Southern Cali pay - relocation from east coast

[nurseval86]

Hi everyone, I have been looking into relocating from Richmond VA to Southern California for a few months now, but have yet to find a quoted pay bracket. I'm hoping someone on here can help.

Im a clinical nurse II with almost 2 years of experience on a very busy internal medicine unit with general and step down patients, in a very large, urban Magnet designated teaching hospital that has consistently been ranked as the top in the state. I have completed a new grad residency program that is accredited here, and the project myself and another one from my cohort did is now being implemented hospital wide. I will be PCCN and CMSRN certified upon relocation. I am a preceptor for new grad nurses and senior capstone nursing students, as well as adult med/surg nursing clinicals. My unit is a gold beacon unit and one of 10 certified adult cystic fibrosis care units in the US. We also pilot all new medicine research implementations and projects before they become hospital wide, such as SIBR (structured interdisciplinary bedside rounding - includes nursing, MDs, pharmacy, and SW).

Based on this, what round about can I expect to get paid? I'm trying to figure out if I will be able to afford actually living out there. The cost of living is 257% higher in CA than where I live. I'm hoping for another teaching hospital such as UCLA, or Cedars Senai, all the way down to San Diego.

Thanks in advance for any guidance.

[NickiLaughs, ADN, BSN, RN]

Ucla wage rates

http://ucnet.universityofcalifornia.edu/labor/bargaining-units/nx/docs/nx_2013-2017_appendix-a_UCLA-january-2014-to-january-2017.pdf

UCSD wage rates

http://ucnet.universityofcalifornia.edu/labor/bargaining-units/nx/docs/nx_2013-2017_appendix-a_UCSD-january-2014-to-january-2017.pdf

low 40 to 43 range with 2 years experience. I'm guessing some hospitals pay more less. Factor I. Differential and you should hit around 50$ hourly. Kaiser usually pays a bit more. The hard part is getting a job. 2 years experience isn't bad but it can be hard to get noticed in a stack of raises because these areas are competitive for jobs. LA is easier than San Diego to get work I believe. Cost of living is high when compared with wages. It's doable, especially if your single and don't have a lot of bills.

Hope that helps.

[nurseval86]

Very helpful! Thank you! That is WAY way more than we get paid on the east coast!

[barcode120x, RN, NP]

Very helpful! Thank you! That is WAY way more than we get paid on the east coast!

But the standard cost of living in SoCal, especially SD and LA are extremely high. I do recommend moving inland away from the crowded major cities if you want to save on living expenses. Definitely look in the Inland Empire area and Orange County areas. Both are only an hour or so away from LA. Job market is competitive of course (what place isn't) but probably not as bad as the major cities.