What It Is Like Living in the South of the US

Hi everyone, my name is Luciana Da Silva with Connetics USA, it's time for our weekly show onwards and upwards. Everything a nurse needs to know about living and working in the United States. Today, we have a very special stateside show for you today. Happy Fourth of July to begin with. It isn't America's independence day on Tuesday. So we are already celebrating here at Connetics. Of course, if you would like to live and work as a nurse in the United States, please go to our website and apply ConneticsUSA.com/apply, and our recruiters are ready to go to help you fulfill your American dream. Let's get started with the show. Today we are going to be talking about Southern Living, how to live everywhere in the south, all the opportunities that we have for you food, culture, climate, anything you can think of we're going to be talking about it today. Let's bring in our guests. And while they're coming in, please in the chat. Type in your name, where you're from, say hello. We love seeing people from all over the world watching hello to our guests. Happy Fourth of July.

Hi, everyone. Hi so let's start out with some introductions. We'll start out with Holly who is no stranger to onwards and upwards or Lefora talk show. Holly, tell us about yourself. So hi, everyone. My name is Holly Musselwhite. I'm a nurse and a lifelong resident of the south of the US. So I've lived in Florida for a while. I won't tell you how many years but all my life until a year and a half ago when I moved to Tennessee, traveled all over the place have family that have lived in different parts of the south, mostly southeast and can't wait to see what kind of questions and things come up today. But with the Connetics international nursing agency, I'm the clinical nurse educator and I work with our nurses before they come during their NCLEX. And when they are here on assignment at times I get the chance to collaborate and work with them as well. So nice to be here today. Our NCLEX clinical experts, she always says wonderful clinical show. So that's probably where you know, Holly from let's move over to Meg who has a new face on our show. Meg, tell us about yourself. I everyone. I'm Meg Meyers. I am with Connetics. for about seven years now. I've been doing international nurse recruiting for more than 20. So that gives away a little bit.

But I am currently living in Florida. I've lived here for the last 15 years. I've lived in Georgia before. So I do have some experience living down here in the south. And I think it's a great, great show to have today because it's great to share different parts of the US. So I work with the recruitment side, on doing interviews, I work with the clients getting the interview set up so I see a lot of the nurses coming through. And it's really exciting to be part of the show today. Welcome to U mag and last but definitely not least, we have Deirdre.  lease introduce yourself to our audience. Hi everyone. Thank you so much for having me on. Luciana such an honor to be able to speak with you all today. My name is Deirdre O'Regan, you can probably tell from my accent, I haven't lived in the South, all my life. I am actually an immigrant myself coming from Ireland. None number of years ago I won't say how many, but I've lived in the South. I live in the beautiful city of Savannah, Georgia, and for probably the last five and a half years prior to that. I lived in San Diego, California, and I absolutely love living in the South. So I'm excited to answer all your questions. Great to see that we've got such a great participation this morning. And looking forward to answering all your questions about this up. Think welcome to all of you we also have some viewers who are saying hello Shane saying hello I'm from Pakistan, a nurse and ICU nurse hello and Shane we also have Melanes who is watching from the Philippines Kirby is saying I also watching from the Philippines and we have put through ski another viewer from the Philippines please keep putting your names in the chat say Hello Where are you from? Like we said we have a global audience and it's so fun to see where everyone is from.

Let's get started talking about Southern Living Dierdre I want to start with you because you work with O’Grady Peyton which is our sister company through AMN healthcare International. Tell us a little bit about Grady Peyton absolutely. So I am the Senior Director of Recruitment and operations with O'Grady Peyton International. I've been With a AMN total of 16 years, the last five and a half, I have worked with the international division. So we have been in this space for over 40 years. So lots and lots of experience helping international nurses relocate from wherever you are located right now, to live and work here in the United States. We are what we refer to as the staffing models. So we place international nurses at our client facilities for a period of a two year contract. So what's very important to mention here is that that two year commitment is the shortest in the industry. Looking at the staffing at the staffing model. We have clients and opportunities all over the United States. And we help you every single step of the way. And so we've got a an expert immigration team that really has that really holds your hand through the entire process from your I-140 application right through to your embassy interview. And so I'm excited and available to answer any questions that you have about O'Grady Peyton International. And again, very excited to be here today. And Luciana I'll hand it back to you.

