Travel nursing- Car question?

Specialties Travel

Published

Hi!

I am looking to start travel nursing soon and have a question regarding car transportation. I currently have a car lease so driving my car cross country to California is not an option. I am looking at either shipping my car, but have not heard the greatest experiences with that and it is costly-Or possibly doing a longer term rental car? Does anyone else have suggestions or car options in the California area for a 13 week contract( not sure of city yet)? Thanks :)

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Why is it not an option?

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Specializes in Nephrology, Dialysis, Plasmapheresis.
Hi!

I am looking to start travel nursing soon and have a question regarding car transportation. I currently have a car lease so driving my car cross country to California is not an option. I am looking at either shipping my car, but have not heard the greatest experiences with that and it is costly-Or possibly doing a longer term rental car? Does anyone else have suggestions or car options in the California area for a 13 week contract( not sure of city yet)? Thanks :)

Have your agency fly you out to California and rent a car once there. If that's not an option, renting a car to do everything could get costly. You could at least try to rent a Prius or other economy car to save on gas money If that is the case. If I could do things over, I would get rid of my gas hog before I started traveling and bought a Prius. I have put 15,000 miles on my car in 10 months, that's a lot of gas money.

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It will depend on what city you are in. It is a mistake to get a full time rental car if you are in the San Francisco Bay area.

1. You probably can not park it at the apartment without an additional fee which is anywhere from $100 - $250 per month plus the rental.

2. You will have to pay for parking at the hospital if you are even lucky enough to get parking. Some of the major hospitals have a waiting list for their regular employees. But, parking runs about $12 - $20 per day. Mass transit and taxis are much cheaper.

3. In cities like San Francisco, there are so many things to do and most are easily reached by bus or BART.

I recommend checking out ZipCar or some other car sharing program. You pay by the hour and everything (insurance gas) is included. You can also travel to any major cities it is available. I use ZipCar when I fly to another city or state for a conference and don't want to rent a car and pay extra at the hotel for parking. I use the car for the hours I need it and return it. The reservations are easily made online or by the app on your cell phone so you can grab a car anytime the mood hits if you happen to pass by a parking spot for these cars. You also pick the car you like and the company has cute names for each of their cars.

www.zipcar.com

If you think you will stay in CA for several contracts, drive or ship for about $850 - $1000 depending on whether you want a closed or open shipping carrier. Check references and credentials of any company. If you drive, save receipts and you will get mileage from the travel company. The rest goes for your tax filling.

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Mileage is a big deterrent.

Some lease cars also have prepaid maintenance contracts which are not good in any other state or dealership except at the place of signing.

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Thanks for all the advice! Driving my lease car cross-country is not an option due to the overage of miles I would have on my car.

I like the idea of Zip Car if I am in an area with decent public transportation to supplement it, I had never heard of it!

If I were to do a long term rental car, I would certainly fly out there then rent the car for the 3 months I was there and fly home. At this time I am only anticipating doing one contract but who knows?!?!

Anyone have input on which California cities are easier to do without a car?

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This rating system might give you some clue about the transit systems in different cities.

Ranking of best transit systems finds Sacramento lacking - Sacramento Business Journal

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Have you figured out exactly what the overage in miles might be and compare that to other costs? Can you exit the lease early for less? What about buying a used car in the 2-3 thousand dollar range?

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Specializes in ER.

This may sound silly but....how do you get to and from the zipcar then if you have no car?

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Specializes in Emergency, Med/Surg.

Walking...

Milwaukee is my permanent home, and there are four zipcar lots within 1 mile of my apartment. Easy walk.

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Specializes in ICU / PCU / Telemetry / Oncology.

When I go on assignment to San Francisco, I plan to leave my car home and use Zipcar whenever I need to travel out of the city, like to wine country or south to Santa Cruz. I cant imagine needing a car at all within that city, all those hills!!!! :o

Sent from my iPad using allnurses

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