From: larry@trauma.rn.com (Larry Snyder)
Subject: trip to Florida
Organization: Gator Conferencing Systems - 219-289-0777 - 6 lines
Date: Sun, 26 Jul 1992 14:07:27 GMT

Well we are back after 3 sunshine filled weeks in Florida.    The sun
was with us daily until we hit northern GA on the way back.  After 5
trips and 7 weeks in FL during the last year -- we have it down to an
art.  The kids (2 and 6) sleep a good portion of the way -- we like to
leave at about 6 in the evening and keep going.  It's 15 hours to the
FL line, another 5 to Ft. Myers.

It's amazing -- the skies were clear over the water the whole time.
In the afternoons, things would cloud up maybe 10-20 miles inland
and a typical florida thunderstorm would occur - but by 6 PM the storm
would be long gone with the skies once again clearing where the thunderstorm
occured (for our Florida readers -- the skies in Northern Indiana at
times are cloudy for days -- with no sun at all during the day -- this
last winter I remember them saying on the radio that no sun has been
observed at the weather service for 20 days).

We spent time with my sister-in-law in Pt. St. Lucie which is about 40
miles north of Palm Beach, or about 16 miles south of Ft. Pierce right
off I-95.  The ocean in SE florida is so clear as compared to the gulf.
Off Jensen Beach (near PSL) when swimming in the ocean -- the water is so
clear you can see 30-40 feet.  The bottom is as clear as could be -- and
you can see the growth, fish, etc -- from the surface.   Of course, the
waves are higher on the Atlantic side than the gulf.  The gulf is mellow
with very little waves (less waves than at tower hill) - and it's a constant
slope - making it very safe for children.  The water isn't as clear as
the Atlantic -- but it is warmer (the gulf was 91 verses the Atlantic was 85).
The gulf was home to nightly dolphin shows playing in the water maybe 100
yards off the shore, along with some of the whitest beachs (they say) in
the world.

We are looking at schools, housing, hospitals (we both are RNs), crime rate,
internet access (of course), local calling area and the avalibility of
laser video disks at the video rental stores (Blockbuster video appears
to have thousands of video laser disks -- if you have never seen a laser
disk -- the quality is so many times greater than a videotape).

Housing in PSL is cheap.  Maybe the cheapest in FL - slightly cheaper than
here in SB.  Figure $35-$40 per square foot for good houses, $30-$35 for
cheaper ones.   In Ft. Myers its higher - in the $45-$50 per square foot
for nicer houses.   In PSL it is possible to get a new 4/2 with 2000 
Sq Feet under AC for $85K where as in Ft. Myers the same house would be
in the $110K range.  

PSL is close to a couple of small hospitals, a for-profit HCA 300 bed
facility level 2 trauma center in Ft. Pierce, a local for-profit HCA
155 bed facility in PSL, and a 240 bed level-2 in Stuart.  About 40
miles away is Palm Beach with a couple of Level-1 (Larry type of 
hospitals) trauma centers and bed counts in the 500+ range.
Ft. Pierce has a high drug problem for a city of its size according
to the ER staff which of course keeps them busy.  The Helopad is busy
transporting to St. Marys in West Palm and Holmes Regional in Melborne.

Crime in PSL is high - about 1.5 times as high as Ft. Myers. 
The might be attributed to Ft. Pierce skewing the numbers since 
Ft. Pierce is in PSL county.  That also could be related to the
fact that I-95 brings a lot of traffic/crime to the entire east
cost of FL since it is the most widely used route in and out of
Miami.

Our saga continues.  We will return over the holidays -- and plan
on moving the first week in May of 93. 

We must have interviewed at a total of 20 hospitals.  I like the
ER in Naples the best (actually, I liked Jackson Memorial in Miami
which is a 1800 bed facility -- but no way would I move my family
there)  -- it appears to have a varied client base
from the Indians to the Hatians and including the rich and famous.
They are willing to pay up to $6000 sign on which is in the upper
20%.  Some hospitals offered $7500 sign on -- and with the hourly
rate add-ons being higher than here -- even GN's can start in the
$18+ range per hour with no experience (add 2-5% per year 
for experience with a cap of 10 years).  I have a feeling the same
applies in Palm Beach -- in Ft. Pierce which is smaller and less
isolated than Naples they were paying about the same as Naples.
(I found our last evening the the local hospital -- Memorial is
paying $34 for ICU per-diem -- which was the average per diem in
FL last year -- but the point is that we here are finally catching up).

-- 
Larry Snyder                                    internet: larry@gator.rn.com
4950 Estero Blvd, Ft. Myers Beach, FL            uucp: uunet!rde!nstar!larry