Adventure Starts

[flapcalif]

I'm excited, nervous and curious. I have been a Nurse since 1996 and have taken the dive into travel nursing. I have over 15 years working in Home Health and Hospice case managing. I start my first assignment in a couple of weeks in San Francisco East Bay area. I'm staying in the field of Hospice and the Hospice agency has been around for a long time and is a not for profit agency. I choose Core medical for my travel company as a fellow friend worked for them for 2 years and gave them very positive reviews. My Recruiter is wonderful and has been very helpful since day one of communication.

I am very familiar with the bay area and central California. I know the bay area is very expensive and the housing department from Core Medical suggested staying at an Extended Stay but I have looked on Airbnb and Craigslist and I have found some connections for studios or 1 bedroom apartments that cost the same as an Extended Stay. I love my privacy and quiet so I hope I'm making the right choice of going with a studio as opposed to an Extended Stay. I think it's a no brainer but being a first time traveler I have butterflies in my stomach and I'm second guessing myself a lot which is abnormal for me.

Any input or suggestions would be welcome.

Thanks!

[NedRN]

Sounds like you are doing great! I might suggest from your post is finding and on boarding a couple more agencies. It is always good to have a Plan B available should anything go wrong. Talking to other agencies is a learning experience even if you never use them.

Also, posting a housing wanted ad on Craigslist is likely to uncover some more good choices that you would not know about otherwise. Travel nurses have deep pockets compared to the average renters and owners who have experienced them usually find them a cut above. So if you mention that in your ad, picky owners will come to you. I've had a lot of luck that way, especially in the Bay area. Depending on where you are specifically and your connections, Stanford and UCSF both have housing departments with lots of private owners posting needs (and listing no where else). While you need a connection to access the full listings, last time I was at UCSF, the housing department hallway had lots of public facing housing posts.

[flapcalif]

Thanks Ned. I will take your advice. I read in my contract with Core that I'm not allowed to work for another travel company for a year after my departure with Core. I don't know how binding that is but I do understand the logic in your advice.

[NedRN]

That is only binding for the specific agency or facility you are working for, not for other travel companies. Reread that paragraph in your contract. They certainly could not enforce such a global non compete for an ordinary worker, even if they could discover that you did so. And no court in any state would uphold it. In fact, you could even take Core to court right now and win an award as do not compete clauses are explicitly illegal in California (so far the only state to have such a law although several others are considering it).

This statement is a holdover from employment agencies. They want to get paid for "introducing" you to the facility. It also prevents you from working as staff unless a fee is paid. It is actually the agency to hospital contract that is enforceable, but of course that effectively shuts you out.

Non competes are more pertinent for employees with proprietary information, like a recruiter who might take several hundred travelers with her to a new agency. Or top corporate employees or engineers, again with proprietary information, or the ability to harm their old company by competing.

Not a big deal for travelers, just go work somewhere else for six months (the more common time frame in recent times) and then come back.

[amoLucia]

To OP - I don't do travel. But I have a question to ask. Are you reading your contract correctly in that you may not work for ANY travel company if you leave CORE? That doesn't sound right to me. That sounds like they would be putting a kabosh to your whole travel career for the year post CORE. You have a right to work and if you want to continue travelling...

I always thought it to be a restriction to the facility you just worked for through your contract. Like if they sent you to Happy Hospital, you couldn't take a job on your own at Happy Hospital.

Am just asking.

But as for housing possibilities, you might check with local realtors. They sometimes contract with owners who have unadvertised rentals available. My sister did that in the past when she travelled.

I wistfully wished that I had some of her wanderlust but I like to nest.

Good luck with your future endeavor.

Addendum: Just read the second post from Ned. It kind of answered my curiosity re your contract.

[NedRN]

I agree about looking at local realtors - specifically those with a significant property management business. I have used them twice on assignments successfully. Often the short term of the rental means they have to check with the owner first, but often the owner will agree. I prefer dealing with owners directly as property managers are not able or willing to do much negotiation.

[flapcalif]

Thanks Everyone for all the input. Very helpful to me.