Thank you Deirdre, talking about O'Grady Peyton International is our sister company to Connetics USA, which all of our viewers know is a direct hire company. The beautiful thing is between the two of us, we have positions available all over the United States, check out this map before we really get into the what they call the dirty south. Right so this map that you're seeing here, this is all of the southern states in the United States that are highlighted here. Technically speaking right. Now we also have another map. I think our director is trying to pull that up there of just the South. This is more of a fun map. And then of course, we have positions in all of these different states between O’Grady Peyton and Connetics USA for the direct hire and the staffing model. I want to move on now to oh, here it is. That's what we were looking for with it was that that right there? Thank you Melanes is our director who's wonderful shout out to her. These are all of the different states where we have opportunities. Everything in green is direct hire with Connetics. Everything in navy blue is staffing and everything in purple, you have a choice of both and look at all of those southern states where we have so many opportunities so that's why we're so excited to be doing this show today. Michelle is saying hello watching from Dubai Rona is watching from Houston Texas. everything's bigger in Texas right because zoom saying hello from Dubai. Nick hello from Taiwan. I love this. Kirby is saying interesting topic currently searching which state is perfect for me and my family. Daniel is saying hello from Riyadh. People from all over the world. We always say that and we love it. So let's get started. Holly, tell us about where you live right now. Okay, well, where I live right now is in eastern Tennessee.

So there's a lot of mountains I'm really close to the Blue Ridge Parkway, which actually follows a mountain trail. Really cool drive to take and I'm about an hour from a larger city called Knoxville to the west of me. And then to the east of me is Asheville, North Carolina. So when I'm on the road, I'm often close enough to North Carolina that I may be there doing something or I may be going into Knoxville and doing something there. But like I said, I moved here about a year and a half ago. There is it's really peaceful. There's a lot of beautiful nature. There's a lot of hiking waterfalls. A lot of things to do with your family. Not far from me is Gatlinburg, Tennessee and Pigeon Forge is I think the second most popular wedding destination location in the United States, believe it or not. So there's a lot of things to do and Dollywood is here yes. There yeah, I've got that on the bucket list. But I know people who work there. And I know that the community here really kind of started around her building those industries and parks and things like that, but it's exploded into so much more. So I come from Central Florida, where I live probably about a half hour from Disney. And it's funny because when I'm up here and I see different parks like that and things to do, I'm like well, you know, those things exist in a lot of different places. They just might have a different theme. So real really love living here and the people are so friendly and very down to earth and it's you know, I I've been I've been in places where I was the stranger and it was obvious I was a stranger in the United States and maybe not felt quite the welcome that I have since moving here. And so I'm very happy with the move. And if you guys are ever have the opportunity to come check it out, please come let me know you're over here. We'll certainly host you and love to say hello and show you around.

Thank you so much, Holly, as you said, if you're looking for a roller coaster, you can have these wonderful theme parks anywhere in the United States life is a roller coaster. Right? So you just got to hop on and hold on. And let's go right, Matt, tell us about your city and where you live. So I live in a city called Englewood, Florida. It's on the Gulf Coast so near I'm in between Tampa and Fort Myers. When you look at the map, and what's really popular here is the water, lots of beaches, outdoor activities, boating, that's something that we like to do very much is go on the boat and spend some time out on the water fishing and riding bikes and just a lot of outdoor activities, beautiful beaches on this side of Florida. Like I said, this is the Gulf side so the west coast of Florida but we are a short drive from those theme parks and Disney Universal Studios. There's a lot of different theme parks there that are a short drive away. And Florida is very large. You know, it's one of those things that there's always something to go see in Florida and it's just a drive away. So Florida is a great opportunity. It has great weather, that's some of the one of the things I like the best is the mild winters. I do enjoy snow anymore. So Florida is a great option. And you will see a lot of people coming to vacation in Florida because there is so much happening and so much going on. So it has a lot to offer to everybody.

And Maria is saying hello to everyone here to saying I love from Dubai. Chris is saying hello from the Dubai in the UAE, Risa watching from Saudi Arabia. Patricia is saying sign the offer under Connetics in Virginia. Wonderful is already headed to the end. Congratulations, Mary Grace. Hello from Abu Dhabi. Maria is a nurse in Brazil. Welcome to you too dear let's hop back to you. Tell us about Georgia tell us about Savannah. It's like a special accent. That's that beautiful southern accent. Every state has a different one. Absolutely. So I live I'm very, very privileged to live in the beautiful historic city of Savannah, Georgia. You know, and I'll be I'll be honest, I lived in San Diego, California for many, many years, and never really saw myself in the south until I came to visit and absolutely fell in love with Savannah. It has everything that you could possibly need. It's not a huge city, although it is growing very, very rapidly. If you were to visit today, you'd see lots and lots of construction which is really good. It is certainly a tourist destination. If you were to go downtown on the weekends, it's very, very, very busy. It just attracts a lot of visitors because it is so beautiful. So historic. But also it's very central right so we're are a few hours from Atlanta, and a couple of hours from Jacksonville, Florida. And we've got the beaches we've got city, it's got everything that you would ever want. Big, big foodie destination. So if you like to, to sample different types of food, be it southern or whatever, whatever you are interested in. Savannah has got it for you. Beautiful, beautiful restaurants and a big foodie destination as well. But what I also love about it is we're just like a 90 minute flight from New York City. So you can experience anything that you want living here in Georgia.

