Travel assignments in Washington State?

[neurogirl77]

I am looking to relocate to Washington state next year and I have had many people tell me that I should take a travel assignment there first to check out the area. Any thoughts on this? I wanna move to the Tacoma/Vancouver/Olympia area. I would love Seattle but I hear the cost of living is crazy high. So has anyone traveled out there? DO you know what the typical pay would be rather it be travel nursing or regular employee pay? Any areas better than others? Thanks!! :)

[NedRN]

Most contracts have a clause where permanent placements or switches to another agency must be approved by your first agency. Sometimes it doesn't appear in your contract, but having it in the agency to hospital contract accomplishes the same thing. Usually it is for 6 or 12 months after your last assignment has finished. In the old days, hospitals would willing pay the fee to get a nurse. These days, not so much. The fee is generally listed at 25% of first year's pay. Which in WA could be as much as $20,000 but is usually negotiated down. By the way, that figure is not as crazy as it sounds, agencies earn that or more gross profit per year from every traveler.

If you are a true traveler, those terms won't affect you. You will just continue to travel and perhaps come back staff after the clause expires. They are problematic if you are trying for temp to perm.

You are probably not a free agent if you accept a job directly with a hospital either as you will probably sign a contract and accept relocation expenses. Often those contracts are for two years or you have to pay back the relocation expenses.

[Underoo]

I would definitely do a few assignments and get a feel for the area. WA was a complete culture shock for me. I don't care for the Tacoma area, mainly due to traffic and some areas just aren't the safest. Seattle can also have terrible traffic, but I hear wonderful things about some of the hospitals. Not sure if UW has travel nurses, but I'd jump on that one if they do. Harrison is nice if you don't mind being across the water. Many people take the ferry from Seattle to Bremerton. I wouldn't live in Bremerton, but the Silverdale/Poulsbo area is nice. I don't know what the average pay is for travel here, but I was making around $31 at Harrison with good hours. Good luck!