Most nurses believe the only way to start traveling is to be childless or have adult children. However, this couldn’t be further from the truth. Back when I traveled before having kids, I met a number of nurses that traveled with their kids, and there are many blog posts detailing the best ways to travel with them in tow. But what if traveling with kids isn’t a viable option?
Believe it or not, nurses can travel alone and leave their kids at home if they want. In fact, once I got back into traveling after having kids, taking my two little boys, ages 9 and 5, along for the ride was not an option for me. So they stay home with their dad while I’m out of town. I know it may seem impossible, but I promise it really isn’t. Although it’s not a common or a traditional option, I decided to travel without my kids and figured out how to make it work for my family.
How It All Started
Traveling without my kids isn’t actually a new thing for me. In January 2017, I was working a full-time night position in a NICU in Houston. However, I didn’t live there. For 3 years, I commuted to work from Beaumont, Texas, which was usually around a 2-hour drive due to traffic. I drove to Houston Friday evenings, worked my 3 shifts, slept at my aunt’s house during the day, and returned home every Monday morning. My husband was home with the kids while I worked, and I stayed home during the week with the kids while he worked and went to school. At first glance, working out of town seemed insane to most of my coworkers, but after explaining how I made things balance, they could see the logic.
One day I came across an article about a nurse who lived in Pennsylvania and worked in California as a per diem staff employee. Initially, I thought this was absolutely insane. Commuting from another city is one thing, but commuting from another state? But the more I thought about it; I began to realize that it was actually quite genius, even though I didn’t think I could actually do it because my kids were so young. But the concept had definitely piqued my interest.
“Long-Distance Commuter” Nurse
Eventually, we moved to Houston during the summer of 2020 due to the pandemic changing my boarding arrangements. During that time, the travel nurse pay rates were at an all-time high. By summer 2021, a number of my young childless coworkers had left to travel, and I honestly wanted to go too. Realizing that I had already commuted between cities for work, leaving my kids behind for 3-4 days at a time, I figured that if I managed it the right way, I could drive (or fly) to a location, stay there and work my shifts, then go back home, just like I had done when I lived in Beaumont.
After many hours of research and conversations with my husband, I decided to quit my full-time job and start traveling again. Usually, when thinking of travel nursing, many assume that a nurse has to move to a new city every 13 weeks and stay in town for the duration of the contract. Since I had absolutely no intention of being away from my kids for 3 months, and taking them with me was not what we felt was the best option for them, I decided to do what some would refer to as long distance-commuting: travel out of town, work my shifts, then go back home. In December 2021, I took a night shift contract in Texarkana, TX, which was about a 4 ½ hour drive from my home. It worked out so well that I extended my contract until the end of April 2022.
Then came the real test: taking my next assignment in Colorado. Instead of driving within the same state to my assignment, I would need to fly across state lines to my assignment. I was excited to see if I could still make this work no matter where I worked in the country. Interestingly enough, about a month into my contract, my family and I moved from Texas to Maryland. Now I was commuting across the country to work, just like the nurse from the article.
My Travel/Commuter Schedule
Instead of working every weekend as I had done before, I decided to try working a “6 on, 8 off” rotation. I squished my 36-hour work weeks together to allow myself more time off. I worked Thursday through Tuesday and would be off until the following Thursday. Since I kept my work schedule on the same rotation, my travel itinerary was basically the same, regardless of my work location:
Day 1 – Leave for work
On Thursdays, I would hug and kiss my family goodbye and hit the road. Whether I drove or flew, I made sure I was in town a few hours before my 7 pm shift started. That way, I could get settled and maybe take a quick nap before leaving for work.
Days 2 through 6 – Work, Work, Work
Thursday night through Tuesday night, I worked my 12-hour shifts. Each morning I drove to wherever I was staying and slept from 9, or 10 am to 5 pm.
Day 7 – Return Home
On Wednesday mornings, I returned home. If I had to drive home, I usually would take a 2-3 hour nap first. If I flew home, I would drive to an offsite airport parking lot and then fly home. By Wednesday evening, I spent time with my family and then went to bed.
Day 8 through 14 – Enjoy my family
These days were filled with doctor appointments, school projects, parent/teacher conferences, swim class, soccer games, date nights, self-care massages, pedicures, you name it. I could literally do whatever I wanted or needed during this stretch of days off. And after that, it was time to go back to work.
Now don’t get me wrong…I know working six 12-hour night shifts isn’t for everyone, but I find it doable because I honestly love what I do. Sure I worked NICU in Houston too, but I never worked this rotation because I was a charge nurse and extremely involved with the unit. With travel nursing, I’m not in charge, nor am I involved in any unit councils or extra committees. It’s a lot less stressful; if anything, this rotation has allowed me to work less and have more time with my family.
Overall Impact on My Kids and Me
Admittedly, six days is a long time to be away from my kids. There are some mornings when I’m lying in bed just about to fall asleep, and I find myself missing them profoundly. But thanks to modern technology, I talk to them every day. My oldest son texts me as much as he wants. Daily video chats with my husband allow me to see him and my younger son so I can keep up with all the little things I may miss while I’m gone. But the trade-off is well worth it to me. Honestly, I have no idea how long I’ll continue to live the commuter-travel nurse life. What I do know is that this works for us right now. My kids have a stable schedule at home with their dad, and I can work the way I prefer. Hopefully, my unique story lets nurses know that even those of us with little kids can become travel nurses, regardless of whether we decide to travel with them or without them.
Our job board is a great place to search for your next travel nurse assignment. We have you covered with our housing page if housing is an issue. You can search for what you are looking for.
