West vs East Coast?

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Specializes in Critical Care.

Can we do a West/Pacific vs East/Atlanctic comparison in regards to travel nursing.

I am a Houston native and as you may know Houston has one the best medical centers in the country, however I'm not to hyped about the city itself. I do ICU nursing and want to stay in critical care.

There are SO many things one can compare so instead of ME listing out things like COL, transportation, culture, and so forth.... Can y'all tell me exactly what differences were incredibly noteworthy?

In my mind I want to do west coast and probably will end up doing both east and west but I want to make a decision for my first assignment and it's so exciting and hard to believe I'll be taking my first travel assignment in less than a year.

For West Coast I imagine San Diego, SF, Sacramento, Seattle, and so forth

For East ... NYC comes to my mind first.

I definitly dislike like small town mentality. I live in the suburbs now and can't wait to ESCAPE. I feel so much more at home when I'm for example in midtown of Houston. I feel there's more culture, acceptance, variety, restaurants, and so forth.

So comments?

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Accents, culture, climate, and scenery. The compromises between those differences are personal and frankly I don't see how you can find out your balance without trying different locations yourself. Viva la difference for me. I enjoy all the contrasts.

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Specializes in Peri-Op.

Houston is just another big city, they all have big name hospitals in them. I am originally from San Antonio. I'm in San Francisco currently. I am not a busy city person but this is a great place to get that city life. Pay is the top of the food chain too.

Living and working in downtown San Francisco, Boston, seattle, Manhattan, LA probably can't be out done.

Im actually posting this from a sushi bar in japantown.

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Specializes in ACNP-BC, Adult Critical Care, Cardiology.

Just some feedback I hear from travelers as I've only lived in the midwest and west coast:

East Coast = overworked, mean physicians and co-workers

West Coast = laid back, nursing unions, nicer work environment

Take it for what it's worth.

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Specializes in NICU.

lol @ Juan. Yeah...that east coast harsh attitude definitely permeates through sometimes, not just in the hospital but in general. I found myself (as an original west coast person) becoming more cynical & jaded living on the east coast. When I was a new grad, it felt a little bit like trial by fire, although to be fair, I was also age 22 at a Level IV NICU, so it was going to be stressful no matter what.

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Specializes in Tele, CVSD, ED - TNCC.
Houston is just another big city, they all have big name hospitals in them. I am originally from San Antonio. I'm in San Francisco currently. I am not a busy city person but this is a great place to get that city life. Pay is the top of the food chain too.

Living and working in downtown San Francisco, Boston, seattle, Manhattan, LA probably can't be out done.

Im actually posting this from a sushi bar in japantown.

Hey Argo,

I want to take my first travel assignment early next year and was thinking about San Fran as my first location. I'm currently in South Florida working the ER. What's your thoughts on the hospitals there, or it as a potential location for a first timer?

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Specializes in Critical Care.

Yeah, I have heard from coworkers that worked in NYC that physicians are rude and tend to look down upon nurses.

Working at a teaching hospital I'm used to a teamwork friendly and learning environment.

Guess I gotta give it a try to find out but as far my first assignment I'm heavily leaning toward the west coast. Washington, Oregon, and California all attract me.

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Specializes in Critical Care.
Hey Argo,

I want to take my first travel assignment early next year and was thinking about San Fran as my first location. I'm currently in South Florida working the ER. What's your thoughts on the hospitals there, or it as a potential location for a first timer?

I too am curious about SF.

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Specializes in ACNP-BC, Adult Critical Care, Cardiology.

Sounds like you guys are interested in SF and are ED and Trauma RN's. In terms of SF (as I do work in the city but live outside), the only Trauma Center is Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital which is also a safety net hospital run by the Public Health Dept. Not sure if there are travelers there as it is quite a desirable place to work (good benefits and all from what I hear). It is also a teaching hospital (UCSF med students and residents). UCSF Medical Centers (2 campuses) have travelers in the ED and ICU (I'm positive on that). The environment is very collegial in terms of RN-physician interaction. The patient population is typical of academic medical centers minus the trauma component. Stanford is another option but that's quite away over in the "farm" in Palo Alto.

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Specializes in ICU, and IR.

So I am not going to compare things since I haven't been to the west coast yet but I am loving it in Baltimore right now at John Hopikins. I feel like this city gets a really bad rap. Also Boston I heard from 3 other travelers is really nice. It might be because I am a guy and 6'3" but I don't often have MDs talk down to me (literal and figurative).

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Yup, most tall men have a huge respect advantage. I notice anecdotally that many of the most successful men from CEOs to powerful politicians are tall. Advantage for physicians too. Although there are a lot of short physicians as well. I'd guess they picked a profession where you can overcompensate for stature.

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