So I am excited to answer any questions that you may have. The climate is very, very moderate. So it's a little it's a little hot right now which is typical for the summertime. But winters are very, very mild. We do get to experience the season so we see the leaves fall and then of course we've got beautiful spring and summertime and you can see here some of the beautiful trees around Savannah Georgia. That's probably Forsyth Park or one of our for many historic parks around the city fun fact is Forrest Gump with part of that movie was filmed in Savannah that bench that you see that he's stopped that is a one of the parks here in Savannah and the beach that we are close to is Tybee Island. And the most latest, the latest Baywatch movie was actually filmed on that beach. So just a couple of fun facts.

I love that and you know, the American movie industry, it's not just about Hollywood, right? It's all over the United States. And there's so many wonderful movies that were filmed in the south like you said, your drill. I think that that video we just saw, right there was the actual square where Forrest Gump? Yeah, fitting for most and most likely, yeah, it's actually big destination for movie making as well. If they were constantly if you were looking downtown, you see film crews, and et cetera, all over the city filming major, major Hollywood movies. So really, really great. And Forrest Gump may have been in Savannah, but was originally from Alabama, which is also in the south. And I want to tell our audience, just a little secret here. Both of my parents immigrated to the United States as health care workers, and ended up in Alabama. So we had a whole family of Brazilians, living in Alabama. So if you're worried about you know, raising a family, they're looking at me, I'm first generation I turned out, okay. And I've also lived all over the South as well, and all of these different places in Florida, in Georgia in Tennessee. So we have so many great people here to talk about this, including myself. Jen is asking, saying hello, watching from Oman, just signed under Tennessee Meg what does MLH stand for? And tell us about it? That's Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare. There in Memphis, Tennessee, that is a client that I work with. So I may have seen that nurse in the interviews and thank you for signing that offer. It's a great place. They've got a great group of nurses already there. They have, you know, several are actually not several. There's over 100 nurses that are there already working.

So it's a great community. I think you're going to be very happy there. But Memphis, Tennessee, I have been there several times to visit the hospital and visit nurses coming in. And you know, it's a city that has a lot to do. You know, there's different sports teams, they're driving there is very easy. It's a very easy area to get around with Methodist Levana there are five hospitals, and they are very close to each other. So within about a 20 minute drive, you could get to each of the hospitals. So it's a great area, I think you're going to be very happy. They're part of the South. But I'm happy for you for signing that offer. Great job and the beautiful thing also about Memphis let's talk about another famous person is Elvis Graceland is in Memphis. So you can definitely go and learn all about love this walk through his home, kind of walk into that world there. And Memphis is also a really big music town. Today, can you tell us a little bit about that Tennessee being your state? Well, I haven't had the pleasure yet of visiting Memphis myself. But I will agree with you. There is a lot of music industry, a lot of country music, but also other genres of music that have come out of Memphis. And I know that it's kind of a foodie place to like I've seen they have a lot of places to go, when I'm researching for that area to try new foods and to try southern foods as well. So growing up and living in the South, I can tell you that we do have some awesome foods. And whatever your taste buds desire, you can usually find because as you've probably heard, the US is a melting pot. So we have so many cultures that have come here and have shared their food culture with us. And so I know that Americans like to not just eat American food, we like to go try different things. And if you're like us, then you may have the same interest.

But Memphis and other parts of Tennessee, one of the things that I like since moving here is I get four seasons. So yes, there's some snow it's not crazy. But I get fall I get orange and red and yellow and green in one season. It's gorgeous to just drive through towns and mountains and see yeah, those are some of my picks from my different traveling around. I did a train tour one day and just kind of went through the countryside actually that little area is on the left is in Savannah at one of the hotels I got to stay in so Deirdre. I love all the historic buildings down there that you can visit and, and stay in. And then you know, I think that is part of the cool part of Tennessee and all the southern states is road trips are gonna get you to some really cool places very quickly. Oh, there's a view of the mountains from my house. And there's actually me in Florida on the on the beach, on the east coast. So Meg's picture was from the west and there's a picture horse drawn carriage in Savannah, and some deer in my front yard here in Tennessee.

Some bridge in Savannah just narrowing any long here. And that wheel you know, that's become really popular in some towns and destinations to put these wheels up where you can go and sort of get a bird's eye view of everything. So that is about 40 minutes from me in a town called severe Ville also close to Pigeon Forge, and you just get to be circling and looking at the mountains and all the different surrounding areas. So I love to sort of go to those heights not everybody's enjoys that but it's a great opportunity if you do the ferries wheels you see them in so many cities all over the world, Hong Kong V and Rio, they're just everywhere, but the ones in the United States like the ones that you just saw in Holly's photo. That's a different view. You're seeing all of those beautiful mountains all those colors. We are getting some more comments here in the chat. Please put your questions in. Mark is saying hello watching from the Philippines. Allah C'mon, Nurse originally from Iran and work IDI nursing in Oman. Great talk. Yay. Mohammadreza hello from Iran. Marlon is saying hello. I'm watching from Jordan right there in the Middle East. Che is saying hello. I'm waiting for deployment to Alabama cache.

