Where to go? Coming from east coast! (San Francisco, Sacramento: health insurance, find a job)

[shannonrn2010]

I am looking to relocate to CA from the east coast! I am an experienced RN but I don't have a ton of money. I am basically looking for an area with the most affordable housing and highest nursing salaries. I am coming from the Philadelphia metro area so it doesn't need to be some gated white picket fence community, however I would prefer not to catch any stray bullets either We have a few children who are currently attending city schools where we live now. I am in the Sacramento forum because I have family close by (Granite Bay), but I would be open to any suggestions anywhere in California!

...my family in CA has told me to avoid Sac due to extreme gang violence and crime, however I have a hard time believing it is even close to the violence in Phila., Baltimore etc (murder rates 200-350 per year). Anyone have any input on this also?

Thank You!!!!

[wburg]

Folks in Granite Bay tend to think anything east of the Placer County line is a howling chaos of gang warfare. Take a look at UC Davis Medical Center or the various Sutter and Mercy hospitals in Sacramento proper. I live in downtown Sacramento, and not only is it pretty nice around here, I have a white picket fence...

[ryuns]

Originally Posted by shannonrn2010

I am looking to relocate to CA from the east coast! I am an experienced RN but I don't have a ton of money. I am basically looking for an area with the most affordable housing and highest nursing salaries. I am coming from the Philadelphia metro area so it doesn't need to be some gated white picket fence community, however I would prefer not to catch any stray bullets either We have a few children who are currently attending city schools where we live now. I am in the Sacramento forum because I have family close by (Granite Bay), but I would be open to any suggestions anywhere in California!

...my family in CA has told me to avoid Sac due to extreme gang violence and crime, however I have a hard time believing it is even close to the violence in Phila., Baltimore etc (murder rates 200-350 per year). Anyone have any input on this also?

Thank You!!!!

Extreme gang violence, according to the family that lives in the nicest, whitest part of town. Truth is, Sac is close to average nationwide for larger cities. Much higher than the average rate in the US, but not too bad among large cities.

But yes, Sac could be a good combination of reasonable cost of living and decent salaries. There should be quite a few nursing gigs open as well. Most of the schools in the city are pretty middling. There are some good ones and some lousy ones. The consistency is better out in the suburbs, but those tend to be more expensive.

[NickB1967]

Originally Posted by wburg

Folks in Granite Bay tend to think anything east of the Placer County line is a howling chaos of gang warfare. Take a look at UC Davis Medical Center or the various Sutter and Mercy hospitals in Sacramento proper. I live in downtown Sacramento, and not only is it pretty nice around here, I have a white picket fence...

That would be *south* of said line, but anyway, where is OP's job?

[marland]

I would find a job first and then figure out where to live. I am not a nurse so I have no idea how strong this area compares vs other areas for nursing jobs. But I imagine that job listings on monster or craigslist will probably give you an idea of what someone with your job skills might earn in Sacramento.

The other thing that might be useful is to google housing affordibility by metro. You will see areas with high cost of livings like Boston, San Francisco and Honolulu as having high housing cost to income ratios where as locations like Buffalo and Grand Rapids which have low cost of livings have really low cost of of housing to income ratios.

Home Affordability Ratios by City | Department of Numbers

What you are looking for are the places with relatively low cost of living that pay high wages for a nurse with your skill. For instance the cost of living is much higher in the San Francisco Bay Area than in the Sacramento region. But there are some professions where because of say union rules people get paid pretty much the same in Sacramento as the bay area. If you are in one of those professions, than it makes sense to live in Sacramento. But there are other professions where if you do it in the bay area you get paid a lot more there than here. If your type of nursing is one of those, then it might make sense to move to the Bay Area.

[hydro]

Sac does have its fair share of gang violence, especially compared to GB. The gang problems are concrntrsted in predictable areas, though. What type of area do you hope to live in? Do you prefer urban, suburban, rural... We have it all.

[bleakzero]

I believe your right in your assumption that californian's tend to exaggerate Violence. Im from Salinas, another area plagued by "gang violence" but grew up north of Camden and across the bridge from philly, and live in Charlotte now. I never felt unsafe walking around the worst part of salinas at night.. I would NEVER do that in Charlotte, and Id likely be dead in Camden for the attempt. My take, Anywhere in california is better then most anywhere outside of california.

[caligirlz]

Originally Posted by shannonrn2010

I am looking to relocate to CA from the east coast! I am an experienced RN but I don't have a ton of money. I am basically looking for an area with the most affordable housing and highest nursing salaries. I am coming from the Philadelphia metro area so it doesn't need to be some gated white picket fence community, however I would prefer not to catch any stray bullets either We have a few children who are currently attending city schools where we live now. I am in the Sacramento forum because I have family close by (Granite Bay), but I would be open to any suggestions anywhere in California!

I'm a RN. Sacramento has higher salaries than the central valley or any of the rural areas in California. As for whether it has the highest salaries with the cheapest COL, you would need to do a search yourself, have you done any research? Have you looked at any jobs online? For example....
Nursing Jobs, Employment in Sacramento, CA | Indeed.com
Nursing Jobs with Nursefinders - Per Diem, Local, Contract and More


As for job opportunities, it really depends on your experience and level of expertise. If you are a specialty nurse (ICU, NICU, OR, etc), you will have more success in finding a job. Some hospitals may even be paying a bonus for those jobs. New grads are still having a hard time getting hired. And I believe many companies have hiring holds or even downsizing due to Obamacare. But Sacramento is full of opportunities. We have multiple acute facilities (Sutter, Kaiser, Mercy (now Dignity Health), UC Davis MC, Shiners), IPA's (independent physician associates), work comp clinics/companies, case management, health insurance companies, LTACs, SNFs, Rehabs, state jobs (tons of new jobs for those with Medicaid experience)...practically every type of opportunity. I've listed them in the past (do a search in the Sacto forum & you will find the list).

You may also want to work with a recruiter when you decide on a city. If you are really interested in Sacramento, PM me, and I will refer you to the best recruiter in the area.

[shannonrn2010]

I prefer urban or suburban (close proximity to urban) def not rural

[shannonrn2010]

Haha thank you...that's what my husband was saying too!