Should I relocate from new York to Houston texas?

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Hello everybody, I am a nursing student in a new york city school about to graduate from a bsn program.My boyfriend studied business in houston and loved the city. He currently owns a small business in the city and we are willing to sell the business and try out Houston tx. I am extremely nervous because I grew up in NYC and have never been to the south. As a new registered nurse will it be hard to find a job? What business can my boyfriend possibly start up? I also have a son are the schools good. What area is good to move in to.

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.

Due in part to the economic downturn, Houston is a very tough job market for newly graduated nurses with no experience. Moreover, the fact that you graduated from an out-of-state school might hurt your chances of finding employment for a while, since many of the local employers prefer grads who completed clinical rotations at their facilities.

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In other words don't move out there before securing a job? How is the quality of life? I'm from new York city? Is it worth relocating?

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Houston is a sprawl. Unlike NYC that is built up, Houston is build out, making it a necessity to have a car. They have worked on their transportation system these past few years, but has a long way to go before it is helpful to most of it's residents on a daily basis. Downtown has been renovated but still is not all that great, so your interests will probably take you to various parts of the city, and may have you in traffic for long periods.

The people are generally friendly. A different sort of friendly than NYC. I find people in NYC friendly once you get to know them, or have mutual friends, but not as friendly to the person on the street. But of course those are just general observations for whatever they are worth.

While there is a good deal of diversity in Houston, it is less than in NYC and perhaps a bit more segregated. Maybe it is just easier for to stick with their own clicks when there is more space. But Houston does draw interesting people from around the country and the world.

The cost of living is much less, but of course so are the salaries. It gets super hot in the summer, but you won't be scraping ice off your car very often.

Have you had a chance to visit?

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I haven't visited but planning to. My boyfriend absolutely loves it. I guess I would have to get used to the "lay back" attitude compared to my fast pace life in NYC. I have been to NC and it was hard for me to swallow the fact that the city was empty at 8pm on a thurs. At the same time I live in a extra small apartment, parking is impossible, and I'm always in rush and running. The day goes by super fast and I eat in the train, bus or taxi half the time. Quality of life sucks. And don't get me started on my expenses. Good friends are super hard to find

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Sounds like a visit is definitely in order. Houston is not my favorite Texas city, it's actually far to big for me... but I have good friends and a brother who love it, and there are definitely good things about it. My brother lives in Montrose, a sort of artsy, gay, gentrified area - fun with a lot of character and probably one of the more pedestrian parts of the city. A friend lives in Sugarland, outside of Houston... very clean, fairly recently built homes, strip malls and PTA meetings. There so many neighborhoods and suburbs, I hope others pipe up who know Houston better and share more. I've been living out of state for a while and can't add anything about the local job prospects.

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Houston is a nice city to live in (depending on what parts you stay in), it might be best for you to visit before moving, that way you have a real taste of the place, (I tried moving to CA once, 5 years ago, ran back in 3 days even though my childhood friends live there), and like the commuter's post said, the hospitals give preference to students who actually went to school here, first preference to those who completed clinical rotations at their facility, second to those who actually lived here for many years, then to others who went to school here, before considering others, but honestly it's like that in so many states, plus you also have to consider pay is very low as cost of living is low too, something to prepare yourself for, other than that, it's a nice city

All the best

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Specializes in Critical Care, Education.

Houstonian here - I agree with PP's. I would urge the OP to actually spend some time in Houston before making a move. It is a very different environment & not everyone's cuppa tea.

Recent conversations with my nurse educator colleagues in the Med Center seems to indicate that New Grad employment opportunities are improving slightly... more internship/residency slots this year than last. The TMC programs are limited to BSN only, and fill rapidly with new grads who had rotations in the facility. There are plenty of hospitals in other areas of the city & surrounding communities that are also hiring.

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