Relocating

QC is a bit on the outskirts, but I imagine you know that going in.

Others will correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe it's about 25/hr for RN?

Also, we're in the midst of a terrible downturn. Over a year now of continuous drop in home worth/prices. Queen Creek is getting hit MUCH harder than normal by the bubble over here. Queen Creek has one of the highest foreclosure rates in the entire East Valley

For your first year, you would SAVE money (even after deductions are factored in) by renting. If you buy now and need to sell in the next 4-5 years, you could be upside down several tens of thousands of dollars if not more. Additionally, homes are taking as long as 14 months and longer to sell.

On the plus side, it's much easier to shop for rental homes on the net :)

In my search, I've found these sites to be pretty inclusive:

http://phoenix.craigslist.org/apa (just search for "queen creek" and the price & bed/bath ratio you like)

http://www.desertwide.com/rentsum.lasso (normally I don't like linking to these property management companies but this site actually has an easy to browse layout)

http://www.azcentral.com (under classified, rental homes)

Many houses are taking a few months to rent. If you have the time, which it seems you do, you may even want to negotiate if you find a home you really like. I've successfully negotiated a $50-100 discount on the monthly rent payment before. Many folks realize that such a discount is just as bad as another mortgage payment and no renter so if you position yourself right, it's often a win/win :cheers:

Good luck with the move!

EDIT:

Here's a search from craigslist for ya. All ya need to do is adjust the price ranges. As it's updated live, it's not a bad idea to check in regularly. Homes that are listed over and over are the best ones to negotiate with :)

http://phoenix.craigslist.org/search/apa?query=queen+creek&minAsk=min&maxAsk=max&bedrooms=3&hasPic=1

Thanks, I might be relocation to AZ as well. I love Craigslist. If you have things to get rid of when you move, Craigslist is also good. I sold and gave away a whole bunch of stuff before I relocated to NM.

As for the salary thing, it depends on how much experience you have. I can tell you I was quoted $26.55 an hour, plus $4.00 shift differential.

Hope that helps...

Hello! I'm an RN living in Queen Creek! The salary quoted was way low. I work for public health and make 34 an hour. Hospital nurses would make considerably more I imagine. Why would you want to work all the way out in Phoenix? Banner Desert, much closer to QC has a wonderful NICU. I believe Chandler Regional (also much closer to QC) also has a level 111 NICU. Because of the slump housing is in out here you can buy a house at a fantastic price right now. Best of luck to you!

Hello! I'm an RN living in Queen Creek! The salary quoted was way low. I work for public health and make 34 an hour. Hospital nurses would make considerably more I imagine. Why would you want to work all the way out in Phoenix? Banner Desert, much closer to QC has a wonderful NICU. I believe Chandler Regional (also much closer to QC) also has a level 111 NICU. Because of the slump housing is in out here you can buy a house at a fantastic price right now. Best of luck to you!

Wow you make 34/hr?? I've been hearing new grad hourly ranges of 23-27 or so for the others in AZ. That's nice!

I'm still in nursing school so I'd love if 34/hr is truly what new grads are getting.. that'd mean I wouldn't have to take a pay cut when I become an RN

As far as buying, I'd still stay away from buying since we're not at the bottom of the slump yet (buying now could mean you could be upside down several tens of thousands of dollars which would mean foreclosure if you had a financial strain out of nowhere), but you can rent some great 4/5 bedroom 2000sqft+ houses for 1100-1400 which is a pretty awesome deal :)

I honestly don't know what new grads are getting, but I'd have to think it would be better than 25 an hour. I know of one new grad here who is making just about three dollars an hour less than me, and again, public health makes much less than acute care.

I honestly don't know what new grads are getting, but I'd have to think it would be better than 25 an hour. I know of one new grad here who is making just about three dollars an hour less than me, and again, public health makes much less than acute care.

