CALIFORNIA TRAVEL NURSE | WHAT THEY DON'T TELL YOU | WORTH THE HYPE | CANCELLED CONTRACTS & MORE

[@KandyGTV]

I'm moving to California next year from Atlanta after my daughter graduates. My family is now on board to try living on the west coast. My goal is to be bi-coastal between Cali and ATL once I finish my PMHNP. My mom is from Oakland and we have a family home there. I'm hoping to eventually take ownership of it, and use it to stack for early retirement. Maybe turn it into a rental for travel nurses eventually. All of my family, that are nurses, have lived in California during their careers and are really well off because of it. They say it's the best state for nurses to be.

[@SincerelyShannonSubcribe]

That’ll be nice to have a change of scenery from ATL. I def have been enjoying my stay. I’m trying to be like you and get into this PMHNP- what school are you at?

[@KandyGTV]

@@SincerelyShannonSubcribe Walden, you should apply. It's completely online.

[@jonathanjack1000]

Yeen never lied. I’m out here in NorCal on my 1st ever assignment too. 2300 miles from TN. Definitely need money coming out here cuz it’s a tax everywhere. The vibes, food and WORKING CONDITIONS THO, that cannot be replicated back east at all. So idk about you my love but I’m staying. I will never go back to 6-10 patient sections….. IN A TRAUMA ER?!?!?! No

[@SincerelyShannonSubcribe]

lol naw I feel you! It’s a different world over here lol

[@mistermilkman]

The room thing wasn't 4 me. I paid $2400 4 a beautiful cottage after moving from the room I couldn't bare anymore. On my extension, I got a studio in a back house n Oakland near transportation for $1650. The area was safe & a15 minute drive 2 work. The place was huge with a big couch & big bed I had 2 climb n2. Mind u, I'm 6'3". It had a full kitchen & fit my needs 4 what it was worth. I didn't ship my car bc the rental was a little less than shipping (quoted $1200-$1500). My rental from Hertz was $800+ a month with unlimited mileage. I could've used public transportation 4 real. I parked my car @ the Long term parking ($8/day), so I could drive around when I was home & bring myself 2 the airport & drive home when my contract ended. The location I was @ was hit or miss with breaks. We were short a lot. We mostly got 4 pts, but could get 5 (which happened), & if we were short short, u paired up with an LPN & got 9 pts. That meant u had 9 assessments & IV meds 2 give, as well as blood sugars. Keep n mind, it's a vent hospital. There was no resource nurse, just a Unit Supervisor. I didn't complain bc I was banking. It was $4100 (3 days). I worked 5-6 days a week the 1st 9 weeks of my assignment. The last 3 weeks was a vacation bc my day offs were scheduled nice.

[@SincerelyShannonSubcribe]

5-6 days?! I wish I had that type of energy lol

[@mistermilkman]

@@SincerelyShannonSubcribe I was staying 4 blocks away n the beginning, so it was nothing else 2 do. The easiest way 2 do it is 2 work 3days on, 1 day off. Start on a Sun & it works out easy. I only did it for 8 weeks. They didn't allow me 2 do it on my extension. I made over $97K n 5 months.

[@SincerelyShannonSubcribe]

@mistermilkman they don’t give travelers here the opportunity to pick up over time. This assignment I’m on now is easy so I wouldn’t mind it but they give OT to their staff

[@mistermilkman]

@@SincerelyShannonSubcribe Travelers were quitting left & right. They were told it was M/S tele. Got there & it was vented pts fresh out of ICU & unstable. They were on tele though. Their staff got bonuses 4 coming n on weekends. I was right there with them, just didn't get a bonus.

[@regi3875]

Thank you for being open about pay and your experience. That’s why I stopped travel nursing in California because I noticed that the rates were setting down to $2000-2500 weekly. I was like oh no ma’am and got back home and applied to a PMHNP program. I start next month 😊

[@SincerelyShannonSubcribe]

Yea it’s a lil slow out here. I’ve been lucking up 🙏🏾 out with the contracts I’m finding. What school are you going to? I’m still on a waitlist 😩

[@shareen4945]

This is so informative. I’m looking at a travel contract there for my 1st ever assignment 😅

[@SincerelyShannonSubcribe]

Glad it was helpful❣️

[@mistermilkman]

The food n Cali was definitely on point. Mind u, I'm hella picky. Don't sleep on Safeway. They have quality food there. Lucky's is pretty good too. I would shop deals @ different supermarkets & Walmart. I kept it simple. If ur n the Bay Area, the weather can b finicky. I was there from Feb-Jul '23. It was cooler there than n the North East. The mornings were definitely cold, but I liked it. I'm not a heat person. The thing with per diems n North Cali is, when they r short, they use FT staff 4 OT b4 they use per diem.

[@SincerelyShannonSubcribe]

All Safeways aren’t created equal lol I’ve had to find the good ones. It’s been hot out here now- 100’s 🥵

[@mistermilkman]

@@SincerelyShannonSubcribe That's crazy. I'm no good n the heat. Summer is not 4 me. 😕

[@SincerelyShannonSubcribe]

Yall listen to this on 2x bc I was talking soooooo slow lol anyway hope yall enjoy 🫶🏾

[@keairraraglin3838]

That’s too fast 😂😂😂

[@SincerelyShannonSubcribe]

😂

[@Ms.pretty314]

Girl I was thinking about the RV idea lol its smart lbs

[@SincerelyShannonSubcribe]

It really is. Once I pay off this debt I might consider it

[@NOLAqueen504A]

I have been a nurse for almost 15 years and these rates have been about equal to what I can make as staff. I haven’t felt like they are worth me going out of state and paying for housing etc. cause it was about the same as I make at home. I still have my California license but the rates versus the rent I just can’t justify it.

[@SincerelyShannonSubcribe]

Rates where I live are trash. I stayed home for a little while but went out of state bc it 2x better rates. Got me feeling like I should move to Cali where the weather & money is better lol

[@egypt8904]

Hey I’m not sure why ur seeing low contract deals when on my app called Vivian I’m seeing contracts in the 2k-3k range. But it’s throughout the states though like Boston, West Virginia, Cali, Rochester, NY.

[@SincerelyShannonSubcribe]

I’ve seen those as well but they are usually for 48 hours and that’s low for NY etc

[@egypt8904]

@@SincerelyShannonSubcribe 48 hours? I saw the assignments say 13 weeks, but most of them were 10 hour shifts for 5 days or 8 hour shifts for 5 days.

[@SincerelyShannonSubcribe]

Yes 48 hours and I only want to work 3 days lol anything more is too much for me lol

[@egypt8904]

@@SincerelyShannonSubcribe hmm Yh I feel u

[@TM98767]

It was piedmont Atlanta that was $75 but that was the internal contract rate. Not PRN unfortunately

[@SincerelyShannonSubcribe]

Oh ok dang 😩

[@DevTheDudeRN]

What's the website you mentioned to calculate your pay?

[@SincerelyShannonSubcribe]

Paycheckcity.com

[@DevTheDudeRN]

@@SincerelyShannonSubcribe thank you!