The Best Travel Nursing Housing Sites

Finding travel nurse housing can be a daunting process, especially as a new travel nurse.  In fact, I’d argue it’s one of the more difficult things about being a travel nurse.  The thought of living with a stranger, not knowing whether or not you’re in a safe area, and sending a large sum of money to someone without ever meeting them can be nerve-wracking.  And the truth is, it doesn’t get easier the more you do it.  But the good news is that there are great travel nurse housing sites out there suited to each individuals needs.  And lately, it seems that more and more companies have stepped up to the plate to ensure that travel nurses stay safe and don’t get scammed.

Below you’ll find the best travel nursing housing sites out there plus more tips and advice when it comes to renting.

 

Don’t miss…

• Your A-Z Guide to Travel Nursing

 

What is Travel Nurse Housing?

While there isn’t a specific definition for travel nurse housing (I mean, really anyone can live anywhere and I have yet to come across a site that SPECIFICALLY rents to travel nurses only and no-one else), when I think of travel nurse housing I think of long-term, fully-furnished rentals.

Your typical nursing contract is 13-weeks, so I think of “long-term” as being a place that you can rent for a minimum of 13-weeks.  And when I think of fully-furnished, this means everything is taken care of from the kitchen appliances to the towels and bedding.

Of course, everyone’s definition could be different so when you’re renting, make sure to clarify these things with your landlord.

 

If you’re a landlord reading this, don’t miss:

• What You Should Know About Renting to Travel Nurses

 

How do Travel Nurses Find Housing?

Travel nurses can find housing a variety of different ways.  This includes finding housing on your own, from word of mouth, or having your company/recruiter help you out.

 

Should You Find Your Own Housing or Have Your Company do it?

I’m a firm believer that you should find your own housing to save money and of course, be able to choose where you want to live.  However, if you don’t feel comfortable finding housing or you’re having trouble – there’s nothing wrong with recruiting the help of your company!

Generally, if your company finds housing for you – they take your entire housing stipend away.  Versus if you find your own housing, you can choose how much of your stipend you want to spend.  For instance, if your monthly housing stipend is $3,000 and your company finds housing for you – they take the entire $3,000 even if the housing only costs $2,000/month.  If you find your own housing you can pocket the additional $1,000/month (if your rent is $2,000/month and your stipend is $3,000/month).

 

 

What to Consider Before Searching for Travel Nurse Housing

Before starting your search for housing, I suggest writing down what you ideally want to spend on housing, and the maximum amount you’d be okay with spending.  I want you to write it down so that you’re not tempted to go above your maximum spend amount.  Based on where you’re traveling to, you need to consider cost of living ahead of time as your rent in San Francisco, California will be significantly more expensive than if you were to rent in Fargo, North Dakota.  It’s also important to keep in mind that housing will probably be more expensive than you’re expecting because of the fact that it’s a short-term rental and comes fully furnished.

To help guide your decision on what you’re comfortable spending on housing, you’ll need to not only consider your weekly living stipend, but the overall amount of money you’re bringing home each month.  Some travel nurses don’t like to spend over their monthly living stipend (you figure this out by multiplying your weekly living stipend by 4).  However, what worked for me was spending around what I made in one weeks time as my living stipends wouldn’t cover rent in the expensive cities I was traveling to.  For example, if my weekly paycheck was $2,000, I tried to find housing that was around $2,000.  Read this post for more guidance on how much to spend on housing.

It’s also important to note that sometimes paying extra for peace of mind is worth the price in the end.  Meaning, you might consider paying more for a space that you know is safe, secure, has a flexible cancelation policy, good reviews, etc.  Before paying less for a space that doesn’t come with those things.

Lastly, know that you’re never going to be without housing.  If you can’t find somewhere to live on your own, you can always take company housing.  I don’t generally suggest this as a large portion of your paycheck gets taken away and it’s generally cheaper to find housing on your own.  But it’s always an option for a backup plan.

 

The Best Travel Nursing Housing Sites

Below you’ll find my favorite housing options for travel nurses.  All of these sites I’ve personally used or heavily vetted in my 7+ years as a travel nurses.

 

Airbnb

As a travel nurse, I used to be a die hard Airbnb user.  It was always my favorite platform to use; however, as the years have gone on – Airbnb has become less and less desirable.  So while I would still argue that Airbnb is a safe bet when it comes to finding housing as a travel nurse, I’m also wondering if the downsides have started to outweigh the upsides?

