Relocating to Houston from Wisconsin. HELP!

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hi everybody, i'll be finishing my associates degree in nursing at the end of 2009. I also have a BA in psychology and an MS in communtiy counseling. i plan to relocate to houston in the beginning of 2010. i'm seeking information on the starting salary for a new graduate rn, what area to seek housing in (i want to buy a home) and the school system. my son is 6 and currently in a spanish immersion school, i hope to find one in houston so he can continue on that path. i've starting researching the real estate prices and spanish immersion schools. never having been to houston or knowing anyone in houston the task has become quite daunting. i'd like to purchase a home in a family friendly area, in the school district of a good spanish immersion school. in addition, all of the job postings for rn's i've come across require 1-2 years experience....help! salary, house location, and spanish immersion school. thanx

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hi everybody, i'll be finishing my associates degree in nursing at the end of 2009. I also have a BA in psychology and an MS in communtiy counseling. i plan to relocate to houston in the beginning of 2010. i'm seeking information on the starting salary for a new graduate rn, what area to seek housing in (i want to buy a home) and the school system. my son is 6 and currently in a spanish immersion school, i hope to find one in houston so he can continue on that path. i've starting researching the real estate prices and spanish immersion schools. never having been to houston or knowing anyone in houston the task has become quite daunting. i'd like to purchase a home in a family friendly area, in the school district of a good spanish immersion school. in addition, all of the job postings for rn's i've come across require 1-2 years experience....help! salary, house location, and spanish immersion school. thanx

can't help with the school; I don't know what a Spanish immersion school is

you can probably expect salaries in the low 20s range

I'd recommend living in Sugar Land, but I'm biased; but Fort Bend is a really good School district

most importantly...since you mention your psych degree, get your BSN from UT-H ASAP, then apply for the mental health NP program at the school.

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what is sugar land...fort bend? are they suburbs of houston

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what is sugar land...fort bend? are they suburbs of houston

sugar land is the southwest side of Houston--it's a burb; fort bend is the county

google "Sugar Land, TX" and you can see a few things that might be informative for you

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also, for home buying, go to HAR.com

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regarding salary...is that 20/hr or 20/yr?

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oops, sorry...hr.; big difference

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.

Sugarland is very pricey. You can find "family-friendly" suburbs in and around Houston that have good school districts and much more affordable real estate. Katy, a suburb west of Houston, is affordable and booming with rapid growth.

You can expect to start at about $23 per hour, differentials not included. Evening and night shift tends to pay much more hourly.

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Specializes in Critical Care, Education.

codysfreckles,

Good decision :up:- relocating to H-town! I'm originally from San Antonio but living here since '83. Question - have you ever been to Houston? We're a little 'different' & not everyone's cuppa tea.

We have a bazillion private schools that offer various types of language programs but the only 'immersion' type programs that I am aware of is at Awty International school -- mucho dinero but you can choose which language to immerse in. Most of our elementary schools offer billingual education in lower grades which provides heavy exposure to Spanish.

I am with a hospital system & we have hospitals in suburban areas (Clear Lake & Katy) that may be just what you are looking for. Clear Lake / Nassau Bay area is terrific - very 'coasty'.

Go ahead & PM me if you want me to hook you up with one of our nurse recruiters. We love new grads.

robbie

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Specializes in ICU, CVICU.

I have been living in Sugar Land for about two weeks now and I really like it.

As for jobs, as a new grad you can ONLY get jobs as a graduate nurse. Start applying EARLY (the first month of your last semester) and that will improve your chances of getting a job. The medical center has A LOT of hospitals to choose from depending on what type of nursing you are interested in BUT a lot of the suburbs have good hospitals too! (It all depends on your career goals, willingness to commute, etc).

Good luck!!!

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are you from houston? from what i've been reading it's probably too big and busy for me. i live in milwaukee, wi,,,about 600,000 people with a pretty balanced racial make up. i'm biracial and the surrounding areas that are smaller seem to have very few minorities. that concerns me.

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Sugarland is very pricey. You can find "family-friendly" suburbs in and around Houston that have good school districts and much more affordable real estate. Katy, a suburb west of Houston, is affordable and booming with rapid growth.

Where did you get your information? I did a quick search at HAR.com and found quite a few equally priced homes in Katy, Sugar Land, and The Woodlands, when cross referencing for year built and square footage; interestingly, the most expensive homes were predominantly in The Woodlands, given the year built and square footage; I used 3000-3500 sq. ft homes built from 2000 to 2005. What I have heard from a real estate agent is that although Houston and surrounding burb are not affected by the housing issues as bad as other parts of the country, the City of Houston is actually less affected than the burbs, so expect prices to be a bit more within the city

I have been living in Sugar Land for about two weeks now and I really like it.

As for jobs, as a new grad you can ONLY get jobs as a graduate nurse. Start applying EARLY (the first month of your last semester) and that will improve your chances of getting a job. The medical center has A LOT of hospitals to choose from depending on what type of nursing you are interested in BUT a lot of the suburbs have good hospitals too! (It all depends on your career goals, willingness to commute, etc).

Good luck!!!

hey neighborroonie :-)

if you look for a postition working for UTHSC-H, verify whether FT is 40 hrs, not 36. So if you want to work 3 12's, you very well might be PT. And not to be too negative, but I'm not real pleased with the institution because of their pay increase policy...no increases within 6 months of eachother and the max is 5%; and HR is in nooooooooo hurry to approve anything :angryfire:angryfire:angryfire

are you from houston? from what i've been reading it's probably too big and busy for me. i live in milwaukee, wi,,,about 600,000 people with a pretty balanced racial make up. i'm biracial and the surrounding areas that are smaller seem to have very few minorities. that concerns me.

"Sugar Land (TX) officially became the first city in the nation to be named a Community of Respect® by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL)" for what it's worth.

the city of Houston is definitely "big and busy" which is why it's best to stay out of the city. Also, HISD (public school district) leaves much to be desired IMHO.

http://usmayors.org/usmayornewspaper/documents/10_08_07/pg19_about_SugarLand.asp

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