Hey friend! Welcome to (or back to) the blog. If you landed here, you’re probably a travel nurse (or hoping to become one soon) and trying to figure out how to navigate the craziness that is finding a place to live while on assignment. I’m here to help! I’m going to share my favorite resources for finding housing, because I think this can really be the most overwhelming part of this whole travel nursing thing. If you’re new to the travel nursing world, I have tons of other posts on different areas of travel nursing that you might find helpful as well. Here are a few of my favorites:
Travel Nursing Interview Tips Travel Nursing With A PetOkay, I digress. Let’s get back to what you came for!
I’ve been a travel nurse since 2018, and I swear housing is still the most anxiety provoking thing for me when starting a new assignment. Not only is it a pain in the ass finding a place, but moving in having never seen the place/neighborhood/etc. is always stressful. Add in the insane amount of housing scams targeting traveling professionals these days and it’s enough to make your head spin. Luckily, I’ve learned a few things along the way, and I’m here to share it all with you so you don’t make some of the same mistakes I have…
Where To Find Travel Nurse Housing
House hunting as a travel nurse is much different than looking for you long term, 12 month lease kind of place. As a travel nurse, you’re probably only packing what fits in your car, so you’re going to need a fully furnished place. You also need somewhere that’s not going to lock you into a year long lease. Ideally, your housing should be month to month to avoid any commitments in case of cancellations or change of plans. Some LLs have a 3 month minimum, which technically will work as well as long as you don’t get cancelled or leave the assignment early. So, where in the world are you supposed to find these places?!
Facebook Groups
You’d be amazed how many Facebook groups exist that are dedicated solely to travel nurse housing. Two of the major ones I recommend are Travel Nurse Housing – The Gypsy Nurse and Travel Nurse Housing – Furnished Finder. I’ve also had some luck just posting in the general travel nursing groups like Travel Nurse Network. You can also usually find specific travel nursing pages for the city you’ll be working in and look for housing listings there.
These pages typically have a mix of landlords posting properties and people requesting housing. I just use the search function to look for the name of the city and scroll through the posts. I’ll comment on LL postings of properties I like, and I also read through comments of others who have posted housing requests to see if anyone who responded to them might have a place that would work. I also usually post my own housing request with my assignment dates, let people know I travel with a partner and pets, and any must haves for housing. Here’s an example of one of my ISO housing posts:
Finding housing on Facebook is wonderful and terrible for many reasons. It’s actually the platform where I’ve had the most luck in finding places for my assignments. However, it’s also the place you’re most likely to get scammed. People will send you fake listings and try to collect payment and personal information for a property they don’t own. Shady AF. More on how to weed those out later. Just know to be on the lookout for scams when using facebook.
AirBNB
I’m using AirBNB much less than I used to lately because their fees are astronomical these days. BUT, it can still be a good source for finding housing. Before I accept a contract, I like to have an idea of how much I’ll be paying for housing once I get there to make sure the pay package makes sense. AirBNB is a great way to quickly get an idea of short term furnished housing costs in the area. In general I’d say the prices here tend to be on the higher end, but that’s really a good thing when you’re trying to get an idea of how much you’ll spend. Better to overestimate than underestimate.
When you search AirBNB, simply type your destination and contract start and end dates into the search bar (I usually give myself a few days before and after). If you travel with pets, be sure to add that filter as well so it only shows you pet friendly places. The platform will show you results with a monthly price listed, and that will include any discounts the landlords have applied for long term stays.
Here’s the key to success with avoiding the fees on AirBNBs, which can sometimes be as high as $1000+. Once you find a place you like, message the host and let them know that you’re a travel nurse looking for housing for the duration of your contract. Let them know that you love their place, but the fees charged by the platform are making it outside of budget. Ask if they rent on any other platforms such as Furnished Finder, or if they would be willing to do a month to month or three month lease. Many hosts will have alternate platforms they rent on and will send you the listing. Some do only rent through AirBNB, at which point it’s up to you if you want to book it and pay the fees.
Furnished Finder
Let me preface this by saying that I have never personally had success with Furnished Finder. However, I want to include it because some cities do have tons of listings, and I know other people have had luck using the site.
FurnishedFinder.com is a site that was created for landlords to offer housing to traveling professionals. While it’s not the fanciest site, it’s easy enough to navigate and search your city and dates to see a list of available properties. One feature I like is that the listing will tell you how far away the property is from several hospitals in the area.
You can also submit a housing request that includes your dates, what size unit you’re looking for, and any other details about your stay. Once you submit, Furnished Finder will send communication to property owners with listings that match your search and ask them to contact you. This is a great way to include all the details you want and only have to send it once. Sadly, I’ve only ever had anyone respond to my request once out of all the times I’ve tried it.
The two major issues I’ve had with FF are availability and responsiveness. In most of the cities I’ve worked, there haven’t been many listings on this platform, or if there were they weren’t available for my time frame. I think this is partially because it’s a lesser known platform and just doesn’t have as many listings. I’ve also had literally no luck with people responding to me when I message them through Furnished Finder. When I do occasionally use it these days, I just look for the property owner’s contact info and shoot them a text, and people seem to be much more responsive that way.
Extended Stay Hotels
This last housing option is also one that I have not personally used on a travel assignment, although I did live in a Mariott for a few months while I was in between apartment leases in Denver. There are plenty of travelers who do use this option though, so I wanted to make sure I included it as well.
Extended stay hotels can be a great option that will have everything you need during your contract. Many hotels meant for longer stays will have one bedroom suite options, so it feels a little more like you’re in a small apartment than a hotel room. Most hotels will have free or coin laundry on site, some have a gym, and typically when renting they’ll come in to clean your room every 1-2 weeks (or more frequently if you prefer). Some also have perks like free breakfast in the mornings and evening socials with drinks and apps.
If you’re checking out hotel stays, you should call the property directly and ask to speak to the sales manager – they’re the ones who will be able to give you the best rate for a long term stay. You can ask if they have special rates for nurses, or sometimes your agency will have a hotel discount code you can apply. In my experience, hotels are going to run on the higher end of what an average 1 bedroom apartment in the area would cost. Sometimes they’ll be a little cheaper, it really just depends on the area, housing costs, the season, and what kind of discounts the hotel is willing to give. Off season travel times are the best times to get great hotel rates.
When you’re negotiating hotel stays, make sure you ask about what’s included. If you have breakfast, free laundry, parking, and a gym included in the monthly price, that could be saving you a decent amount of money on things you’d be buying otherwise. However, if it’s already pricey and then you have extra expenses like paying monthly for parking, it may not be the best option. As a note, hotels are another thing you can price out pretty quickly to get a ballpark idea of what the max is you’d spend on housing in the event you weren’t able to find another place during your contract.
These are the primary sources I use to find housing for my contracts. I hope you find these helpful as well! I will have another post coming very soon regarding how to make sure you’re avoiding housing scams as a travel nurse, so be sure to stay tuned for that! I’ll update this post when it’s finished, so you can bookmark or Pin this as a reference! You can also sign up for my email list below and I’ll keep you in the loop when new things are coming! And as always, you can shoot me an email or connect with me on my Instagram anytime – I’m always happy to answer your questions!
Happy Travels!
