Rn moving to fl from nyc after 26 years

U.S.A. Florida

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Hello Everyone! After 26 years and accomplishing my RN degree here in NYC I'm ready for a change! I'm SOOOO OVER this city! I visited FL a couple of times for vacation and family visits and i love it! I'm looking to move either to the coral springs or fort lauderdale area. Just a few questions....

  1. What major hospitals I can apply for in those areas?
  2. What is the base pay salary for an RN AAS with 3 years of home care experience?
  3. Anything I need to know that will help me get the job?
  4. Are there any RN's that moved to FL and regret making the move? and if so what are the positives & negatives?

@ Rachcrow Where did you go ?? that is one expensive bacon :lol2:,,,thank God i Don't eat pork,,LOL,,

Thanks for your post! :yes:

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Haha I bought it at publix which is like Key Food or Waldbaums in NY.

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Specializes in Cardiac, Nephrology, Emergency Medicine.

@OP,

The best advice I can give you is to do your research. There are few unions here and no mandatory staffing ratios (hospitals set them). I have worked in a hospital on a PCU that I have taken 6 patients regularly (on days) moved to another hospital and had 4 regularly on a step down sometimes 5 (which is normal) I currently work in a Acute Dialysis setting so our ratio is suppose to be 2:1, recently they have been pushing us to 3:1 (in the dialysis unit) it remains 1:1 in the ICU/bedside dialysis situations.

Just yesterday I was on ICU dialyzing a patient and the ICU RN had 4 patients, yep 4...2 ICU pts on vents and 2 Medical patients. In the Mother/Baby unit 5:1 is occurring frequently, and Med/Surg is 7 on days. That is crazy. I'm not saying this only happens in Florida, it happens other places too.

Florida can be a lovely place. My friend who lives in Boca will never leave she loves her job, even with the lower pay (she is from NJ originally) she is happy. I've always said that if I was a fan of beaches, palm trees and 90+ degrees 10 months of the year than Florida would be the place for me. However, I miss seasons, leaves changing, hills and mountains, so it is time to move on for me.

The further south you go in FL the higher the pay, however the cost of living is high compared to pay, throughout the state. Certain parts (especially Southeast FL) rival parts of the Northeast in cost of living. Housing is expensive, electricity is expensive, food is expensive and so on. I know that occurs elsewhere too. I of all people understand wanting to leave where you live and try something new. I have lived in 3 different states, all have pluses and minuses.

I will answer your pay question as best as I can. Pay in general is going to be lower to mid $20's to start. You do get shift diff, but that varies by hospital and is usually a percentage of your base pay. I know someone who has 8 years experience in ICU that just started working in Miami as an ICU charge nurse for $28.20 an hour, she moved from the Orlando area so that is a big pay increase for her, but she had to negotiate that. (and I would love that pay too).

As I said before, best of luck in your move to Florida.

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@coleebee Thanks for your advice! very informative. As too the pay difference and patient to nurse ratio, Im aware of the difference. Fortunately, I have family members working in hospitals in miami and have a little knowledge of what I'm up against. Boca was my first choice in where I wanted to live, but i researched and saw it was very expensive not much of a difference as living in NYC. So yea, I know some places is as expensive as NYC, but I 'm trying to find a balance where I live comfy and more affordable, cause I know Im going to get hit with a huge pay cut, but everything in life is a balance, still working on acquiring that balance yet live within my means in FL. I know is different when you actually living there so hopefully all goes well.

Thanks once again, hopefully you come back to experience your change in seasons..

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Hi Chocolate RN,

I actually feel the same way you feel living here in Florida. At $23 an hour and $2100 rent ( shared between my husband and me) I feel that I will never get ahead here unless I start my own business. I am originally from California but lived in NY for a brief period as well. When I first visited Miami before moving here I fell in love with the city and culture and I don't think anyone would have been able to talk me out of moving here even if they tried. However, after a few years I started experiencing culture shock here a lots of things here are different then other parts of the US. In Miami it is nearly impossible to find a job unless you are bilingual in either Spanish/Creole and unless you have at least 1 year of experience. The nurse to patient ratios here are not clearly defined as in other states. In long term care I got between 25-50 patients and in medsurg tele I get anywhere from 5-8 patients or 11-14 with an LPN. There are so many other things, but I will not list them here. I would recommend you moving north of Miami like in Fort Lauderdale or West Palm Beach. A lot of the nurse I work with ask me why I would move here from California as they have the best nurse to patient ratios with great benefits and pay. My sister who works as an ICU nurse in California makes well over 90'000 a year and just to compare she and her husbands mortgage is $2,500. Whatever you decide to choose good luck to you!

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@PrincessO,,, Your rent is $2100 in FL? Wow,,where in FL do you live? Me and my sister are moving in together sharing rent and starting our own business (Home Care) in coral springs or fort lauderdale which is indeed north. You should consider opening your own business, that will be a great long term investment for you and your families future . I'm hispanic, therefore spanish will come handy ,;). Also 4 years of home care experience. I have family in FL, They already work in some of the major hospitals in FL, So I'm guessing finding a job won't be as difficult, (Hopefully). Not worried about the patient to nurse ratio, since I'm opening my business soon, it will only be a temporary sacrifice:up: PLEASE, think twice before moving back here I have 2 jobs and still can't make ends meet, A lot of my colleges are in the same situation, some already moved to another state. The economy is very tough here, either your among the lower class or upper. Theres no life for middle class and the lifestyle , well there isn't any, is just work, work and you cant even live decent or have a nice vacation. My sisters best friend is an RN working in the best hospital of the world (NYPH) and she left to florida. Sometimes in life is not about the money, sometimes is just about the simplest things in life like your sanity & state of mind, Psych units here are always over populated, surprisingly we only mostly see well educated professional individuals and that is just a FACT. That tells you something. I guess everyone situation is different maybe things go well for you here, maybe in california, research before any major move. Another thing , every state has is positives and negatives, and the economy is bad everywhere, so the decision is really based on what do you prefer. BEST of luck and thanks for the comment!

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Does anyone know of any good hospitals in fort lauderdale are? it will help me narrow my options

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Sorry for the late reply...

Cleveland Clinic in Weston and Holy-Cross in Fort-Lauderdale are some really good private hospitals in the area that hires new grads as well. If you have family members that work at hospitals in Fort Lauderdale that might make it easier for you to get an interview. Good luck!

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@ princessO Thanks! I appreciate the Help!;)

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Hey Chocolate, are you in Fl??

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What's new here? :-)

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Hey Chocolate are you in Fl??[/quote']

Yes , I just moved last week, I got hired at lee memorial. I start work on Monday march 3rd! I'm so exited to start my new journey !

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