By LRS Healthcare

June 3, 2021

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Alternate Housing Options for Travel Nurse Assignments

This article was provided by LRS Healthcare.

Becoming a travel healthcare professional comes with a few great perks, more specifically, having the freedom to travel around the country while continuing with the career you love! At LRS Healthcare, we have a fantastic housing team to help you find not only the perfect place to call home for your travel assignment but also great activities & sightseeing nearby. But what if you want to switch it up for your next travel assignment and stay in an unconventional abode to call your own? Here’s a list of some of our favorite, unique alternative housing options on AirBnB.

Alternate Housing Options:

Alternate Housing Options for Travel Nurse Assignments

Peaceful Rainforest Treehouse Retreat

This is a dreamy AirBnB located just 8 miles away from the Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park in Volcano, HI. This greenhouse sanctuary is completely secluded and surrounded by guava and eucalyptus trees, orchids, and Hapu’u ferns. With a beautifully perched platform bed, you’ll wake up to the beauty of nature every morning.

Alternate Housing Options for Travel Nurse Assignments

ManCave Apartment

The ManCave Apartment is located in Geneva, FL…in an airplane hanger! Enjoy a very vibrant, eclectic atmosphere with a loft apartment feel. You can enjoy the bar and wood fireplace to wind down and relax or even potentially see a neighbor aircraft take flight!

Taos Mesa Studio Earthship

Alternate Housing Options for Travel Nurse Assignments

This AirBnB takes “being one with mother nature” to the next level. Located in Taos, NM, this Earthship not only generates

its own electricity but also catches its own rainwater. Don’t worry, there’s still WiFi, Netflix, and more modern amenities included in this earthy home. Past travelers rave about the stargazing that can be seen right from your patio!

housing options

Converted WWII Train Car with Patio

It’s about what’s on the inside with this housing option. This WWII converted Train Car in Maryville, TN, screams farmhouse with plenty of room! If you’re a history junkie, this is the place for you; step back into a time machine to enjoy the modern furnishing, outdoor fire pit, and clawfoot tub!

Housing Options

Gashes Fluss Haus

If you’re looking for a quaint farm to stay on, this is the place for you. This housing option offers a two-story cottage in Asheville, NC, which is rustic with whitewashed stone walls and a wood-burning stove. This is an idyllic place to get away from the hustle and bustle but is only 10 minutes from everything downtown!

Immaculate Vintage Airstream in Mill Valley

Housing Options

Take a blast to the past and enjoy the 1960’s all over again in this Airstream trailer.

If you’re worried about the smaller living space, enjoy the front patio and backyard. This airstream is located in California, right between Mt. Tamalpais Park and the Golden Gate National Recreation Area!

Whether you’re on to your next travel assignment or looking for a weekend trip nearby, there are plenty of alternative housing options out there. If you’re traveling with LRS Healthcare, make sure to take advantage of our housing department! If you’re new to healthcare traveling or want a refresher about your options, check out our blog, “A Travel Nurse’s Complete Guide to Housing.”

By Furnished Finder

February 25, 2021

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Housing Stipend For Travel Nurses

The housing stipend is one of the most confusing parts of a travel nurse pay package. This portion of the package is for nurses who prefer to find their own housing through sites like Furnished Finder rather than taking housing provided by their agency.

Most travel nurses prefer to take their housing money and find housing themselves rather than allow the company to choose for them. Generally speaking, this is because if you can stay under the amount given, any excess goes into the pocket of a travel nurse. Here are a few key things to note about travel nurse housing stipends. 

housing stipend

You must have a tax home in a different location to collect your stipends tax-free on your travel nurse assignment.

  • A handful of travel nurses will sell their homes, put everything in storage, and travel without a “home” where they pay rent or a mortgage. In this instance, any money collected for housing will be taxed normally. 
  • If you do have a tax home established wherever you are from (for more on tax homes, be sure to check out Travel Tax), then you can collect any money provided for travel nurse housing without paying taxes on it. This can make a considerable amount of difference in your take-home pay, especially if you find low-cost travel nurse housing wherever you are going.

Do your research on the cost of living for each city.

By using the Furnished Finder Nurse Housing Stipend Calculator, you can get a big-picture idea of what you will expect to pay for travel nurse housing at each assignment. Hospitals don’t necessarily look at things like short-term rental prices when they set a bill rate, so be sure to do your own research before deciding that a stipend package will be enough to cover travel nurse housing.

Housing stipends may vary slightly between recruiters.

