Finding a Job in the Nashville Metro Area from Out of State (Healthcare IT) (Franklin: rental car, real estate)

[ChrisKC]

This is my first post, however I have been a lurker for quite some time.
Everyone has been so nice and informative on this Forum and I would love to hear all of your input.

I'm not from the area but from what it seams there are local services to Nashville/Tennessee that are best to use for certain things. ie. realtracs for housing and real estate
My wife and I are about to jump in and search for a new job (specifically me) where we can relocate and I wanted to know what is the best method.

1. Is there a specific job recruiter for the area that would be best to use for Healthcare IT?

In the past I have worked with someone from Teksystems however not in Tennessee.
I'm currently a Implementation Engineer/Healthcare Business Analyst and work in implementing electronic Results, Orders, and Demographics interfaces; something I have been doing for the past 5 years.


2. What salary range should I expect with 5 years of experience; I currently gross just shy of $80,000 a year.

Although this is a very new field, I do have a rough idea of what I to expect but it's hard to find an exact match on the job title and with the cost of living difference (which I understand is about 42% less than where I am now), so I'm hoping to get some local input from those in the field.


I've been using indeed.com to check for requisitions and from that it seams almost positions for this line of works are either in Nashville or Franklin; which is great because we would love to relocate to somewhere around the Franklin area.

We currently live in San Jose, CA and can't stand it. I've never considered this place home and am looking for an area we can call home and start a family. We visited the Nashville area this past August and loved the whole area. Great schools, affordable housing, lower cost of living, and a better quality of life are just among a long list of items that draw us there.

As for my wife, she is an Analytical Chemist (LCMS) and unfortunately we haven't been able to find much if anything for her so I would be the main breadwinner. However work for her is probably better as a separate post.

I'll be monitoring this thread off and on until I'm in Tennessee so if you have any questions please ask away.

[CountryGirl2b=]

I have no idea about how to find a job here BUT I did Google

"Implementation Engineer/Healthcare Business Analyst TN"

and this came up. I am a fan of Google. Doubt anyone on the board would be able to tell you how your salary would translate but there are salary comparison websites.

Franklin, TN Technology Healthcare Business Solutions Analyst Jobs | LinkUp.com

Bets of luck!

[N.Cal]

with the cost of living difference (which I understand is about 42% less than
where I am now),

Don't believe those numbers. It's more expensive here than most think (and what the calculators say). Cheaper yes, if you are selling a house in SJ and buying here, but the rest, not so much.

[improving healthcare]

I just obtained a position in Healthcare IT with HCA in Nashville. They are very fair in salary and even offer relocation assistance. As a matter of fact, they are helping me relocate to Nashville. Please check out their website or search Indeed.com. They have many positions available.

[ChrisKC]

Originally Posted by N.Cal

Don't believe those numbers. It's more expensive here than most think (and what the calculators say). Cheaper yes, if you are selling a house in SJ and buying here, but the rest, not so much.

The top of our reasons for wanting to move.
- Population density here is awful, just awful!
- Cost of living is crazy, we pay almost 2k /month for a 910 sqft 2bed 1 bath. Odly enough, this is a great deal in this area
- We want a house very bad and with California's nonsense housing prices, that is not going to happen anytime soon, if at all... even if we have over 100k to put down. Most house here are going for 30-110k -*OVER* asking.
- The mindset in my current area (I won't go into details here)
- My wife's work commute is anywhere from 45 minutes... to 2 1/2 hours as she did yesterday. We cannot move closer or somewhere in the middle due to rent costing $3,000 or more /month. But this is aside from the fact we really want to get out of CA while we can.

Even if the only decrease in cost of living is due to rent/housing and all prices remain almost the same (which I imagine is true), we would still be much better off in TN.

[CountryGirl2b=]

I have family in San Jose so certainly understand your desire to leave. When I go to visit I have to prepare myself before I pull out of the rental car place at SJC for "non stop you MUST know where you are going" traffic. Makes me very tense.

