Where can we find jobs, warm weather, and a beach?

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Currently, my wife has five years of Cardiac ICU experience and I have only 8 months PCU/MedSurg experience (we both work nights) We live in Indiana and have decided that if we have to spend another winter here we will just throw ourselves off of a tall building! Basically, our motto is that we "can be broke anywhere" so we may as well be somewhere that is warm and near a beach (and which doesn't cause us to spend $500.00 per month on oil/electric heat during the winter!!). Our families are deceased or live elsewhere (mainly Chicago), our son homeschooled, and we work too much to have many friends. Our top three contenders (as far as moving) are Tampa/Orlando, Houston, or San Diego. Although, I would eventually like to work in an ICU environment (I now work PCU/med surg) I am willing to take essentially any job ranging from nursing home and home care to Media shop attendent/Mcdonald's french fry cook IF it enables me to be close to a decent public beach (within an hour or so)!! We plan to rent (or live in a Travel nursing provided apartment if my wife can find a travel gig) although, I'm willing to consider a tent city at this point if that is what it takes. The goal is to move no later than Aug 15 (we are in the process of applying for our Florida licenses as we were told that most jobs won't look at you until you are licensed in that state). Any input about these locations or possibly some others that I haven't considered?

Specializes in Emergency.

i currently work in a hospital in newport beach. the hospital has ocean view rooms, and it's the best hospital in orange county, with the largest patient census in both orange and san diego counties. i absolutely love it there....and there is also uci if you like the idea of a teaching hospital. i drive down pacific coast highway every day to get to work, and it's fabulous:) there is also really affordable, and really nice houses out in corona which is only 30min away.......if you're looking for a house. florida is terribly terrible humid, as is texas. the weather here is awesome all year round....it has maybe gotten to the 40's a few times in the winter, and not too often over 100 in the summer...usally mid 90's with a breeze:)

Specializes in Telemetry & Obs.
Come join us in Antigua - Its the melting pot of the Caribbean. Our newest hospital just opened and we are looking for more nurses to come and join us.

Sign me up!! I love Antiqua!!

Specializes in Telemetry & Obs.
How about Wilmington, NC?!! The weather is great, people are nice, plenty of opportunity, and most importantly we have the beaches!

Practice after me: Y'ALL.....I'd like ice tea to drink (and that means with a ton of sugar)....Bless her heart!!

Wilmington is where hubby and I plan to retire. I already know how to say the above because I'm a true blue Southern gal already :D

then please remember - it's "I'll have SWEET tea" - iced tea is unsweetened y'all! ;) (from a born and will probably die here southern girl)

Bless her heart!!

Oh come on, get it right. Its "Bless her lil ole heart....":wink2:

Specializes in Critical Care, Education.

CORPUS CHRISTI TEXAS!!! No contest.

Everyone seems to forget that there is a "3rd coast" down here. :D

CC has a low cost of living, plenty of beach - year round wind surfing. Really great places to live on the island (Padre). Mexico is only a couple of hours away if you want to explore. Your air conditioning bill may get a little high in the summer, but nothing like heating bills in the North. They have no traffic to speak of (I'm from Houston LOL). If you're interested in Corpus, send me a PM and I can hook you up with a nurse recruiter. FYI, CHRISTUS Spohn Shoreline is a cardiac center that is right on the bayfront.

A previous poster mentioned Houston - hmm -- we're not on the beach despite the fact that we have one of the largest ports in the world. That would be Galveston - less than an hour away. At any rate, give Texas a look-see. Our economy remains strong - housing prices included.

Specializes in Emergency/ Critical Care.

This thread has me fantasizing about working somewhere hot! I live in Ontario Canada and am looking out the window to snow snow and more snow:( A girl can dream 'sigh'

Specializes in acute rehab, med surg, LTC, peds, home c.
This thread has me fantasizing about working somewhere hot! I live in Ontario Canada and am looking out the window to snow snow and more snow:( A girl can dream 'sigh'

I thought the same thing!

To the OP,

I remember hearing that the Houston area has the best cost of living to pay scale ratio. I have never been to Texas but I know a few people that moved down there and got huge houses at a fraction of the cost that those same houses would be here in NJ.

Florida on the other hand, I have been to and it is nice. I went to the St Pete/Clear Water area on vacation and it had nice beaches and nice people. The setting was suburban but not as developed as it is here. You can still find open space there. However, the pay scale is much lower.

Good luck. I wish I could just pick a place and move there! It must be very exciting.

Oh wow AMEN TO THAT. I moved out to Indiana to go to school and I am going nuts. I hope you can get out of here soon and go somewhere sunny and alot more exciting. Good luck:) Say goodbye to the four months of cloudiness and dreary days.

Dang I'm green with envy!

Specializes in DOU.

I wouldn't dream of moving to the south! The weather is awful - all that humidity will make you want to stay inside nearly as much as the cold winters do. I would take the California coast ('though I hear Australia is nice, too.) San Diego is supposed to have the best climate in the country (or so I heard).

Specializes in Cardiology, Oncology, Medsurge.

Bakersfield California, if you can tolerate the heat and the air pollution is just an hour and a half's drive to the most beautiful beach, Pismo. And yes, they need nurses.

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