Travel nurses have enough to worry about without having to add in worrying about payment for housing. Luckily, contracts commonly cover housing in one of two ways: the contract either includes housing provided by the hospital for little to no expense or offers a stipend specifically set aside for housing.
Hospital-Provided Housing
As the name suggests, hospital-provided housing (HPH) is housing that is arranged by the hospital. Most times, HPH is a communal living situation either in a dormitory setting or in a space with private bedrooms and shared public areas, such as kitchen, living room and dining room. Check out the benefits of hospital-provided housing below!
Convenient and Easy
Hospital-provided housing is a great option for those who don’t want to be burdened every few months with having to find a new place to live. Travel nurses are already thinking about assignments and arranging travel and their lives for new opportunities and, for some, that is enough on your plate. It’s okay if you simply do not want to have to worry about figuring out where to live too! Hospital provided housing is a great solution for this. There is little to no leg work to find housing when a hospital makes your living arrangements for you.
Free or Very Inexpensive
Little work isn’t the only benefit to hospital-provided housing. It’s also often free or very inexpensive. One of the intrigues of travel nursing is the good pay and HPH lets you pocket your funds instead of putting them into housing.
Social Living
Because the majority of hospital-provided housing is communal living, it’s the perfect situation to meet new people quickly, which is nice when you are only in an area for a short amount of time. HPH can help you build a support system and community while living away from home. While shared living spaces aren’t ideal for everyone, they do provide an opportunity to quickly meet and connect with new people in a new city.
Stipend Housing
Stipend-based housing (SBH) is the more commonly offered housing solution for travel nurses. This option provides a tax free stipend to eligible travelers, which is earmarked for housing and food. Eligibility for housing stipends is typically determined by the health care professional’s proximity to the hospital (ranges from about 50-100 miles and is determined by the hospital).
Much like HPH, contracts that offer stipend housing are a great option with their own unique set of benefits.
Freedom to Choose
Unlike hospital provided housing, stipends allow for more freedom in choosing where you want to stay, what kind of housing you would like to live in and with whom you’d like to live! With stipend housing, you can choose to rent a home, suite, apartment or even a room. You also can choose a specific location that suits your needs and desires for comfortable living. What’s even better? If you don’t like where you end up, you can easily choose to move!
Another aspect you will get to decide on for yourself is whether or not you live with a roommate. If you want to live with someone else, great! You get to choose who! And if you want to live solo, you can. Overall, there is a bit more legwork with stipend living arrangements than with hospital determined housing, but there is a lot more flexibility and control.
Pets Are Welcome
Not everyone will travel with their pets, but for those of you who just can’t leave them behind, stipend housing is the way to go. Hospital housing doesn’t typically allow for animals. However, with the freedom of choice that stipends bring, you can make sure to find a place that allows your furry friend to reside with you.
Amenities
The options for housing amenities are much greater with a stipend-based housing contracts. You can choose a hotel suite with gyms and free breakfast or an apartment complex with a pool. Perhaps a big yard for your pet is important – you can get that too!
Overall, it’s important for a travel nurse to take a look at what’s going to work best for them – do you want easy and convenient living arrangements with new social opportunities or does more freedom of choice sound appealing? Maybe going back and forth on a housing style for your assignments is what peaks your interest. Whatever your preference and however it works out, travel nurses can rest assured that both the hospital-provided or stipend-based housing are great choices that benefit travel nurses in their own unique way.