Home Alabama, right. How does that sound? Good? Yeah, that's it. I shouldn't know that. So let's play a little bit of a game I did not give the guests any sort of heads up that we're gonna do this. So that's what's gonna make it really fun. So what we are calling this game is going to be southern sayings. So I'm going to say a few words that are southern sayings that people say in the south the South has it's kind of its own colloquialisms. It's its own phrases than you would find in other parts of the United States. So I'm gonna say the southern phrase, and you all can translate what it means. You're ready. I fear I will not be good at this game. We will give it an honest try. Okay, first how they hello. Good. Y'all. You all everybody all of you a group interview. You through you're killing it. Here's wonderful. Next one, eight. He's not is not Yeah, not. And the reason why we're not showing these words up on the screen is because you won't really see them written you are going to hear that conversation. So this is great practice for our entire audience here and if you know the answers also play along next when grandma says give me some sugar give her a kiss. Yes, it's on the cheek or you know I used to tell that to my little sister and she'd go grab sugar we're like no, next hold your horses will slow down take a moment well done now here's some that you might hear in the hospital bless your heart that kind of that they empathize with you so Oh, I'm so sorry or poor thing. Oh, yeah. I empathize with you very good. fit as a fiddle.

Feeling good. Yeah, yeah. There is a fiddle okay. I guess fiddles to me. It's time to discharge that could also be an Irish same. Oh, really? My grandma saying that all my life. Yeah. Good fit as a fiddle. Yeah, it was a fiddle. I love that. And that's definitely something you'd hear on the clinical side too. Do here's one that you might hear a lot coming from the south, especially whenever some weather's coming through to hunker down. Get in a safe area. Yeah, don't go out. Stay inside, you know, be prepared. Stay down. Stay down. Like, just wait not to stay where you are. Yeah, exactly. So you'll hear you'll hear that phrase a lot when hurricane may be coming through or really good storm that you want to sleep through. Wonderful. And we know that there are so many great phrases. I have one more here for you. till the cows come home. I love you till the cows come home. Always in forever. Oh, yeah. Always. Wonderful job. We do have some great southerners here, even if they come by way of Ireland from some from somebody who came from Ireland, Lucy. Yeah. Another fun fact about Savannah is that it has an I hope I get this right, the second or the third largest St. Patrick's Day parade in the United States. Second, only behind New York and I want to say Chicago mag. I think Chicago Boston is one. But for such as for a small city that most third largest. And I have to tell you, it's even bigger than anything I've ever seen in Ireland in all my life. So yeah, a lot of fun on St. Patrick's weekend. And I've lived in Savannah. And it's a lot of fun.

Yes, I know. I was there like a week before the St. Patrick's Day, this year. And it was like a whole week before and you're already seeing green and the leprechaun hats. And that's the cool thing about the United States, too, is that we celebrate other cultures, it may seem kind of funny, but we do. Give us an idea of what that's like Mexico, tell us about some other holidays that people may experience that also come from other cultures. Other cultures. Mmm hmm. So we have the Fourth of July, 4 of July. Well, Fourth of July is is you know, our Independence Day. And it's a big holiday here. A lot of people are enjoying outdoor activities because it's the kind of the middle of summer. So we are coming up on that. So we are seeing a lot of people getting ready for some mini vacations and taking off some time. So that's always fun. But in other in regards to holidays from other cultures, I know a big one that other cultures do celebrate in a way but not necessarily the way we do is Halloween. Halloween, you know, we it's a fun holiday for us. But in many countries, it's a it's a religious holiday. And it's something that I think translates differently in different countries. But we all still celebrate. So there's a lot of different holidays here that I think everybody will find fun things you know, we all you know, around the Christmas holidays, that's a popular time if you're celebrating Christmas. Here we have Thanksgiving. That is a holiday that yes, we all just eat and eat and eat.

