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Fire51

Forum Lieutenant
194
17
18
Hey Guys,

Been a while since I've posted here! I'm at a place in my life where I've saved up money and now I'm try to figure out where would be best to move to and work as a emt? But not just that I want a place where I can get my paramedic and actually work as one (good protocols, ect..)? If you guys have any ideas please let me know, I'm very excited to have this chance and want to take advantage of it! Thanks, you all have always been helpful in the past.
 

RocketMedic

Californian, Lost in Texas
4,997
1,461
113
Well that’s a wide-open question. Pretty much anywhere in the US can do that for you, with the exception of some super-rural communities. The vast majority of EMS isn’t really defined by protocols per se; you’ll be doing the same few things with different variations.

What sort of income, lifestyle and objectives do you have?

Texas isn’t a bad choice. New Mexico offers some interesting super-rural EMS in reasonable proximity to livable metropolitan areas. Nevada offers high-octane high-performance EMS. California has interesting mixes of urban, suburb and and rural frontier within driving distance of good schools and stuff (but SoCal sort of blows). Oklahoma offers a lower average cost of living, as does the majority of the Midwest. New York and the East Coast are interesting.
 

akflightmedic

Forum Deputy Chief
3,891
2,564
113
True, the broad question of who is best or where is best....FIRST, decide WHERE you want to live. What state or area of a particular state excites you PERSONALLY. Notice I said personally because you need to be happy where you live, you need to have things to do and engage in when not working. SO if you have the flexibility of choosing where to live for work, then absolutely narrow your search based on what you will gain and be satisfied with personally.

Once you have a state chosen or even better a region of a state, decide if you want rural, urban, mix, etc. Then start researching who does EMS in that area. Then see if what they offer will suit your needs professionally. Then research cost of living and working at that job.

If it does not work, then go to #2 on your list and keep working through it until you find the sweet spot. Seriously, only you can do this type of homework cause only you know you best. You need to decide what is most important in your search be it quality of life outside of work, endless work, money, promotions, or just a paycheck...so many factors.
 

mgr22

Forum Deputy Chief
1,655
812
113
Fire51, EMSWorld.com is running a series called State Department. They cover lifestyle and business issues for one state per month. That might give you some ideas.
 
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