MN nurse looking into california (San Diego: military, licensed, nursing)

[jguillot]

The UC Davis Health System in the Sacramento has nursing positions open. The hourly salary for a Clinical Nurse II ranges from $37.76 to $49.81 per hour, depending upon experience.

[sheri257]

Originally Posted by jrmint

I've recently heard that San Luis Obispo area hospitals are actually cancelling nursing contracts for travelling nurses (already working in the hospital) stating that they are not in need...

I wouldn't be surprized. Sorry that I wasn't more specific ... I live closer to Monterey and the pay here is great. But SLO is kind of a screwy market for RN's ... the hospitals typically don't pay much.

As I recall the CEO of one of the hospitals there has been very vocal about not wanting to pay higher wages.

SLO is one of those few California towns ... like San Diego ... where RN pay really sucks in comparison with the cost of living. I guess they get away with it because lots of people want to live there.

[Kung_Pao_Chicken]

Originally Posted by aecp

Hello... I am posting this message because I am curious about california... I have lived in minnesota my whole life and mainly want to get away from the cold and be near the water. I have never been to california and am just begining my search of where I would like to live.. its so huge and I have no clue where would fit me best
A little about me:
Like I said I have lived in minnesota my whole life.. I love the outdoors but it is so cold here that I dont get to enjoy it for long.
I like to visit the bigger cities but know it would not be somewhere I would want to live... somewhere in the middle sizewise would fit me best

I know the cost of living is very high there... where could I find a safe place and still have manageable cost of living?

My husband and I are both nurses so the option of taking a travel assignment before actually moving somwhere appeals to me... I just have no clue where! California is so big and I want to take a trip there within the next 6months just to get a better feel for it but feel a little lost.

I woulnt even mind a winter that got a little snow and chilly but am sick of the temps being below zero for weeks at a time!
My husband and I are both into sports and like to be active.. we are just looking for a change
Any info would be helpful especially if there are any nurses out there!
Thanks a bunch

Check out San Luis Obispo, CA (aka "little Santa Barbara")

YOU'LL LOVE IT HERE!! TRUST ME!!

[stan in san diego]

My wife is from St. Paul and we were married in Mpls. many years ago. We've lived in both the northern and southern parts of CA. It is a spectacular place. Check it out carefully because there is so much variety and diversity. SLO is awesome. Santa Barbara is remarkable, San Diego is amazing (we've lived here for 25 years). Have great fun checking CA out and ask all the questions you can think about. But you probably should check out NoCal on one vacation or work visit and SoCal on another. In the end, California is a state of mind. If you have it you'll love it. And no disrespect to MN or NE (where I grew up) or AZ (where we lived for 12 years after we left MN).

[aecp]

Originally Posted by Paige5

For Northern California, look into Chico. May be a little smaller than you are looking for. It's a nice large town but it has a state college so the down town area has a lot of students. They seem to have a lot more free money to spend than when I was in school!

I'm an RN too. Finding a job in California will be absolutely no problem. I would recommend getting your license early though. If you decide to move here, have it before you come. California is slow. I applied for and got my California RN license before I returned to California which is my home state. I went to nursing school in Washington. California took months to issue it and then they sent it to me in the wrong name. I finally had my license though when I got back here.

Really? Someone told me it was a "walk through" state meaning it only takes a couple days.

[SOON2BNSURPRISE]

Come work for us at Community Memorial Health System in Ventura, CA. We are a two hospital system, with 9 county wide clinics.

[leahmh55]

Hi there, I think my fiance and I are in a similar situation as you and your husband. We are both physical therapists who currently live in Indiana and are wanting to try something new (and warmer) after we get married in August. We also are very in to sports, hiking, biking, camping and are looking into northern CA. We are looking to move this September. I know you posted a while ago, but I was curious to see if you had made a trip out there and if you had narrowed your search. Just trying to get any advice I can. Thanks!

[b-raaad]

the 3 most desirable places to live in california as far as im concerned are san francisco/bay area, south orange county, and sandiego/la jolla area.

Of all 3 places i know about orange county.

Look into cities around Irvine, California

if you look on a map, sourrounding cities are Tustin, mission viejo, lake forest, laguna hills, fountain valley. These are all upsacale, upper middle class communities which most ppl cannot aford to live in. Also ranks very high in safety and quality schools.

