Relocating to Maryland

There are certain parts of the city that aren't that bad. You could live in the surrounding counties. For example, Howard County is very nice but very expensive. Some of the cities are Columbia, Laurel, Ellicot City. Baltimore County is really nice. Catonsville and Towson are in Baltimore County. There's a good hospital in that area called GBMC(Greater Baltimore Medical Center, I think). There's also Harford County that's approx 40 minutes from the city. Some good cities are Abingdon or Bel Air. There are so many options in Maryland. I would do a google search on Maryland hospitals. There are tons of them!!

My husband and I would like to move to Maryland. We're doing all of our research and we're also planning a trip to check out different areas. Can someone help me with finding the best area? By the time we move I will be an RN and my husband is a English teacher. I heard that John Hopkins pays very well but its in Baltimore and the area is not safe. I have two small children and safety is very important. Where can I live and make a decent commute to JH or are there better hospitals that can be recommended. I need city and county names as well. Thanks for the help. :)

I live in Catonsville and I love it here. The metro is only 15 minutes away ( Milford Mill) and it runs DIRECTLY to Johns Hopkins ( straight line..it's the last stop).

There are a TON of areas in the suburbs you can live and still work and commute to JH.

My husband and I would like to move to Maryland. We're doing all of our research and we're also planning a trip to check out different areas. Can someone help me with finding the best area? By the time we move I will be an RN and my husband is a English teacher. I heard that John Hopkins pays very well but its in Baltimore and the area is not safe. I have two small children and safety is very important. Where can I live and make a decent commute to JH or are there better hospitals that can be recommended. I need city and county names as well. Thanks for the help. :)

Hopkins has security guards posted all around the hospital in small sentry posts around the corner sidewalks. The hospital may be in the inner city, but security is beefed up so you should feel safe, even late at night (The guards are posted 24 hours a day.) I would advise you not to live right near the hospital, but somewhere along the train station. bus line or metro line. There is a free bus shuttle for all Hopkins affiliated students/employees that goes from Charles Village (near the JHU Homewood campus (near the Baltimore Museum of Art)), past Penn station (lots of people commute from there), past the Peabody Institute to the Hospital itself.

Here's a link to maps around Hopkins Hospital (it's across from the Nursing School): http://www.son.jhmi.edu/welcome/eastbmap.asp

Here's another link to JHH:

http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Directions/index.html

Here's a link to Hopkins Nursing:

http://www.hopkinsnursing.org/

Here's a link about potential neighborhoods and moving:

http://www.hopkinsnursing.org/road-hopkins/index.cfm

Good luck!

Smile123

I wanted to say thank you to everyone for all of the help. I'm also checking housing prices in the area and your posts are very helpful. Does anyone know what the pay rate is for a new RN at JHH? In S. FL there is a major nursing shortage, some hospitals even give signing bonuses, is it the same in MD?

I know some hospitals in the area do offer sign-on bonuses. Although, I'm not sure which ones. Maryland is also experiencing a nursing shortage.

I wanted to say thank you to everyone for all of the help. I'm also checking housing prices in the area and your posts are very helpful. Does anyone know what the pay rate is for a new RN at JHH? In S. FL there is a major nursing shortage, some hospitals even give signing bonuses, is it the same in MD?

Many hospitals in and around Baltimore are offering sign-on bonuses. Do you prefer city or county/suburbs? I've lived in Baltimore nearly all my life and I really like it here. I currently live in the city and I enjoy being able to walk to my neighborhood coffee shop (NOT starbucks), restaurant, funkly clothing store, even the movie theater and grocery store. But, perhaps in a few years I will feel like "settling down" and moving to the county (prob. Towson/Lutherville area) so I can have a bigger yard. Both city life and county life have different advantages. Come down and visit. Drive around and you will get a feel for things. There are many more hospitals than just JHH.

I want to live in the suburbs, but make good money.I don't mind the commute as long as its feasible. I have two children and I want them to go to good schools. Are Towson and Catonsville considered the suburbs?

I'm want to live in the suburbs, but make good money.I don't mind the commute as long as its feasible. I have two children and I want them to go to good schools. Are Towson and Catonsville considered the suburbs?

Yes both are. Both are in Baltimore County.

I'm want to live in the suburbs, but make good money.I don't mind the commute as long as its feasible. I have two children and I want them to go to good schools. Are Towson and Catonsville considered the suburbs?

JHH is not known for high salaries, but their benefits are great. I think they still have free tuition for family....someone correct me if I'm wrong.

If you live in Towson or Catonsville, GBMC or St. Joseph's Medical Center would be much closer.

Is Maryland a walk through state for license? I thought I read somewhere it is. Does it have a mandatory overtime law? When you mention salary, what is the average starting salary now? Some places have really great shift diffs.

how about up there?

I'm just starting Nursing School so I'm not sure. I know of one nurse who just graduated and is making $22/hr. My mother-in-law lives in WV and really wants us to move there but I heard there's not a shortage there. I even heard that some nurses are being laid off. Is that true?

Hello Rayofsunshine:

West Virginia has pockets of nursing shortage, the really rural areas that have lost mining jobs and other employment, so nurses have left with the hubby to find a new start somewhere else. A facility close to me lays off nurses every so often, it takes a few years to get staff built back up and then they lay off again. It happens everytime ownership changes hands and it has been sold 5 times in 20 years. We have new facilities being built in the Clarksburg area, Ruby Memorial at WVU is good, CAMC is good, St. Mary's and Cabell Huntington are good. That said, many nurses drive to towns in border states for better money, more learning opportunities, and other perks.

It is a slower pace here, we have 4 seasons, decent schools, no gang activity to speak of, some drugs but "H" is not big, meth is getting worse everyday. Taxes are low for the most part, we are within driving distance of some of the major metropolitian areas of the northeast, and as a native I can tell you we have many, many secret places no one from other places see but are so beautiful it takes your breath away. I never lock my doors, I never worry about my car, I have a camper that has never been locked, and I can go out at midnight and walk the streets of 3 local towns without fear of mugging. So, it is a decision you and hubby may want to think about. My grandkids bring friends here all of the time and the kids never want to leave. They say time stands still here in many ways but VH1 is available. LOL. It has been years since there were racial problems here. Towns like Charleston, Parkersburg, and Huntington have an active gay community, also cultures from other countries seem to be under less stress here. A physician from Tennessee once told me that WV was the little known, little appreciated jewel of the east. He comes to a lot of festivals here and says he has more fun here than in Tennessee because we are more "real."

This is not a commercial for WV but you asked.