The right place for me

[HisHands]

I am having a major dilemma. I am an LPN with 1 year experience, am a newlywed, and am SICK and TIRED of snow!

I have lived in the frozen north my whole life (as has my husband), and we are looking to relocate (he is a CNA) somewhere warmer. I lived in Tulsa, OK for a brief period a few years ago when I was in school, and I LOVED it. But I was only there in the winter. Sounds like an easy decision, right? Find some nice, subtropic area, and sink your feet in the sand. Well, here's the real clincher. I am petrified of bugs. Spiders especially. And, I'm REALLY not fond of cockroaches. Is there anywhere in the world that's lovely and warm, but isn't swarming with creepycrawlies?

Any help would be truly appreciated.

Blessings,

HisHands - Crystal

[Schweetnsazzy]

Oregon will let you experience all seasons and has a lot to offer and when it's warm it's usually a dry warm. There of course are bugs, i.e. spiders, beetles, ladybugs, mosquitos, bees, but they are not big, depending of course on your interpretation of big and most are more afraid of you and will try to stay away from you. You don't have to check the covers at night and most bugs stay out of the house. I have never seen a cockroach here in oregon. Good luck.

[NurseCard, ADN]

Well, there are of course, other things that you really want to ask yourself as well before you make a move:

1) How far from my family am I willing to live?

2) What about cost of living in the areas that I'm considering?

3) Would I be satisfied living somewhere with SOME winter?

And of course, there are probably many other questions when you are trying to make a move, but those are three good ones in your case.

One thing you have to consider about very warm year-round climates is that the bugs are going to tend to be bigger and more plentiful because they can live and thrive there year round. That doesn't appear to be true for ALL warm climates; Meditteranean-type climates such as southern CA and the south of France (where I visited in high school and don't remember seeing hardly any bugs at all!) seem to be relatively large-bug free, but....

they are also RIDICULOUSLY expensive places to live in! But I believe that nurses in California also get paid ridiculous money. =) (I don't mean that, nurses DESERVE ridiculous money! )

I personally recommend Kentucky. =) Winters here are fairly short and temperate... we got hardly ANY snow this year, though from time to time we will have a pretty big snow or ice storm. It's rare though. We HAVE snakes and poisonous spiders here but... well, do you want to live in a neighborhood type setting, or do you want to live out in the country? Living in the country you ARE going to see more spiders and snakes and other big bugs, especially in the summer. But I live in a large neighborhood in a small town and the only bugs I ever see are ones that I probably wouldn't have if I did a better job of keeping my house clean and spraying around the perimeter of the outside of the house. I get those teeny-tiny ants in spring every year, some flies in the summer, and I have spiders in my house. Again, I wouldn't have ANY of those if I would just spray! Well, I DO spray the ants, once they get in the house! The spiders I mostly leave alone; there aren't that many and they don't really bother me.

Kentucky isn't terribly far from the Detroit area; maybe a half-day drive. Well, it may depend on what part of KY you are in. AND.. the cost of living here is pretty good. You can get a NICE new house in the area that I live in for 169K.

Just some points to ponder. :gandalf:

[catlady, BSN, RN]

Travel nursing might be right for you.

I live in AZ and while I have a ant problem in my house right now (grrrr), I find the area much more bug-free than it was in the Northeast. At least you don't get eaten alive by mosquitoes every time you venture outside in the evening.

[HisHands, ASN, RN]

There are lots of other questions I am asking myself about our move, don't get me wrong. But, I love this area to visit... not stay. I think one of the biggest reasons I loved Tulsa was the cost of living was incredibly cheap, and the pay was significantly better than the area I am currently in. I have been thinking about travel nursing, but I can't leave my husband 13 weeks at a time.

Deep down, we just want to be truly happy. Another thing is, though, that most fears are based on a lack of understanding, IMHO. Maybe if we went some place with bugs, we would realize that the stigma we receive way up here isn't quite accurate.

Just something to ponder. Thanks everyone for your replies!!!

BTW, I was under the impression it's difficult to get a job in KY. Am I mistaken?

Thanks,

Crystal