Florida LPN moving to Dallas

U.S.A. Texas

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Hi. I currently live and work in Tampa, FL. I got my license in Feb, '06, and since day 1 have been working at a hospital on a medsurg/oncology floor.

Does anybody have advice on where to live in Dallas, a little bit about my chance of getting into another hospital or a nursing home, pay scales, or even what part of town to live in? My husband will be downtown, and has heard that the "better" part of Dallas is north, but, who knows?

I do plan on working on my RN thru Excelsior while I'm there, and working part time, or maybe just PRN.

Thanks for any help/advice.

- B.

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:welcome: Welcome to Texas! I live just north of Dallas and it is a great place. It really depends upon what you are looking for and your price ranges. Plano, Allen, & McKinney are quick growing cities and have quick access to the Interstate. If you want more of a "country" setting there are little places further northwest such as Wylie. Homes range from $130K to multi million. With the rising cost of taxes and electricity I warn you to pay careful attention to details when choosing your home. Our elec and taxes have nearly doubled in the last two years.

As for options in the area- whooo- too many to tell you. The top are Baylor, Presbytarian, Centenial, and more. You won't have a problem finding work. Trust me on this count. Good luck and enjoy the heat wave.

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

RNs with less than 1 year of experience are paid in the range of $19 to $21 per hour at hospitals in DFW, Texas.

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As a former Dallas resident, here is what I will caution you on:

Do NOT let people talk you into moving farther out to the farther suburban and more rural areas just because the homes/apartments get cheaper if your husband (and possibly you as well) will be working downtown.

Depending on the time of day, commuting in DFW can be a nightmare and it is not worth the money you save by moving to McKinney or Van Alstyne for example.

If you have kids or just prefer a more rural or suburban setting, then yes you should look to the northern suburbs, and go past McKinney if you want more country and less suburb, but you really didn't mention any of those things.

If you are a young childless couple, stay in Dallas. Uptown, Lower Greenville, Oak Lawn, Turtle Creek (can get spendy) are all great places in Dallas proper to live and are close to the big hospitals and facilities that generally pay LVN's the best. Downtown/Deep Ellum itself was in the process of trying to spruce up the area and get people to move into many newly renovated lofts when I left. Not sure how well that project went, that was about 3 years ago or so.

Farther north up 75 off Walnut Hill or Greenville Ave. also has nice areas to live that are close to downtown. White Rock Lake area is also very nice but can also get very expensive.

My last LVN job at a downtown Dallas hospital paid $22/hr and that was considered top pay. When I first moved there my first LVN job in a hospital paid $15/hr and that was fairly standard for that time.

Agency rates of course will be higher if you want to do that.

LTAC's in Dallas can be nightmarish places to work but often are the best paying places for LVN's in Dallas with plenty of overtime.

Good luck.

Dallas is a great city and I really enjoyed my years living there.

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Coppell, Las Colinas and North Irving are nice if you want to rent for a while. I don't know about the schools for the kiddos since I have none! :lol2:

Your husband can always take the TRE right into downtown Dallas. That way he can save on parking AND gas. If you get a job at Parkland, Children's, Zale Lispsky (or to a lesser extent) St Paul, the TRE goes right past the hospitals back door!

The TRE is a commuter train between Downtown Dalls and Fort Worth. It is clean and safe. It is packed with office types going to work every morning (as early as 5am) and evening.

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