**Pictured above, one of my most favorite places I stayed. Sunset view facing the intercoastal waterway, but situated right on the beach of Hollywood, FL! **
When I tell people I’m a travel nurse, out of all the questions surrounding travel nursing, the #1 question I get asked is how does travel nurse housing work? Does the company provide you housing? How do you find housing? If you missed my post earlier about how travel nursing works, definitely check it out! This post is meant to get a little deeper into travel nurse housing with resources and my experiences thus far. So let’s dive in!
To find your own housing or let the company find your housing?
The Travel Nurse Housing Breakdown
First things first, there are two options for where to start as far as travel nurse housing goes. You can take company provided housing or take the housing stipend and find your own housing. I say two options lightly, as only SOME travel nurse companies will find housing for you. So make sure you research your companies before assuming this a given with each company. Let’s first take a look what exactly a housing stipend is all about.
Travel Nurse Housing Stipend
Hospitals and facilities pay a pretty penny for travel nurses. Part of this high “bill rate” as they call it includes both a housing and meals allowance that compensates the nurse for the housing and meals needed while on assignment. The assumption is that you are duplicating expenses maintaining a “tax home“.
Tax homes can get pretty complicated and for detailed information it is always best to consult a tax professional. However, in a nutshell it means you have claimed a residence somewhere where you regularly pay rent/mortgage. For example, I own my home in Charleston, SC. I pay mortgage and property taxes and visit it several times year. It doesn’t have to be owning your own home though, it could be as simple as renting a room somewhere where you are home based which is what I did when I started travel nursing. As you are maintaining this “tax home”, the housing stipend is a TAX FREE subsidy (assuming you have claimed a tax home). If you do not have a tax home, the stipend is taxed (and we all know that’s a bummer!).
Now that you know what the stipend is about, let’s compare the two options!
Company travel nurse housing
So option #1, you can choose to go with a travel nurse company that has the option for company provided housing. To name a few, TNAA, Medical Solutions, and American Traveler. Of note, some companies like to draw you in and advertise this as “free paid housing”. While that sounds nice, that’s not exactly true…as they say there’s no such thing as a free lunch.
In choosing to have company provided housing, you forego aforementioned housing stipend. The facility’s bill rate includes that housing allowance which is paid to the travel nurse company and then on to you. So by not accepting the housing stipend the company takes that money and pays for your housing. The housing could be much cheaper but you would be none the wiser and thus essentially leaving money on the table!
It may seem nice when you aren’t ponying up the money every month to pay for your housing, but just remember that it’s still YOUR money technically with which they are paying the housing.
You still receive a meals stipend (untaxed if you maintain a tax home) but is usually minimal when compare to the housing stipend. (Confused? Check out my post on pay breakdown!)
Company Travel Nursing Housing Pros
However, there are definitely some pros for company provided travel nurse housing! Number 1, is it is a lot less stress and time consuming. Finding a place to live that is within a reasonable distance to work (when you don’t know the area!) that is priced right and acceptable condition within a limited time is quite stressful. I would say that finding housing is usually my top stressor in travel nursing aside from securing the job. Company provided housing takes all of that out of the picture…some even are pet friendly!
Pros
- You don’t have to search endlessly for the right housing
- You save time and energy
- Less stress
- It’s private housing!
- If something is wrong with the housing you hand it back to the housing department to deal with
I actually highly recommend this as a first time travel nurse. There is a lot to learn as a travel nurse and a lot of hoops to jump through for your assignment (particularly for first timers or if you are working with a new company…more on that later). So I would definitely consider this as a first timer and perhaps even beyond that if you like it enough!
I did this for my first assignment and totally lucked out! Lived in a mother in law suite next to the most adorable New Hampshire family that I still remain dear friends with and visited as recently as a few months ago!
Company Travel Nurse Housing Cons
But as in anything, there are some cons as well…
Cons
- You lose extra money from stipend pay. If your housing costs less than your housing stipend (which you will probably never know) you aren’t credited the difference. On the flip side if your housing is more expensive, you don’t pay anymore: bonus for you!
- You don’t really get a hand in the decisions where you will stay the next 3 months
Finding your Own Travel Nurse Housing
Option #2 is you take the housing stipend and find your own housing. I believe the majority of travel nurses end up finding their own housing. It is definitely a lot easier than it used to be to find temporary housing, even compared from a few years ago in 2014 when I first started travel nursing. There are now oodles of resources!
The trick of finding your own housing is finding a fairly cheap place to live so that you can pocket the rest of the housing stipend and fund your amazing adventures you will have!
Although there are a lot of resources nowadays, it definitely can still be stressful. You have to find the right location, price, accommodations, pet friendliness, etc. If you are looking for shared housing, you also have to make sure the roommate situation will work. And most of the time you are doing this on the fly with only a few weeks notice. Not only that but you have to trust that the photos online are an accurate representation of the place as you are not likely to be able to go across the country and look at these places. Phew!
As I mentioned, this is definitely one of the most stressful parts of travel nursing. But it can also be a little fun! Sometimes you can find some pretty amazing places and if you have the money, splurge for a great place!!
Finding your Own Housing Pros
I have lived all kinds of different places in my travel nurse career. Some private housing, some shared spaces. All of my experiences have actually been good! Just travel with an open mind and remember you are there only for a short time.
The picture at the top of this post is where I stayed in Florida when I splurged for a beach side high rise condo. It was one of my most favorite places I have stayed! The decor inside was a little 1980ish and the furniture was a little dilapidated, but I was right on the beach and had a gym and a pool!
