Want to move to VA Hampton roads area

llg, PhD, RN · Aug 15, 2009

With a night shift differential, you could expect a salary in the same neighborhood. I grew up in South Central PA ... and I really like living herein Hampton Roads. There is a lot to do that you and your family will probably enjoy ... and the cost of living is near the national average.

UVA Grad Nursing · Aug 15, 2009

Mitch:

Sentara is the major health system in the Hampton Roads area with 7 inpatient facilities in the area from Williamsburg to Virginia Beach. There are a few other hospitals (Bon Secours has one, Riverside in Newport News, and the Veterans Administration has a facility in Hampton, and few inpatient psych facilities, etc). Sentara is the major factor in the area, and their salaries tend to be what everyone else benchmarks against.

Traffic in the Hampton Roads area can be downright lousy at rush hours (owing to a limited number of tunnels and bridges), so you may want to consider where you want to live first before you decide where to look for a job.

llg, PhD, RN · Aug 15, 2009

I partially agree with UVA Grad Nursing about the traffic ... but I don't think it is a huge deal for staff nurses. The traffic is only bad during the peak of the "normal" rush hour -- from 0730-0830 and 1600-1800. Most staff nurses working night shift do their commutes during off-peak hours. As the highways are designed for the rush hours, the roads are usually more than adequate to handle the traffic during the off-peak times. The people who "suffer" because of the traffic are the people who work 0800-1630 or 0900-1730 as they are on the highways at the worst times.

However ... I would seriously consider your commute as you choose places to live and work. We have a lot of water here and there are only so many bridges and tunnels. We do need to rely on major arteries to cross water. I would recommend choosing a live-work combination that gives you 2 or 3 possible routes between the two so that you have alternatives if one route becomes problematic (car accident blocking a tunnel or bridge, etc.)

On the positive side ... as long as you are not trying to get through those main traffic arteries at the peak of rush hour, the highways allow easy travel around the area. For example, it only took my brother 30 minutes to get from downtown Norfolk to the heart of the Virginia Beach oceanfront last Sunday. We got from downtown Norfolk to Busch Gardens (Williamsburg) in just under an hour last Monday at 0900. If it's not rush hour, it's great -- and there is lots to do -- and lots of options for types of neighborhoods, types of housing, etc.

Bob_N_VA · Aug 21, 2009

I can only speak to the commutes in this area having lived here since 1982. If you can avoid going through one of the tunnels, then you should be fine. As mentioned, Sentara is the big dog on the southside and has facilities in each city. My wife has worked for them for almost 15 years, they do set the standards for salaries and benefits. Bon Secours is also here, with hospitals in Norfolk, Portsmouth and Newport News. Riverside is up in Newport news. Chesapeake General is one of the last holdouts for non chain owned hospitals that I know of. There is also the Naval hospital in Portsmouth and the VA hospital in Hampton. I would look at relocating once you have secured a position, keeping in mind avoiding tunnel commutes.

tessa45 · Aug 25, 2009

I live in this area and have lived here my entire life. If I were you I would look to live around the Williamsburg area or York County. It is very busy all around Norfolk and VA Beach. Please, if you have children you really need to check out the school systems! Each city or county has very different schools.