Thirteen weeks is the standard travel contract, though assignments run anywhere from eight to twenty six depending on what the unit needs. For nurses it is usually three twelve hour shifts a week. That shape matters for housing, because it means you are not commuting five days out of seven, but the days you do commute are long ones with the drive at both ends.
Stipend or provided housing
Agencies handle housing one of two ways. Either they arrange it for you, or they pay you a stipend and the booking is yours to make. The stipend route gives you the choice of where you live, which is the whole point, but it also means you are the one who has to find something that is furnished, available for exactly your dates, and not a scam.
Stipends are capped by federal per diem rates for the assignment's zip code, and they are paid tax free only if you meet the IRS requirements for maintaining a tax home. That part is worth a conversation with someone who does travel nurse taxes rather than a forum thread.
Housing figures are usually locked in when you sign the contract, so a stipend that looked comfortable in one city may not stretch the same way in another. Check it before you sign, not after.
Work out the commute first
Cleveland's three big systems are not in the same place. Cleveland Clinic's main campus is at 9500 Euclid Avenue and University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center is at 11100 Euclid, both in University Circle on the east side. MetroHealth's main campus is at 2500 MetroHealth Drive, on the west side. A home that is ten minutes from one can be twenty five from another.
That is why each of our hospital pages lists the homes in order of drive time rather than alphabetically. If you are working nights, the difference between a fifteen minute drive and a thirty minute one is roughly two hours a week of your life, every week, for three months.
Assume the assignment might extend
Extensions are common, usually for another thirteen weeks, and they tend to be offered late. If your housing cannot extend, you end up moving in the middle of a contract, which is the worst possible time to be packing boxes.
Ask before you book whether the place can hold you past the original end date. We would rather know in advance that an extension is likely, because it changes what we can promise.
What to check is actually included
- A real kitchen rather than a microwave and a bar fridge, because eating out after every shift gets old and expensive
- Off-street parking, which matters more than people expect when you are arriving home at midnight
- Wi-Fi that is already on, not something you have to set up in week one
- Linens and towels, so you are not buying a set you will abandon in April
- Who you call when something breaks, and whether they answer at the weekend
Ours are whole houses across five Cleveland neighborhoods, let for nights, for months, or for the length of a contract. Send your dates through the quote form and we will tell you what is actually free, or call us on (216) 306-4821, 8am to 9pm, seven days.