Finding Housing As A Traveler
New to travel therapy? One of your first questions might be how do you find housing?
When we first started traveling, and for our first few assignments, it was stressful finding housing on short notice. Ending an assignment and starting a new contract all within a few weeks, and having to secure housing, truly has been the most stressful part of traveling for me. If you are new to the travel therapy world, you are likely wondering how someone who moves all the time finds consistent, quality housing. That was one of our biggest questions when starting our travel therapy journey. Hopefully, by the end of this article, you should be able to narrow down your search pretty quickly.
So what are your options when it comes to housing?
Have your company handle it…
If you pick this option, you will receive less weekly pay because your company will keep your living stipend and allocate it towards your housing.
The company would decide where you live and book your location. We haven’t picked this option before, so I’m not positive on how much say you have in choosing your location, but if you have a good working relationship with your recruiter, I’m sure you can negotiate location as well as quality of your short term rental. The benefit to this option is that you don’t have any upfront cost and there is less hassle about negotiating details on your own. The companies we have worked for have entire divisions to help find housing options. You have the benefit of not stressing on searching for housing.
Take a housing stipend...
This is more work up front, but with this option, you make the decision as to where you live. Our favorite part is that you can choose how much or how little to spend on housing verse allowing your company to decide. Ultimately it comes down to potentially having more weekly take home pay, as you have the option to spend your entire living stipend each week or find cheaper housing and save some of that money. Sometimes we choose to budget, therefore saving extra money, spending less on our rental. Other times, we may choose to spend a little more for housing if it means a shorter commute, better location , or say, 3 doors down from a lake? Thanks Maine for such a great spot to live!
Long Pond in Maine. Only 3 houses down from our rental in Maine
We have always opted to find our own housing, but there is that initial fear of saying “how can I find housing for 3 months?”
Whatever living option you choose as a traveler, it may be worth doing your own research to see what is available.
Here are some websites and other house search options we have found helpful when looking for short term housing.
websites available
Airbnb
Furnished finder
VRBO
HomeAway
Travel nurse housing
Craigslist
Extended stay America
Homewood suites
Trulia/Zillow/apartments.com
Ask coworkers
Facebook groups
Fellow travelers on social media platforms
We have searched them all and despite having so many options to choose from, we have consistently used Airbnb, Furnished Finder, Home away and the occasional co-worker/family member for our housing options
Cape Cod Mass, our first Furnished Finder rental! Amazing place to rent a room.
Our process
As soon as we hear about a job/submit to a job, we start searching for housing options. It isn’t always very thorough, but we start the search early. We sometimes look through dozens of rentals between AirBnB and Furnished Finder, get an idea of monthly rent prices, and save our top choices. If choices are limited, we may even reach out to the hosts, explain our situation and have something ready to book if it works out.
Once we accept an assignment, that’s when we follow up and make our final decision on where to stay. Our checklist usually includes:
1) Pet Friendly (that’s definitely number one)
2) Location/Proximity To Work: Sometimes we want to be near work if traffic is hectic, but other times we may opt for a longer commute to be closer to outdoor activities.
2) Cost: This differs every single assignment. We have the advantage of two travelers renting one location, but we still try to budget. We mostly base it on making sure we can make a consistent payment to our student loans, and anything extra can go to housing if needed.
3) Safety: It's hard to tell on AirBnb and Furnished Finder if a neighborhood is “safe”. Some things we have done in the past is use google maps to get a street view of a location and scan the surrounding area. We have also reached out to the facility for suggested housing locations or looked up crime maps of the area. It’s not perfect, but it makes us feel better. If your lease is month to month and you don’t like where you are at, you can move mid assignment as well. We have done it, it is not ideal, but sometimes makes all the difference.
try to never sign a lease for an entire contract! month to month is the way to go!
We have done it. We have signed a lease for 6 months. That was in Alaska and luckily for us, well worth it. We even ended up extending it an extra month. For the first few months, in the back of my mind was “but what if our assignment gets cancelled”. It is what is it, and it worked out. Having learned more about travel therapy and the risk of a contract getting cut short, we have made much greater efforts to limit signing anything beyond a month to month rental. For the rest of our seven assignments, we have managed to book month-to-month only. Only one of our assignments has been canceled, and even then we were able to secure another job fairly quickly, but it is always beneficial to have limited liability when it comes to having a lease. If you end up signing for three months or longer, remember if a job is canceled, you may be on the hook for additional rent payments. If you can manage, try to book only month to month.
Negotiating Costs
Not all things are negotiable, but after having traveled a few years, come to find out, not all rental prices are set in stone. We don’t try to haggle every single place we rent, but there are times when you have to negotiate your cost of a rental, or at least try. Most examples come from AirBnB, because many rentals are set up for nightly or weekly rates and when you try to book for one or more months the price is outrageous. Sometimes a few thousand dollars. That on top of a cleaning fee and AirBnB fees, causing the price to get quickly out of hand. On these occasions, we have politely asked if there is a reduced rate for longer term rentals. We always mention we are traveling healthcare workers as that is big. I’m sure it sets someones mind at ease knowing they are renting to someone who is a health professional, but also has a steady income. Sometimes the price reduction is minimal, but more than once we have been able to secure housing for very reasonable prices by just asking.
And what about furnished finder? Typically that site is designed for longer term rentals, but even there we have seen some prices that are beyond what we can comfortably afford and have found people to consider lowering their price. Remember, it’s always a no unless you ask!
Our home while living in Shreveport Louisiana; Momma K’s Country Cottage
RV living
This is one area we do not know much about. What we do know, is that it can be done. We follow several fellow travelers on Social Media that are making traveling life work while living in a van, motor home, or RV. Currently, I even have a co-worker who is a travel SLP who lives in her motor home full time. What little we do know about this lifestyle is that you have to search for campgrounds, KOA, or other trailer sites that will accommodate short stay locations. If you choose this option for traveling, you will have to do a little research on your own.
Why haven’t we chosen this option? Honestly, I just don’t want to own a trailer. Our truck that we travel with is an older Chevy 1500 that is not in the best shape to be pulling a trailer, and we have enjoyed all the short stay rentals we have booked. Plus, for us, the trailer is just not enough space to comfortably live. We travel with too much other stuff including camping equipment, gym equipment, and now inflatable paddle boards. We aren’t exactly light packers.
summary
Finding housing can and likely will be stressful at some point in your travel career. We always get that excited nervousness when pulling up to our new “home” for the next 3 months and not knowing what to expect. Whatever path you choose, just know it’s not perfect, and it’s not home. Make the most of where you are at and enjoy experiencing new locations and new ways of living.
If you still have any questions about travel therapy, housing options, or anything else, please feel free to contact us through the comments section below, our contact page, or instagram.
