You’ve reviewed your pros and cons list on the few travel companies you’ve been talking to for the last couple weeks. You have finally picked the perfect one that fits your needs and you’re confident with your decision because it truly checks all of your boxes as a traveling professional.
Now to the easy and what should be fun part – picking where you would like to travel. Well, maybe for some. For others, this alone can be a huge task. A lot of factors come into play when choosing the right location for you: pay package, facility type, weather conditions, bigger city vs. rural area, attractions to see on your days off, closer to family and friends, etc. A huge factor that may come into play and not everyone may think of is safety. Is the location you are traveling to really safe? How do you know?
Included below are a few resources to help guide you through that process.
- Area Vibes: Calculates a livability score using a unique algorithm based on what you select is important to you
- Neighborhood Scout: Provides crime statistics and other local data to help you decide if the area is right for you
- Family Watchdog: Maps the addresses of registered sex offenders in the surrounding areas
- Crime Mapping: Maps out crime data from more than 1,000 participating law enforcement agencies
- Spot Crime: Maps out crimes and sends crime alerts via email, Facebook, Twitter, and other platforms (spotcrime.info)
As the industry moves further away from setting up housing for you, the responsibility is falling more on the traveler to pick the right location for housing. Use the tools included here and work with your recruiter/account manager when picking a location. They may be able to shed some light on the area, especially if they have worked with the facility before. They may have personal reviews given to them by previous or current travelers.
These tools should be able to ease your mind before making that final decision to sign the contract. Remember though, as a traveling professional this isn’t a forever decision. It’s only 13 weeks and after the first 13 weeks is over you can move on to a completely different part of the country. That truly is the beauty of travel, isn’t it?
These websites and Facebook groups have helped many travelers find affordable short term housing:
Websites
Facebook Groups
Travel Nurse Housing -Furnished Finder
Travel Nurse Housing Rentals by Landlords
Travel Nursing: Places/Rooms for Rent
Nikki Ghahramani is a Recruiter for the Cardiopulmonary division at Aureus Medical Group.