SanDiego Area?

wjf00 · Apr 8, 2004

I used to live in San Diego and I loved it. The weather is the best and the proximity to the ocean, desert, and mountains can't be beat. Unfortunatly wages have not kept up with the costs of living there. I currently live in the Sacramento area and make $6+/hr more than I could get in San Diego, and I easily bought a house here. I still have many freinds who live in San Diego, and very few have been able to buy even a modest condo. The area is famous for the "sunshine dollars". Unfortunatly, when you can barely pay the rent while working 50 hours a week this is little consolation. When I visit my freinds there, I tell them that I spend more time in their pool than they do because they are always working to pay for it. If you are looking into Hospitals you have many to choose from. The ones I know of are UCSD, Alvarado (Tenet), Sharp hospitals, Scripps Hospitals, Kaiser, Palmorado/Palomar, Paradise Valley Hospital, and Balboa Navy Hospital (hires a lot of travelers). I think Kaiser and UCSD are near the top in pay and Paradise valley is near the bottom, but I would check them all out. Good luck, and if pay ever catches up with the cost of living let me know because I will be back there in an instant.

Kim2 · Apr 8, 2004

I was looking at the northern area too in particular Scaramento. Tell me about that area. So many decisions to make. I guess this is good because I feel fortunate to be a part of a profession that is such high demand!

Kim

I used to live in San Diego and I loved it. The weather is the best and the proximity to the ocean, desert, and mountains can't be beat. Unfortunatly wages have not kept up with the costs of living there. I currently live in the Sacramento area and make $6+/hr more than I could get in San Diego, and I easily bought a house here. I still have many freinds who live in San Diego, and very few have been able to buy even a modest condo. The area is famous for the "sunshine dollars". Unfortunatly, when you can barely pay the rent while working 50 hours a week this is little consolation. When I visit my freinds there, I tell them that I spend more time in their pool than they do because they are always working to pay for it. If you are looking into Hospitals you have many to choose from. The ones I know of are UCSD, Alvarado (Tenet), Sharp hospitals, Scripps Hospitals, Kaiser, Palmorado/Palomar, Paradise Valley Hospital, and Balboa Navy Hospital (hires a lot of travelers). I think Kaiser and UCSD are near the top in pay and Paradise valley is near the bottom, but I would check them all out. Good luck, and if pay ever catches up with the cost of living let me know because I will be back there in an instant.

wjf00 · Apr 9, 2004

I was looking at the northern area too in particular Scaramento. Tell me about that area. So many decisions to make. I guess this is good because I feel fortunate to be a part of a profession that is such high demand!
Kim

I would say Sacramento gets hotter during the summer and colder in the winter. You are still in close proximity to some great areas around Sacramento. There are the vineyards around NAPA and the Bay area is 2-3 hours away. Sac. is close to Reno and ski areas. Housing is getting expensive in Sacramento, but it is still much cheaper than San Diego. The hospitals here pay $5-10/hr more than in San Diego. Most of the hospitals in Sac are CNA union hospitals (it is up to you to decide if you like unions or not, but I definitly prefer union). I personally find it much easier to get ahead with my finances in Sac. Nurses seem to be in even greater demand in Sac than in San Diego. The biggest Hospitals in the Area are UC Davis, Sutter (many hospitals), Kaiser (many), and the Mercy Hospitals (CHW). Again, Kaiser seems to be the highest paying, but all of them are close in pay so I would reccomend checking them all out. If you want any more info you are welcome to PM me. Good luck where ever you end up.

LydiaNN · Jun 6, 2004

Scripps Encinitas is also a nice hospital, and the North County coast is the nicest area of San Diego to live, in my ever so humble opinion. Housing is expensive, *but* having grown up in the snow belt, I can tell you that some of those costs are mitigated by lower heating and air conditioning costs (not rates, but actual dollar amounts).

Kim2 · Jun 18, 2004

I would say Sacramento gets hotter during the summer and colder in the winter. You are still in close proximity to some great areas around Sacramento. There are the vineyards around NAPA and the Bay area is 2-3 hours away. Sac. is close to Reno and ski areas. Housing is getting expensive in Sacramento, but it is still much cheaper than San Diego. The hospitals here pay $5-10/hr more than in San Diego. Most of the hospitals in Sac are CNA union hospitals (it is up to you to decide if you like unions or not, but I definitly prefer union). I personally find it much easier to get ahead with my finances in Sac. Nurses seem to be in even greater demand in Sac than in San Diego. The biggest Hospitals in the Area are UC Davis, Sutter (many hospitals), Kaiser (many), and the Mercy Hospitals (CHW). Again, Kaiser seems to be the highest paying, but all of them are close in pay so I would reccomend checking them all out. If you want any more info you are welcome to PM me. Good luck where ever you end up.

