Meet Landing’s Travel Nurses: Tara Hodskins

By Landing | May 6, 2022

Happy Nurse’s Week! We’re thrilled to have the opportunity to share the stories of the traveling nurses who are currently living with Landing and taking advantage of the freedom our furnished apartments and flexible leases afford them as they travel from contract to contract.

Tara was kind enough to sit down with us to talk about her journey with travel nursing, what a day in her life typically looks like, and how she found housing with Landing:

Tell us a bit about yourself!

My name is Tara, and I have been a travel nurse for about a year now. I travel with my husband, who works remotely, and our two dogs. Right now, I’m in between contracts and visiting family in Kentucky, but before this, I was at a hospital in Chicago, and after this, I’m headed to a small town in Indiana. We lived with Landing for about six months during a contract in Lexington, Kentucky.

Throughout my career, I was always aware travel nursing was an option. Travel nurses make more than staff nurses, and so it was always an opportunity that sounded nice. For one, you get a pay bump, and two, you get to travel and do things on your day off and not just be stuck in the same area all the time. Then, when COVID first happened, my husband’s job transitioned to exclusively remote work, and so we thought, “Why not do it now?”

What has your experience been like finding housing as a travel nurse?

Housing is probably the most stressful part of travel nursing. Short-term places are hard to find, and furnished places are even harder to find. When you move every three months, which is a standard travel nursing contract, you’re not going to move your furniture from state to state. Before Landing, we were primarily staying in vacation rentals or just calling apartment rentals to ask about short-term leases or the penalty for breaking a lease, which is a weird way to start a relationship with a complex. We’ve also had to use furniture rental companies in a pinch. Landing having everything in a centralized location is really helpful.

We always liken finding travel nurse contracts and housing to throwing spaghetti against a wall. Typically, I interview one day, get an offer the next day, and then have 24 to 48 hours to either say yes or no. So we spend every spare second in those 24 to 48 hours Googling and calling places. Luckily, my husband likes spreadsheets, so that’s his department!

What does a day in your life look like?

On days are easy because I’m working 12- to 13-hour shifts. I get up, go to work, do nurse things, then come home. I don’t have time to do much else. On off days, we try to focus on making the most of any location we’re in, even if we’re in a small town visiting family or not in typical tourist destinations.

When you know you’re only going to be in one location for a short amount of time, it forces you to go out and do things. In all of our cities, we typically keep a list on the fridge of things we want to work our way through, whether it’s a new restaurant, hiking trail, or museum. We just have to plan around my husband, who works a typical 8:00 to 5:00, because, you know, adult responsibilities.

How did you come to start living with Landing?

We had originally booked somewhere else and we found out that our housing fell through while I was on vacation. I called someone at Landing, and I’m pretty sure I booked our stay in Lexington from a beach in Mississippi.

We met with a Landing host, which was different than our experiences with other companies. It was helpful to get in and have the little things already thought of and stocked. Our unit was on a fourth-floor walkup, so we really appreciated that our host provided us with three huge bottles of water. There were also some random chips my husband was quite a fan of!

While we lived with Landing, it was nice having a singular point of contact who we could call if things went wrong. It takes an extra mental load off a little bit. My next contract is in an area without any Landings, so we have to go through an apartment agency, set up all of our utilities on our own, and rent our furniture through a different company. The more people you factor in, the more complicated it gets.

I’m glad to know Landing is there as an option. When I’m deciding whether to submit to a hospital, I’ll pull up Landing’s app to see if it has a footprint there.

Looking for travel nurse housing?

If you’re a travel nurse looking for somewhere to live during your contract, Landing offers fully furnished apartments in over 375 cities throughout the U.S., all with flexible lease terms that start at 30-day stays. Two weeks’ notice is all you need to move to your new home within the Landing network. Learn more about what a Landing membership can do for you, and browse our apartments today!

Interested in learning more about the other travel nurses living with Landing? Check out their stories here!

Landing

Ted may be the world's slowest typist and struggle to hold a pen, but he has mastered how to pursue a more flexible lifestyle throughout his airborne adventures around the U.S. Whether you're looking for more information before migrating to a new city or want to find an easier way to rent a nest—erm, apartment—Ted will always be here to share his best advice for where to live and how to thrive.