Gypsy,

I’m speaking to a travel agency currently about a job that is nearly 8 states away from home.  I originally thought I would be perfectly fine with a job that required flying, but there is no subsidy for a rental car, and the apartment is 20 minutes away. I am looking into the bus system in the contract city, but I have to ask – how do you generally travel? I noticed you mentioned mileage reimbursement in your treatment plan, so do you typically drive to your travel jobs? Thank you, Kate, RN ASN

Thank you for reading The Gypsy Nurse. You have taken the first step on your journey to become A Gypsy Nurse.

Kate,

I generally choose to drive to my contracts.  I lose out on the ‘pay’ because it always costs me more to drive than a company will reimburse me.  I don’t like being without a vehicle though, so it’s worth it to me.  If you keep records of your mileage and hotel and meal expenses during travel, these are deductible on your year-end taxes.

If you choose to fly, there are several things to consider and it looks like you have already started checking into this.  How far are you from conveniences ie grocery, banking, activities, etc.  what is the public transit like?  How far are you from work and it easily accessible via public transit?   In some cases it’s just as easy to be without a vehicle.  When I was working in San Francisco, I was housed in a very good location that was close enough to work and everything else to use public transit.

One other thing to consider if flying is the apartment amenities.  Is the company providing a FULLY furnished apartment?  By fully furnished, make certain that dishes, linens, shower curtain, window coverings, cookware, etc are all included.  I drive and bring a lot of these items with me because most ‘furnished’ apartments only include basic furniture.

Google has a great resource to search the local area for conveniences called ‘walk score’  if you do a search, you’ll find it.  I frequently use walk-score when checking my housing/hospital locations.

I hope this helped a little.  If you have further questions, please feel free to contact me again.

- Gypsy Nurse, RN

I love hearing the opinions of my readers.  Your opinion could be the perfect solution for someone.  Please share your thoughts below in the comments.  Do you have a question for me?  Fill out the Ask A Travel Nurse form and submit your questions.

(Disclaimer:  Please note that this is the Authors opinion only.  I do not provide career counseling, legal or medical consults.  If you require any of these, please search out the appropriate resources)

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TheGypsyNurse

Owner at The Gypsy Nurse

As a travel nursing educator, Candy aka Gypsy Nurse, RN has worked in healthcare for nearly 20 years, working up the ranks from CNA to LPN to RN. For the past eight years, she’s worked as a travel nurse, allowing her to practice and live in 14 states throughout the U.S. She regularly shares advice for those interested in travel nurse jobs on her website at: www.thegypsynurse.com.

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