But yeah, the holidays are fun here. And I think no matter where you live in the United States, you're going to experience great, you know, holiday celebrations, the South you know, having good weather year round pretty much is allows a lot more outdoor celebrations to happen with those holidays. And the Halloween that is warmer. In the south. Whenever you're going through Halloween you can wear actually a cooler costume sometimes because you're not going to be freezing. And we also have Oktoberfest throughout the South as well, which is not a national holiday but in my mind it is a beer. Right? Um, so Kirby is asking which state is good for the family of two six year old and a 10 month year old. Our eldest son has asthma Dierdre can you say a little bit about where do you think different opportunities we have and where it's really great family opportunities in the South? Absolutely. So we work with the a very large healthcare air system in the city of Atlanta. And if you are looking that you want something more in the city, that's a really good opportunity, also have locations more suburbia. And another great place is North Carolina. So we've got, we work with a very large health system in North Carolina as well. So you mentioned that that your son has asthma. And, you know, at certain times of the year, depending on where you are like the pollen might be high, and the allergens are fake, but that's where you're going to work very closely with your recruitment team on making the best decision for you. But Southern Living, if you're look, if you've got, particularly if you have young children, consider the cost of living and you want to look at schools in the area. So it really is identifying what's important to your family. If you want more city locations, you can still have that in the South, as well as more of those suburban locations. But that's where it's really important to work closely with your recruiter on identifying what's going to be the best opportunity for you taking into account everything that's going to be important as you make that decision at children's schooling and any illnesses for example that that they may be experiencing. Does that help?

Absolutely. Well, Kirby is the one who can tell us if it helps or not let us know. He's saying my wife and I are both nurses. Wonderful. We also have Nick who is telling us nice and beautiful pictures from Holly. Love it. I like beaches and outdoor activities like surfing. So I'm looking forward to the interviews in Jacksonville, Florida. Still waiting. Love y'all. Oh, yes. What opportunities do we have in Jacksonville, Florida who wants to take this one? I'll take it. So we do work with an organization in Jacksonville, Florida, we do monthly interviews. So Nick, make sure you talk to your recruiter and get on those schedules, because they do happen every month. So make sure that that happens. But we also have another opportunity coming up in Florida, we're going to start interviewing with an organization on the on my side, on the golf side, the west coast of Florida. Now, if you like surfing, you're probably not going to get much surfing on the west coast. So the Atlantic side on the East Coast has bigger waves. So you may have more opportunities for surfing on that coast, rather than on the west coast. But we do have another great organization that's going to be starting their interviews, probably within a month or so. So keep an eye open for that because that's also going to be a great opportunity here in Florida.

And that was the hospital just calling you up and saying yes, ma'am. Get us more nurses because we have all of these opportunity out there. Holly, I want to come back to you. You are such an expert at the NCLEX clinical, give us an idea of what licensing is like for nurses in the south, is it more complicated than in other states easier, give us some insight. I think there are, first of all, whether you're talking to Connetics, or a Grady Peyton, we have team members, and I'm one of those if you're talking Connetics, who actually work on the licensure piece. So all of these states will certainly give an international nurse the opportunity to be licensed, they all will have different requirements, which is why you want to understand in the state, you're going to what you have to do and when you have to do it, the goal is for the most part to make it as easy as possible. And sometimes that means more steps. But it makes it smoother for you to transition here. So that being said, for instance, if we're talking about Florida, you can't get a license unless you have a social security number. You can't get a social security number until you're here in the States. However, you can start working on some of the requirements a little bit ahead of time. So that's where a partner comes in, like Connetics, or O'Grady Peyton, who can kind of guide you through what are those steps and what specific there are other states where you can't apply until you have got your social security number. There are some that will issue like Tennessee so I know somebody was Tennessee. Your license can be applied for an issued before you actually come to the United States. So when you get here, that's not a headache you have to worry about. So I think that the most important thing is for you to be aware once you are starting your process and your visa has been filed, that you are aware of what you can do ahead of time and do it as early as is appropriate to do it.

So for instance, if it's a Tennessee license, I would tell you don't wait, start now if you may have to do something else first if you pass through California, but most of the time, it's a pretty easy state, Florida's not a difficult state. It's just understanding the steps. And then like I said, we can help you navigate those. Mark is asking which state would you advise to start for a family of six, God bless his heart. My oldest son was 10 years old, and my youngest daughter was three, is it feasible to choose North Carolina for us, I prefer near school sites. I'm torn, which state to choose? Thank you Deirdre North Carolina and tell us about it and some opportunities that we have there. So we have many opportunities in the state of North Carolina and part of your process mark is not just going to be choosing a location, it's really working with our team on identifying the best fit. So we'll help with looking for housing, taking into account what's important, you mentioned schools here. So we work with at least two large health systems in the state of North Carolina, looking at other states in the United States, North Carolina is going to be a more affordable option. And so I would say depending on where you want to live, if it's going to be more centrally located, then the rents may be a little bit higher, as opposed to the more suburban rural locations. But that's where you're going to work with your personal team in our in your recruitment process and also your relocation process. So as part of working with already Peyton International, you work with a relocation team that helps you figure out and really understand where you want to live, taking into account each individual family circumstance, because everyone is different. And so we want to make sure that as you make your decision that it is the right decision for you and your family that you're going to transition successfully. But also where you are living is first and foremost, it is safe. So we always make sure that that we have you in a in a safe environment, but also close to what's important to you. If it's schools, if it's been in the in the hustle and bustle or being more peaceful in the more rural locations.

