*After posting this I did a search and found some good information in a few posts. I still think it would be nice to have just a list of ideas for places to park for quick reference if anyone wants to contribute.*
I just wanted to see if anyone has any ideas for potential places to park for free while travel nursing if I were to live in a van? Some ideas so far that might be temporary and maybe not worth the effort:
My first choice would be asking the hospital I get contracted to if they would allow me to park overnight on campus. But if not...
Wal-Mart parking lot
Local airport parking lot
Fellow nurses' homes- maybe just for short periods of time?
State or National parks?- Not sure if this is possible
If staying for free doesn't seem possible, RV parks would be the next choice I guess.
No doubt people were smellier, but for millennia there was no such thing as a shower. I've never done sponge baths between shifts nor am I really advocating them (although when you include washing your head in a sink with rinsing under the tap, a sponge bath does get you clean as a shower and saves water too). My comments were in the context of living out of a small vehicle which is already rather extreme living for travel nurses who are already in the top tenth percentile in earnings.
There are of course thousands of Americans who are living in cars due to financial nesessity, even families. From what I read, many of them mention grocery store bathrooms. Convergence of necessity!
I have one other suggestion for cleaning up on the road, something I just recently discovered and that had never occurred to me. Medical free standing offices! They often have two lockable gender free bathrooms that are spotless and delightful. Thus you can monopolize one for an extended period without guilt. They are often bunched in just a few blocks so if you are staying in a place for an extended period like for a travel assignment with no shower access at work or a gym, you can scout many and rotate so no one notices a frequent presence.
Join the Elks Club, the local lodge may allow parking. Industrial and port areas. County parks that have camping. Get membership with 24 hour fitness, or other 24 hour gym. Parking at hospital is a bad idea. You will be pegged as "unprofessional". Best to tell no one.
The Elks and Moose both have a lot of RV hookups in some locations for really good prices. Lots of travelers take advantage of hospital RV hospitals, but I do agree that you shouldn't sleep otherwise in hospital parking lots.
I've done two assignments in a vanagon. First assignment I posted up top floor of a parking garage in SF and had a killer City view. Second assignment i was in farther out parking lot. Never any issues and showered either in OR, cathlab or breakdown showers after work.. never an issue. As bed has said, don't say anything about it. When you get to the assignment (floor of your unit) just talk with the manager and work stuff out. No big deal..
I did! It worked out to about 50/month. Try finding that rent anywhere else in the city haha!
On days off I would take bus and cruise up and down the coast, big sur, Yosemite, Tahoe, you name it! Had a blast.
Overall management has been awesome at both hospitals. The key people to inform are unit manager, AOD (esp if using showers off your unit) and security so they don't hassle you at midnight.
That seems too good to be true in San Francisco where it is possible to spend that on just one day's parking fee. Was this perhaps at a hospital parking structure?
Do y'all use a port-a-potty, inside the van? And how well does the car lighter work to charge your phones/laptops? Is it better to work nights or days when living in a van? What do you do with all the time not working? Are you always looking for things to do to keep you out of the van? Like what do you do on days off? What does it cost to operate van living on a monthly basis? Is driving to the gym to shower before/after each 12-hour shift stressful? Is a real motor home with a shower, plumbing & electricity THAT much more expensive (lot rent), rather than living in a van? What do you eat, fast food mostly? Diners? Is a microwave or hotplate possible in a van? How long do you sustain living in a van before you go home? Do you keep paying your hometown rent, but travel to an assignment for 3 months to live in a van & then go back home once its over? Or is it more like put furnature in storage & travel nurse for 2 years out of a van? How is the best way to do this? Thank You AN
NedRN
1 Article; 5,785 Posts
No doubt people were smellier, but for millennia there was no such thing as a shower. I've never done sponge baths between shifts nor am I really advocating them (although when you include washing your head in a sink with rinsing under the tap, a sponge bath does get you clean as a shower and saves water too). My comments were in the context of living out of a small vehicle which is already rather extreme living for travel nurses who are already in the top tenth percentile in earnings.
There are of course thousands of Americans who are living in cars due to financial nesessity, even families. From what I read, many of them mention grocery store bathrooms. Convergence of necessity!
I have one other suggestion for cleaning up on the road, something I just recently discovered and that had never occurred to me. Medical free standing offices! They often have two lockable gender free bathrooms that are spotless and delightful. Thus you can monopolize one for an extended period without guilt. They are often bunched in just a few blocks so if you are staying in a place for an extended period like for a travel assignment with no shower access at work or a gym, you can scout many and rotate so no one notices a frequent presence.