I am still tossing and turning on several areas but the sac area keeps coming up tops on my list.

I know it is expensive but so is the area I come from (DC) and the wages are LOWER, weather sucks and the attitudes here are awful!

A wonder friend told me to just MOVE and the jobs will surround you. As a nurse I am in high demand but that is not what concerns me. I need a job as an NP. A rookie to be exact. The East coast does not afford me that luxury. So off to the West I go, to find a job in a rewarding career and a Brad Pitt look-a-like!:rotfl:

canavywife · Jul 2, 2004

Well, I used to live in SD (Oceanaside, which is WAY north county area) back in from 2000-2002. At the time I had just graduated nrsg school and got a starting RN position at Scripps encinitas for only $17/hr!! No kidding, what a rip off. I hated the place, it was dirty, gross, and the coworkers I worked with had a clique going and it made it difficult to make friends there. I would not chose to work there if I was you, it is small and doesn't offer a lot of variety unless things have changed in the past 2 years.

Anyways, I quit and got a job at Palomar Med center in escondido (again North county inland) and I LOVED the job. I worked days instead of nights and they paid me $20 starting which seemed OK back then. Now I have heard it recently went union so I am sure the salaries are a bit higher. I persoanlly do NOT like union hospitals though so I am thinking I might not return there when we move back (august 2004!!! Yippee!!) I LOVED the people there, they had clean rooms and knowledgable physicians who worked GREAT with the RNs. I was on the othropedic floor.

From 2002-now we moved up north to Monterey and let me tell you, San Diego DOES NOT pay good nrsg wages from what I have experienced here. I went from making 20 bucks an hr to 38 bucks an hour with just 8 months more experience! Unbelieveable! Oh and BTW, both hospitals were NOT unionized either so they compare well.

I was paying $1100/mo back a few years ago to love in SD 800 sq ft dinky apartment in a nice area to $1500 for a nice 2/2 bath condo in Monterey Ca and was making WAAAAY more $$$.

Grant it, I liked SD WAAY better than I do in monterey. Like people have said, it is awesome to live there, the residents are,in general, educated people, and the weather is terrific. It is by far my fav part of the state and I agree with a pp who stated the secret is out.

I will be moving back to the area this summer and probably will just work per diem somewhere because I have babies now. The $$ isn't as good as No cal but it is such a better community IMO.

anyways, good luck and have fun!

Tina

canavywife · Jul 2, 2004

Well, I used to live in SD (Oceanaside, which is WAY north county area) back in from 2000-2002. At the time I had just graduated nrsg school and got a starting RN position at Scripps encinitas for only $17/hr!! No kidding, what a rip off. I hated the place, it was dirty, gross, and the coworkers I worked with had a clique going and it made it difficult to make friends there. I would not chose to work there if I was you, it is small and doesn't offer a lot of variety unless things have changed in the past 2 years.

Anyways, I quit and got a job at Palomar Med center in escondido (again North county inland) and I LOVED the job. I worked days instead of nights and they paid me $20 starting which seemed OK back then. Now I have heard it recently went union so I am sure the salaries are a bit higher. I persoanlly do NOT like union hospitals though so I am thinking I might not return there when we move back (august 2004!!! Yippee!!) I LOVED the people there, they had clean rooms and knowledgable physicians who worked GREAT with the RNs. I was on the othropedic floor.

From 2002-now we moved up north to Monterey and let me tell you, San Diego DOES NOT pay good nrsg wages from what I have experienced here. I went from making 20 bucks an hr to 38 bucks an hour with just 8 months more experience! Unbelieveable! Oh and BTW, both hospitals were NOT unionized either so they compare well.

I was paying $1100/mo back a few years ago to love in SD 800 sq ft dinky apartment in a nice area to $1500 for a nice 2/2 bath condo in Monterey Ca and was making WAAAAY more $$$.

Grant it, I liked SD WAAY better than I do in monterey. Like people have said, it is awesome to live there, the residents are,in general, educated people, and the weather is terrific. It is by far my fav part of the state and I agree with a pp who stated the secret is out.

I will be moving back to the area this summer and probably will just work per diem somewhere because I have babies now. The $$ isn't as good as No cal but it is such a better community IMO.

anyways, good luck and have fun!

