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aloha John, what island are you on? I spent a few weeks in maui and wondered if I could ever afford to live there. I am also a nurse and thought about travel assignments. You said the ratio is 4:1 for med/surg. We are 5-6:1. Do only a few hospitals us travelers? Would love to know more. I have been a nurse for many years and think it would be great sometimes just to 8 hour shifts instead of 12 hours how about yourself.
Last edited by brenrn; 01-16-2007 at 06:22 AM..
Reason: left something out
my wife and i are both interested in Hawaii. we are both long time Floridians and ready for a move (in 1 1/2 years to be exact). we are interested in Hawaii because we are just looking to make a big move and relocate our family. we have both been to Hawaii once and are headed back this summer for a vacation. we love the weather, culture, and paradise that is Hawaii.
however, we are not interested in making a move that will strap us financially while we raise our 4 year old son. we want to live a simple life where we can travel and spend time with each other and our son. my wife and i both have no interest in having to work 60 hours a week to pay a mortgage or living expenses.
so my curiosity is with how well a life we could make living in Hawaii working as a RN and my wife as a Physical Therapist Assistant. we are not looking for a large home, just something nice to raise our boy in. we actually have considered to buy a villa home here in Florida, so that would be a possibility if it were more economical.
we also want a slow pace lifestyle away from the hustle and bustle of a large city. we want a quiet and small city to live in. somewhere with nice people to raise our son.
is this in the realm of realistic for Hawaii? we are just now kicking around the idea so i'm looking for some honest truth. we want to live comfortable. is there anywhere in Hawaii as i've describe i might research or should i realistically consider elsewhere?
you will have a school age child by the time you get here...my advise is to really check out the education system here...it does not have a good rep. on any of the islands....we moved here from so. cali....and have a good income, we are paying about 20% more across the board to live here.....it's very different to live here vs visiting!...we are relocating after being here only two years..the cost of living is just not making sense to us anymore...and no, we are not going back to so. CA! hope this helps....
Terrie, thanks for the response. After posting i read through more threads and what you said seems to be the consensus from those who live in Hawaii. The cost of living is not the only concern, but the poor education system as well. We are moving from a bad school system and i sure don't want to move into another.
Can i ask where you are headed to? Texas is actually where we realistically are researching. Hawaii was a dream naturally.
i am wanting to do a travel nursing job in hawaii (probably oahu) and wanting to know if you have any suggestions on some of the larger/travel friendly/nice place to work hospitals. i've been traveling for a few years now and am excited about going to hawaii but it doesn't seem too easy a place to get to with some of the more major travel companies, do you know of any local travel companies that might be better? i'm a med surg nurse (too bad i'm not an OR, or L& D nurse for i usually see postings for these specialties
i wish you all the best. one thing you might look into is travel nursing that way they would pay for your housing until you are ready and know where you want to live since it is so far away. also, most travel companies have travel assignments for nurses as well as physical therapists. if both of you took an assignment, one could take the housing stippend and the other the housing and you could get more bang for your buck.
I see Travel Nurse opportunities mostly for Oahu. Definately not a "slower pace" there. Maui is supposed to be at least as expensive as Oahu, but is more laid back. The big Island is supposed to be much more affordable and definately laid back, but with a population of only about 150,000 you see pretty much State owned hospitals in Kona, Hilo and Waimea as far as I know. I'm told these are union (that would be a good thing as there is little competition if you don't like the workplace) but don't know if they work 8 or 12 hour shifts. Could someone with better knowledge chime in ? As mentioned before by Terrie, most schools are not very good. I did like the school I went to in Waimea (Kamuela) but it's one of the exceptions. Being treated as "Haole Cr_p" leaves a lasting impression. Of course Texas has it's own issues with schools being taxed to the limits by immigrants, but that's a whole other subject along with gangs and drive bys.
Good luck whatever your decision !
Thanks, John. I'm an RN (Army) also. Glad to hear that you sound dedicated to your work - and you're right that nursing is a very demanding, often manually intensive job. 4:1 ratio is outstanding. That was a question that I had - very helpful post.
Nurse shortage round the world really. Supposed to be a shortage of over 1 million nurses in the US alone by the year 2020 according to the Bureau of Health Professions
I don't see job security when reading about that shortage, I see "being over worked". That's why that 4:1 ratio law that Hawaii has (and Cali, I believe) makes being a nurse not so bad.
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