that true?

Do Nurses often get mandated to do overtime?

can someone briefly tell me about Group One, I have been looking for the previous post but been unable to find it

Thanks again

Re: Group One- Found this on the bottom of page 3 of this forum ( and there's another one just below this one)

https://allnurses.com/forums/f175/group-one-background-checks-texas-108647.html

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I have lived in Naples (Fl), Dallas, Houston, New Orleans, Atlanta and for a short time, NYC. While Dallas is appealing because of the cost of living, I find that property tax is continually going up. It all evens out. This is because there is no state tax in Texas, so they have to find some way to bring in revenue. If you want to live in an apartment... great, no problem. But for settling down - like any other place - it has it's problems. I would love to work in Dallas as a traveller - temporarily. Get a cheap apartment, live on Ramen Noodles for a while, and just stockpile the cash. My recommendation is this - don't buy a house here if your intention is to save money. Live frugally early on and reap the benefits of sacrifice later.

Dallas is pretty cool - as far as things to do. Good Luck!

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My best advice is to not get stuck on "Dallas" and to make a major effort to check out the suburbs. Dallas is just one big chunk of urban sprawl, but there are pockets of neighborhoods and suburbs around that many people enjoy.

I am a big fan of Ft.Worth. We have a walkable and liveable (although $$) downtown area that is very nice. Ft.Worth is very affordable and has several nice hospitals.

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Specializes in Peds Cardiology,Peds Neuro,Pedi ER,PICU, IV Jedi.
My best advice is to not get stuck on "Dallas" and to make a major effort to check out the suburbs. Dallas is just one big chunk of urban sprawl, but there are pockets of neighborhoods and suburbs around that many people enjoy.

I am a big fan of Ft.Worth. We have a walkable and liveable (although $$) downtown area that is very nice. Ft.Worth is very affordable and has several nice hospitals.

This is good advice!! Though I work in Dallas, I live 25 miles to the north and it's a straight shot down the interstate. I work at night so traffic isn't such an issue. The suburbs are great. I don't own a home..we rent and it saves us the $$ from property taxes. And there's no state tax here...unlike Va. where we used to live.

If you're interested in Pediatrics, we have the only Level 1 Trauma facility in the state for kiddos...and it's just a cool place to work. At CMC Dallas there are a number of opportunities for nurses too. And for full time staff there is tuition reimbursement (100% for full time staff...assuming you pass the course). Anyway...if you need any more info ...send me a message.

vamedic4

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I would like to thank all of you for all the wonderful advice. I have been looking into surburbs in the dallas area. I have been looking at frisco, allen, grand prairie to name a few. It's hard because I have only visited the area once and I dont remember if I mentioned this or not in my previous post but I am a single mom and I have to make sure that I find a good school district.

Maybe renting for a while doesn't sound like a bad idea until I get to know which area is better for us. I have realized that the housing tax is a bit ridiculous and I am leaving behind a job when we are getting a raise to 75k a year :scrying: . But you do have to sacrifice things for the love of your children. I want my daughter to have a backyard and to be able to go outside and play and it's just too expensive in NYC for me to stay here.

Thanks again for all the replies.

My best advice is to not get stuck on "Dallas" and to make a major effort to check out the suburbs. Dallas is just one big chunk of urban sprawl, but there are pockets of neighborhoods and suburbs around that many people enjoy.

I am a big fan of Ft.Worth. We have a walkable and liveable (although $$) downtown area that is very nice. Ft.Worth is very affordable and has several nice hospitals.

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Don't get hung up on the property tax issue either. It's really not that bad. It totally depends on the town and county you live in. My property taxes are about 2400/year and I know that is cheap, cheap for this area, (I live near Fort Worth). There are sooo many places you can live in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area and most everything is within driving distance. Anyplace you live has it's pros and cons. The work is definitely here. Most school districts here are really good and there are many private schools as well. Come on down for a visit!! :)

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I would like to thank all of you for all the wonderful advice. I have been looking into surburbs in the dallas area. I have been looking at frisco, allen, grand prairie to name a few. It's hard because I have only visited the area once and I dont remember if I mentioned this or not in my previous post but I am a single mom and I have to make sure that I find a good school district.

Maybe renting for a while doesn't sound like a bad idea until I get to know which area is better for us. I have realized that the housing tax is a bit ridiculous and I am leaving behind a job when we are getting a raise to 75k a year :scrying: . But you do have to sacrifice things for the love of your children. I want my daughter to have a backyard and to be able to go outside and play and it's just too expensive in NYC for me to stay here.

Thanks again for all the replies.

Grand Prairie = BAD schools. Mansfield or Arlington would be a better choice. Mansfield is *hot* right now in terms of growth. A lot of the houses are high end, but a lot can be found in the middle range too. The schools are supposed to be really good. Good luck in whatever you decide.

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You might also look in the Mid-Cities (Hurst, Euless, Beford) or just north to Grapevine or Colleyville. You'll find more house for your money in one of the first three but all have excellent schools. They are also located right between Dallas and Fort Worth so either way the commute wouldn't be too bad. If you did end up in Fort Worth, it's even better because you would be going against the flow of traffic.

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