Pet Deposit Question...Oh, and Health Insurance.

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Specializes in CPU, ICU, HD,CPC,OPSU,PSY.

hello!

i am trying to navigate my way through all of the companies and their available opportunities right now. i am planning to start travel nursing as a newbie this fall.

my husband is enrolled in school online, so he will be able to accompany me...perfect!:yeah: we also have a dog and two cats. our dog is kind of big. she weighs about 70 pounds. i am curious about what type of housing (and are you stuck in a bad part of town) other nurses are being placed in with pets and the prices of your pet deposits?

we are currently renting and plan on placing our belongings in storage. our family all reside nearly 500 miles away, so the pets have to come with us. even if we had family close by that could take care of them, i don't think that i could be separated from them for several weeks at a time.

the other topic at this time is in regards to health insurance...

i would like to hear your experiences. i am struggling with making a decision. this is very important to us, because my husband does have a pre-existing coniditon that requires expensive medication. i am trying to decide what would be most beneficial to us. he is in great health, but if that would change...i want to know he would be taken care of. i know most of the companies offer additional coverage for spouses. so, who has been given the most affordable price and has the coverage been worth the price???

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Specializes in Peds, ER/Trauma.

I also travel with my husband, who is attending school on-line. I work for RN Network, and my insurance is free. To add my husband to the insurance, it is an extra $60/week- pretty reasonable, and it's good insurance- no deductibles, low co-pays.

We also travel with our dog- she is small (20 lbs) but our housing is always VERY nice, and in a nice part of town, close to my work. The deposits have ranged from $250-650, ut usually it is refundable at then end of the assignment. Also, my company pays the deposit up front for me, then deducts if from my paychecks over 4-6 weeks. Then I get it back after my assignment ends, provided there is no damage.

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Specializes in CPU, ICU, HD,CPC,OPSU,PSY.
I also travel with my husband, who is attending school on-line. I work for RN Network, and my insurance is free. To add my husband to the insurance, it is an extra $60/week- pretty reasonable, and it's good insurance- no deductibles, low co-pays.

We also travel with our dog- she is small (20 lbs) but our housing is always VERY nice, and in a nice part of town, close to my work. The deposits have ranged from $250-650, ut usually it is refundable at then end of the assignment. Also, my company pays the deposit up front for me, then deducts if from my paychecks over 4-6 weeks. Then I get it back after my assignment ends, provided there is no damage.

Thank you for the reply. That sounds awesome! :w00t:

I will take another look at RN Network. There are so many details to work out. I am glad I have started doing this now, so I have plenty of time to get it straight.

Thanks again!

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You are going to have issues trying to find an apt that will accept a dog of that size, most have weight restrictions of 20 to 30#. So it really does not matter on the agency, but the actual apt complex.

You may have to take the housing stipend and then find your own housing and sign your own lease for it.

Also much easier to find housing for one small dog, then two cats and a large dog. There are also complexes that will take a large dog, but do not permit cats.

You may want to check out some locales first about the pet situation before you do anything. That is going to be the biggest problem for you.

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Specializes in ER, ICU, Infusion, peds, informatics.
you are going to have issues trying to find an apt that will accept a dog of that size, most have weight restrictions of 20 to 30#. so it really does not matter on the agency, but the actual apt complex.

you may have to take the housing stipend and then find your own housing and sign your own lease for it.

also much easier to find housing for one small dog, then two cats and a large dog. there are also complexes that will take a large dog, but do not permit cats.

you may want to check out some locales first about the pet situation before you do anything. that is going to be the biggest problem for you.

that is really interesting.

i looked into "traveling" locally a few years ago (i live >60 miles from the city where i work).

one company that i talked to didn't have anything locally, but was very eager to place me in ca or az.

the recruiter swore up and down she'd have no problem finding me housing, even though i would be traveling with 4 cats and 3 medium (30-50#) dogs.

at the time, i thought she was nuts.

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Specializes in CPU, ICU, HD,CPC,OPSU,PSY.
you are going to have issues trying to find an apt that will accept a dog of that size, most have weight restrictions of 20 to 30#. so it really does not matter on the agency, but the actual apt complex.

you may have to take the housing stipend and then find your own housing and sign your own lease for it.

also much easier to find housing for one small dog, then two cats and a large dog. there are also complexes that will take a large dog, but do not permit cats.

you may want to check out some locales first about the pet situation before you do anything. that is going to be the biggest problem for you.

yes, this is discouraging...i know that when i moved to nc and i checked into living in an apt. it was almost impossible. most of them do have a weight limit on dogs, but i was under the impression that under these circumstances it could be worked out. i am still holding out hope to hear from other successful nurses traveling with big dogs. are these the types of things that recruiters can help with???

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If an apt complex does not take a larger dog, then there is nothing for the agency to work out with them. They have rules in place and they usually stick to them.

Recruiters do not have anything to do with housing, that is handled by another dept in the travel compant in the first place. They can promise what ever they want to, but it does not mean that it is going to happen.

Or be a place that you would feel safe living in to begin with.

Any nurses that I have worked with that have travelled with larger dogs, have taken the housing stipend and usually have rented a house with a back yard. Just is not fair to the dog to place them in a one bedroom apt in the first place.

Suggest that you check out some areas and see what is actually available in housing before you sign a contract, you can get a good feel of an area by looking at www.rents.com and see what the restrictions are for apts in that area.

And even more importantly, when an agency is only signing a three month lease for the apt, then you see the restrictions usually even tighter as the apts are concerned that there will be more damage when someone is there for only a short time period and not someone that is going to be staying for a year or so and have a lease like that.

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Specializes in ICU/PACU.

I travel with my australian shepherd. She weighs about 60 pounds. So far I have not had any problems and have stayed in very decent apartments. I did have one agency tell me I shouldn't bring her because they were having problems finding something. I told them they needed to find something or I wouldn't take the contract. They found a nice apartment.

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Specializes in OB.

You may have better luck if you let the housing coordinator know that you are willing to be a bit flexible about housing in return for housing you with large/multiple pets. For instance, you may be willing to drive a bit further to work if it means housing with your pets. You may need to do some "legwork" yourself - when I wanted to take a contract in an area that had "no pet housing", I asked the housing coordinator if the company would rent the place if I found one within their budget that did allow pets. They were fine with that so I called a friend in the area who checked with the local paper and realtors, found available rentals pet friendly. I turned the info over to housing, who arranged the lease and now also have that realtor on tap for future contracts in that area.

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If someone is willing to take the time to find a place, then it can happen, but to expect the travel person to put in extra time to find a place for you just is not going to happen with most companies.

And you have to expect to possibly drive more, etc. But it can be done.

I travel with two little guys that are about ten pounds together, but I prefer to find my own housing and then let the travel people know and they take care of it from there. This way I get what I like and can feel comfortable with, and everyone is happy.

I have to have a washer and dryer in my unit, will not take an apt that does not include it specifically in my apt. That is the most important thing to me as I do not want to spend time off walking back and forth to the laudry center.

But 60 lbs is easier to find a place for than something 70#. And 50# is easier than that.

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We had no problems finding a place for our 65 lb lab. It isnt like the facility has a scale that they come weigh your dog!! lol

"You have a dog"

yes we do

"How much does it weigh"

I dont know maybe

25 lbs??!! lol

"OH OK "

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Specializes in Peds, ER/Trauma.
We had no problems finding a place for our 65 lb lab. It isnt like the facility has a scale that they come weigh your dog!! lol

"You have a dog"

yes we do

"How much does it weigh"

I dont know maybe

25 lbs??!! lol

"OH OK "

So what would you do then if they saw your dog & kicked you out???

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