Tips for Travel Nursing Without a Car

Believe it or not, you don’t need to have a car to be a travel nurse.  Social media might make it seem like every travel nurse is doing these long, cross-country road trips to go to their next assignment and on their days off road-tripping around.  But trust me when I tell you – it’s not necessary to have a car to be a travel nurse.  In fact, I know from experience!  I had a car for my first two years of travel nursing and when I totaled it I spent the last five years of travel nursing without a car.  Here are my best tips for travel nursing without a car and helpful advice to get you from one assignment to the next.

 

How to Get to Your Travel Nurse Assignment Without a Car

First things first – how to actually get to your travel nurse assignment without a car!  Below I’m breaking down the two most common options – flying to your assignment or renting a car and driving to your assignment.

 

Flying to Your Assignment

As I’m sure you can guess, the easiest way to travel to your assignment is by flying.  Especially if your assignment is far from where you’re located.  Here are some tips for flying and also saving money on airplane tickets…

• Open a travel rewards credit card that will help you accrue points (I don’t like this to be an airline loyalty card but instead be a general travel credit card – DM me on Instagram if you want a suggestion)
• Open accounts on each airline that you fly so you can accrue points (this is free)
• Book a one way flight to your assignment (don’t book a roundtrip flight because you might extend your contract, your contract might get canceled, etc)
• Make sure that your flight arrives at least two days before your first day – if your flight is canceled or delayed, you don’t want to be stressed

Remember – you will receive a travel stipend (make sure you ask your recruiter about this), so this should help cover the cost of a plane ticket.

 

Read more:

• 30 Questions to Ask a Travel Nurse Recruiter

 

READY TO BOOK?  FIND A FLIGHT HERE!

 

Renting a Car to Get to Your Assignment

If you don’t want to fly and you want to rent a car to drive to your assignment instead, that’s another option.  (And maybe one that’s a better choice if you’re traveling a short distance).  If you do decide to rent a car to drive to your assignment, I recommend using Discover Cars to compare rental agencies and pricing.

Before you start driving, ask your recruiter if you need to send photos of your odometer to be reimbursed.  And just like when you fly, you should receive a travel stipend to help with the cost of your rental.

 

BOOK YOUR CAR RENTAL HERE!

 

Picking Your Travel Nurse Assignment Based on Not Having a Car

Another thing to think about when traveling without a car is choosing a travel nurse assignment that is best suited for not having a car.  If you’re not planning on renting a long-term car to use, you’re going to want to pick a city that has good public transportation or somewhere where you can live within walking distance of the hospital you’re working at.

Cities that I would recommend include…

• New York City
• Seattle
• Chicago
• San Francisco
• Boston

 

How to Get Around Without a Car

So, you’ve decided to travel nurse without a car… you’ve picked an assignment… and now you’re in your brand new home!  How do you get around?

My biggest piece of advice for navigating your new city without a car is to become familiar with public transportation/your route to work.  I always start by Googling “public transportation in X city” and “public transportation apps in X city”.  I find that having an app to navigate the public transportation is usually easier than a website/doing it on my own.

If you’re in a city without great public transportation and you can walk to work, I always like to walk the route before my first day so that I know where I’m going and feel comfortable.

Lastly, if you’re working the day shift, sometimes that early start can feel overwhelming (and scary).  Personally, I feel a bit more exposed when navigating the streets and public transportation before more of the city is awake.  That’s why I like to have a safety alarm with me.  I also have the “noonlight” app downloaded on my phone.  (Luckily, I haven’t had to use it so I’m not sure how well it works).

 

How to Pack for Your Travel Nurse Assignment When You Don’t Have a Car

One question I’ve gotten over and over again is, “How do you pack for your assignment if you don’t have a car?”.  I usually pack two big suitcases (checked bags) and a carry-on, PLUS I pack 1-2 boxes and ship stuff to my new “home”.

Pro tip:  Southwest lets you check 2 bags for free!

The cost to ship is usually around $70-$120/box (depending on weight), which feels like a lot of money but I rationalize this by thinking, well I’m saving on gas, car insurance, etc.  Plus I’m saving money by packing enough things that I won’t need to go shopping and buy more stuff.

With all of that being said, I do pack less than I normally would if I had a car.  I try to be as mindful as possible about what I *truly need* when I’m on assignment for 13-weeks.

By the way, I never go anywhere without this backpack.  It fits so much stuff and I frequently use it on airplanes, road trips, at work, etc.

 

Long-Term Car Rental Options

If you decide that you do want a car for your assignment, you also have the choice of a long-term rental.  When searching for long-term rentals, I like to use Expedia so that you can compare prices across multiple different rental agencies.  Plus, Expedia has a long-term rental option you can filter through that offers you a reduced price for long-term rental.

Pro tip:  For long-term rentals – Expedia, for short-term rentals – Discover Cars

What to know about long-term rentals with Expedia…

• The longer you rent, the steeper the discount
• You’ll be able to compare prices across multiple rental agencies
• Make sure to read the contract before renting for maintenance/repair information
• Inquire about car insurance (by the way, some travel reward credit cards offer car insurance; check with your credit card to see if yours does)

 

BOOK A LONG-TERM CAR RENTAL NOW!

 

Costs You’re Saving Not Having a Car

From experience, I know that there are many costs associated with not having a car and being a travel nurse.  Shipping boxes, flight tickets, Uber/Lyft expenses, etc.  But you’re also saving tons of money by not having a car with you.  Here are examples of what you’re saving money on…

• Car insurance
• Car registration
• Gas
• Parking costs at your rental property (read this post for housing options for travel nurses)
• Parking costs at the hospital
• If you’re needing to drive cross-country to get to your assignment, you’re saving on hotel costs by not needing to stop and spend the night somewhere

 

Travel Nurse Essentials

 

I hope that this post has convinced you that you don’t need a car to become a travel nurse.  If you have one – great!  But if not, there are plenty of ways to navigate the world of travel nursing without having a car.  If you have any questions, please let me know in a comment below!

 

 

 

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For more information and inspiration on all things nursing and travel nursing, make sure to check out my Instagram page/highlight reel by searching “#ppinscrubs” or under my highlights for “Nursing” or “Travel Nursing”; alternatively, head to my TikTok and search for the saved “Nursing” or “Travel Nursing” highlight

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