The main downsides to using Airbnb are the hefty service fees and expensive living accommodations than other sites I’ve found.  Not to mention, their customer service has started to lack and the past times I’ve rented I’ve felt as though Airbnb was always on the side of the host instead of the renter, even if the host was in the wrong.

If you do want to use Airbnb to rent, to reduce the hefty service fee, you could consider renting off of the platform.  While this can save money you also don’t have the safety net of Airbnb to be there if you were to get scammed.  So if I decided to do this, I only do it when there are tons of great reviews.  Please note, some Airbnb hosts will not allow you to rent off of the platform so I’ve heard plenty of “no’s” when asking this question.

Lastly, if you aren’t comfortable cutting Airbnb out as the middle man and want the security blanket that the platform brings, make sure that all communication is going through Airbnb and not text.  If something were to go wrong, Airbnb can access your conversation if you use their platform, but they can’t access your conversation if you use text.

 

Extended Stay America

Extended Stay America is a hospitality company that owns hotels across the United States where you can stay for an extended period of time.  This is great for travel nurses for several reasons.  First, you don’t have to worry about dealing with a landlord or something happening to your rental property.  You know you’re moving into a hotel that will be fully furnished and that you’ll have a front-desk in case anything were to go wrong or to hold your packages for you.

Plus, the rooms are less like hotel rooms and more like apartments.  You’ll move into a space with a fully equipped kitchen, on-site laundry, and there are pet-friendly accommodations too.  With over 700 properties, no matter where you’re traveling to, you should be able to find an option in Extended Stay America!

 

Read more about why travel nurses should book with Extended Stay America:

• Housing for Travel Nurses:  Extended Stay America

 

BOOK YOUR STAY AT EXTENDED STAY AMERICA HERE!

 

Facebook Groups

One of my favorite ways to search for housing is through Facebook Groups.  This way you can easily see who else has lived in the house and get an honest review.  I typically find the search bar in the Facebook group and search for the city I’m moving to.  There should be housing options that pop up and then you can message the owner.  The good thing about using Facebook groups is that you know the host is targeting travel nurses, which generally means that they are more flexible and understanding.  Beware, however, if you are one of the first people in a new rental.  Talk about expectations upfront and what they should expect from a traveling healthcare professional.

Renting a property that you find on Facebook does have a downside though.  Landlords typically require a deposit before moving in and because you don’t know if this person is reliable (especially if it’s a new rental), it can be scary to send a large deposit to a stranger.  It’s usually hard to get out of this and that is why I prefer to move in somewhere where another travel nurse has previously been.  You can always reach out to the landlord and ask if anyone else has lived there in the past and contact that person directly.

 

Furnished Finder

Furnished Finder is a resource targeted towards “travel nurses and other traveling professionals”, where all living arrangements come fully furnished.  Furnished Finder is a great resource because it’s free to use and there are housing options available in every state.  Not only can you find an apartment or house to rent, but you can also search for long term hotel rentals as well.

One of the main things that I like about Furnished Finder is that the people who are renting on the platform know that the audience is made up of traveling healthcare professionals.  For that reason, people seem to be a little bit more flexible and understand the needs of travelers.  Unlike Airbnb, Furnished Finder doesn’t inflate the cost or charge booking fees.

 

VRBO

Earlier when I said that Airbnb has become less appealing to me… VRBO has become more appealing to me throughout the years.  In the past couple of years they’ve done a major overhaul and the changes they’ve made to their platform have been really positive.  Specifically for finding properties for single people.

 

Read more about why travel nurses should book with VRBO:

• Housing for Travel Nurses:  VRBO

 

BOOK YOUR NEXT TRAVEL NURSE STAY WITH VRBO

 

The Worst Travel Nursing Housing Sites

The next resources that I mention, I don’t utilize or trust due to personal reasons or stories I’ve heard from other travel nurses.  I am sure that these sites have some trustworthy people on them, but I would personally never utilize them nor recommend them as housing options for travel nurses.

