Nursing in Cali

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cure4cancer

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Hi, I saw in a previous post how some nurses in Cali were making 60 000 - 80 000 / year fresh out of school.. with a ASN.
What is a ASN (sorry I'm a newbie to nursing stuff) I'm planning on getting a BSN, so what would the salary be like for me.. fresh out of school?

Also, is the standard of living really expensive in those areas where the pay is so high? Like for example.. how much would a decent house/apartment cost.. ?

I'm from vancouver Canada by the way, and the goverment takes away 40% of my total earnings /year (by taxes) if I make over $60,000..
so i guess my last question would be, how much money in taxes does the american goverment take away?

Thanks for your replies
Vince.

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cure4cancer said:
anyone...?

Nurses belong to unions which decide what salaries they start at and what they will get depending on the number of years of experiance they have.

Starting in Alberta it's between $26.33-$34.56/h this pay scale depnds on location e.g rural locations will tend to pay $30+/h and large cities tend to pay in the $26.33/h range of course it cannot be lower then $26.33 in Alberta from here its all about number of years you have.
 
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If you really wanna make really good money then I highly recommend
you specialize after your BScN degree and get CRNA masters they make $134,277 US average in California thats some good money man they make more money then GP's in Canada. CRNA's do not yet exist in Canada mainly because of powerfull MD pressure groups to keep them out. So you will have to move to the US to get your education, unfourtunantly its not advisable to live in the states. :laugh:
 
Ha ha ha just joking, the crime rate is horrible for most of the US but that shouldent stop you from chasing your dream. I guess I just hate Bush and the American government.
 
I am an engineer also living in Vancouver, and during my career I've investigated the pros and cons of moving to the US, including visiting a number of cities and talking with people who work there. I know a number of people who have moved south, and I can relate some of their experiences here. I also made in the salary range that you described, and just happen to be working on my tax return this weekend, so I know pretty accurately how much I send to the government.

My objectives are first to clarify the real tax rates in Vancouver by informing about my personal tax situation, as it is close to the example that you gave; second, I will give some advice to consider before choosing to head south.

According to my 2003 tax return, my total income was $72k (including salary, bonus, a very small amount of taxable benefits, all medical insurance). The included medical insurance would have cost $648. I was taxed $13866, or 19%.

I made a $10k Registered Retirement Savings Plan investment, which means that I was taxed on a 'taxable' income of $62k. (For the information of the non-Canadians, an RRSP is a tax-sheltered investment account.) You would probably invest at least that much money in any case. However, in the unlikely event that I had not made investments, then my $13866 in taxes would have been 22% of my total income.

Groceries and housing make up by far the largest portion of my expenses, as it does for most Canadians. Neither is taxed (I rent). There is a 7% federal tax (GST) charged on almost every other consumer level purchase in Canada, plus in Vancouver there is a 7% provincial tax (PST) on many (not all) consumer level purchases. I estimate that I paid $750 in GST and PST at the most. The average person in Vancouver with my income would probably spend a bit more.

A homeowner would have to pay, on average, $1800 in property taxes in Vancouver.

To summarize, I paid about 20% ($13866 + $750) of my $72k in taxes. If I chose to own the average Vancouver home and make the average consumer purchases, then I would have paid about 23%.

Not even close to 40% (or the 50% claimed by some sources that I have read). You can plug the numbers into the 2004 tax forms and see for yourself. I can think of how extreme examples and playing with numbers might produce 40%, but I won't get into that here.

Now I would like to share what I have learned while investigating the pros and cons of moving south.

First, let's look at financial factors, starting with taxes.

In addition to learning the federal, state and municipal taxes for the location that you are interested in, you should find out what services these include. I learned that in *some* US communities, you may have to additionally pay fees for unexpected things such as garbage collection, tolls on local highways and bridges, and neighbourhood security patrols (these are in addition to regular police).

Next, investigate what the cost of living is in the community where you believe that you would be moving. In addition to paying rent or buying a home, learn other costs such a utilities and food prices. I was surprised to learn that a home high speed Internet connection in California may cost $US75, compared to $CDN25 in Vancouver.

The biggest financial consideration could be insurance, especially your personal health insurance. It will definitely be much higher that what you would pay in Vancouver. If you were to develop an illness or disability in the US, your insurance may run out before you recover. If you were to develop a chronic illness, you may be uninsurable. If you were living in a state where you cannot be denied insurance, you may have to pay premiums of $10k or more. This would affect your employability, even if your illness or disability did not affect your ability to do your job.

I know two physiotherapists in Ontario that were lured to Eastern states by higher salaries and lower taxes, but they found that they were saving less than they would if they were practicing at home at lower salaries. It was one of the reasons that they moved back. I know a few people working in IT that have moved to various states (Texas, Virginia, California, Washington). Most are content with their financial situation, but the one in California has found living costs to be way more than anticipated and is barely saving any money. However, she stays for the lifestyle.

Lifestyle is the other major consideration. If they are potentially important to you, consider commuting time from a residence that you can afford, public transportation availability, pollution, proximity to the type of recreation that you like to do, "friendliness" of the community, political environment, crime rate and personal sense of security.

In addition to comparing US locations, I recommend doing the same for other Canadian cities. For example, the cost of living is much less in Edmonton than it is in Vancouver, so you may end up saving more there than you would in some US cities that you are considering. I know engineers that have moved there for that reason.

In summary, before you sign anything, add it all up and talk to others in your field who have moved away. Don't just talk to the recruiters.