So again, it's very important that as you start in your process, that you make your intentions and what's important to you clear initially so that we can make sure that we are guiding you in the right direction and making the right decision for you and your family. But North Carolina is a great state. And you just saw some photos there on the screen too. Those are actually my photos of North Carolina. My family lives in North Carolina with Holly was saying right outside of Asheville. They actually live in Raleigh, so that yep, that's them. That's my mom, dad and my wonderful sister. I know my mom's so good looking. And that's my dog and I just road tripping through North Carolina right there. You have all seen Chanel on the show here. And it's just such a beautiful area. It's such a beautiful place. And like Holly was saying it's the four seasons, right so you get some snow. Not too much the beautiful fall. Nice warm summer right now it's summertime. Let's talk a little bit about climate here. Holly, how warm is it? In Tennessee, right now let's keep this in mind to our audience. We're in the northern hemisphere. That is why it is summer here. So tell us about the summer in Tennessee. So in the summer, and you know what I'm also thinking about Lucy, and this is why I've got to kind of change my settings on my weather app for just a minute here is we're in. We're in Fahrenheit usually when we talk temperatures, but I know most of you are going to be talking about Celsius. So let me just translate. So today for me, it's a little bit rainy here, not bad. Sun's starting to come out and it's about 16 degrees Celsius. It does get a little bit warmer most of the time during June and July. But it's going to stay kind of around that general zone. When you're out in the sun. It's going to be nice and toasty. Not as humid as it is maybe in Florida where I know you'll probably talk about in a minute.

But that drier air is also something I've learned to enjoy my hair is a lot more controllable that way. And the that you usually stays with us until about late August, early September that it's really warm, most days and then we get some afternoon rains here a lot of times and because we're in the mountains, we also sometimes feel some winds and things like that. So it's a really beautiful time of year. And as long as we've got rain, it's green and pretty. So yeah, good weather. You were saying the hair this this, the human hair, everybody, you can feel that so many places in the world. I know in the Philippines, it gets really humid there too. It's wonderful. Mag, Florida humidity, sunshine, tell us about what it's like living there. And it's different from southern Florida to northern Florida. Because Florida is a really, let's say long state from north to south. So give us an idea of what people can expect maybe in the north of Florida, and more in the south of Florida.

So today for for where I live, we are expecting it to be about 92 degrees today, which in Celsius would be about 33 degrees, or Yeah, 33 degrees Celsius. So it's pretty warm, and humidity is high. So I have many bad hair days because of that humidity. But um, you know, I would say that the difference is in Florida as you go north, you you would probably experience a little less humidity, but you're still going to have a lot of human. It doesn't go away in Jacksonville. Because you're on the coast right there on the coast. I know we have a hospital that's there. The nurses love it that are coming in, they love the beaches, they love the easy access, the weather hasn't been too horrible for them. So that was a nice for the adjustment. But when we talk about heat, it is hot and it's hot most of the year. You know for us the winter months, we might have it get to about 60 degrees which I will quickly tell you what that is. That's about 15 Celsius. And so for us that's cold or other states you know below zero is cold but in Florida, you know we do get used to that warmer weather and you do acclimate so if you're not from a warm climate, your body does acclimate to the warmer weather. But I personally like it when it goes off. It's a nice break from that heat.

I love it when it warms up those warm southern nights in the south. And you know, I don't call it a bad hair day. It's like It's like hot hair day you know you get all that like gray and digit in Savannah the weather's a little difference because it's you know, further north but it's also on the coast right away right out from Hilton Head as well. So what's the weather like? Yeah, right now. So it's pretty similar to mag right now and we are at around 32 and 32 degrees Celsius. It's not it's this time it's pretty unseasonal for this time of the year historically it's uh it's a lot hotter than previous years but you know the entire southeast and Texas is experiencing heat waves right now. So I think we're just getting the tail end of that. But you know, it's warm here. Probably eight months of the year and then it kind of cools off in fall winter time. I personally love that time of year in Georgia. Spring and Fall the summers can be can be pretty hot. But to next point you acclimate pretty quickly. It is very humid hence the ponytail today. Because this is the summer hairstyle because it's not happening. And but it's pretty similar but I my favorite time of the year is that spring fall where it does go down to around that 60 degrees which is around 16 1516 degrees Celsius. That is beautiful time of year to be in Georgia.