Tina

LydiaNN · Jul 3, 2004

Well, I used to live in SD (Oceanaside, which is WAY north county area) back in from 2000-2002. At the time I had just graduated nrsg school and got a starting RN position at Scripps encinitas for only $17/hr!! No kidding, what a rip off. I hated the place, it was dirty, gross, and the coworkers I worked with had a clique going and it made it difficult to make friends there. I would not chose to work there if I was you, it is small and doesn't offer a lot of variety unless things have changed in the past 2 years.
Anyways, I quit and got a job at Palomar Med center in escondido (again North county inland) and I LOVED the job. I worked days instead of nights and they paid me $20 starting which seemed OK back then. Now I have heard it recently went union so I am sure the salaries are a bit higher. I persoanlly do NOT like union hospitals though so I am thinking I might not return there when we move back (august 2004!!! Yippee!!) I LOVED the people there, they had clean rooms and knowledgable physicians who worked GREAT with the RNs. I was on the othropedic floor.
From 2002-now we moved up north to Monterey and let me tell you, San Diego DOES NOT pay good nrsg wages from what I have experienced here. I went from making 20 bucks an hr to 38 bucks an hour with just 8 months more experience! Unbelieveable! Oh and BTW, both hospitals were NOT unionized either so they compare well.
I was paying $1100/mo back a few years ago to love in SD 800 sq ft dinky apartment in a nice area to $1500 for a nice 2/2 bath condo in Monterey Ca and was making WAAAAY more $$$.
Grant it, I liked SD WAAY better than I do in monterey. Like people have said, it is awesome to live there, the residents are,in general, educated people, and the weather is terrific. It is by far my fav part of the state and I agree with a pp who stated the secret is out.
I will be moving back to the area this summer and probably will just work per diem somewhere because I have babies now. The $$ isn't as good as No cal but it is such a better community IMO.
anyways, good luck and have fun!
Tina

I had to go to the Scripps Encinitas ER a number of years ago back when I dropped a ceramic dish I was washing and shard of it bounced off my kitchen floor and lodged just below my knee. It didn't hurt and wasn't bleeding, but I could tell by the way it was protruding that it was going to need stitches. I called my PCP, who agreed and authorized the ER visit. The triage nurse was downright rude to me. Sneeringly, she asked me, "Dr. Falconio authorized a visit for *that*?" Turned out, I got 20 stitches, and the wound was so "interesting" to the doctor that he called over a nurse who is working his way through med school to see it. The doc told the nurse that he had never seen anything quite like it. What you're now telling me about working for Scripps Encinitas may explain the triage nurse's piss poor attitude towanrds me.

LydiaNN · Jul 3, 2004

Well, I used to live in SD (Oceanaside, which is WAY north county area) back in from 2000-2002. At the time I had just graduated nrsg school and got a starting RN position at Scripps encinitas for only $17/hr!! No kidding, what a rip off. I hated the place, it was dirty, gross, and the coworkers I worked with had a clique going and it made it difficult to make friends there. I would not chose to work there if I was you, it is small and doesn't offer a lot of variety unless things have changed in the past 2 years.
Anyways, I quit and got a job at Palomar Med center in escondido (again North county inland) and I LOVED the job. I worked days instead of nights and they paid me $20 starting which seemed OK back then. Now I have heard it recently went union so I am sure the salaries are a bit higher. I persoanlly do NOT like union hospitals though so I am thinking I might not return there when we move back (august 2004!!! Yippee!!) I LOVED the people there, they had clean rooms and knowledgable physicians who worked GREAT with the RNs. I was on the othropedic floor.
From 2002-now we moved up north to Monterey and let me tell you, San Diego DOES NOT pay good nrsg wages from what I have experienced here. I went from making 20 bucks an hr to 38 bucks an hour with just 8 months more experience! Unbelieveable! Oh and BTW, both hospitals were NOT unionized either so they compare well.
I was paying $1100/mo back a few years ago to love in SD 800 sq ft dinky apartment in a nice area to $1500 for a nice 2/2 bath condo in Monterey Ca and was making WAAAAY more $$$.
Grant it, I liked SD WAAY better than I do in monterey. Like people have said, it is awesome to live there, the residents are,in general, educated people, and the weather is terrific. It is by far my fav part of the state and I agree with a pp who stated the secret is out.
I will be moving back to the area this summer and probably will just work per diem somewhere because I have babies now. The $$ isn't as good as No cal but it is such a better community IMO.
anyways, good luck and have fun!
Tina

I had to go to the Scripps Encinitas ER a number of years ago back when I dropped a ceramic dish I was washing and shard of it bounced off my kitchen floor and lodged just below my knee. It didn't hurt and wasn't bleeding, but I could tell by the way it was protruding that it was going to need stitches. I called my PCP, who agreed and authorized the ER visit. The triage nurse was downright rude to me. Sneeringly, she asked me, "Dr. Falconio authorized a visit for *that*?" Turned out, I got 20 stitches, and the wound was so "interesting" to the doctor that he called over a nurse who is working his way through med school to see it. The doc told the nurse that he had never seen anything quite like it. What you're now telling me about working for Scripps Encinitas may explain the triage nurse's piss poor attitude towanrds me.