Salary.com puts the average around 55k/yr for a "Staff Nurse (RN)":

http://swz.salary.com/salarywizard/layoutscripts/swzl_salaryresults.asp?hdSearchByOption=0&hdSearchByOption=0&hdKeyword=Staff%20Nurse%20-%20RN&hdJobCategory=HC05&hdZipCode=85004&hdStateMetro=&hdGeoLocation=Phoenix,%20AZ%2085004&hdJobCode=HC07000001&hdJobTitle=Staff%20Nurse%20-%20RN&hdCurrentTab=&hdNarrowDesc=Healthcare%20--%20Nursing

Here are is one thread about L&D pay rates being 25/hr to 27/hr:

https://allnurses.com/forums/f135/pay-rates-area-225669.html

Here's one with some more optimistic results. 35/hr but without benefits:

https://allnurses.com/forums/f135/just-moved-here-where-great-rn-pay-200447.html

Here's one job posting for 37/hr:

Registered Nurse (Unit Based Pool)

Maricopa Integrated Health System

http://phoenix.jobing.com/job_details2.asp?JobID=1320601&utm_source=indeed&utm_medium=link&utr

Indeed.com had a lot of postings but it was hard to find anything else with salary/pay information

Do you have benefits?

If so, I'm going to be feeling a lot better about joining the workforce when i graduate..I was expecting much less

Yes, I have good benefits!

New grad pay is going to disappoint you. CHW is paying around 24.10/hr for new grads that are licensed. Unlicensed (Extern II) new grads make 15.85/hr at CHW. Banner pays 24.50/hr to new grads (although I did hear a rumor it went up $1 to 25.50). Their extern two pay is $19 an hour. CHW was around 18/hr before the summer, but for some reason they actually dropped the pay.

If you've got experience, that's a different story. There is definitely a nursing shortage here, just not a new grad shortage. As a new grad it also doesn't matter which area you work in. I'm in a specialty area and have some experience in the area, was offered positions at three different hospitals, but they all were paying new grad rates.

GilbertDaddy is right about the housing though. I'd probably sit it out until the slump is over. They're practically giving some homes away, but it still seems like it's going to get worse. My friend bought a home last year and the builder was asking $285K, she bought for $235K, and a year later her home is worth $185K. The market's not finished dropping yet from what I've been hearing.

Chandler Regional actually has a level 2 NICU but is going to a level 2EQ very soon, in fact I'm pretty sure they're right in the middle of converting. It's a great hospital, easy access to the freeway, so if you want to live in Chandler, Mesa, Gilbert, Tempe, Ahwatukee, or Queen Creek it wouldn't be much of a problem. There are people even commuting from Casa Grande and Maricopa.

Good luck on your relocation!!

New grad pay is going to disappoint you. CHW is paying around 24.10/hr for new grads that are licensed. Unlicensed (Extern II) new grads make 15.85/hr at CHW. Banner pays 24.50/hr to new grads (although I did hear a rumor it went up $1 to 25.50). Their extern two pay is $19 an hour. CHW was around 18/hr before the summer, but for some reason they actually dropped the pay.

If you've got experience, that's a different story. There is definitely a nursing shortage here, just not a new grad shortage. As a new grad it also doesn't matter which area you work in. I'm in a specialty area and have some experience in the area, was offered positions at three different hospitals, but they all were paying new grad rates.

GilbertDaddy is right about the housing though. I'd probably sit it out until the slump is over. They're practically giving some homes away, but it still seems like it's going to get worse. My friend bought a home last year and the builder was asking $285K, she bought for $235K, and a year later her home is worth $185K. The market's not finished dropping yet from what I've been hearing.

Chandler Regional actually has a level 2 NICU but is going to a level 2EQ very soon, in fact I'm pretty sure they're right in the middle of converting. It's a great hospital, easy access to the freeway, so if you want to live in Chandler, Mesa, Gilbert, Tempe, Ahwatukee, or Queen Creek it wouldn't be much of a problem. There are people even commuting from Casa Grande and Maricopa.

Good luck on your relocation!!

Phew! Thought I was crazy there for a minute.. those rates were too good to be true =/

And I've been in real estate for 4-5 years now.. we're definitely at least 1.5-3 years away from sort of turnaround on the housing crisis.