nursing job incentives in austin?

[luzababy]

She's been a nurse for 10 years. If your wife makes that much money, it's probably better to stay where you are because she won't make the same amount here. San Francisco is A LOT more expensive than Austin. We also don't pay state taxes....which can make a big difference.
I'm not going to try to convince you to move here, but I agree with love roses...the cost of living has a lot to do with the pay difference. Also, because there are a lot of new grads from several different schools, it's a lot easier to pay less to a new RN vs. an experienced one. By the way, I make a lot more than $28/hr.

[TexasGirl@Heart]

I agree with Loves Roses and Luzababy...the cost of living is way more in CA than in TX! I have been in both areas. The pay for RN's is very relevant to the cost of living no matter where you live! And as Luzababy pointed out to you...there is no state income tax in TX--this make a huge difference! Was your wife actually quoted $28.00/hr for TX? Does she have any specialties? ie: ICU/open heart/transplant/devices (cardiac) experience? If so, I would think that she would be offered more than $28.00/hr.

[colm_bri]

Originally Posted by Wim

I am sure that cost of living in Austin is less than in CA, but it would have to be a WHOLE lot less to be going down from $50.-/hr to $28.-. I have a hard time imagining life could be so cheap down there (I'd love it if you could prove me wrong, and we would reconsider moving to Austin, for I heard it is a great place otherwise...)

Ive worked and lived in both and i can prove you wrong. You can by a beautiful home in the burbs of Austin starting at 140,000(Lennar homes), plus property tax is nothing , no state tax coming out of check, and gas is about a dollar cheaper.

[RND]

My property tax is far from "nothing". When you look at the overall percentages of income tax and property tax in CA it is about the same as my property tax here. Basically a wash. After all is said and done, My husband and I have about the same amount of money left over each month here as we did in CA and we make a third less here. The difference: here we live in an awesome neighborhood with great schools in a brand new 3000sqft home. There we lived in a tiny box built in the 70s with schools so bad we had to drive our daughter 20 minutes to a decent school. We moved from San Diego.

San Diego is like Austin as far as RN wages are concerned: on the lower end of average for the state. The reason is that Austin and San Diego are more desirable places to live. I could make more money in Houston with a lower cost of living.

I got a relocation bonus from St. David's when I moved here. I just asked and they gave it to me. It wasn't advertised. A friend of mine recently got a relocation bonus from Seton. It probably depends on how difficult it is to fill your position with a quality candidate.

[MJinAustin]

Originally Posted by Wim

My wife is an RN (BS in nursing) of almost 20 yrs. Considering relocating from a rural area in Northern Cal. Looking at Austin but shocked to notice that pay rate is HALF from California!!

That's b/c your cost of living in CA is TWICE what it is elsewhere. I moved from Texas to Cali and received a 50% payraise...not enough. Even with bonuses, I was not as comfortable (lifestyle/living-wise speaking) until I got back to Texas. You must factor in a 9.3% income tax, higher gas prices, higher food prices (if Safeway rules the roost), etc.

[dmskoka]

from the research that I have done. I was accepted to nursing schools in southern and northern california and the pay is very different from north to south and the San Fran bay area.. The starting pay in the San Francisco bay area is in the high 40's in southern ca it is around 30 and when you go to the central valley or smaller rural areas up north it is also less.

[orbius]

I hate to tell Texans this but its rapidly becoming an expensive state to live in. Highest homeowners insurance in the country. Highest property tax in the nation by % of home value. Some of the highest electricity costs in the nation by kw/h and also by what you have to pay monthly to keep your home habitable.

Its just a matter of time until other states become the 'go to' place rather than Texas. Its just not the bargain place to live that it once was.

[10scoachrick]

Originally Posted by orbius

I hate to tell Texans this but its rapidly becoming an expensive state to live in.Highest homeowners insurance in the country. Highest property tax in the nation by % of home value. Some of the highest electricity costs in the nation by kw/h and also by what you have to pay monthly to keep your home habitable.

Its just a matter of time until other states become the 'go to' place rather than Texas. Its just not the bargain place to live that it once was.

Hmmm...we didn't move here because it was a 'bargain' but I can tell you that our homeowners' insurance AND auto insurance are lower than they were in Sandy Springs(Atlanta), GA. Larger, more expensive home and more expensive cars here= ~$500/yr savings on insurance. Also, saving about $800/yr in 'ad valorem' taxes on the two vehicles. Throw in the lack of state income tax(offset by higher property tax, admittedly) and it's fine by us. Not too crazy about the high water bills in the summer but it's our decision to try to maintain a nice lawn--certainly not a necessity.

No free lunch and all that.

[tver1000]

California is beautiful but so is Texas in it's own special way. I would prefer to live where the housing market seems safe and less volatile. There are numerous things one can do to keep busy and enjoy the hillcountry while paying fair prices for insurance, electric and RE taxes. I'd take the 30 bucks an hour in Texas over the 50 in Cali(even with it's max 4 patient law). Already did the orange county scene 95-99 and in my opinion the people are nicer in Texas.

[burlshoe114]

Getting back to the original post - What is the job market like right now for experienced RNs? How do you think it will be in a year or two?
In the past 5 years, my hospital has gone from having 3 pages of open nursing jobs on our HR site to about 4 jobs total for the hospital! (We had a huge surge of new grads come through, but then the older nurses planning on retiring had to come back because their retirement packages bottomed out.)
Are things as tight in texas?