How to Find Short-Term Housing for Travel Therapists
“BUT, where do you live?!”
This is usually one of the first things people ask me about being a traveling physical therapist. You can hear always hear the stress and anxiety in their voice! 😂
But the truth is, finding temporary housing for traveling medical professionals is not nearly as difficult or overwhelming as you’d think.
For the first two years of my travel physical therapy journey, we opted for short-term housing rentals. Some travelers will tell you this is one of the most stressful parts of travel therapy, but that hasn’t been our experience at all. There are tons of resources for you to sift through to find temporary housing, which I’ll discuss in-depth below.
Now that we have our campervan, we weigh the pros and cons of staying in our campervan vs getting short-term housing while I’m on assignment. We decide based on factors like cost, weather, and availability of housing in the area.
To put this into perspective – in some coastal areas, you’re going to be paying nearly as much for an RV site as you are for a studio apartment. It just doesn’t make sense to pay for a spot at an RV park if you can pay around the same amount of money for an apartment with a full kitchen, private bathroom, washer/dryer, unlimited water – you get the idea. But, if we can save a significant amount of rent money by staying in the van, we’ll definitely consider it.
For example, we opted to stay in the van during Skip’s current contract in coastal Oregon because we’re going to save more than $4,000 by staying at an RV park vs. in an apartment. We see that difference in money as a lot of potential upgrades to our van, so this decision was a no-brainer for us once we did the math.
“Worst case” scenario is that we can’t find affordable temporary housing in an assignment location. With the van, we can almost always find an RV park within a commutable distance to work and use the van for housing. We’ve designed our van to be cozy enough to live in. And since I work during the week, the van is more than enough space for Jazz to work remotely while I’m at work during the day.
But the biggest benefit of having the campervan is for housing between my travel PT assignments. We save an insane amount of money because our tiny home on wheels keeps us from having to pay astronomical AirBnB/hotel fees while we’re traveling far and wide.
Having the campervan allows me to take more time off, and reduces the financial stress of traveling while I’m off contract not bringing in any income.
Alright – enough about us!
Let’s talk about how you can find short-term housing during your assignments if you don’t have a campervan. Whether you’re a travel physical therapist, travel occupational therapist, travel speech-language pathologist, travel nurse, or any other specialty – the process all looks the same.
Short-Term Housing Options for Travel Therapists
Option 1: Your staffing agency finds your housing for you (lower weekly pay)
Option 2: You find your own housing (higher weekly pay)
You do have the option to let your staffing agency finding housing for you.
However, this will take a huge chunk out of your weekly pay. If you opt for your staffing agency to find your housing, you will not receive a housing stipend during you travel therapy assignment.
Travel therapy housing stipends are a huge reason why a travel therapists’ pay is so much more lucrative than a permanent therapist.
The main benefit I can think of to support going with agency-provided housing is to avoid the hassle of finding your own housing and setting up a lease agreement. But, in my experience, finding housing has been pretty straightforward and there are tons of resources to seek out housing. More on that below.
Most travelers opt to take the housing stipend and seek out affordable housing options on their own, so they can pocket more of the housing stipend and maximize weekly pay.
I do want to mention that you have to follow specific rules to legally accept a housing stipend. But I’m no tax professional, so check out Travel Tax to learn how to maintain a tax home from the experts so you can legally accept those tax-free per diems.
My recommendation is 100% to seek out your own housing arrangement so you can make more money. If you’ve been following us, you know we’re all about time freedom, and making more money is a huge part of gaining that freedom.
The only time I ever opted for a contract without finding my own housing was in Hawaii, because the facility I worked for provided housing and a car during my time on the island. As a result, my weekly pay was much lower than usual. But when I ran the numbers with hypothetical rent and automobile cost, it made sense.
So, you’ve decided finding your own housing is the way to go. I’ll talk you through the main resources we use to find our own housing and how to use them.
Sections
Furnished Finder & Transplant Housing – Our 2nd Most Used Option
Facebook Groups – Our Most Used Option
Other options if you’re still struggling to land travel therapy housing
Important things to keep in mind when looking for short-term housing
Template for what to say / include when reaching out to property owners
Furnished Finder & Transplant Housing
Furnished Finder and Transplant Housing are both websites that are dedicated to finding furnished temporary housing options for travel medical professionals.
You simply type in your assignment location, then you can use the filters like price range, number of bedrooms/bathrooms, property type (private vs shared unit), pet-friendliness, etc. to narrow your search.
