SCRN01

It sounds to me like you are trying to learn too much about things you won't know until you just do it. Nothing wrong with being prepared and asking questions. There is a lot to take in. But just like buying a used car, you'll only be able to find out so much information before you just have to pull the trigger and make a decision. You'll learn as you go just like the rest of us. You can't be too demanding on your first assignment anyway. And I agree that traveling might not be an option if you need to stay that close to home unless you are near bigger cities. Sometimes it can be hard to find a job in one state! Narrowing it down to a 100 or even 300 mile radius could prove to be challenging. What about per diem?

Ned is right on here. The difference between just showing up and everything being ready and doing it all yourself is HUGE. We have done both and have had mixed results with both. We travel with two dogs and a baby so finding an apartment that works for us can be a job itself. Most apartments and even private owners want a down payment and first month's rent before you even move in. That can be up to $3,000 just to move in. If you have that kind of money to put down and don't mind setting it all up and renting your furniture from a place like Cort, you can usually find good apartments online. Remote areas you may have to look on VRBO or try the closest CL city and then type in the name of the small town in your search. We've also recently had luck in a small town with the hospital helping us find a cabin to rent.

I'm really sorry to hear things didn't go so well for you last time. I think to prevent a ghost effect of your last experience, I would travel somewhere far far away from where you traveled last time. Maybe that will help keep those thoughts from creeping into your mind. And to prevent loneliness this time, I think it will all depend on how much effort you put forth. If you're not a social person, you're going to need to break out of your shell and comfort zone and ask people if they want to go out for a drink or coffee or bike ride. There are also lots of FB groups for travel nurses you could join and connect with people. Good luck and hope it all works out. It's worth a shot right? If you hate it you can decide one and for all traveling isn't for you.

You will definitely miss family and friends but it's a sacrifice you'll just have to decide you're willing to make or not. The best time to start would be after the holidays. You'll have had your fill of family for awhile :-). Holidays are by far the worst but if you can get assignments close to home during holidays, the rest of the year is a cake walk.

I took an ER assignment in Media, PA which is west suburb of Philly. It was the end of summer, beginning of fall so was really nice and they have a beautiful park - Ridley Creek that is full of hiking and biking trails. The hospital is kind of small, you'll mostly get geriatrics from all of the nursing homes in the area.

First off, congratulations!! I actually went through this last year. My husband and I started traveling and had it all planned out and I got pregnant less than 2 years into it. And we had been married for ten years so not sure what happened there. Must have been meant to be!! Anyway, it is definitely do-able. I agree with NedRN that you are taking a chance and if things go wrong, you're kind of up the creek w/o paddle. Also he's correct the insurance isn't the best. But not everything is about money so you just need to decide if you're willing to risk it and if you can afford it if things don't go as planned and your costs go up. I worked till two weeks before my due date and then took 4 weeks afterwards. And now our son has become a part of our traveling life. P.S. Florida ratios are horrible so hear you on that too!!! We are currently back in Cali and lovin the ratio limits. :-)

So which forum is the largest for travelers?

I will second TravelTax. Very friendly people and they definitely know their stuff. Another website is travelnursehelp. You can search hospitals for information about the area around the hospital and they have some good resources and articles for first-time travelers. The allnurses forum seems to be the most popular forum by far so probably your best bet for responses to questions from other travelers

We left Tampa, drove home to Ohio to visit family, and then drove to L.A. The Grand Canyon is a definite MUST. We stayed at a hotel 5 miles from the park for 2 nights. Planned it so we got there late the first night and slept. Spend the next day at the canyon, and left early the next morning. We also had pets.....2 small dogs. Best part is the hotel was about 50% less than usual because it was late winter and considered their slow season. You might catch the beginning of their slow season and get a deal. We had a Ford Escape with a mt. bike and 2 kayaks on the roof rack, a rack we bought from amazon that fit into our trailer hitch, 4 plastic totes in that rack and another mt. bike strapped on top of that. I wouldn't advise this setup.....lol. We have since sold the kayaks and now have a soft top roof carrier that we have all of our clothes in. We use space bags to put our clothes in and suck the air out. Just remember that if you aren't comfortable leaving things packed outside of your car, you will have to take them in every night at the hotels. Not fun. We are considering buying a small trailer and just keeping everything locked up. Good luck and hope you enjoy San Fran area. We took a 3 day trip there from L.A. and it is much nicer than SoCal. So much greener and just beautiful. If you go to the redwoods, find one of the groves about 45 minutes north of the city. Muir woods is a tourist trap. There are so many people you can't hardly find a parking spot. We stayed in wine country and drove out to Armstrong Redwoods preserve and there were only 2 other cars.

I am in the ER. I was lucky to land a 26 week contract so I'm enjoying a little stability right now. Kind of nice to be able to "settle down" for 6 months. Didn't mean to scare anyone off. Been traveling since February and have not had to worry about a job yet. Just noticed it was slim pickings this last round. I think as long as you are willing to go to California or take a position in a "boring" location, you would probably be fine.

