Finding your home away from home while on allied or travel nurse contracts can be one of the biggest stresses of a travel nurse. While your recruiter can help you if you’d like, many travelers prefer to handle housing all on their own. One piece of advice from seasoned travelers, consider booking a hotel for a week or two at the beginning of your assignment to make sure the unit is good and to give you a better idea of where you want to stay.
Airbnb
Airbnb is a great place to find a whole apartment, house or even a room in someone’s home. The website or app allows you to search by location so you’ll know how far from the facility the location is, plus you can filter by cost, amenities and even whether the location allows pets.
Bring Fido
Traveling with a buddy? Bring Fido allows you to search pet-friendly housing. While the majority of the housing on the site is hotels, you can also find pet-friendly restaurants, activities and events, making it a great resource if you’re only in a location for one assignment.
Craigslist
Craigslist can be a good resource, but it does have a fairly big reputation for being ripe for scams. If you do see a housing option on Craigslist that looks promising, consider asking for a video tour via Skype or Facetime and definitely don’t send any money. It’s common for scammers to find a house or apartment that’s listed on another site and create a fake listing on Craigslist. When the renter arrives expecting the keys, they find out they’ve been scammed.
Extended Stay Hotels
Extended stay hotels are usually less expensive than a regular hotel, plus they come with some extra amenities like a full size fridge, a stovetop burner or two and sometimes even a dishwasher. Many extended stays don’t have daily housekeeping so you’ll have to keep things tidy yourself, but they can be less expensive than a regular hotel. They’re also more flexible than options that require a lease. Popular extended stay hotels include Extended Stay America, Woodspring, Sonesta and Staybridge though there are many others.
The Gypsy Nurse Travel Nurse Housing Group
You’ll have to head to Facebook to find TGN’s Travel Nurse Housing Group. Travelers and landlords can post available housing, as well as provide reviews to ensure other travelers know what they’re getting into before signing a lease.
Hotels
If you want to ensure total flexibility and housekeeping services, a hotel is where you want to be. You can book just a few nights at a time, plus depending on where you’re working, you may have more than 20 options within a short drive to the hospital. Check out websites like Expedia, Travelocity and Hotels.com to find options, but consider booking directly through the hotel for the best deal.
ForRent.com
ForRent.com lets you select a location, as well as a rent range, which means you’ll have an easier time staying under your monthly stipend. You can also choose the number of bedrooms and bathrooms, which is ideal if you’re traveling with a family or have a travel buddy you’re living with.
Furnished Finder
Like Airbnb, Furnished Finder will let you choose a place that’s already fully furnished, but unlike Airbnb, you won’t have to worry about paying a lot of extra fees. If you want to be able to just move in, it’s a great place to look for housing.
Vrbo
Vrbo is very similar to Airbnb, but all listings on Vrbo are for the entire house or apartment, while Airbnb can list single rooms. If you’re looking to ensure privacy during your stay, consider looking at a Vrbo listing.
At Triage, we’re collecting a list of our travelers’ favorite housing options. If you have a place you’ve loved, fill out our traveler housing survey and let us know where you’ve loved to stay while on assignment.