Housing is the biggest 'bargain' here compared to CA, but money isn't everything when you are considering a move. We have traffic but not everywhere, not all the time. Schools in Williamson Country are considered very good, but it does really come down to involved parents. There's a lot to do here, culturally, and I have found it (moved from CT 3 years ago) very accessible. People are friendly. I don't know why but they are! Many celebrities have relocated here from southern CA because they simply prefer the pace of life here.

You don't have to go far to find farmland and open space. I remember many years ago living in Long Beach, and driving down to Laguna for a bit of 'nature'. All the "streams" in Long Beach were in culverts.

Apartments are getting pricey, but I think you can still find a single family home in Franklin for about $225,000 - 1500 sq ft. Small yard. Rentals - $1000 is a good starting point. Since you have been lurking, do you know where you might want to live? No state tax. Lower property taxes. Although allergies seem to kick up here.

Healthcare is huge here, so you picked a good place, career wise.

Mostly, though, I think you'll find yourself a lot less stressed out. And that's worth a lot. When you get ready to buy a house, just buy what you need and don't get carried away. There are some HUGE HUGE houses here with 2 people in them and 5 car garages. Really? I guess, if you have the money, but just having a little place to call your own is all you need.

Best of luck and feel free to ask as many questions as you like! (Been slow lately!)

[N.Cal]

Originally Posted by ChrisKC

The top of our reasons for wanting to move.
- Population density here is awful, just awful!
- Cost of living is crazy, we pay almost 2k /month for a 910 sqft 2bed 1 bath. Odly enough, this is a great deal in this area
- We want a house very bad and with California's nonsense housing prices, that is not going to happen anytime soon, if at all... even if we have over 100k to put down. Most house here are going for 30-110k -*OVER* asking.
- The mindset in my current area (I won't go into details here)
- My wife's work commute is anywhere from 45 minutes... to 2 1/2 hours as she did yesterday. We cannot move closer or somewhere in the middle due to rent costing $3,000 or more /month. But this is aside from the fact we really want to get out of CA while we can.

Even if the only decrease in cost of living is due to rent/housing and all prices remain almost the same (which I imagine is true), we would still be much better off in TN.

I moved from San Francisco....

I did buy a house. That's the one big, big positive, though I did keep my California salary.

Rents here are stupid, i.e., 2 bd/2 ba, 1000 sq ft apts here starting $2,199. You can find cheaper farther out, but the further you go will probably mean a commute, and traffic here can be ridiculous (very limited public transportation). My co-worker in Franklin spends nearly 2 hrs/day commuting.

Just go in with your eyes open and know that it's not all ponies and rainbows like some would have you believe. But yes, like I said, being able to buy a house was a nice surprise.

Good luck on the job hunt.

[CountryGirl2b=]

Actually, you can find very nice places to live for less than N.Cal's $2,200 budget.

Here is a single family house for rent in Franklin. 1700 sq feet. 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, yard, etc.

RealTracs Mid-South Real Estate Property Finder Listing Details

With the seeming absence of ponies and rainbows, I do wonder why so many people choose to happily relocate to Nashville!

[CountryGirl2b=]

[Hey_Hey]

If you're doing healthcare IT there's probably not a better place in the country than Nashville. Nashville is known as Music City, but an industry that plays an even larger role in the local economy is healthcare administration (not including healthcare delivery like hospitals as this stays fairly constant from city to city). Nashville is home to HCA and CHS. HCA is the largest hospital operator in the US with CHS not far behind. LifePoint, Iasis, and Vanguard also are medium to large hospital operators based in Nashville. Because of all the corporate headquarters there are too many healthcare startups, consultants, suppliers, and contractors to list. Combine that with a relative shortage of IT workers and you have the setup for numerous job opportunities and entrepreneurial opportunities if you desire that.