It took some serious searching to find the place and some negotiation with the landlord, but it worked out! Nothing like being a few steps away from the beach. 🙂 So as I said, it can be a little fun and every now and then definitely splurge for a sweet place to stay!
Pros
- With patience, diligence, and time you can find some pretty epic stays
- You can pocket extra housing money. For example, your housing stipend is $1200/month and you get a place for $800/month. Boom! That’s an extra $400/month you pocket tax free!
- You make the decision of where you will stay for the next 3 months!
Finding your Own Housing Cons
As I mentioned before, there are cons when it comes to find your own housing. Probably the biggest con is the time and stress involved in finding housing. There are lots of resources these days (which we will go over shortly) for finding housing, but that can definitely make it overwhelming. My advice: STAY ORGANIZED.
By staying organized, I mean be sure to write down name, phone numbers, place description, post link, etc in an easily accessible location. It can be easy to lose track of everything once you start getting inundated with housing options.
Cons
- Holy time consuming! Searching and searching for a place within your budget, minimal commute, and an acceptable roommate if you choose to rent a room
- Did I mention this is usually done within 2-3 week timeframe? Stressful!
- If the housing is not suitable its on you to fix it
Travel Nurse Housing Resources
Alright, let’s talk resources. A lot of the success I have had finding places is through Facebook groups and Furnished Finder. There are multiple different Facebook groups and Furnished Finder is a recent addition that specializes in housing for traveling professionals, but there are also a few other options.
Facebook groups
So for Facebook groups, you will just of course have to join the groups. A lot of landlords have gotten wind of this, whether just regular folk or travel nurses renting out their places while they are traveling. This is a great resource! There are probably way more than this, but here’s a few I use and have found to be useful!
Travel Nurse Housing – The Gypsy Nurse
Gypsy Soul Travel Nurse Housing Options
Travel Nursing: Places/Rooms for Rent
Instructions:
**FIRST**
For the adept Facebook millennials, you can skip this section. Read on if you want a tip on how to work the Facebook groups.
- Search the actual group for the area you are looking to reside. This will populate posts with the area. For example… my most recent search was for Atlanta, GA.
- Once you get your results, be sure to filter for most recent posts.
This just helps to make sure you get the most recent results that are more up to date and pertinent to your search. You don’t want to be responding to a post from 4 months ago! (I have done this, oops!)
I recommend doing this first because you will be actively seeking out matching posts. If you don’t find what you are looking for, you can alsopost in the groups what you are looking for.
**Keep in mind, if you don’t search first, your post may be missed by potential housing matches as not everyone will always see your post in the group! **
POST TIPS:
- What kind of housing you want – private/shared, pet friendly?
- Location – city, state, which hospital you will be working at
- Dates – Start date, contract length (13 weeks is the norm)
- Budget- Budget you are looking to spend
Temporary Housing Websites
In addition to Facebook, there are also the regular websites to check out! Some of these are more targeted to vacation rentals and thus can be on the expensive side. Either you can try to RESPECTFULLY negotiate with the landlord or splurge for an amazing stay! Here’s a top few!
Furnished Finder – Specifically created for travel nurses/professionals, a great resource! You may also find this on Facebook – Travel Nurse Housing – Furnished Finder
Airbnb – They have recently started giving discounts for monthly rates whereas it used to just calculate based on the nightly rate
VRBO (Vacation Rental By Owner)
***I USED to use craigslist back in the day, but I would personally not even waste your time, particularly if you are looking for private accommodations. Nothing but SCAMS!
Tips: If it is too good to be true, it probably is. If they conveniently aren’t “in town” to show you the place, request for money up front/wiring money before physically seeing the place, request for your personal email… —-> RUN! Craigslist may be ok for finding a room if you desire, but honestly there are so many other resources, I wouldn’t waste your time! Oh the adventures of travel nursing! 😂
Long stay hotels
You can also check into extended stay hotels. I have never personally done this as it tends to be quite expensive but know of people who have had success. When speaking with the hotel concierge/manager, always be sure to ask about discounts for traveling professionals or if they have any discounts with local hospitals. This is also a superb option for the 1st week of your stay while you physically are in town to look at other options!
Real Estate Rental Companies
Lastly, you can always check with local real estate/rental companies. Sometimes they have the inside scoop for places and may be able to find a nice furnished place! Just FYI, these typically are more expensive. Just use good old google to search for the local real estate/rental companies.
Other options
RV – Some nurse are RVers! I personally don’t have any experience with this but there are lovely Facebook support groups (just search travel nurse RV) who can help with all things RV for travel nurse.
Unfurnished rentals – Some nurses are ok with unfurnished rentals. They either make do with little stuff and blow up beds, furniture from goodwill, or do rental furniture. Keep in mind you may have to set up utilities with this too. I don’t have experience with this either. Seems way too much of a hassle for a 3 month stint, but it can be done!
Key takeaways for travel nurse housing…
Overwhelmed yet? It certainly can be overwhelming! Here’s a few key takeaways…
- If you are newbie travel nurse, I recommend taking company housing for the first time until you get the hang of being a travel nurse.
- Stay organized in your search, have a budget for what you want to spend on housing and stick to it.
- Beware of Craigslist! If it is too good to be true, it most likely is, don’t pay any money ahead of time you can’t readily get back (this applies to any housing platform)
- It is ok to try to negotiate every now and then, but be respectful and kind.
- Have fun and splurge on housing every once in awhile if you can swing in!
HAPPY HOUSE HUNTING!
Florida palms from my stay in Hollywood