Make sure to browse the surrounding cities as well. There may not be rentals in the city you’re working in, but you want to make sure you search all the cities within a commutable area.
My favorite way to use these sites is to search the city you’ll be working in, then go to the map view. Then zoom out to see all the properties available in a commutable area. The map view is also a really easy way to get an idea of how close a rental is to your workplace or other cool areas to explore.
For us, a park or big patch fo grass nearby is always a plus since we travel with our puppy, Honey Bee.
You can also post a housing need that the site will broadcast out to potential property owners near your assignment location.
AirBnb, VRBO, Zeus Living
AirBnB, VRBO, and Zeus Living are definitely on the pricey side. The nightly rates will make you cringe.
But you can always message a property owner and try to negotiate a lower monthly rate.
They may decide to clear their calendar bookings for the dates of your travel assignment so they have consistent income during that time.
This has worked for us before for an AirBnB property. You never know if you don’t ask!
Craiglist
I know what you're thinking. Craigslist is well-known for scams.
Believe it or not, we’ve found a couple of real and viable housing options on Craigslist.
You just have to make sure to take the proper measures to avoid getting scammed. More on that below [LINK].
All you do is search the city you’ll be working in, enter a mileage radius, then view your options on the map view.
You can also post in the “housing needed” section. Just enter a short description of the type of housing you’re looking for. Then, property owners will be able to view it your listing and contact you directly if they have a property that meets your needs.
Facebook Marketplace
Facebook Marketplace functions very similarly to Craigslist.
All you do is search the location your job is in, set a radius for how far you'd be willing to commute, and then browse what's available on the map.
Facebook feels a little safer than Craigslist because you can creep on who posted the job posting.
It’s pretty easy to tell when people have created a fake profile because it’ll often be a newer profile, they’ll have barely any posts, or they’ll have some weird name (e.g. my most recent scammer was named Cathleen Catie).
Facebook Groups
Facebook groups have definitely been the most successful way we’ve found housing.
Check out the video below to see me walk you through how to find housing options in Facebook groups.
Then, click to join each of the Facebook groups below and copy/paste your post in each of them to reach as many potential property owners as possible!
Travel Therapy / Travel Nursing Housing Facebook Groups
Other options if you’re still struggling to land travel therapy housing
At this point, we've covered our most commonly used options to find housing.
If you’ve tried all of the above and are still struggling to land a place, check out these resources below:
Websites:
Google search apartment complexes and/or realtors in the area that offer short-term housing (keep in mind, these will probably be unfurnished)
Ask your facility/hospital if they have resources other travelers have used in the past to find housing in the area
Search for college housing groups on Facebook. Just type [insert college name] housing, sublets, rentals, etc. and see what comes up. There will often be affordable short-term housing options or sublets for college students (this worked for us in the L.A. area)
Choose an assignment location where you have friends/family who are willing to rent you a room
Stay in an campervan, skoolie, or RV at an RV park
Strategies to avoid getting scammed and losing money
Don’t send a security deposit online
We’ve never paid a security deposit unless we’ve:
Met the property owner and
Seen the place in person
We’ve heard way too many horror stories of people sending security deposits online through PayPal, Venmo, Zelle, etc. and never seeing their money again.
I get it – seeing the place in person first won’t always be possible for you.
If they’re dead set on wanting a security deposit to secure the unit, ask if they’re willing to Facetime to speak in person and give you a virtual tour of their place.
If they’re squirming in their reply, unwilling to get on a Facetime with you, or don’t respond, they’re probably full of sh*t.
Get an AirBnB for a week
Another option is to secure a place for your first 1-2 weeks on AirBnB, VRBO, or Zeus Living.
If we’re unable to make a stop through the city before my job starts, we’ll often rent out an AirBnB for the first week of my assignment.
Then, I can ask coworkers and patients if they know of anything and tour places locally in person before pulling the trigger.
Ask for month-to-month vs renting out 3 months at a time
Hopefully, you have a cancellation clause in your contract for at least two weeks if not a month.
But imagine this – you’re on contract for a couple of weeks and then they give you notice. Now, you’ve only received a couple weeks’ pay but you’re still responsible to pay the remaining time on your lease agreement.
This scenario has never happened to me before, but I’ve met travelers who haven’t been so lucky. You always want to be prepared.
The best way to avoid this situation is to negotiate a month-to-month lease with the property owner from the get-go.
I usually have a conversation with them and explain how travel physical therapy contracts work.
