This weekend we will be leaving Santa Monica for life on the beach a little further north, and I must say that just as difficult actually leaving Springfield was, leaving Santa Monica feels similar.
Granted, I have family and long time friends in Springfield that can never be replaced. Yet, life in Santa Monica has been wonderful, and friends have been made as well.
I suppose the one thing I am getting at, is that I have been learning how to prepare for the next assignment and the next adventure, but wasn't really prepared for the departures and the farewells.
When we left Springfield after living there for over twenty years I was overwhelmed in the grandness and enormity of downsizing, leaving my grown children, and preparing for a radical change in life. I remember in the final days before our departure I would drive about the town and feel as though I already didn't belong, as if I were a visitor.
This time in leaving Santa Monica; it's the subtleties that overwhelm me. The idea that we are saying goodbye so soon, and lack time to truly gain an appreciation for how beautiful it is here.
This temporary moment of bittersweet doesn't deter me from our dream of visiting other locations, yet I have come to realize; in my planning of new destinations and distant arrivals; to savor the farewells, and goodbyes.
That is the purpose of this blog; to go beyond sharing practical tools of travel, but also reveal experiences Mary and I have along the way in order to help you expect what lies ahead for your future travels as well.
"How will it feel", I ask Mary, "if we end up leaving pieces of us with every place we visit?" "How long before we feel that there is not enough of us left?"
"I suppose", answers Mary, " instead of just leaving peaces behind; we can take pieces with us".
Where in the world is Gary?
Yesterday I was at a bank with Molly and Mary. We had difficulty starting a bank account for Molly online so were there in person at the banker's desk getting this done before Molly leaves in the next couple of weeks.
"I'll need proof of your address." the banker asks.
We offer him Molly's driver license, her passport, social security card, and even blood sample but we were unable to show anything with a mailing address. The banker insisted that we produce some evidence of Molly living at an address and we had none.
I sat back in my chair and realized the same went for me!
My mailing address is a mailbox at a UPS store, my legal residence doesn't even have a mailbox on the outside and no one knows my current address in California. If they did they wouldn't know it in a few weeks as I'll be moving again. I realized that if someone was trying to actually find me, they would have a time of it.
With this in mind, I thought it might be good advice to pass along that before you begin your travels be sure that personal business that may require proof of residence is taken care of.
That can be especially so for your children, if you bring them along.
I suggest having some piece of mail sent to them that can be offered up as proof of residence, and keep it filed for future reference.
"I'll need proof of your address." the banker asks.
We offer him Molly's driver license, her passport, social security card, and even blood sample but we were unable to show anything with a mailing address. The banker insisted that we produce some evidence of Molly living at an address and we had none.
I sat back in my chair and realized the same went for me!
My mailing address is a mailbox at a UPS store, my legal residence doesn't even have a mailbox on the outside and no one knows my current address in California. If they did they wouldn't know it in a few weeks as I'll be moving again. I realized that if someone was trying to actually find me, they would have a time of it.
With this in mind, I thought it might be good advice to pass along that before you begin your travels be sure that personal business that may require proof of residence is taken care of.
That can be especially so for your children, if you bring them along.
I suggest having some piece of mail sent to them that can be offered up as proof of residence, and keep it filed for future reference.
Choosing a Travel Company
Probably the most frequent question new travel nurses ask is; "What travel company should I use?"
I suppose the multitude of companies available contributes to this, and believe me, there are tons of them. After filling out and submitting an online application you will be swamped with phone calls.
Compound the idea that you are leaving the safety and familiarity of home to put yourself at risk in an unfamiliar location, with a company that is new to you does not help alleviate the first time fear.
When I traveled half way across the country with my wife Mary and daughter soon to follow and didn't even have my CA state nursing license yet, I certainly felt some fear.
I remember while waiting in the California license office was a woman from South Carolina who followed instructions from her recruiter yet still didn't have the required papers, and now she was over 800 miles from home and desperately seeking answers from this same recruiter. Not a position you want to find your self in!
OK so what do you do?
First off, I must admit that I enjoy receiving the calls from recruiters. I am easy to talk with and comfortable making conversation. During the call I make a point to learn as much as I can from our conversation.
So what if you are thinking, "Great for you Gary, but I don't talk so easy on the phone and not sure what to ask".
Keep a paper with a list of items important to you handy (an earlier post provides ideas), and review your list with the recruiter. Check off how the company stacks up with those items that are important to you.
Here are just a few quick questions again for you to review.
First time travel nurses often visit forums as a source to check out other opinions and past experiences with different travel companies.
Here I must provide a word of warning.