Check out this article Travel Nurse Help: How to Become a Travel Nurse?. It does a really good job of explaining the whole process. As far as 3 dogs.......ouch. I'm not so sure that's likely. If you let the agency find housing for you, most apartment complexes only allow 2 dogs max and some only allow cats. I've NEVER seen one that allows more than 2 dogs but they could be out there. And if you were to try to find housing on your own, it gets even worse. 70-80% of private house rentals absolutely will not allow pets. Get on craigslist and look at apartments or houses for rent and you will see how bad it is. Not saying I blame them but we have 2 dogs and it really makes it hard to find something on your own. And if you do, you're likely to pay either extra $20 a month per pet or a $300 pet deposit or BOTH. I hope I wasn't too negative about the dogs. 2 smaller dogs 20 lbs or less is do-able but a hassle. 3 dogs will be very difficult to get approved. Good luck and let us know how it turns out!!

Yeah you really have to be careful if your main goal is to make money. I'm sure it can be done if you wheel and deal, take jobs you may not want, partner up with another traveler and split the costs, etc. One thing I've noticed that really hurts is the time between jobs. If you take 1-2 weeks off in between jobs, you're looking at 4-8 weeks a year with no pay. That can add up and really bite you.

It seems like on the East Coast jobs are a little scarce as of recently. Has anyone else experienced this? Wondering if maybe it's just a seasonal thing. Also, anyone who has been traveling since 2008.......Have you seen the job outlook steadily increase/decrease since the economy tanked then? About the same? Just curious. Thanks.

I agree with the others. Not only will you not likely be able to get a job right out of school, but you probably don't want to either. Your first 1-2 years you are basically learning the ropes and gaining valuable experience. I couldn't imagine going to a hospital where they expect you to know how to do the basics and realizing that you are lacking in those skills. It would not be a good experience for anyone involved. Sometimes it can be hard just to get in a hospital period so do that first anywhere you can, preferably not a major hospital where you are going to get run over. Then after a year you can find a bigger hospital and really get your hands dirty.18 months minimum is probably what you're looking at to travel but most places require 2 year min.

NedRN is absolutely correct. Travel Agencies will use a dog house as a permanent address if you let them. They don't care if you get audited. They just want to be able to say "look how much money you're going to make now that you have a tax home to claim". I've posted in another thread but talk to the people at TravelTax . We had a similar situation with renting and they helped us a lot to figure out if it would work. BTW, I'm not affiliated with this company. I was just so impressed with how nice they were and how much they helped us. For us, we did have to continue paying rent but in the end, it still saves us $400 us month even after paying rent. As far as the dogs, I can tell you traveling would be SO MUCH EASIER without them. But they are part of the family so we don't have an option either. Gotta love em even though they make life harder sometimes. We have 2 dogs just under 20 lbs and there are a lot of apartments that have a 20 lb cutoff as well as a list of aggressive breeds that they don't allow. If you let the travel company pick your apartment, they will likely be able to find one that accepts dogs. It might limit your options and you might not get in an area that you wanted, but you should be ok. We are with American Mobile and haven't had a problem yet. The only issue we had is when we wanted to find an apartment on the beach in Cali. There were plenty available and in our price range but almost every one of them only allowed cats. We finally found one but it must be the only one within 5 miles because I swear every person has a dog here. The view is beautiful, the fleas are less than welcome. But like I said, they are part of the family so these are some of the sacrifices you might have to make. You should also check out Travel Nurse Help: Be prepared for your next assignment . They have information on every hospital along with local information like crime statistics, weather, and rental prices in the area. Hope this helps and congrats on cleaning up. Keep it up!

I just started traveling and only had 18 months experience as an ER RN before traveling. The pay is somewhat tricky. They like to include your food stipend in with your hourly rate to pad it. This is fine if you have a tax home and your food and housing stipend are tax free. My husband and I do have a tax home and I make about $28 on the hour, guaranteed 36 hrs a week, and we get $2000 for housing stipend. We figured it out that if we didn't have a tax home, we would make $800 less per month so it's a big deal. Check out TravelTax for help with the tax home. They specialize in taxes for travelers and they are SUPER nice. Also check out Travel Nurse Help: Be prepared for your next assignment for lots of information about every hospital in the U.S. and information about the area around each hospital. Lots of good info there.

I asked my recruiter the same question when thinking about becoming a traveler and the answer was always ER and ICU. I worked in a small hospital for a year (77 beds) and then went to a larger one in Tampa (415 beds) for 6 months to get some better experience. I think it worked out great. You may have problems getting your first job (most require 2 yrs experience) but if you are flexible you should be able to land one. California and Texas are always hiring. I also found a website that gives you all kinds of good info about each hospital and the surrounding area: http://travelnursehelp.com Good luck!!!