5 Reasons California Nursing Isn’t Just Better—It’s Smarter

Hey Nurse,

Back in 2016, Monica and I were both nurses grinding in NYC.

We worked hard.
We made decent money.
But we were still broke.

Despite working full-time, we had no savings. No investments. No real plan.
Just some nice vacation photos from our side project “Traveling Dorks”—and a whole lot of financial stress.

It didn’t add up.
We were two RNs, living paycheck to paycheck in one of the most expensive cities in America.

Then one random shift changed everything.

I was precepting a student nurse who casually mentioned that both her parents—also nurses—were making over $200K each working in Northern California.

Each.

I thought she was joking.
She wasn’t.

We started researching. Running the numbers. Comparing taxes. Cost of living. Pay rates. And guess what?

California made more financial sense than NYC.
Especially if you work in Sacramento—where the pay is high but the cost of living is still relatively low compared to cities like LA or San Francisco.

Here are 5 reasons why we left NYC and moved to California as nurses:

1. Overtime laws are insane (in a good way):

Time-and-a-half after 8 hours. Double time on your 7th day. No other state pays like this.

2. Nurse-to-patient ratios are legally protected:
No more juggling 17 patients in the ER (Yes… I was assigned over 15 patients on a regular basis). California has legitimate laws that protect nurses against overwhelming patient loads.

Here's a breakdown of California's nurse-to-patient ratios: 

• Medical-Surgical Units: 1:5

• Critical Care Units: 1:2

• Labor and Delivery: 1:2 (active labor)

• Postpartum: 1:4 (mother-baby couplets)

• Operating Room: 1:1

• Step-Down Units: 1:3

• Emergency Rooms, Postpartum/Antepartum, and Telemetry Units: 1:4

• Postpartum (women only) and Psychiatry Units: 1:6

• Intensive Care, Labor and Delivery, ICU patients in the ER, and neonatal care: 1:2

3. The lifestyle is unmatched:
Mountains, beaches, wine country, national parks—California has something for everyone, even if you’re just looking for peace after a long shift.

4. Sacramento is the sweet spot:

You get high pay, a lower cost of living, and you’re only 2 hours from Tahoe and Yosemite. Our house here would’ve cost $3 million in NYC.

5. It’s the highest-paying state for nurses:

Median pay is $113K+, but many of our coworkers earn $200K+ with smart scheduling and OT. Some make $250K working less than 40 hours a week.

So here’s my advice:
Don’t let anyone guilt you into staying stuck.
If you’re a nurse tired of feeling underpaid, overwhelmed, or undervalued—California might be your way out.

We took that leap 8 years ago, and it changed everything.

Our finances.
Our lifestyle.
Our future.

Do you want to make more as a nurse?

I built the Nurses to Riches Accelerator to help you:

• Relocate to Northern California the smart way

• Secure a high-paying hospital job (we’re talking $200K+ a year)

• Learn to calculate your real take-home pay

• Work fewer hours—without sacrificing income

• Start investing + paying off debt like a boss

I’ll even show you how to compare hospitals, filter by pay and shift type, and fast-track your move so you’re not spinning your wheels for another year.

Use code LOYALTY10 for 10% off the program

Your future paycheck is waiting on the other side of strategy.

You don’t need to make $3.7 million a year.
You just need a plan.

I’ll help you build one—together.

Talk soon,
Jason

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