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brokennglass · #1 09-01-2011, 08:11 PM

Sorry in advance for the length of this post.....

My situation is a little sticky. I have 2 daughters, I've been married twice. Both girls are my 1st husband's kids. My second husband unexpectedly walked out on us after he got back from his last deployment to the Middle East, for another airman he met while he was there. Needless to stay, since then I've been struggling tremendously to start over from the ground up with literally nothing to my name.

I made the difficult decision to ask my girl's dad to help me take care of them so I could finish up my RN here in Idaho, where our last duty station was when I was a military wife. My 2nd husband had just walked out on us, I have almost no family support at all. And couldn't go to Texas with my girls as I couldn't leave Idaho until my divorce was final and it was a nasty, drawn out affair. I figured I needed to be productive while I was trying to hold on to every single thing I had left that my ex husband had petitioned the court to take away from me. I'm talking even my dog that I had before we got married. I had to fight just to keep the vehicle I bought before I met my ex-husband to get to work and school in. Otherwise I'd have given him whatever he wanted to just stop hurting my kids and I once and for all. So since I had no choice but to stay here until it was over, I found a 1 year LVN to RN program in Boise. My divorce is now final, and I will be graduating in December.

I've decided to move down to North Texas as my girls are already with their dad who thankfully has kept them safe and taken care of them during this awful divorce mess. They badly need to be close to both their mom and their dad. And taking them away from him again is not the answer as much as it would make things easier on me in terms of finances. So this is what needs to happen but, my issue is that I have no clue where to start. lol.

I'll be showing up in N. Tx with 2500.00, a dog and my car. That's it. I don't know if I'll be able to find anyone to rent a place to me once I get there without a job. My nursing license is not going to instantly transfer so I can't work as an LVN until that occurs. I won't have my RN until I pass the RN boards, which will be at least 3 months as it's not a good idea to take it immediately without studying a bunch first. It's a $200.00 test.

I can't stay in my ex-husband's house. His wife wouldn't be too happy about that idea and I respect that no matter how much we all get along. I don't know anyone else there that I could stay with. So I'm wondering...how do I go about figuring out how to get on my feet down there with the limited resources I have available to me? What cities are hiring a ton for LVN's with decent schools and affordable housing in N. Tx? Is a weekly motel and a job at McDonald's or something the place to start? Any and all advice is super appreciated. I'm starting to realize that the date that I'll be back with my babies is getting closer and closer and I have no idea where to start planning to make it happen. Thank you so much!

grmnclt_gurl · #2 09-04-2011, 04:25 AM

I'm not in TX, but have met a few people there through my "travels"... What general area of N. TX are you looking to move to?

brokennglass · #3 09-04-2011, 08:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by grmnclt_gurl

I'm not in TX, but have met a few people there through my "travels"... What general area of N. TX are you looking to move to?

DFW. The only place I ever lived when I lived there....specifically the HEB/Mid-Cities area. The schools there are pretty decent and it's comfortable for me, I know my way around and it grew to be home.

grmnclt_gurl · #4 09-05-2011, 04:18 AM

I don't personally know anyone in DFW. But I know there are a number of great people here that are. Hopefully someone will be along that can give you more specific info on that area.

bojo1955 · #5 09-05-2011, 07:22 AM

I'm in Pearland (just south of Houston) and not sure how things work in north Texas but here you are usually able to get a job as a graduate nurse which gives you time to take and pass your board. Good Luck !!

Myguysinmoco · #6 09-05-2011, 01:21 PM

Instead of a weekly motel or apt, why don't you go to Craigslist.com and look for a room to rent inside someone's house? Its probably cheaper and the other ppl in the house can help you make connections with friends, jobs, info on the area, etc. I know you want to work as a nurse, but if thats not an option at first, you should at least get a part time job anywhere (as you mentioned McDonalds) so you have some income and don't use up your resources, good luck.

joesbaby · #7 09-08-2011, 11:09 AM

I just moved to that area myself, from Florida. As you were already advised, craigslist can help you find a place. That's how I found my place. If you can convince the landlord that you have a few months rent available, (like I did) they should rent to you. All it took for me to get moved in was $1300. That was rent, deposit and electric deposit. I don't have my landline phone yet (calls from him will have to wait), or internet (I've been frequenting McD's and the public library), but those are things that can wait until I do find a job. As long as you can take care of the necessities, everything else can wait. Good luck on your move!!

jerc78 · #8 09-08-2011, 07:35 PM

you could try an extended stay place they will rent by month and let you pay weekly towards it...and there you will also have internet access...

Leos mom · #9 09-10-2011, 07:42 PM

The Craigslist idea is a very good one and there are plenty of hospitals and facilities in the DFW area that you should be able to find work quickly. You may be able to get a job with some of the home health care places or even taking care of someone in their home for room & board. Try looking for those types of positions before you come. Seems like there are a ton of people now doing the home health care work and they're not nurses. I assume you will be sending out resumes before you come. I know a lady that moved to Texas and stayed in an extended stay place until she collected a few paychecks but she did have a job before moving to Texas. Good luck!

lonelytxbird11 · #10 09-15-2011, 06:15 PM

i also do not live in the dfw area but have family that does id suggest a alternate, you can find jobs in live in childcare in that area which would provide you with, home and in come as a nurse you would have an advantage ..most parents would love having a person with nursing exsperiance tend to thier children..go online now and google childcare liveins in dfw area..goodluck..may god bless you in your efforts
connie

brokennglass · #11 09-19-2011, 11:06 AM

Thank y'all so much for all of your encouragement! I am a firm believer that there is dignity in all work. I was laid off, and working at a gas station before I decided to be a nurse at 29 years old. I'll be 32 soon and started at the very bottom and have been working my way up. I'll work at jack in the box, mop floors with my own socks if that's what it takes to support myself and my children. And I'm so prepared to do that too. I actually don't expect it to be easy to find a job with my LVN license until I pass my boards and have my RN license. And I'd still have to wait for my LVN license to transfer which would take at the minimum 2 weeks. I won't hold my breath on that either. So I totally expect to work as a waitress or at mcdonalds or whatever until I get all of the details situated. I'm just scared I won't be able to make enough or find a job fast enough and end up sinking fast. I'm pretty negative when it comes to dealing with other people. i always expect the worst so I'm never disappointed. And I've been told over and over again taht due to changes in medicare and medicaid funding at the federal level, hospitals are tightening up and many are just flat out refusing to hire graduate nurses any more b/c of the cost of training us. So I honestly didn't even believe I could get a job doing that. I'm going to go to Craigslist and start looking for a place to go to first. I can't apply for nursing jobs until my license is transferred. So once I have a place I'll get to work on transferring my LVN to Tx and getting a job cleaning or in fast food or something to tide me over until my nursing license is straight.

Y'all have given me a lot of hope though, even if it is a cautious kinda hope.

Thank you so much for being so kind. <3 <3

curegirl · #12 09-20-2011, 04:41 PM

You might try Budget Suites of America. They have 24 hour security and a pool. Inexpensive weekly rates. It's not fancy, but it's okay. We stay there when we spend the week in DFW in the summer. Oh, and no deposits and utilities included.