First few questions on travelling

[genericoxygen]

I've been considering travelling for a while, now. Been hoping to move to Seattle for a while and thought to take a travel contract there to see how I like it so I can move for sure. Been a nurse for almost 3 years now, with a year of inpatient oncology with chemotherapy cert. and in hopes of getting my OCN.

As I'm just starting out, I have a bunch of questions for travel. Stipend for travel vs. take home. I've read from here that stipend is non-taxed. However, someone mentioned going to the IRS.gov site and mentioned something about conus and perdiem and such. What does that even mean? (I know nothing about taxes). And, then, is the stipend something I can take with me if I don't use all of it?

Do some companies even give you insurance? Or, generally, are you responsible for getting that on your own?

Will a company pay for your place to live without me having to go look for it? I read so far that the places they would put you in tend to suck for where your location is. Like, "30-45 minutes" from your workplace. That true? Am I just better off finding a place on my own?

How likely is it that I can get a travel allowance? Some posts say they don't. Some do. Which is more common and how much should I be expecting? Or, is it different based on where I travel to?

Do I need to get my licenses before I get the assignment, or do I get the license after I've been accepted? Or, should I just get all the licenses I need for each state before I start applying?

I know that's a lot of questions, and some have been partially answered on this site. I'm just looking for perhaps a new take or perhaps deeper insight to these problems I'm coming up with. So far, this site has made travelling very scary as far as money goes, but fun as far as actually seeing places goes. And, honestly, while travelling is fun and nursing is even more so, having and/or lacking money is a pretty scary situation.

[LauraOckwig]

As I'm just starting out, I have a bunch of questions for travel. Stipend for travel vs. take home. I've read from here that stipend is non-taxed. However, someone mentioned going to the IRS.gov site and mentioned something about conus and perdiem and such. What does that even mean? (I know nothing about taxes). And, then, is the stipend something I can take with me if I don't use all of it?

I am not really sure what you are trying to ask but stipend is non-taxed and it set by the government. The stipened changes depednign on what county you are in. Since the money is tax free I always take the higher stipend and do housing and rental car on my own. For me it is really about making as much money as I can.

Do some companies even give you insurance? Or, generally, are you responsible for getting that on your own?

Most companies do but the plans are not that great.

Will a company pay for your place to live without me having to go look for it? I read so far that the places they would put you in tend to suck for where your location is. Like, "30-45 minutes" from your workplace. That true? Am I just better off finding a place on my own?

I say find your own place, somehting you are comfortable with. I am particular about where I live and don't want a recruiter picking out a place because it is the cheapest.

How likely is it that I can get a travel allowance? Some posts say they don't. Some do. Which is more common and how much should I be expecting? Or, is it different based on where I travel to?

Each company is differnt. Some do some don't. If you dont get a travel allowance you will get paid more.

Do I need to get my licenses before I get the assignment, or do I get the license after I've been accepted? Or, should I just get all the licenses I need for each state before I start applying?

They are expensive, decide where you wnat to go first and then get that lic and apply in that state.

Hope that helps. Let me know if you need anything else.

[bagladyrn, RN]

First of all realize that the "tax free" money is only tax free if you have a qualifying tax home. For good basic info on tax implications try the site TravelTax.com. This will give you a good overview from a tax professional who specializes in travelers.

As for housing provided by the company, that can vary widely by company. I have never had housing that far from my assignment. Usually I'm no more than 10-15 min. drive to work, sometimes less. In the one case where I had to be placed further away (27 miles) the recruiter informed me of this before I accepted the contract.

You really need to have your license in the state to which you want to contract prior to applying for the position. In the current economy most hospitals won't even consider you unless you are already licensed there. The exception to this would be if you reside in a compact state and are traveling to a compact state.