Good Luck,
Paul
 
Hi,
I am a nurse in Northern Cal and yes - you can make good money. I can give you a lifetime of details about salary and cost of living. Do you still need info?
I am also looking to be a nurse elsewhere and was considering the SEA/YVR area, so I would also be interested in getting some information from you.
J.
cure4cancer said:
Hi, I saw in a previous post how some nurses in Cali were making 60 000 - 80 000 / year fresh out of school.. with a ASN.
What is a ASN (sorry I'm a newbie to nursing stuff) I'm planning on getting a BSN, so what would the salary be like for me.. fresh out of school?

Also, is the standard of living really expensive in those areas where the pay is so high? Like for example.. how much would a decent house/apartment cost.. ?

I'm from vancouver Canada by the way, and the goverment takes away 40% of my total earnings /year (by taxes) if I make over $60,000..
so i guess my last question would be, how much money in taxes does the american goverment take away?

Thanks for your replies
Vince.
 
northern Cal said:
Hi,
I am a nurse in Northern Cal and yes - you can make good money. I can give you a lifetime of details about salary and cost of living. Do you still need info?
I am also looking to be a nurse elsewhere and was considering the SEA/YVR area, so I would also be interested in getting some information from you.
J.

Hey, I'm c4c on my new account. (won't go into details about losing it)
I'm still interested in hearing what you have to say, and I can also answer all your questions to the best of my knowledge :)
 
cure4cancer said:
Hi, I saw in a previous post how some nurses in Cali were making 60 000 - 80 000 / year fresh out of school.. with a ASN.
What is a ASN (sorry I'm a newbie to nursing stuff) I'm planning on getting a BSN, so what would the salary be like for me.. fresh out of school?

Also, is the standard of living really expensive in those areas where the pay is so high? Like for example.. how much would a decent house/apartment cost.. ?

I'm from vancouver Canada by the way, and the goverment takes away 40% of my total earnings /year (by taxes) if I make over $60,000..
so i guess my last question would be, how much money in taxes does the american goverment take away?

Thanks for your replies
Vince.


ASN= Associate of Science in Nursing; ADN= Associate Degree in Nursing

They are degrees granted to a graduate of a junior or community college.

P.S. Not all nurses belong to unions. Actually in most parts of the country, they don't. Just like with politics, attitudes and the weather, the great state of California is "special". (It's a wonderful state, please, no one flame me... :D

There are other states that have nurse unions. The movement to unionize is catching on in many parts of the country.
Check out www.allnurses.com

Nurses in the U.S. do make more than nurses in other countries. That is why many nurses move to the U.S.

For cost of living analysis check out www.salarywizard.com

CRNA's are amoung the highest paid nurse specialty group in the U.S.
Check out www.aana.com

Good luck in your career
 
Nurses graduating from local 2 year community college (ASN) have been hired at my local hospital with a starting salary of around $34 dollars an hour, plus full benefits. That translates to around $65K per year.

The median home price in the Bay Area is around 750K in Marin County where the above mentioned school and hospital are, to a few hundred thousand less in surrounding, possibly less desirable areas. Apartments in Marin County and San Francisco rent for $1000-1200 per month for a one bedroom. Outlying areas about an hour's drive from the Golden Gate bridge will be cheaper. Some, like Petaluma, are pretty and more rural, others have a high degree of crime. If you don't like long traffic jams, then live close to your job.

Good luck making it to Northern California if you choose to. By the way, I have never met a California resident who refers to the state as "Cali", but that's okay. Best wishes!
 
If you are not set on California you could move to one of the other states in the Union and still make a very decent living. California has a higher cost of living.

If you pick one to the states that have no state income tax you could (theoretically) save yourself a nice chunk of change a year.

Alaska, Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Texas, Washington and Wyoming have no state income tax. Two others, New Hampshire and Tennessee, tax only dividend and interest income.
 
Thought I'd bump this thread back up..
Just got accepted to a nursing school!

Now I'm looking for some good places to go for work..
I can now narrow down my question a bit more, Where can I go to work as
a nurse in the states for 2-3 years and come up with enough money to put a downpayment on a home in Vancouver?
(where would be the best place to live .. to pocket the most money? .. places with low cost of living would be preferable..)
 
sunnyjohn said:
Just like with politics, attitudes and the weather, the great state of California is "special".

That is the single best summation of my state that I have ever heard, LOL! :D
 
Jambi said:
That is the single best summation of my state that I have ever heard, LOL! :D
Yeah I heard Waren Beatty in considering a run for governor,

He spoke at a gathering of the California Nurses Association a few day ago.

In case anyone does not know, Schwarzenegger got into a pissing match with California nurse over staffing issues. They are about ready to draw swords.! :laugh:

Texas is a nice state. A bit conservative, but there are places like Austin that are more moderate. The cost of living is good. The weather would be WAY hotter than you are used to (being from Vancouver), but Austin's weather would be better than Dallas or Houston.

Florida is nice, depending on where you choose to live. Miami is expensive. Ft Lauderdale is okay. Ft, Meyers is a retirement home. Jacksonville is very lovely. Orlando and Tampa are up and coming, but prices are going through the roof.

Nurse wages in Florida are low and they often complain about them.

Las Vegas is still the fastest growing city in the US. Nurse in Vegas are paid well. Personally Vegas would drive me nuts if I lived there. Nevada is a beautiful state, but the wages are higher around Reno and Vegas.
 
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