Travel nursing and repay a sign-on/relocation bonus?

[empatheticRN]

I received $20,000 in bonuses from my job in exchange for 2 years of my service. I have completed only a year but want to travel for the coming year. I took the money but I am really not making much money with the company's base pay rate.Plus I hate the area that I have relocated to. It is a retirement city and I am 31yr old and want some excitement in my life. I want to date with the possibility of getting married. The men who hit on me are 60-80 year old. I want to move to a big state (specifically NY ) as a travel nurse. I am currently on vacation in New York and there are so many men here who notice me and are in my age range. Just to add I have been contemplating travel nursing to NY before this vacation. I really can't afford to waste time because I am older and I am so ready to date. Sorry if I sound like I am on a man hunt but I got to admit that is what I am about right now. I just don't want to waste my years in a location anymore where I cannot have a balanced life (work and social life). Am I being too hasty in wanting to leave a year before my contract ends? Another issue is that I have locked away the money in investments. Is it even an option for me to repay this bonus on a payment plan or do they immediately forward me to a collection company? Any thoughts will be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[Argo]

Its one more year, take all the vacation you can, block shifts and do long weekends. Actually plan out your travel nursing and get all of your licensing lined up over the next year. What does "big state" mean? If you really want big then go to Alaska, men flow to women like the salmon of Capistrano. Texas is big too. If you want big pay checks go to California.

[empatheticRN]

Update: Plus I have a little over 40k in student loan debts and I make only $41k a year excluding the bonus. I have expenses and goals and I cannot do it with this meager pay. Staying another year seems like wasting time although it would mean I would have to give the company back their money.

[NedRN]

A couple of things to think about:

If this is your first nursing job, you will not be competitive (and possibly unsafe) as a traveler with just one year of experience. Suck it up if so, and think about switching (if allowed without lengthening your contract) to a specialty such as L&D that will make you more competitive and have higher compensation rates as a traveler.

Marriage aged/minded men are everywhere, including where you live. If you are having trouble, they are too. Put some more effort into it girl! Join a club (there are some formed with dating in mind) or church (maybe a choir), get a hobby or activity that puts you in the same room (or trail) with younger men. Join any sort of community and people will be trying to fix you up.

Enormous percentage of marriages spring from meeting online, and you will find there are a lot more men than women on dating sites. So you will be very competitive online. A good FaceBook page will probably help no matter how you meet men, at least those under 60!

Alternatively, date older men. They have more money and it is easy to pick the winners from the losers (you never know with aimless or ambitious younger men), know where they are going in life (or where they have been), and at some time in the future you will have to get along with them. Practice for that now in the meantime. You might even exploit them to pay off your debts and put your children through college in return for a lifetime commitment (their lifetime which will be shorter than yours).

[empatheticRN]

thanks for your response. I have been a nurse for total 3years. I have 2years and 4months hospital experience and 6 months of long term care experience. But you have given me a good idea to move into another specialty to make myself more marketable.