Trotsky is asking how about the state of Virginia for a solo parent like me with an 11 year old daughter and a three year old son in terms of education and housing, who wants to take that proportion and talk about opportunities in Virginia that we have. It depends on where in Virginia because Virginia of course is a very large state and it borders DC, which you know the cost of living in certain areas can be can be higher than if you're looking at a more rural or suburban location. I'll hand it back to the team to get there states but they state of Virginia can be very, it depends on where you go, like it can be very metropolitan. But also, there are a lot of areas within Virginia that are, you know, more rural and suburban. And it also has. Yeah. And I agree with that. I don't I don't really work much in Virginia, but I do have Maryland that is nearby there. And, you know, I think that area of the United States, you know, is good for kids. There's, you know, you do get the four seasons, but not too too cold again, so they're not too far north. But I think, you know, Virginia, Maryland, you know, those areas are would be good to raise your kids.

Yeah, Virginia and Maryland are right side by side there. And like Judy was saying, it's really close to Washington DC, you can just like hop on a train in Maryland and get there and Virginia as well. And then you can just drive a few hours and see Holly and Knoxville. thing you can get on the train, you can also get on a train in Maryland and go to New York City. Yeah, really? That is so cool. Yeah, let's talk about transportation in the South. Since we're getting into this topic, Holly, tell us about transportation all around where you live. And look at this map here. So cute. Tennessee, North Carolina, just in general, what is transportation like? So in general, it's only in big cities that you might see like bus routes. And things like routine, Uber and Lyft. And taxi cabs might be available. So we're talking about places like Knoxville, or Chattanooga, on the East Memphis as some public transportation, I'm sure may could speak to that too. And other areas that are considered bigger cities. However, it the frequency of which those buses run is probably not what you may be used to if you live in really big metropolitan areas, like Manila. So something to be aware of is that in the south, my experience has been you're going to need a vehicle, and you're going to need to be able to get around and have that independence. Otherwise, you may have to be waking up a lot earlier than you really want just to go a short distance. And the frequency with which some of the public transportation is accessible and available is going to vary from whether you're in a larger city area centrally located.

And perhaps you might have to pay higher rent if you're doing that, or living a little further out and enjoying maybe a little less populated area. But still the convenience of getting to and from wherever you want to go would mean you're going to need your own vehicle. So it's the you know, subways and things like that are not part of usually the south culture. Although we're talking about Georgia, I know that in Atlanta, there's a what is it the Marta Deidra. And that's a very frequent train. But again, that's when we talk about getting closer to city center. So you just have to be aware of the variables that might be important to you. But it's why so many of us have our own vehicle here in the US is because we're so spread out and yet we still want to go and see and do and you know, for me have the peace of the countryside but still be able to get to some of the big city options when I want to do something there. You mentioned earlier in the show about road trips, and that is really great in there even country music songs in the Southwest is rolling down backwards on the wheel, something like that because we love road trips, and they can be so beautiful in the South. Dierdre tell us about some road trips that you've done here and there and places that you've seen around the South. Oh my gosh. Um, so we love to road trip as well. I'm fortunate that a lot of my husband's family lives on the east coast. So we have an A, I mean, you wouldn't exactly call it a big road trip but we are about two and a half hours outside of Charleston, South Carolina. So that is a beautiful, beautiful city that we are in close proximity to. We rode trip a lot to Atlanta and my husband's family is living in Atlanta as well. So we go there quite frequently.

And another road trip we've taken is to Tampa we also have family in in Tampa. So don't necessarily road trip to New York, but because we're literally an hour and a half flight. We've got a really good regional airport here. It's actually an International Airport. But so and we've gotten very, very regular flights that go to New York. So we go there probably once every two to three months. So not a road trip. But again, the opportunity to see other places by living so centrally in Georgia. And earlier in the show, Jen asked about, Jen was saying that she had just signed an offer in Tennessee, with Methodist Levana. Tell us mag what is transportation? Like in Memphis, Holly said earlier that you'd be perfect to take this question.

So in Memphis, they do have public transportation, more downtown. So that's more accessible in that downtown area. And they do have a hospital right downtown. So it is it is very convenient. But it is best to have your own car, if you are traveling really outside of that downtown area, there is limited public transportation, going to the outer skirts of that Memphis area, and to some of those other men, Methodist hospitals. So I would say, you know, you probably really would want a car, unless you are living in the downtown area, then you would probably be able to easily access that access that public transportation. But we cars probably the best. Exactly. And that's the cool thing, too, that our nurses really get into that car culture. If you go to our Facebook page and our other social media pages, the nurses love sending us photos of them with their new American car. And that's something that everybody really looks forward to and gets into that culture of the road trips. Because we do have a wonderful highway system. Even though really big part of the United States, you do need a car. There's not much transportation only in the big cities like Meg was saying, but really going in that call car culture, it's exciting. People get the big SUVs. And because they got their whole family, the viewer that was saying earlier, six kids just put them in a minivan and head into the sunset. And let's talk I want to kind of shift gears here really quick. I want to talk about the food because the food is very different in the south than it can be in other places.

