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What Happens if My Travel Housing Falls Through?

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Whether you’re an experienced healthcare travel professional, or just starting out, there’s one very important decision you’ll have to make prior to starting your assignment.

Lining up your furnished travel housing.

In the past, a travel healthcare recruiter might have handled all things related to housing. But these days many travelers are taking the housing stipend – money from the employer to cover the cost of housing while working a travel assignment – and finding their own place to stay.

There are advantages to this, including more control over housing and potentially being able to pocket any remaining tax free stipend dollars.

The disadvantage? If the housing agreement goes south before you move in, you and you alone will be left scrambling to find a place to stay. Unfortunately, it happens and it’s not fun!

The good news is, there are ways to alleviate the added stress of finding a place to live at the last minute. Here are some tips to help guide you:

Know People in the Area? Reach Out!

One advantage of being a travel healthcare professional is having connections sprinkled around the country. If you have an old acquaintance or family member living in or near an area where you’ve taken an assignment, see what they know about any short-term housing in the area. They can also provide good info regarding the safety of different areas or commute times around the city. All of this information is extremely helpful when juggling your housing options.

Short Term Rentals Move Fast. So Should You.

Keep in mind that short-term rentals often have a fourteen to thirty-day move-out notice, which means openings come and go quickly. So if you send an inquiry to a landlord and haven’t heard back within 24 hours – don’t wait around and pass up other potential options. The nature of travel healthcare is that jobs and housing options will typically fill within a few days so hesitating for too long could cause you to miss out on your preferred accommodations.

Consider Vacation Rentals

Vacation rental websites are a good resource to think about for short-term housing. Some of the most popular are HomeAwayVRBO, and Airbnb. You can find some great housing options on these sites – just type in a city or a state, and you can view a variety of vacation rentals. So even though you’ll likely be working 12 hour days, you can come back to a “vacation villa” and relax after hours!

Get Help from Trusted Websites

Here’s a shocking statement: You can’t trust everything you see online. And that goes for some housing listings on places like Craigslist that sound too good to be true – because they are! If you’re not already a member of the popular Gypsy Nurse Travel Nurse Facebook Group and Housing Group, join. They’re both great ways for all healthcare professionals (not just nurses) to learn from fellow travelers across the country. And that goes for housing.

At Focus Staff, we understand the ins and outs of traveling healthcare professionals during these challenging times and have access to a wide variety of excellent professional opportunities. To learn more, contact us today.

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