Traveler Tips//February 28, 2022

Top Ten Tips & Resources for Finding Travel Nurse Housing

Finding Travel Nurse Housing: One of the “hardships” of accepting a travel nurse assignment is finding furnished, short-term housing for 13-week assignments. We put “hardships” in quotes – because once you’ve done this a couple of times – you realize that all your worrying was for nothing, as the process is quite simple!

But for first time travelers: finding your own short-term, furnished housing can seem a bit daunting. Below we’ll act as your travel nurse housing finder with some tips on the best travel nurse housing sites and how to locate furnished housing.

When renting a short-term, furnished rental you have the option of:

Getting your own place
Renting a room in a place
Staying at an extended stay hotel
Staying with a friend
Sharing a rental with a fellow nurse
Utilizing hospital provided housing

First Things First: What’s Important to You?

Do you want to live in the center of town, or far away from all the action?
Do you want roommates to pocket a little of your travel reimbursement – or are privacy and solitude more important?
How far do you want to commute to work?
Do you want something that’s super, modern and fancy or are you ok with rustic and charming?
Do you have pets you want to bring on assignment? And is your new spot accommodating, or no?
Are you bringing a car? What’s the parking situation like?
Are you an active gym-goer? Is this spot near a gym or does it have a private gym?
Will you be cooking a lot? What’s the kitchen like?
Are you a day or night sleeper? And how quiet will your new place be when you’re set to get some beauty sleep?
Are you a foodie looking to try new restaurants? How far are those restaurants from your new place?

These are all things you’ll want to consider when making a decision as to what you’ll call home for the next 13-weeks.

Pro-Tip: Make a list of 5 “must-haves” for your new place either utilizing the list above or creating your own criteria. Make sure your new spot has those 5 things – and anything else will just be a bonus.

Finding Travel Nurse Housing: Keep it Practical

How much of your stipend do you want to use to pay rent? Spend more for luxury? Or spend less to save?
What’s the cancellation policy? If you put a deposit down – is that also refundable?
Are there extra charges for things like utilities, internet, cable? Make sure you’re clear on the final cost before you agree to anything.

Pro-Tip: Rent from someone familiar with renting out to travel nurses. They’re often set up to offer more with more leniency than say, someone off Craig’s List.

Best Travel Nurse Housing Sites

So where do you begin to find long-term housing? Below we list some of the more popular short-term, furnished options:

Furnished Finder

Used by over 100,000 travel nurses with over 70,000 furnished rentals, Furnished Finder allows you to set up a housing request and be connected to property owners who are available to rent. Furnished Finder also has a private Facebook Group that’s worth a gander.

Travel Nurse Housing

Designed for travel nurses, Travel Nurse Housing gets over 30 million views a year and has over 60,000 furnished listings.

Popular On-Line Housing Sites

Sites like: airbnb.com, vrbo.com, zumper.com & zillow.com offer secure options to find and rent a room or an apartment all on one streamlined site. No cash transactions. 100% secure.

Extended Stay Hotels

In addition to getting a bunch of privacy, extended stay hotels will usually include free wifi & cable, laundry & maid service and no extra charges for heat & electricity.

We recommend: Extended Stay America, WoodSpring Suites, Choice Hotels, In Town Suites, Mainstay Suites & the Marriott.

Facebook Groups

There are several travel nurse housing groups on facebook that publish open rentals & allow you to post requests for accommodations. Those include:

Finding Travel Nurse Housing: Super Pro Tip

NEVER BOOK A PLACE FOR 13-WEEKS!

You may be surprised at this bit of advice – but only if this is your first time traveling: Never ever book a place for the full 13-weeks before you start an assignment.

Instead, book an Airbnb or a hotel room the same week your assignment starts. Then, after you’ve solidified your schedule, book a longer term rental.

Why? Because while the following has never happened to any of our RNs we’ve heard too many horror stories of nurse travelers who’ve shown up to their destination, only to find that their contract was cancelled and they had already booked a place for 3 months and were now out $6,000!

Bonus: After a week or two at your new destination, you’ll also have a better feel for the town & where exactly you’d like to spend the rest of your time.

Finding Travel Nurse Housing: Talk to Your Recruiter

Don’t forget to talk to your recruiter about housing. They may

Know of some housing options in the area
Know of other RNs who are looking for roommates
Know of hospital provided housing

Got Travel Nursing Questions?

Did we miss anything? Do you still have questions about travel nursing? Give us a call (or shoot us an email) today and one of our dedicated team members would be happy to answer any questions you might have.

Next Move Inc
Nurse First.
Nurse Powered.

(816) 601 -3800
Info@NextMoveInc.com

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