Believe it or not - housing availability is a significant factor in taking a travel position. While searching for my first travel assignment, I found a fantastic memory care/aging-in-place facility in remote Montana and was ready to accept the offer.
AFTER my interview with the facility, I made the rookie mistake of looking for housing, only to discover no housing was available. The only option was 40 mins away. As a Floridian who would potentially be going to Montana in the dead of winter, I did not feel safe making that drive to/from work everyday. I ultimately ended up having to retract my offer for that position because of a lack of housing, but I learned an important lesson:
Check out the housing availability BEFORE your interview.
This is important to see if:
a. could you even move there?
b. is the cost of living within your budget/pay you are looking for?
c. gives you a chance to "virtually" visit the town
In this blog post, I will share 6 ways to check for housing and some essential things to consider!
Hands down, the best place to look for housing - it was created for travel nurses but is open to everyone! (which means they are meant to take longer stay guests) I've talked to many travel therapists/nurses themselves, and they use Furnished Finder (FF) to rent out their places when they are away on contracts.
The website needs to be updated, but don't let that scare you away! It's like an Airbnb but with lower costs and no hidden fees. You can choose if you want a house vs apartment, renting out a room in a house, etc. All properties are typically full furnished and include utilities as well. Everything other than basic messaging happens outside of the FF website/app.
I was surprised with FF that often hosts like to talk to you on the phone/text or FaceTime to show you the place to make sure it is a good fit for both of you! It's suuuuuuper informal. The host will usually send you a link or document for an application and to complete a background check.
BE AWARE - many hosts use a basic rental agreement found online. BE SURE TO READ BEFORE YOU SIGN. We had one host agree for us to have Moose (our dog) with us, but then the agreement said no dogs. It wasn't the host's fault because they just downloaded a basic template and totally apologized and fixed it - but it is a legal document, so make sure you read and make changes before you sign!
Payment methods are up to you and the host - usually cash, check, PayPal, Venmo, Zelle are all available options.
**Pro tip: if you offer to pay in cash most people will decrease the monthly rental price**
These two are the "go-to" when searching for vacation rentals, so it's no surprise that travelers may use them for their assignments! However, I've noticed that often these sites are WAY more expensive and rack on a lot of additional fees that are a waste of money, IMO.
The other downside to sites like this is that you may only be able to find a property that's available for part of the time you need, especially in prime locations/destinations that will have tourists. You may have to split your time between two or three places on an assignment! If that's cool with you, then go for it! It personally would just add to my anxiety, haha
#3 - Good Ol' Facebook
I used Facebook Marketplace to find housing for clinical when I was an OT student so this isn't too far fetch for me. However, people are getting really good at scamming for you'll really need to do the leg work to make sure the offer (and person) it legit.
Other than FB Marketplace, there are a lot of housing groups out there! For example, "Saint George Housing Rentals" or whatever city you are looking for. Usually the people in those groups are community members with properties to rent out our apartment complexes that have openings. One popular group is Travel Nurse Housing - The Gypsy Nurse
#4 - Ask Your Travel Company
As travel therapist we get a housing stipend - and typically if you ask your travel company they will place you at an Extended Stay Hotel and use most of if not all of the travel stipend.
#5 - Ask During Your Interview
When you interview for a travel assignment, ask if they have a list of places set-up for travelers to use. In some places, therapist at the site may even host travelers so they have a place to stay!
#6 - Hit the Road in an RV/Van/Skoolie
I keep trying to convince my husband we should take this route but we're seeing if we like travel therapy first before we dive in and make that investment! However there are PLENTY of travel therapists/healthcare workers out there that live on the road and save a lot of money that way!Two of my favs are the OG Travel Therapy Mentors and then Skip and Jazz! Be sure to check both of their pages out!
Another Thing to Remember: Just Because a Listing Says They Don't Accept Dogs Doesn't Mean You Can't Ask
We are traveling with our dog so obviously this is very important for us. When I reached out about a potential listing I would ask if they would consider dogs, 9/10 they say yes and just add a one time pet deposit fee. But other times people would just say no and that's totes ok! Doesn't hurt to ask!
There you have it! The meat and potatoes of what you need to start looking for your housing for your next travel therapy assignment! Remember - look in the area before you interview so you don't have to awkwardly retract your offer like I did.
Was this helpful?! Let me know!
Taylor
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