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So I have decided it's probably best for me to get going outta here, but I am nervous about it. I have been in NY state now for 3 years, about half spent in upstate and a little more than half spent in NYC. When I first came into the city I was 22 and just out of an abusive relationship. I moved here all the way from my home state of TN to start over and not be around anyone who had dirt on me.
I don't regret moving here one bit. While here, I got a free LPN education, have a small savings account and got out of homelessness. But now I feel that it's time for me to leave. I've become since jaded and as of recent have turned into a snippy person, which is both frightening and saddening for me. I am usually a nice, laid back person. I went to visit Miami days ago and while there I was my old self again. I also felt I was at home. I actually wanted to stay down there and was even sad when I had to come back here. And the strange thing, things have been getting much worse since I came back.
Employment wise, it's killing me. I am pretty much over the 2 hour subway commute from the Bronx to Brooklyn given that most of my clients {I work in home health} live there. I've had several cases in a row blow up in my face and as a result work and money has not been steady. I've also had a client 'stolen' from me by another nurse on one of the cases close to home which pissed me off a bit.
There really aren't any options with me being an LPN. The nursing homes didn't work out for me and while there are hospitals hiring LPNs, I really don't think that would be a good option for me.
I've reached a breaking point now because I am facing the possibility of working with 2 different home health nursing agencies just to make ends meet. And the best part...I may be able to recover hours, but now I won't be getting overtime pay. I also have no benefits, no health insurance, no vacations time, nada. The weather is also starting to get to me as well. I've gotten a really nasty case of SAD during the winter. Going to Miami instantly fixed it.
I'm in the process of waiting for a temporary license from WA state. While I understand they also have long, grey winters, I think I'll just end up spending the winter in Florida since the visit went so well.
I am very anxious about this move but I no longer have a desire to stay here. NY feels both like home and hell to me at the same time. I am looking to be outta here by September at the latest but the way things are going, I may end up moving sometime in the summer.
I want to pay off my student loans, have my own apartment, a car and just be somewhere where people aren't obsessed about working.
Yeah most LPNs live with 5 roommates or at home with family. Hell many RNs I know still have to live at home for a while. If I worked in health care I would not be keen on living here. High(er) stress, long(er) commute and more competition as you've experienced.
Leave and don't look back (and don't move to SoCal!!!)
Haha so true. I don't live with that many roommates but it's ridiculous out here. Even though it hasn't affected me directly I think things have been getting worse since that minimum wage increase. I am starting to see the well rub dry in terms of opportunities.
I am still willing to give healthcare a try just somewhere else. So many nurses I know are working 2 jobs. The main thing stopping me from moving right now is that I have to wait until I get my license transferred so I have a job.
I'm not sure about moving to Miami permanently. I wanna be sure I am not looking at it with rose-colored glasses. But I know there is a definite difference between how I was when I initially came here vs when I initially csme to Miami. Miami was a lot easier to navigate even if you do need a car (outside of Miami beach anyway). They have a bus system but it isn't ideal. However the routes and reach are still much better than what I had in my TN hometown.
I definitely won't move to SoCal even though the weather is more my cup of tea. But I'm finding Miami actually gets hotter than SoCal. And plus you need a car to be in SoCal which adds to the expense.
Both Philadelphia and Chicago are far cheaper cities COL wise and still offer many of the same urban conveniences and amenities as NYC. I wish you the best of luck!
Edit: If you're looking for warmer weather, have you thought about Texas?
I thought about Philly but I can't transfer my LPN license vecause I don't yet have 9 months experience. It's the only place that I've seen requires that much experience to transfer your license. Plus the process of transferring takes a couple months and I'd like to start on it early. Chicago is too cold. Texas is too hot and humid during the summer (like a lot of places in the south).
I've already started the process of transferring my license over to Wa and so far the process is happening quickly. If I wanted to add another state for getting an LPN license it would take about another 200 dollars to do so. Not that I can't afford it but I don't want to keep applying and paying $200 dollars so quickly after already committing to a state.
I am strongly considering being in Florida for some of the year since the weather is good and it is cheap (for me it was)
and just be somewhere where people aren't obsessed about working.
You probably would not like Virginia.
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