When my husband and I got married we decided we wanted to live near extended family so we (and our children) could remain close to them. The only problem was that my parents lived in Georgia, and his lived in Utah… so we had to pick. We chose Georgia.
After our son turned one, we decided we wanted to spend some time “out west” to let him get to know his grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins that live out there better, and to enjoy the sites. We didn’t have a whole lot of money with my husband in school so we knew that one of us would have to work if we wanted to stay for the whole summer.
That is where travel nursing helped out. My husband was not going to be in school for the summer, so we planned for him to stay home with our son while I worked. Most of the hospitals there wanted me to work three twelve hour shifts per week (which is what I preferred anyways). I had the choice of working either an 8 or 12 week assignment. We chose the 8 week one so we could have one month off to vacation. There were so many things to do out there that we enjoy (i.e. hiking, camping, rafting, and biking). All our travel (relocation) expenses were reimbursed (tax-free). We received a monthly housing stipend which was just an added bonus since we stayed with family. We ended-up making $12,080 in two months! Now try and beat that for a career! Now that my son is almost five, we often reflect back on that summer in Utah. What a great time we had, and how grateful I am that I chose nursing as a career.