It is the fourth of July on Tuesday, Happy Independence Day. And we have lots of fun traditions. Whenever it comes to the Fourth of July and a lot of it has to do with wonder through food Dierdre What are you going to be doing this Fourth of July? Where are you going to be eating? Tell us about your celebration? Oh my well it's going to be very hot here before the July so we typically we would maybe go to a friend's house barbecue and the they really the regular foods right so your hot dogs or hamburgers? I'm a big fan of potato salad. So I love potato salad. And so yeah, the usual Fourth of July barbecue foods that you hear about that's probably what we're going to be doing on Tuesday. I just need an invite from one of my friends to do it because I'm not the best host Holly, what are your plans for the Fourth of July? Well, food will be part of it. I live with a relatively large family close enough to me that we will all get together because it's usually a family day. And we will have things like grill out probably some baked beans and potato salad and that you know traditional Southern American style food. We like our butter here in the south. So um, let me see. We are going to do our own fireworks. So in our part of Tennessee, a little more rule and so you can go and buy fireworks and as long as it's not too dry outside, you can set those off without having to do a lot of paperwork. But I know when I was in Florida, Central Florida I didn't do that I would go to every fourth of July there was local areas and towns that would have different events open to the general public most of the time free. And then they would have things like food trucks and different cuisines available and traditional American style usually for Fourth of July and go see fireworks there because that's definitely something that we like to do on Independence Day is see a great fireworks show.

Man what's it like in Florida What are you going to be doing for the Fourth of July? Fireworks do happen here they're fun to see from the boat. So we'll probably you know spend some time on the boat and same kind of foods you know that that typical barbecue the hamburger hotdog. I love potato salad to Deirdre but yeah, it's good it'd be really fun. Another thing you do find common here though is seafood. Seafood is a very popular food here. And a lot of people will be enjoying that as well. Melody is saying hi, Luciana, when will you discuss about the eastern part of the USA. Thank you for the idea that is going to be coming up over the next couple of months. We have a full schedule for our for our next shows we are seeing here in the chat. A lot of questions about the visa bulletin retrogression just to let everybody know that we do have our immigration Q&A every month with Connetics, USA is partner immigration attorneys. They answer all your questions live happening next week on Friday. So one week from today. Tanya is going to be back and you can ask Yeah. All right Tanya, is she's having a wonderful time on a beach somewhere. I think right now.

We miss but enjoy it. And yet so then you can tune in next week and ask all of your questions about retrogression. You can also go to the Connetics USA website. We have lots of information there about what retrogression as well as some FAQs for you to take a look at if you have questions, but you can always ask your representative at O'Grady Peyton, or at Connetics USA about some updates, and we can give you some guidance as well. And so can our partner lawyers if you're currently going through that process? Oh, my gosh, it is time it is time to say thank you, for everyone for joining us today. Happy Independence Day. Happy Fourth of July. Thank you so much to our guests. We are so excited that you joined us. We're looking forward to having you back soon. Thank you bye. And just to wrap up the show here. As usual, let's go through our future shows coming up that we have we just mentioned that next week, we are going to have the immigration Q&A On July the 14th. This is an important show and I really urge our entire audience. Tell your friends to watch this show. We're going to be talking about the differences between direct hire recruitment and staffing recruitment. If you don't know there's a there is a difference there. There are differences there and companies do different ones. O’Grady Peyton international actually does the staffing model like Dierdre was saying earlier, Connetics USA does direct hire, we have all of those opportunities, this is your opportunity to learn the difference so that you can make an informed decision of where you want to go and make the choice that you think works best for you and your family and your six kids.

On July the 21st. We're going to be doing a client showcase to be able to showcase the Connetics USA clients and show where you can go live and the different opportunities there. July the 28th. equality, diversity and inclusion. A lot of people have questions about this topic, we are going to bring you all the information and what that's like in the workplace and in the United States in general. On July the 11th, you're going to be seeing Holly again, with all of her wonderful expertise on the love for a talk show talking about working alongside preceptors. So that is that clinical differences. Really getting into that to be able to help our viewers understand what it's gonna be like working in the clinical setting, Connetics College, upcoming shows every Monday, watch Connetics College. This is where you can get free classes, free classes from these experts on your screen to be able to help you pass your NCLEX exam and your English exams, whether if it's the OET or the PTE, they all take one day a month to be switch up and teach you all those different classes. So please tune into our social media channels. So you can also learn and prepare yourself for all of those examinations that you need to take to be licensed into work here. We are here to help you. Thank you so much, everyone for joining us. Happy Independence Day, Fourth of July to all of our viewers around the world, especially here in the United States. And as we always say, onwards and upwards. Thank you everyone for joining us. Yes, those are the photos of our latest arrivals. All of those nurses and their families that you just saw. They're just arrived in the United States this week to start their journeys. Happy Fourth of July to all of them as well. Thank you all for joining and we'll see you next week.