  • Every recruiter has a preferred way to “break down” a pay package. This means they divide up a pay rate offered by a facility into two pools: taxable and non-taxed. The formula for these portions is generally similar, but each recruiter may have a preferred method of doing this. 
  • If you are comparing two jobs and the stipend to taxable ratio is different, ask questions. Explain to your recruiter what your other offer looks like, and remember that they may not be trying to pull a fast one–they may just be working off their experience and what works best in the long run for both parties.

Look at the entire pay package, not just the travel nurse housing stipend.

housing stipend

Know that it is okay to say no if the numbers don’t work out.

  • Determining the travel nurse housing stipend for each assignment’s pay package is not black and white. And unfortunately, recruiters have zero say over what the hospital is willing to pay as a whole for their travelers. While they may be able to shift money between taxable vs. non-taxed, at the end of the day, they can only make an offer as good as what the hospital is willing to pay.
  • Sometimes this means you will have to pass on a job that you really thought you wanted. Travel nursing requires a lot of balancing and being smart while also seeking the experiences you want. It just might not be the right time for that particular experience.

Even if you are a couple of contracts into travel nursing, understanding travel nurse housing stipends can seem a bit overwhelming or intimidating. The more you know, the more power you have to ask questions and negotiate what doesn’t feel right, and the more successful you will be in your travel nursing career.

If you are a new travel nurse or looking into becoming a travel nurse:

Travel Nurse Guide: Step-by-Step (now offered in a PDF Downloadable version!)

By Furnished Finder

June 26, 2020

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Being a Considerate Tenant During a Pandemic

While working as a nurse during a global pandemic is something none of us probably imagined would happen when we entered this career path, this experience has shown how adaptable nurses are and how we can rise to different challenges thrown our way. 

The stress of working in a hospital right now is very real, and it can affect everything from how we pack our lunch to what we wear to work. If you find yourself working a Covid 19 contract, it is also important to think about how this may impact your relationship with your landlord, and how to ensure you are being as considerate as possible to keep everyone safe and comfortable.

1. Be honest about the types of patients you are working with.

If your landlord asks what kind of patients you will be taking or if you have had to care for Covid 19 patients–be honest! They may have a specific reason they need to know this, such as a compromised immune system or family members who may be more susceptible. Remain open in your communication to build trust if they have questions. 

2. Keep a set of slip-on shoes in your car to wear in and out of the house.

To help keep your living space as germ free as possible, keep a plastic box in your car to set your work shoes in. Then you can wear a pair of slip-on shoes or sandals to and from your rental to keep your hospital shoes out of the house and minimize tracking in anything from the hospital. 

3. Sanitize, sanitize, sanitize.

Be sure to keep a bottle of hand sanitizer in your car, work bag, and close to the entrance of your house. It seems like most places have sanitizer in stock by now, but you could always ask friends or family to mail a couple bottles if you can’t find any locally. 

4. Don’t take anything to work that isn’t necessary.

My husband and I have tried our best to take disposable containers to work so we can avoid bringing multiple bags back and forth. We figure the less we take in and out of our house, the less risk of possibly bringing any extra germs home. Also, if I bring my laptop to work on writing during my downtime at night I am sure to use sanitizing wipes on it before I pack it back up to go home. 

5. Be patient if your landlords seem nervous. 

While most of us working in healthcare feel pretty confident in our abilities to keep clean and avoid bringing viruses home even prior to Covid 19, landlords might not be quite as up to date on recent facts regarding the virus. Because of media sensationalism, there is a lot of misinformation that you may need to gently correct to help ease their worries. 

As travel nurses, we are always learning how to roll with the punches and handle the new situations that are thrown our way. Covid 19 is just another thing we will overcome and use as a tool to learn and move forward. Whether you are working a Covid contract or steering clear of the hot spots, you may find that a little extra courtesy and patience goes a long way when building relationships with your landlords in the near future.

If you are a new travel nurse or looking into becoming a travel nurse:

Travel Nurse Guide: Step-by-Step (now offered in a PDF Downloadable version!)

By The Gypsy Nurse

November 14, 2019

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Furnished Finder and The Gypsy Nurse Partner to Provide Affordable Housing Options to Travel Nurses

The Gypsy Nurse team is pleased to announce that Furnished Finder, the largest monthly housing provider for stipend travel nurses, is the new exclusive housing partner of The Gypsy Nurse. 

affordable housing options

Travel Nurses Connect Directly with Hosts

Travel Nurses prefer to connect with hosts directly before they book and want to ensure that they can find a clean, safe, and affordable housing options while they’re on assignment. A family-run company founded in 2014, Furnished Finder is a short-term housing provider for travel nurses who need affordable monthly furnished housing. Property owners list their furnished rooms and apartments on Furnished Finder, where they must pass a background check and provide proof of ownership/management for traveler safety. All rents are set directly by the landlord and there are no mark-ups or booking fees, making furnished housing affordable for travel healthcare professionals across the US.  Furnished Finder has over 25,000 listings and is used by over 100 medical staffing companies. 

