Regional Spotlight: Why Nursing Jobs in New England are Great
By Melanie Hammontree, Contributor
In 2018, U.S. News and World Report’s ranked the top 10 states with the best access to health care, and half of those states were New England states, which included Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut. Maine was the only New England state that didn’t make this list. With so many seniors having access to excellent healthcare, this makes the area an excellent location for those looking for nursing jobs in New England.
EXPLORE the available New England travel nursing jobs to put your degree, skills and experience to good use.
Top Cities for Nursing Jobs in New England
New England is filled with charming cities that are worth exploring when you have time off from your nursing job in New England. Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, is one of the favorite destination sites for nurses looking for things to do in Massachusetts and boasts sandy beaches, lighthouses and picturesque farms. Bar Harbor, Maine. is a quaint waterfront town known for its lobster and ice cream, and Nantucket, Massachusetts, is a tiny isolated island located off Cape Cod that’s perfect when you simply need downtime from the stresses a career in nursing can bring.
If you prefer the lights of the big city, Boston has plenty of attractions, like the Freedom Trail, the Museum of Fine Arts, the Boston Tea Party Museum and Harvard University. It’s also listed as the second-best city in the United States to retire in because of its excellent healthcare and low crime rate, which provides plenty of opportunities for nursing jobs in the area.
Things to do off shift
New England is one of the first areas settled by English colonists. For this reason, the area is rich with historic sites and places to explore. If you’ve ever wanted to know more about the Salem witch trials, you can explore the cities past and visit the Salem Witch Museum and the Wax Museum. This experience actually shows you how much medicine has advanced since the days of women experimenting with herbs and remedies.
If you’re a sports fan, you can take in a Boston Celtics game at the TD Garden or visit Fenway Park to watch the Red Sox play. If you prefer football, there’s the New England Patriots NFL team based out of Foxboro, Massachusetts.
For beach lovers, there are over 6,000 miles of Atlantic coastline to explore, and Plymouth, Massachusetts, is the site where the Mayflower landed in 1741.
Enjoying the cuisine
If you’re a foodie, you’ll enjoy sampling the various menu choices in New England. Local specialties include Boston Cream Pie, johnnycakes and clam chowder. Waterbury, Vermont, is home to the Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream Factory, where you can take a tour of the facility and sample some of the new flavors. If you prefer, there’s also the Cabot Creamery in Cabot, Vermont. New England is also the birthplace of the microbrewery, which makes it easy to locate a brewpub or distillery to tour.
Job salaries and availability
Just south of New England, the Newark and New York metropolitan area employs more nurses than any other area in the country, according to the Bureau of Labor Standards. Also, a registered nurse in the same area makes around $43 per hour. For this reason, it might be easy to locate a New England nursing job. The Bloomsburg and Berwick area in Pennsylvania also offers the highest concentration of jobs in the nursing field of all metropolitan areas.
Top salaries, beautiful cities, a lively culture and plenty of activities make New England an excellent destination for travel nurses. Because the entire area is just a quarter of the size of the state of Texas, you can hit most of the main attractions and sites on your time off during your travel nursing assignment.