Relocating to Raleigh- questions

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Hi, and thanks for the help.

I am moving to the Raleigh/Durham area, and i have never been there. I have a TN multistate license, so I am not concerned there, but where to work? I was excited to note that Duke is there. I am an ER RN adrenaline junky, so that seemed appropriate, but my fiance's job is in the north Raleigh area.

Any woes or recommendations about where to work or not to work if i don't want one of us to drive for forever?

Also, best areas to live- I will be renting (hopefully a house) for a little while.

AND- what kind of pay should I expect/ask for? I have 3.5 yrs all ER/critical care. I make 37/hr now- is that something i should expect there also? (that is NOT a TN rate in case you were curious)

thanks all for your help! looking forward to joining your beautiful state!

Lisa

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I never worked in Raleigh but I grew up there and my parents still live there. I would say live in north raleigh; it is a really nice area. Also if you are near 540 then you can easily get to the durham area if needed (where duke is). As far as hospitals, I would recommend WakeMed but I am biased b/c I have worked there before. Raleigh is a great area with a variety of hospitals to chose from; I miss it and wish I had been able to work there.

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Please be aware that your TN license will lose its multi-state (compact) privileges if you move out of TN to another state. You will not be able to use your TN license to work in NC once you move to NC; you'll have to apply for a NC license.

There is a lot of confusion about compact licenses, but they work exactly the same as drivers' licenses. You can use your "home" driver's license to drive in other states if you're travelling, but, if you move to another state, you have 30 or 60 (or whatever the state law is) days to apply for a license in your new state. The nursing compact licenses work the same way -- other compact states will recognize your TN license for employment purposes, but only as long as you maintain your permanent residence in TN. If you move to another state (even another compact state), you have to apply for a license in your "new" state in order to work there.

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I can guarantee you will not be making $37/hr as staff at Duke. Perhaps close to that as a supplemental position (if you don't need benefits).

You may want to look at WakeMed. You probably still won't make that as staff - possible as supplemental.

Good luck.

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Specializes in Community, OB, Nursery.

Good luck on your move to NC.....

WakeMed is a great place to work and just recently got a Level I trauma cert. I don't think you'll be making $37/hr, though. Just so you know.

If your SO's job is in N Raleigh you might want to check out Wake Forest or Rolesville for somewhere to live. You could live there and still work at WakeMed or any of its facilities fairly easily. Good luck!!

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Specializes in EMS, ER, GI, PCU/Telemetry.

wakemed will be your best bet for decent pay and trauma... main wake campus is a beautiful facility and they are upgrading. theres also a north wakemed campus thats nice, but all the traumas go to main wake. but you will not be making 37 an hour. my bf used to work cardiothoracic at wakemed, and cleared 24 an hour plus diff as an RN/BSN.

duke is a great company to work for, as ive heard they have tuition reimbursement and great benefits, but the pay is on the lowest end. ive heard not so nice things about duke raleigh hospital. durham, where duke univ. hospital is about a 20-30 min drive from n. raleigh.

the closest hospital to n. raleigh is actually rex hospital. it is a magnet hospital, not a level 1 but has a huge chest pain center, and ive heard is a wonderful place to work. i heard pay on the 21-25/hr scale.

unc-chapel hill is about 30 mins from n. raleigh. they are also a trauma center and i believe are affliated with the state, so the benefits and retirement plan would be good! a friend of mine used to work there said the pay was better than in raleigh, i guess because chapel hill is a little more expensive.

you may have better luck commuting. my boyfriend commutes now about an hr each way to greenville, to pitt county hospital, which is a level 1 and also affiliated with ecu's med school. he is making 32/hr plus diff there.

as for best areas to live, north raleigh is awesome but a little pricey. downtown raleigh (which is where i live) is actually really nice in most areas, but congested. if you are looking for a house, go outside of raleigh!!! if you are planning to work at wakemed, check out knightdale. its right down th road, not as crowded or expensive as raleigh. if you want to drive a little further, check out wakeforest/rolesville, or in the other direction angier/garner/clayton. you can get more land and house for your buck.

good luck!!!!

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Specializes in ER.

I agree with the above posters. Duke's pay is notoriously lower than everywhere else in the area, probably because they can get by with it in exchange for the prestige of the name. I would look into WakeMed and Rex, both are great hospitals. WakeMed is the state's newest Level 1 Trauma Center and they are very busy and have a high acuity. Rex is smaller and non-trauma but an easy commute from North Raleigh. UNC is a great place too (Level 1) but depending on where you live may be a farther commute. Also, lack of employee parking there (as with Duke) is a problem. WakeMed and Rex also have the better shift diffs.

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