We’re very excited to work with Furnished Finders

“We’re very excited to work with Furnished Finder to make it easier for our travel nurse community to find great affordable housing options for their next assignment through TheGypsyNurse.com website,” said Steve Curtin, CEO of The Gypsy Nurse.  “The Gypsy Nurse has always been about supporting travel nurses at every stage of their journey, and with housing and jobs so tightly connected, it makes sense to provide accurate and cost-effective housing choices early in the process so the stipend traveler can make the best decision possible.”

“Furnished Finder is thrilled to partner with The Gypsy Nurse as they are widely recognized as having the largest and most active travel nursing community in the industry.  The Gypsy Nurse is synonymous with travel nursing,” said Brian Payne, CEO of Furnished Finder.  “Travel nurses have long told us that affordability is a key component with travel nurse housing, which is why our hosts set their own rent and there are no booking fees for either party.  Since there are no mark-ups or commissions, Furnished Finder is always the least expensive housing provider.  Traveler safety is also extremely important to us, which is why every landlord is background screened and must provide an ID and proof of ownership or management.”

Furnished Finder is currently utilized by over 100,000 travelers annually. 

The company started in Bakersfield, California in 2014 when co-founder and CEO Brian Payne was not only working with travel nurses in cardiac pacemaker and defibrillator surgeries but would also rent furnished properties to travel nurses coming into the Bakersfield area.  Now headquartered in Denver, Colorado, Furnished Finder’s growing team of over 50 people have extensive backgrounds in healthcare, business, real estate, and information management.  The leadership team at Furnished Finder is fully committed to supporting the travel nurse industry by constantly innovating and improving to make finding affordable, monthly furnished housing easier.

Furnished Finder users can search the location map and contact landlords directly or submit a housing request for a geographic area.  Click here to check out Furnished Finder’s customized housing search experience for The Gypsy Nurse Community.

By Titan Medical

May 10, 2019

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How Agencies Scope out Housing for Travel Nurses

This article provided by: Titan Medical Group

After accepting a traveling healthcare assignment, travelers typically have the option to let their agency assist in finding temporary housing for them. So, how do agencies find quality housing for their travelers? Here is a list of housing sites and options allowing agencies to agencies find travel nurse housing for travel nurses to stay temporarily:

Housing for Travel Nurses:

Hotels

agencies find travel nurse housing

Hotels usually offer special rates for facilities with contracted employees or even offer a deal on extended staying guests. Staying in hotels makes for a convenient option.

There are typically a variety of locations you can select from when narrowing down options. Additionally, you can generally earn ‘points’ and accumulate free stays. Unfortunately, hotels can become limited when looking at rural areas. Sometimes travelers might need to commute from nearby towns that have the space to accommodate them.

Traveler can benefit from sites like HotelEngine for quick overnight stays.

AirBNB / VRBOagencies find travel nurse housing

AirBNB and VRBO are both up-and-coming ways of travel. These are sites that allow homeowners to rent their entire homes, rooms, or shared spaces. Perfect for adventurous travelers looking for a unique place to stay for a weekend or an extended amount of time away from home. The main difference between the two sites is that VRBO focuses more on renting out entire homes and apartments and AirBNB has more variety regarding room-renting options. There are a lot of fun housing opportunities that can be found across both sites adding to the traveling experience of our healthcare professionals.

Craigslist

agencies find travel nurse housing

Craigslist is an option that allows agencies to search for specific housing types, widening the selection of available spaces for travelers to stay. When searching for homes or apartments on Craigslist, there is a chance you can also find them fully furnished. Furnished apartments are most convenient for travelers bringing minimal items on their adventure. If the apartment or home is unfurnished, there are local companies that can bring in basic furnishings that would be necessary for the travelers stay. If you’re using Craigslist, protect yourself from possible scams.

Zillow / Apartment FinderHow Agencies Scope out Housing for Travel Nurses

Zillow and Apartment finder are websites that give updates on available housing for rent. This is a great way to search specific locations and find available properties. If a home or apartment is available for rent, agencies will reach out to the property manager and request information on temporary stay rates.


The BEST Travel Nurse Housing


We hope you found this article on how agencies scope out housing for travel nurses helpful. Agencies look in a variety of places when securing travel nurse housing. Where do you search for your travel nurse housing? Have tips? Please post them in the comments!

If you are a new travel nurse or looking into becoming a travel nurse:

Travel Nurse Guide: Step-by-Step (now offered in a PDF Downloadable version!)