Rumors!!!!

I am new to Nashville (downtown area) and have met a few nurses in my building, mostly travel and long term contract, 1 who works for the State and they are telling me horror stories about the state of nursing here in TN.

Maybe I am spoiled coming from California where ratios are mandatory but I personally worked VERY hard to get them established and can see the positive impact they make. I have called around to Baptist, Vandy and a few nursing agencies and they seem less than interested in recruiting me, are actually unwelcoming and Baptist told me that they do not have any openings for RN's, that they have a very low turnover and rarely use registry to "plug up holes in staffing". Should I chuck my career and become a country singer? A super model? I have to say I am very discouraged and not getting a lot of information . I have updated my resume and sent it to a few agencies but so far, no one seems to care. Are there a ton of RN's here?

Did I flood the market? Should I consult a career counselor for advice? I am anxious to get back to work but where? What can I expect? This is worse than being a new grad, at least I had friends who graduated with me, went on to new facilities and gave me an honest update on where they were working, the pay scale, the hours etc. I feel like I am on the dark side of the moon. No accurate information (granted the nurse I spoke with was just coming back from a tragic assignment in another State) but usually I knew where to get the truth about a job, a facility, a recruiter or an environment in California. I had a network of information. I need some help here. I want to continue to work registry, days, med/surg and no one seems to know how I can make that happen. Yikes.

On the upside, I love Nashville, downtown living is great, my dog and cat are doing well with the move, I hooked up with a hair stylist in Hendersonville who is dialed in and I found the box my underwear was packed in!

I can tell this saga is going to be a long one, I uprooted, left my child behind in California, my friends and family and am beginning this journey in a wonderful place. TN is beautiful and the people are so gracious, I hope I can fit in here and they can overlook my being from California. My stylist tells me that folks from here assume that everyone from California is neaveau riche , rude and superficial ! Which is one reason I got out of there!

My TN buddies, I appreciate your help and I know you will provide good advice. Thanks