 

Craigslist

I’ve never utilized Craigslist, but many travel nurses that I speak with that have used Craigslist, have gotten scammed.  For instance, one of my friends found what seemed to be a nice apartment in a good location in Seattle.  She contacted the landlord who she communicated with via Facebook.  Before renting, she did her due diligence and drove by the house that the landlord was advertising on Craigslist to make sure that it was real.  Once she saw the house she sent a deposit to the landlord.  Once he got the deposit he completely disappeared and she never heard from him again.  It turned out that his Facebook was fake and the rental property wasn’t for rent after all.  In fact, it was quite the opposite, with other people living in the home who were clueless that their property was being listed on Craigslist.

 

Zillow

Another company I wouldn’t recommend using for rental properties is Zillow.  I happened to be scammed on Zillow and lost $4,600 (read about it here).  The reason I don’t like Zillow is because they take no accountability for what happens on their site.  When I raised concern over my rental property being a scam they told me that I would need to hire a lawyer to contact them because they wouldn’t talk to me alone.  I don’t support or agree with businesses that don’t have the interest of people who use their business at heart.

 

Possible Red Flags

Having been scammed out of $4,600 myself, I know the red flags to look out for when searching for housing.  Below you’ll find a list of some of the biggest red flags I’ve encountered.  And in my experience, it is not worth it to ignore the red flags because chances are – they are there for a reason!

• No reviews
• No photos of the property
• A landlord who doesn’t have good communication
• A landlord who requires all three-months of rent to be paid upon move-in
• A landlord who requires payment to be done in cash
• Any type of lying – even a white lie

 

Tips for Making Housing Arrangements/Questions to Ask Landlords

Here are some general tips I follow/questions I ask when using a site to find housing for travel nurses.  (Make sure to ask these questions before renting/moving in).

• Ask if parking is included or there’s an extra fee
• Ask about having guests over
• Ask what “fully furnished” entails
• Ask about the cancellation policy and explain that there’s a chance you might be canceled from your contract early
• Ask about a cleaning service
• Ask about safety of neighborhood
• Ask how far the hospital you’re working at is from where you’re living
• If you’re renting from Facebook – ask if you can speak to a previous tenant
• Know your maximum monthly spend and don’t go over
• If you meet another travel nurse that you trust, get a “word of mouth” housing recommendation

 

Resources for Travel Nurses

I’m always on the lookout for ways to earn money, save money and maximize spend, and in this case I have two great resources for travel nurses searching for housing.

• Credit Cards
  • Always use a travel rewards credit card when booking so you’re able to receive points to redeem for flights/hotel stays (if you’re looking for a travel rewards credit card, DM me on Instagram and I’ll send you my favorite one!)
  • If booking with a credit card will cost a fee, look into opening a Bilt credit card
• Per Diem Rates
  • Search the U.S. General Services Administration to see what your maximum housing stipend can be; you can then use this information to negotiate your contract (for more on own pay works for travel nurses, check out this post or purchase The Ultimate Travel Nurse Bundle for an in-depth guide to all things travel nursing)

 

FAQ

• Q:  What sites do most travel nurses book accommodation?
  • A:  From personal experience and having talked to other travelers, it seems that most use Furnished Finder to find housing; however this is not based on fact – just what I’ve heard.
• Q:  What is the best travel nurse housing?
  • A:  The travel nurse housing that makes you feel most safe, comfortable, and secure!  Everyone’s needs will be different, figure out what your non-negotiables are and go from there.
• What happens if my contract gets cancelled and I have to leave early?
  • A:  This is a valid fear and unfortunately something that all travel nurses are at risk of.  I always explain the situation of being cancelled to landlords before I decide to rent and ask them if they can be flexible with the cancellation policy.  I also explain that I’ve only been cancelled one time in seven years so while it can happen, it isn’t common.
    • Read:  What to do if Your Travel Nurse Contract Gets Cancelled

 

So, while finding housing as a travel nurse can seem like a long, drawn out, and difficult process; there are incredible companies out there who are making it easier each day.  I hope that this post gave you helpful resources and tips on how to find housing, things to avoid, and ways to figure out how much to spend on housing.  If you know of any good travel nursing housing sites that I missed, let me know in a comment below!

 

Travel Nurse Essentials

 

NOW THAT YOU’VE MADE LIVING ARRANGEMENTS, YOU NEED TO PACK!  DON’T MISS:

• How NOT to Pack for Your First Travel Nurse Assignment

 

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