UW Harborview

Hey guys! I’m considering moving from Texas to either Oregon or Washington. If I do choose to move to Washington, it’ll most likely be around the general Tacoma area.

I’m an RN with 3.5 years of experience by the time I look to move. 1.5 years at a MICU and 2 years at a CVICU at a level one trauma center.

So I have a few questions, I’m married with a baby, what areas around Tacoma are best to live in in terms of COL and safety? I’m interested in working at harborview, so how’s the commute for someone who works nursing hours?

It would definitely be easier to live in Seattle, but as far as I know it’s quite expensive unless you guys have some alternative nearby options that are pretty affordable.

Also, I’ve read that the pay and benefits are great at harborview, but what are some of these great benefits?

For any people who have moved from out of state to Washington to work at harborview, or as a nurse in Washington in general, how are you liking it? How do you think the pay/COL ratio compares to where you came from? What made you pick Washington over Oregon?

Lastly, I’m open to working in the ED, but I’m a little confused about their ICUs. They have a trauma icu, another icu that takes ECMO, a micu, and then a random icu (2E) that takes a little bit of everything but isn’t a micu? Can someone explain this to me?

Thank you guys so much for your help.