Relocating to virginia

well, it's a beautiful state, but i can only speak to central va---i'm south of charlottesville. the cost of living here is very low,which is not the case in tidewater, northern va (nova--which is anywhere within a 60-90 minute commute to dc! my b-i-l works in dc and lives in spotsylvania, near fredericksburg) and charlottesville/albermarle county!

here in lynchburg, there is only one hospital system, so pay is fair but not terribly high. [i work in home care, in a small free-standing agency.] our four br house in the "best" zip code was just appraised for $193 k--we bought it (as a fixer-upper) for $130 k four years ago . there are several colleges and universities, but not much of a "hot" night life.

if i may suggest, there is a great website "find your spot" that uses a quiz to suggest areas you (and so if you have one) you'd be happy in. i used it to find this little city, which is perfect for us, but we are "empty-nesters".

best news is we get 4 mild seasons, so don't ditch the snowboots, but you won't need them often unless you way west into the mountains.

best of luck--also check out the va nursing forum.

Hi Enigma,

I actually reside in Suffolk,VA! There is one hospital that is actually located in Suffolk and that is Sentara Obici Hospital. I worked there for a year in an ICU stepdown unit and it's a nice hospital. They refer to themselves as a planetree hospital which means that they try to maintain the focus strictly on the patient and their family. Does it really work out that way, well I guess the answer is simply a matter of opinion. I transferred just recently to another Sentara hospital which is Norfolk General. Norfolk General is the only level 1 trauma center in southeastern Virginia, pretty big hospital with close to 500 beds. Either hospital is roughly a fifteen minute drive from the northern part of Suffolk. As for pay, it depends on experience and what type of floor you are trying to work on. The ED department is desperate for help and is offering 55.00 hr for internal travelers. Sentara also offers an 8.00 hr shift diff for nights and I believe weekends as well. Cost of living isn't bad, you can definitely raise a family and live a pretty decent life on the salaries around here. Hope this helps!

Candy

Thanks for the responses so far. I really appreciate it. That website Findyourplace.com is excellent. Thanks for that insight Blueridge. Can anyone tell me what's the average salary range like in VA (with only a year experience). As a new grad in NY my salary is over 76K with night diff. That's a little over $39/hr.