Ask A Travel Nurse: Drive or Fly?

Gypsy,

I’m speaking to a travel agency currently about a job that is nearly 8 states away from home.  I originally thought I would be perfectly fine with a job that required flying, but there is no subsidy for a rental car, and the apartment is 20 minutes away. I am looking into the bus system in the contract city, but I have to ask – how do you generally travel? I noticed you mentioned mileage reimbursement in your treatment plan, so do you typically drive to your travel jobs?

Thank you, Kate, RN ASN

Thank you for reading The Gypsy Nurse. You have taken the first step on your journey to becoming A Gypsy Nurse.

Kate,

I generally choose to drive to my contracts.  I lose out on the ‘pay’ because it always costs me more to drive than a company will reimburse me.  I don’t like being without a vehicle though, so it’s worth it to me. If you keep records of your mileage and hotel and meal expenses during travel, these are deductible on your year-end taxes

Flying

If you choose to fly, there are several things to consider and it looks like you have already started checking into this.  How far are you from conveniences ie grocery, banking, activities, etc.  what is the public transit like?  How far are you from work and it easily accessible via public transit?

In some cases, it’s just as easy to be without a vehicle.  When I was working in San Francisco, I was housed in a very good location that was close enough to work and everything else to use public transit.  

One other thing to consider if flying is the apartment amenities.  Is the company providing a FULLY furnished apartment?  By fully furnished, make certain that dishes, linens, shower curtains, window coverings, cookware, etc are all included.  I drive and bring a lot of these items with me because most ‘furnished’ apartments only include basic furniture. Google has a great resource to search the local area for conveniences called ‘walk score’  if you do a search, you’ll find it.  I frequently use a walk-score when checking my housing/hospital locations.

I hope this helped a little.  If you have further questions, please feel free to contact me again.

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(Disclaimer:  Please note that this is the author’s opinion only.  I do not provide career counseling, legal or medical consults.  If you require any of these, please search out the appropriate resources)