I explain:
That it’s very unlikely that I’ll be canceled. But it’s a possibility (e.g. when COVID-19 crashed the travel job market)
The cancellation clause that will allow me to give the property owner notice if I were to get cancelled (allowing them time to find another tenant without losing money)
That if I were to get canceled, I don’t want to be responsible for paying rent for the months I’ll be off working in another city
Once they understand your situation, they’ll usually work with you.
This is also when I also make sure to remind them that I have several excellent housing references that I can provide so they know that I’m trustworthy.
Important things to keep in mind when searching for short-term housing:
Property owners often prefer to rent to healthcare travelers. We are background checked and drug tested prior to every assignment, we’re generally good and respectful humans, and we make a substantial amount of money (largely due to travel therapy housing stipends) so they can count on us to pay rent each month. Flaunt your credentials when you’re messaging people. For example, I flex that I’m a traveling DOCTOR of physical therapy in my intro message. It might help them consider you over another candidate.
Emphasize that you can provide several excellent housing references from previous assignments so your past landlords can brag on you!
Document anything that’s damaged when you move in & take time-stamped before and after pics – you want proof to get that full security deposit back!
Consider renter’s insurance. This will protect you financially if anything happens to the property / if anything gets stolen. As an added bonus, some policies cover valuables if stolen from your vehicle while you’re out exploring.
Try to find furnished rentals to make life easier on yourself. You can always rent furniture if your options are limited, but this adds a layer of complexity to the fact that you already have to move every three months.
Ask your landlords if all utilities are set-up and included so you don’t get hit with a bunch of unexpected fees once you move in
If you opt for an unfurnished unit, scour Facebook Marketplace for free and cheap furniture. There are so many hidden gems on there!
If you have a pet, make sure to ask about additional pet fees (deposits, additional rent)
Consider your commute before booking a place. The last thing you want is to be commuting 1-2+ hours to/from work after a long day at work. More on that below….
Use Google Maps to scope out your commute
Did you know you can project traffic at any time of day using Google Maps?
Through most short-term housing sites, you won’t have the exact address of your housing option.
But you can usually see a pin or a general area that the housing option is located in (see image below for an example from Furnished Finder).
Once you have has this screenshot, projecting commute time is simple:
1.) Zoom in on the map to find a nearby business or cross streets to use as a pin to project your commute time.
2.) Plug the business or the cross streets into the map, then set your destination as your workplace.
Using the screenshot above ↑, I’d set my start & end points as the following:
Start point: Your potential short-term housing location – e.g. “Alliance College-Ready Middle Academy 4” (a nearby business)
OR as the S. Broadway and W 92nd Street intersection
End destination: Your workplace – e.g. Torrance Memorial Hospital
3.) Once I plug those in, Google Maps will estimate the commute time at this very moment.
4.) Scroll to the “Depart By” section and enter what time you think you’ll be leaving for work on a weekday.
And VOILA!
Now you can see an estimated commute time – including projected traffic – at that exact leave time.
See below for an example. ↓
SUPER DOPE, AmIRight?!
This feature has been such a game-changer.
Before, I had no real way to know how long my commute would be with traffic besides driving it myself.
But this gives you the opportunity to “try out” the commute without ever committing to anything.
And I know if you’re a traveler, you’ve at least got SOME degree of commitment issues. 🤣
Example post of what to say when reaching out to property owners
Hi there,
My name is Collin Johnson and I’m a traveling Doctor of Physical Therapy (yes, that was an intentional flex of the word doctor to make them subconsciously trust me).
I’ll be working a travel physical therapy contract in the area for about three months (from 8/30 to 11/27) and I’m looking for a short-term housing set-up.
I’m open to all sizes of housing, whether that’s a private unit or a room in a house (obviously, customize to what you want/need).
I travel with my wife – who works remotely from home – and our well-behaved mini goldendoodle.
We have a decked-out campervan that we’ll be out exploring in most weekends.
We are quiet, respectful, and have several excellent housing references from past travel PT assignments if you’re interested.
Please let me know if you have anything available that will fit my needs.
Thank you for your time,
Collin Johnson, PT, DPT
Doctor of Physical Therapy
[Phone Number]
[Email Address]
*BONUS: Add a picture of yourself / your travel squad with a big smile (like the one below). This will put a face to your name, catch people’s attention, and help you stand out if they have several interested parties. If you’re posting on Facebook, it will also catch peoples’ eyes as they’re scrolling through posts and help the algorithm bump you up higher in the feed.
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