[dh07]

My name is David, I'm 25. This is my last 2 semesters of the nursing program until i can take the nclex in may. I currently live in the high desert and mountain region of northern arizona. I've been giving a lot of thought of where i should move after i get my RN license. Nurses seem to really enjoy the phoenix area and i heard that the pay down in phoenix is great. I was actually thinking more of moving to Las Vegas just to get out of arizona for awhile. Does anyone have any recommendations as to what states are good to be nurses in? To tell you the truth Arizona appears to be a great state to do nursing so i'm kind of timid to go out somewhere else and have it just completely suck.

-David H.

[IrishOliveOyl...]

hey david, congrats on nearly completing your nursing.
something to consider before moving is not only the pay & availabilty of RN jobs in various cities, but of course what your lifestyle is. right? You'll be nursing 1/3 of the week so make sure you choose a city that provides the environment that fits your hobbies and lifestyle.

good luck.

[askmeh]

Well sir - I would suggest getting your initial license in AZ. Mainly b/c AZ participates in the Nurse Licensure Compact Agreement.

Participating States in the NLC

Although this currently does not include some 25 states in the nation it does give you a lot more options in the future.

For example, my home licensure is with a Compact State and I have four other state license as a travel nurse -- this covers me for nearly 26 states in total that I can work in as a RN.

Hope this helps -- best wishes for your future as a RN.

[SoldierNurse]

This is not the reply you were looking for, however...

Thought about the Army Nurse Corps? Male nurses are at around 34% of the ANC, whereas in the civilian sector only about 6% of the nurses are males. BTW, certainly nothing wrong with female nurses, LOL. My wife is an RN.

Anyway, good luck with your nursing program and thanks for joining us.

[Ricu]

Hey David,

Congratulations in advance. I agree with everything that everyone else has said but would like to add this. No matter where you start, you can always move. If you want to check out Las Vegas, do it. If you find that Vegas isn't a fit after all, go back to Arizona or somewhere else. If you're single and able to travel, try that and see the world. Nursing is an excellent career for flexibility so enjoy it.

Good luck,

R

[GlennPedsRN]

I agree with finding a place that meets yur personal and family needs for working. As far as the Nurse License Compact (NLC), I recently had to encounter the moving from an NLC state to a non NLC state and back to another NLC state. The NLC license is not what people think.

NLC license only benefits a nurse that lives in one NLC state and works in another NLC. If you move to that state you must still get your license endorsed, pay all the fees and background checks. Then you license in your previous state is cancelled. It is still a multistate license, but you save nothing. If you move to a non NLC state then your multistate provalage is revoked and a single state license is issued.

Bottom line, it would have been cheaper by a lot to just maintain my license in one state and get another one in the state I was moving to. I paid $62 to renew my license in my original state and now I must cancel that license and pay $190 to endorse my license in the new state. If I move back to the original state it happens all in reverse thus costing me more money by hundreds of dollars. Think about that if money is a concern when moving. Just an FYI