Information on relocating to Texas!

U.S.A. Texas

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Hello All,

I am trying to find out some information my family & I would love to move to texas from Iowa! A little information is I am an RN, I graduated with my LPN in 2005 worked in nursing home then recieved my RN in may of 09 I have experience in pediatric home health, med surg, Postpartum, nursery, some L&D currently on my 6month in ICU. My husband is originally from San Antonio & although we visit there every year. & love to visit we both agree we dont want to raise our kids there,( ages 16, 14, 12) I am wondering about sugarland, the woodlands, plano or austin for nurse needs also anyone know if it is best to relocate with travel nurse company or just get a job on my own & then move also I am not very happy in ICU but if thats what it takes to get me to texas experience wise I will stick it out. I Have an opportunity to apply in NICU but what kind of nurse is Texas in need of??? Also where is the best chance to land a job houston area, dallas area austin area or is there an area I am not thinking of???? We both do not want to live on the west side of texas , I would love to be close to the beach but hubby thinks to close would be less jobs cause everyone wants to live near the beach.

Thanks in advance!!!

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Specializes in Critical Care; Cardiac; Professional Development.

I grew up in Plano. Great schools, tons of hospitals within reasonable driving distance. Austin is a wild card. Higher cost of living. Harder to find work. Not sure about the Houston areas.

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Thank you, I have visited my father in law in plano years ago when he lived there, it seemed like a nice area, but didnt investigate the area as at that time we were not discussing moving, wish I would have now.

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Austin is having a lot of influx lately, so I know pay isn't that great because there are so many people willing to move there and taking a lot hourly wage. Dallas and Houston are both good places with great medical centers, but you might find more success in the suburbs (Woodlands, Sugarland, Katy, League City, etc.)

Houston/Dallas/Austin/San Antonio are going to be the most populated and most competitive for jobs. Popular beach towns such as Galveston, Corpus Christi, Port Aransas, Rockport, South Padre Island, etc don't have a lot of people living there. For one, Galveston and even Corpus aren't the pristine beaches of Mexico or even Florida!

South Padre Island is south near the Texas/Mexico border, and I know a lot of border towns such as Eagle Pass and in an area we call "The Valley" (included Harlingen, McAllen, etc) are looking for nurses - many even offer signing bonuses. But don't worry... the beach towns aren't crowded at all. There's more tourists than actual residents in the beach towns.

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Thanks In my research I am leaning toward the areas around houston I do not want to actually live in houston but the woodlands sugarland seem nice but am unsure how finding a rental for a family of 5 with 2 dogs price range wise as I dont know what my income would be like in texas here I make $20.72/hr & could never do 1300-$1500 a month on rent(thats what I saw on realtor.com rentals in texas).

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You probably will have no problem finding a job in the Houston area if you have experience. There are a lot of jobs in Houston and the economy is really picking up. One of my best friends grew up in sugar land, they have great schools and a lot of cultural diversity. Woodlands is also really nice, it is considered the wealthy "white" suberb. You probably will make more than 20 an hour. I'm a new grad and got offered 25 an hour to work LTC and turned it down to pursue acute. You do for the most part need BSN to work here, but ADNs still can sometimes find work in hospitals. Hope that helps. Welcome to TX.

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Thanks, does anyone know if I should pursue a certain specialty, as I have said currently 6 months into ICU & not my cup of tea , I miss working with the babies & could go to NICU but want to know what is the need in Texas cause if it is ICU I will stick it out!!!

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Specializes in Critical Care, Education.

OK - First enculturation lesson. We never refer to the "western area of Texas" - it is "West Texas". (we don't use '-ern' to indicate any area of the state) - LOL. Second lesson: 1 person = you, 2-3 people = y'all, > 3 people = all y'all. Now you're good to go.

Houston metro area is always in need of experienced critical care nurses. Do you have a BSN? If not, I would strongly recommend that you get your CCRN. I am not familiar with relocation policies for travel nurses, but I don't believe that they will transport your home furnishings & housing arrangements are usually for short term only. Contracts may also have stipulations against accepting permanent positions with the travel client for a period of time. It's probably better to do your own job search.

The Woodlands is great, but you will be faced with a horrendous commute if you are working anywhere outside the Woodlands. If the school district is important, you will probably want to take a look at this -http://www.city-data.com/forum/houston/1556675-2012-edition-chron-houston-area-school.html . And if you want to get demographics on areas of the city, this is a great site Houston TX Real Estate Information - NeighborhoodScout

I love Houston, but we have a lot of 'unique' issues when you are looking to invest in a home. Be sure to work with a very experienced realtor to make sure you aren't surprised. Evacuation zones, flood district classification, MUD taxes dictatorial HOAs - all potential minefields.

Houston is only an hour from the beach. You need to review mandatory (hurricane) evacuation zones before deciding to live closer. Insurance costs can be daunting for higher risk zones. Hurricane Evacuation

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Thank you, & I appologize for saying western area lol, That is one of the issues we are discussing as to moving to the houston ARE the hurricane issue as mentioned above I am trying to calculate all the expenses we are not use to here in the midwest, that is why we were also considering plano area near dallas but sounds like jobs are around houston for nurses I would prefer not to commute into houston if I don't have to.

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