Starting Per Diem For a Nursing Agency

I am new to this forum & website, so hoping I am doing this correctly; I too have been considering strongly becoming a travel nurse, mainly because I would like to be closer to my son & his family, & other family members across the country. But what I am concerned about, though I have been an RN for 25 years, & with 27 years with the same health care organization, my skills are in a small rural hospital, all depts. Would I have the skills necessary to work in some of the larger hospitals? And do they really give travel nurses the "gomer" patients? At the hospital I work at, we always treat the travel nurses well. Also, I am curious to know exactly what the hourly pay for a travel nurse is. Anytime I check with an agency, they won't come right out & tell me, but instead add in all together the hourly wage, housing stipend, & benefits package. After 27 years with the same hospital/home health organization, I am at the top of the scale at $40/hr. Do the travel agencies pay more than that per hour? Also, I have looked strongly at Favorite Nurses because they have assignments in the areas I am most interested in-in Ore, Va, & Ia, but when I contacted them, the places I was interested in listed on their web site were not available. Does that happen very often where the places a nurse wants an assignment at isn't available & "how bout this one instead?" I just don't want to make any mistakes in renting my home & leaving a secure job, but I want so much to be involved in my grandson's life, ect. Thank you for any response anyone gives me.