Where can nurses live?

[tebo196]

I am a future student going into the nursing field starting at my high schools career center going into next year. I've always wanted to live in a very large city such as NYC, Los Angeles, Sand Diego, etc and I was wondering, would a newly graduated BSN with a bit of student debt be able to afford a large city? Would you recommend a cheaper city like Seattle or Pittsburgh for awhile while I try and pay off my debt? Or just throw it all on the table and move to a huge city right off the bat?

[Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN]

The problem with moving to a large city as a new grad is finding a job. Most of the big cities have way too many new grads--BSN and otherwise--looking for work. Most people are looking for months--even more than a year--just to land job #1. And being a BSN may give you a slight edge, but when the market is so bad that BSNs can't even get hired in LTC without having experience...

You would really need to plan this move out first.

I'd focus on getting your first two years of experience (yes, you could get by with one year, but you'd be in a much better position to apply for jobs with two years under your belt) in a place with a lower cost-of-living first. At the same time, you can start paying down some of that debt and socking away some savings.

Then when you've hit your two (or one) year mark, start job hunting in a larger city...but DO NOT MOVE without an official job offer in hand first. Once you land the job, then you can do everything else. If you move before getting the job, you risk running up more debt while you're job hunting.

Yes, it means delaying your dreams for a while. But IMO that's a better alternative than moving to a big city and struggling to find work while racking up lots of debt in the process.

If you are really impatient, you could start applying for jobs in big cities now...but as I said, there's already a ton of new grads living in those cities to compete with, and unless you can really bring something outstanding to the interview table, you are at a disadvantage. But you never know until you try...and as I already said, don't move without an official job offer in hand first.

And I just noticed that you are a future student...well, the job market for nurses may very well be different if/when you graduate, but no one knows for certain. I still stand by my advice though.

Hope this helps. Good luck!

[Stephalump]

^ Couldn't have said it better!

[ImKosher]

You can live in North Carolina, North Dakota, Arizona, Alabama, Maine, Michigan...

[Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN]

The problem with moving to a large city as a new grad is finding a job. Most of the big cities have way too many new grads--BSN and otherwise--looking for work. Most people are looking for months--even more than a year--just to land job #1. And being a BSN may give you a slight edge, but when the market is so bad that BSNs can't even get hired in LTC without having experience...

You would really need to plan this move out first.

I'd focus on getting your first two years of experience (yes, you could get by with one year, but you'd be in a much better position to apply for jobs with two years under your belt) in a place with a lower cost-of-living first. At the same time, you can start paying down some of that debt and socking away some savings.

Then when you've hit your two (or one) year mark, start job hunting in a larger city...but DO NOT MOVE without an official job offer in hand first. Once you land the job, then you can do everything else. If you move before getting the job, you risk running up more debt while you're job hunting.

Yes, it means delaying your dreams for a while. But IMO that's a better alternative than moving to a big city and struggling to find work while racking up lots of debt in the process.

If you are really impatient, you could start applying for jobs in big cities now...but as I said, there's already a ton of new grads living in those cities to compete with, and unless you can really bring something outstanding to the interview table, you are at a disadvantage. But you never know until you try...and as I already said, don't move without an official job offer in hand first.

And I just noticed that you are a future student...well, the job market for nurses may very well be different if/when you graduate, but no one knows for certain. I still stand by my advice though.

Hope this helps. Good luck!

Well said!!!!