The one exception is Santa Ana, stay away from this city with a 10ft pole. Trust me, if you do a search here you will find out why.

North Orange county is not as prestigious, but still has it's pockets of upper class communities like some parts of brea, yorba linda, and some parts of the city of orange. stay away from cities like anaheim, fullerton and some sourrounding cities.

Do a search for 2 shopping areas/malls in south orange county.

South Coast Plaza, and Fashion Island. 2 high class shopping areas, which immediately show that the ppl who shop and live in this area are obviously a little more fortunate than the rest of the population.

You and your husband being nurses should make it no problem to be able to afford to live in such prestigious communities. My sister in law just graduated with an associates degree in nursing/RN from a local city college and her starting pay is $30 an hour. My mom who has decades of experience and has a bachelors makes around $55/hour. Overtime is plentiful if you so wish.

if you want to go all out and make as much money as you can by working a lot and live in the million+ dollar home you CAN.

but if you dont wanna spend your whole life working for material gains, and just want to work enough to live comfortably you will still be better off than a lot of the population.

here are some links to nice homes in nice area.

Luxury New Homes in Ladera Ranch - Covenant Hills Village

http://lennar.com/New-Homes/California/Orange-County

20170 Pingree Way, Yorba Linda, CA, 92887 - MLS ID#P676638 - Single Family Home real estate - REALTOR.com®

4021 Humboldt Ln, Yorba Linda, CA, 92886 - MLS ID#S564726 - Single Family Home real estate - REALTOR.com®

Irvine, CA, Real Estate Listings and Irvine, CA, Homes for Sale - REALTOR.com®

Portola Springs – Southern California Luxury Homes – The Villages of Irvine


the last link (portolla springs) is about right where you can afford it comfortably without working your butts off with lots of overtime or 2 jobs or both. But if you so desire i also posted million + dollar homes just for the hell of it.

These are all low prices historically as california was hit very hard by the housing crisis. These prices were 15-20% more about 10 months ago, so your getting sort of a bargain here. (30-40% more in lower class communities.)

all these areas are minutes to the beach, there are even actual beach cities you can live in that i didnt mention like, dana point, huntington beach, laguna beach, costa mesa, etc...

if you have any questions about orange county, or any other areas around southern california, i can help. I know little about northern california though, only that the sanffran/bay area is comparable to the OC

[Ultrarunner]

The market has definitely tightened up since the election...

Some of the big Bay Area Hospitals initiated hiring freezes for benefited positions.

Eden Hospital had an opening for 10 RN's and received more than 200 applications...

My facility has instituted a 10% across the board work week cut... 36 hours pay will be the norm for the interim...

[mmouwse]

Hello! Gonna contribute my "2-cents worth" for folks reading this thread and hopefully you will find it helpful. I could write a book trying to describe this state in all its diversity, character, natural wonder, political contrast, pros and cons! No time for that today! LOL
California is a large and very diverse state, both in land-area, population, and any other category you may be interested in. The climate and culture from north to south and west to east varies tremendously. This is not a state you can get to know from a few short trips to various areas. Everything varies! Weather, climate, topography, mindsets of people and cultural norms, traditions, crime, income, industry, activities... This state has the 5th or 6th largest economy in the world!
Those of you who are able to take working travelling assignments are quite fortunate! You can get paid to experience a place you think you want to live before you actually move there. That is so cool! 6 months here, 6 months there, a bit of travel on your days off....No better way to assess a place than actually living there after you research it!
To anyone considering a move to here (California), I would suggest that you do your homework first. Conversations on this site are a great way to gather lots of personally subjective and experiential opinions. These are great to help ferret out the character and flavor and culture of day-to-day living in the real world of this state in different towns, cities, counties, etc.
While you are on this site, take the time to go outside the forums and check out the other info provided here. This site is like an online almanac, full of statistical info, like wages and population and cime and services and incomes and educational/financial backgrounds of people living in an area and cost of liviing and rating of schools and etc. If you are not checking out the other aspects of this website you are overlooking a great resource.
You might even want to first look at areas you are familiar with to gain an understanding of interpreting the statisical data provided here as well as the forum opinions and how they relate to what you experience and know where you live now. I often find a great varience between what I know of California through my experience and what I read here. I have lived in California since I was 6 years old; 40 years now.
I hope my post has been helpful to the original poster and any other interested folks!