moving, housing stipends, and commuting, sort of

[cvryder]

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?

[ERRNTraveler, RN]

I have not done this, as I travel FAR from home, but many travelers I've worked with do this, and it seems to work for them. Shop around with different agencies & see how their housing stipends compare. Then, when you choose your hotel, make sure you pick a place that will either give you a discount for frequent stays, or where you can earn frequent flier miles for each stay- I know for sure that Best Western does this, plus they tend to be nice, clean, and fairly cheap. I think you can earn like 500 frequent flier miles for each night you stay, so you'd earn free airline tickets pretty quickly.

[loricatus]

There is a possible tax implication from what you propose. Once you go home you are not eligible for a tax free portion of the housing allowance unless you rent out something on a more permanent basis than a hotel for 3 days a week at a time. If you are able to find a hotel that rents out weekly or monthy (some can be found that are less expensive than 3 days of a hotel/motel versus the weekly rate) then you can have your full stipend on a tax free basis. Also, if your stipend includes M&I, that will have to be taxed for the days you are at your home, regardless of whether you found an extended stay type of arrangement or have a motel room.

[ERRNTraveler, RN]

or, you can take the housing stipend, and just pay taxes on it

[Blue IIs]

Last summer I went home to Montana and worked 135 miles from home. My contract stipulated my shifts be three in a row so I could do just that. Initially, I stayed in hotels around the hospital and most of them had special rates for traveling nurses. I ended up staying with another nurse, paying her $50.00/week and we became great friends. Because I was 135 miles from my home address, I was able to get the housing stipend tax free. I had worked at the hospital before I started traveling but had none of the benefits so this was a nice arrangement for me.