Hi Swift, oboy life changes. I'm a semi-retired RN, and have lived in WY for 24 yrs or so. If you have a certified specialty, especially in ICU, cardiac, ER, there's well paying jobs in WY.
Otherwise hospitals are cutting staff to the quick, and pay poorly with crappy hr/standby etc. We can thank Obamacare and cuts in medicare reimbursement, and unreimbused care for ER visits. Rural hospitals are financially hurting. So if you have a good job where you are, you may want to stay there for now. Wyoming is great for the outdoors, but really lousy socially. People tend to be clannish
and a bit zenophobic. A boom/bust state currently in bust, means folks are in competition with each other for what jobs are available, and can be downright brutish about it. Don't expect intellectual stimulation, as many folks never emotionally graduated high school. But cost of living fairly ok, open carry, conceal carry without permit a plus. Wyoming has the highest suicide rate per capita in the US, so...
I also lived in Colorado. Jobs paid more, but cost of living higher and there's state income tax. Its a good outdoor living state. I absolutely loved the social atmosphere, and always found folks, co-workers etc to do things with. People were just friendlier than those in Wyoming, and had a little more going on upstairs. Now, I was there before pot got legalized, so have to qualify that. There's bigger towns, hence bigger hospitals, so I would think better RN opportunities. And those hospitals generally have a higher standard of care, as some of them are magnet hospitals, and nationally recognized specialty hospitals. JMHO
Last edited by Wyogal; 04/15/15.
