Networking within Nursing: Moving to a new city

Hello!

My name is Alex and I've been an employed RN with my BSN for about 6 months now (Med/Surg experience). I'm young, financially stable and eager to learn. I'm currently living in Portland, Oregon and have been for my entire adult life. It's time for a change.

If there was ever a time in my life to get out of Portland and see the world, it's now. I've mostly been looking at the East coast, for many reasons, most notably companies I would like to get involved with later in my career are based there... doesn't hurt to start networking now!

My question to Allnurses is this: In today's job market where a large majority of jobs are found through "knowing someone", how does someone 3000 miles away start a network of friends and colleagues in the cities that I am interested in moving to?

P.S. - I've been looking mostly at Philadelphia, Boston, Baltimore, Washington D.C. and New York City. If anyone of you are from those cities, I would love to chat and get your opinion on what life as a nurse is like out East!

I hope you have a PRN free day =)
-Alex
The areas you're looking at are incredibly saturated. I would suggest getting more than the 6 months experience you have as a start to be taken remotely seriously when moving across the country. This isn't to sound mean or anything. But I work in Philadelphia and it's brutal here and South Jersey. If an employer sees you moving from Oregon.... they're going to want you to be experienced and to have a reason to stay here.

Meetup.com. I feel like I spam all the threads about people moving to tell them to look at meetup, but it's just so danged difficult to get to know people when you're not from the area that you're working in.

I agree with the first poster, I can tell you from experience that the job market in Boston and that area is absolutely saturated, and with only 6 months you would be considered a new grad! I would give yourself at least another year to get experience before trying to move! HPRN

Even knowing someone isn't a guarantee. I have been applying like crazy (I also graduated 6 months ago), and I have connections all over the place, with 15 years of other healthcare experience, and not a single contact was ever able to help me get a job.If you know where you're going, look into local chapters of nursing associations. Join ones that appeal to you (it can get expensive, so choose wisely), and work the contacts through there.I would strongly urge you to consider getting at least 1-2 years of that med/surg experience you've already started before you make a move. Those cities are all saturated with new grads, and having that experience will help you immensely. Also, as stated above, you'll want to show them you have roots in the area, and aren't going to be there for a couple of years, get bored, and move.

The Northeast Megalopolis region (D.C. to Boston and every major city in between) has been glutted with too many new nurses for the past five to six years. I would stay in Portland if I were you, accrue two solid years of experience, and obtain a specialty certification before attempting to make the move. Good luck to you.

Agree with other posters who recommend gaining two years experience and obtaining specialty certification, also join specialty organiztion(s), attend national nursing conferences and network with nurses from across the country.

Quote from calivianyaMeetup.com. I feel like I spam all the threads about people moving to tell them to look at meetup, but it's just so danged difficult to get to know people when you're not from the area that you're working in.