Relocating to NC looking for info

I'm in Charlotte. My guess is you would be making a bit more than $21.35. New Grad pay is $19.68 or something close to it. I'm guessing with 3 years you can get mid-twenties or more? I know at CHS (CMC hospital) the weekend differential is about $4 and nights are $3 (or vice versa). So if you worked both you could potentially make $7 more per hour than your base.

Cost of living is higher than Pittsburgh I believe but you can find reasonable areas to commute from that are safe.

I'm a registered nurse with 3 years of experience and I want to relocate to NC at the end of next summer. I currently live in Pittsburgh pa and make $21.35 an hour. I've been hearing the cost of living in NC is pretty high but the pay is low. Will I be taking much of a pay cut?

I've been seeing that its hard to get a job in NC (from posts in this forum). Is this still true? I also read that lots of nurses are relocating to NC. Is there a particular reason why?

As for pay, you would make at the most $25/hour plus diff. The real problem is getting a job.

I have said it in many other forums. There are thousands of people just like you that are trying to move to this area, and there aren't many jobs. There are some nursing jobs but there are a lot of highly experienced nurses from all over the country trying to get them. Three years of experience is a lot better than being a new grad, but it may not be enough. My friend recently got hired at CMC and the other new nurses at orientation all had 8+ years of experience.

Good Luck!

NC still has jobs for experienced nurses. New grads, like me, are finding it tough. www.wfubmc.edu is Baptist Hospital in Winston. www.novanthealth.org is Forsyth Medical Center in Winston. They both start new grads at $21.05 an hour so with three years experience you'd be making a few dollars an hour more. They both pay $4 an hour shift differential. Several home health agencies regularly post ads as well. Bayada has tons of openings for nurses with at least a year's experience, especially in the Charlotte and Raleigh area.

The cost of living in NC isn't that much lower than in FL, where I am originally from, when it comes to food, gas, utilities etc. It is, however, significantly cheaper on housing. I didn't pay property taxes or state taxes in FL though and I do here.

NC has also been EXTREMELY hard hit by the outsourcing of manufacturing jobs. Unemployment is very, very high here.

All that being said, I love this state. I am near Winston and its only a 5 hour drive to the coast and a 2 hour drive to the mountains. I am in the foothills and we have fairly mild winters, although this one is starting out quite cold. We had 10 inches of snow the Friday before Christmas. People are friendly here and we have four distinct seasons. Its really a great state to live in.

I live in the eastern coastal region. The temps are pretty mild,even during the winter months. As far as employment goes, there is definitely not a nursing shortage in this area. I have been trying for months with no success. I pray one day it will happen. I wish you luck :)

Call recruiters and start applying before you get down. I work at Wake med in Raleigh and pretty sure they would start you out with $23-25 an hour. The shift diff is $4 3-11pm and $6 11-7 pm and add about $10 to that on the weekends. It cost about $700-900 to rent apartments in Raleigh. Live on the outskirts like l do. I live in Clayton which is a 20-30min drive to raleigh.

I think you could get a job in this area because you have experience.But you would have to find a way to bug recruiters. Wakemed recieves about 2000-3000 applications a week and usually have 45-50 jobs posted. It definetely helps to know people because those are the ones that usually get the job.

Oh, and we are 2 hours from the beach, 3 hours to the mountains. Its a beautiful state. I love it here.

Thanks for all of the helpful info everyone!!

The only problem I have is that I want to move the beg of September. I don't want to apply for a North Carolina RN license until 2-3 months before then. I'm pretty sure I won't even get considered for any job until I have a NC nursing license.

Then I think I can use a temporary NC license (endorsement) for a year before applying for a real one. Is this correct? I will also be renewing my PA license in September as well.

Stupid question... but when I'm endorsing my license I won['t have to worry about the continuing education requirements for NC will I?

the only problem i have is that i want to move the beg of september. i don't want to apply for a north carolina rn license until 2-3 months before then. i'm pretty sure i won't even get considered for any job until i have a nc nursing license.

i would suggest that you start applying now, but if you can't move till sept then i guess you could hold off till the summer. your real problem is going to be finding a job, the licensing issues are minor in comparison.

Which are the best teaching hospitals in the Raleigh area?