What's it like to be a Seattle nurse?

patwil73 · Dec 8, 2007

I live in California and in a few years I want to move to Seattle. And I want to know whats it like to be a nurse there? Cost of living? Job outlook? And if its better to live in Seattle or somewhere like Tacoma, where the cost of living is lower. If your a nurse and live in Seattle please share your experience.

Seattle has a lot of hospitals to choose from - Harborview (level 1 trauma for excitement), Swedish (open heart), Providence, Northwestern, Virginia Mason, a military one also I think, plus probably some more I am forgetting. So in Seattle alone you have a lot of options to choose from.

Cost of living is high in Seattle, but depending on where you live in California it could be lower than what you are used to. When I lived in Seattle I had a studio for $700/month and a 2 bedroom apt for $1300/month - both were on the cheap end of rents that I found.

If you want to buy a house, Seattle itself might be tough, usually buying outside the city and commuting work better - speaking of which, commuting is terrible. If you have to drive, expect a lot of time in your car unless you work the off-shift.

Everything is cheaper to the south and north. Lots of choices both ways. I work at Valley in Renton which is growing every year and looking to hire 70 FTE, so good chances of finding a job. If you buy a house in Pierce county (Tacoma - or commute to Auburn/Renton) you can get a good 3-4 bedroom for under 300k.

Hope all this helps,

Pat

PS if you live centrally in Washington like Renton, Kent, Des Moines you literally have 14 good sized hospitals within 30 miles to choose from.

pumpkin1984 · Dec 9, 2007

Thank you so much for that, that was exactly what I wanted to know!

RosesRN · Jan 25, 2011

Thank you too! I will follow up on this information! Any update....3 years later? Thank you! I am a new grad, BSN