Medical travel is exciting on it’s own. When you add in the element of RV travel, you’re bound to have a lot of interesting experiences to share! This month, we caught up with Chase and Lindsay, married travel nurses who have made their travel trailer a home. Explore their videos to learn more about their experiences in the RV and what they enjoy about medical travel. You can also follow their journey on Instagram: @wereoutnabout.
Chase and Lindsay
Nurses
What made you decide to live in an RV instead of taking housing?
Lindsay and I both grew up camping with our families, so we knew when we started travel nursing that we definitely wanted to be in an RV. So here we are, living in our RV.
How do people react when you tell them you live in an RV and travel the country?
Well, we pretty much get mixed reviews. Some people think it’s a really cool idea and love the idea. Other people, that might not know so much about RVing, think we’re nuts and don’t think we have any electric, don’t think we have any water, and think we’re basically living in the middle of nowhere. But we’re pretty much glamping.
Tell us a little bit about your RV.
It’s a 30-foot travel trailer, and it has pretty much everything an apartment would have. It just doesn’t have a washer and dryer or a dishwasher.
How do you manage to get alone time with limited space in your RV?
Well, our living space is 300 square feet, and we don’t really like being away from each other anyways. But if we did need some time apart, we could just go outside, take a walk. Basically go outside and get away from each other. But like I said, we like to be together and don’t mind it at all.
Do you travel with a pet?
We do, and her name is Mocha. She’s a really good camping kitty, and she absolutely loves the camper life. She’s adapted so well, we couldn’t imagine doing this without having her along with us.
What are some things you’ve learned about RVing that you didn’t anticipate?
We were quite knowledgeable when we were getting started, but we definitely didn’t realize how much we had to downsize. With clothes and storage, pretty your whole life you need to downsize. You learn what’s essential.
What is something you wish you would have known when you started?
We definitely wish we would’ve just gotten a larger truck and fifth wheel in the beginning, but when we were taking the plunge into an RV and getting started travel nursing we didn’t want to go into too much debt, so we stuck to what we were planning on and here we are.
Do you have a permanent residence?
Yes. We have a townhouse still back in West Virginia.
Do you tow a car or do you rent a vehicle at each assignment?
We actually have two vehicles. Since we have a travel trailer, we need a truck to be able to tow this RV. So we have Chase’s truck and then [Lindsay] also has her Kia Sportage that we take along with us. We pretty much use that for commuting.
Is it difficult to find a spot for your RV close to work?
So far we’ve been pretty lucky and have been able to find a spot within 30 minutes of a hospital, even in downtown Orlando. It’s definitely going to vary season-to-season, location and time of year. It can be hard sometimes to find a place, you just need to book ahead a couple months in advance.
How much does the average RV spot cost?
It really varies on time, location, amenities, season, but anywhere from $400 to even $2,000 in the winter time in Key West, Florida. But it really just depends on different variables.
How do you find a spot for your RV?
We just get on Google. We search for campgrounds near somewhere we’re trying to go. We make a list, make some phone calls and then we book from there.
Ready for a travel assignment that will propel your career and allow you to explore new hobbies and regions? Travel nurse agency, Triage, has plenty of allied and travel nurse jobs.