moving, housing stipends, and commuting, sort of

I'm contemplating moving to another state--long story, but involves a divorce. I know there are a lot of travel jobs within 3-4 hours of the city I want to move to. I'm not quite ready to give up the joys of travel nursing, but I'm wondering about doing something that I've heard about, which is getting your schedule "blocked" (3 in a row, which I'm doing most of the time already), staying in a hotel while you are working at the assignment, and commuting back home for the other 4 days. My understanding is that you take the housing stipend, use what you need for the hotel room and food, and get to keep the rest. I'm told it works pretty well for a lot of people. Has anyone done this, and how did it work out for you? Do some companies give you a better housing stipend than others? And do they pay differently for urban areas as opposed to more rural ones where cost of living might be lower?