Visiting these sites rarely relieves anxiety but rather increases the mood of paranoia. They are full of an "us verses them" mentality and rarely will you find truly useful information when it comes to choosing a travel company. You will however get an eyeful of warnings and "Do Not Use This Company" edicts.
These forums are soapboxes inhabited by complainers full of bad experiences hoping to help you avoid similar traps and pitfalls, but rarely offer constructive information.
When I speak with a recruiter I make a point to give them an email address I have set up to receive their information and ask them to send me the info on the topics we have discussed.
This saves me the time I would otherwise spend wading through various company websites that mostly are just set up in order to garner my personal information.
After you have used your list to narrow your choices down to just a couple of companies you may find that your decision is not so difficult after all. I have noticed that more experienced travelers don't always share the same anxiety as the new ones.
Perhaps because they realize their choice isn't for a life time but for only 13 weeks.
I suppose the multitude of companies available contributes to this, and believe me, there are tons of them. After filling out and submitting an online application you will be swamped with phone calls.
Compound the idea that you are leaving the safety and familiarity of home to put yourself at risk in an unfamiliar location, with a company that is new to you does not help alleviate the first time fear.
When I traveled half way across the country with my wife Mary and daughter soon to follow and didn't even have my CA state nursing license yet, I certainly felt some fear.
I remember while waiting in the California license office was a woman from South Carolina who followed instructions from her recruiter yet still didn't have the required papers, and now she was over 800 miles from home and desperately seeking answers from this same recruiter. Not a position you want to find your self in!
OK so what do you do?
First off, I must admit that I enjoy receiving the calls from recruiters. I am easy to talk with and comfortable making conversation. During the call I make a point to learn as much as I can from our conversation.
So what if you are thinking, "Great for you Gary, but I don't talk so easy on the phone and not sure what to ask".
Keep a paper with a list of items important to you handy (an earlier post provides ideas), and review your list with the recruiter. Check off how the company stacks up with those items that are important to you.
Here are just a few quick questions again for you to review.
- Do you have a location preference?
- How much pay do you expect?
- Is insurance important to you?
- What housing arrangements do you expect?
- Is a retirement package important?
First time travel nurses often visit forums as a source to check out other opinions and past experiences with different travel companies.
Here I must provide a word of warning.
Visiting these sites rarely relieves anxiety but rather increases the mood of paranoia. They are full of an "us verses them" mentality and rarely will you find truly useful information when it comes to choosing a travel company. You will however get an eyeful of warnings and "Do Not Use This Company" edicts.
These forums are soapboxes inhabited by complainers full of bad experiences hoping to help you avoid similar traps and pitfalls, but rarely offer constructive information.
When I speak with a recruiter I make a point to give them an email address I have set up to receive their information and ask them to send me the info on the topics we have discussed.
This saves me the time I would otherwise spend wading through various company websites that mostly are just set up in order to garner my personal information.
After you have used your list to narrow your choices down to just a couple of companies you may find that your decision is not so difficult after all. I have noticed that more experienced travelers don't always share the same anxiety as the new ones.
Perhaps because they realize their choice isn't for a life time but for only 13 weeks.
Staying Put; Sorta
View of beach from our new home.This past year I have gotten married, managed to build a system to run my rental properties while traveling the country, get my youngest daughter graduated from High School, move from a 3,600 sq.ft. home into a 900 sq.ft. home then pack my bags for a move to California and have my daughter follow us in a friend's tractor-trailer rig a couple of weeks later. Start a new job complete with orientation, oh and let's not forget my last minute effort to pick up a California nursing license.
I'm tired!
So rather than move to another job which means another orientation, I have decided to stay put working in the Valley area of L.A., but I won't be staying in Santa Monica. Mary and I decided to look for a new housing arrangement in order to save some money as housing is hugely expensive in Santa Monica and then we could apply that savings toward our coming months in Hawaii.
First we cleared it with our current travel company that we were wanting to receive a stipend rather than them furnish the housing. We spent one day checking out local corporate housing but for the most part found that expensive as well.
In the mean time we were working www.craigslist.org . This is a great site to visit for housing accommodations as well as any other trade or purchase need you might have in an urban area. If you haven't yet checked it out, do so.
This is where Dave comes into the story. Dave is a retired policeman who has traveled across the pacific regions as a master diver, he also happens to own a beautiful home across the street from the beach in Ventura County. What's more is that the total cost for the home will be a savings of up to $2000 over our three remaining months in California. Money that hopefully will go a long ways in Hawaii.
The drive to and from work will be easier than dealing with L.A. traffic and the lifestyle will be more low key than Santa Monica especially during the off season allowing Mary and I to enjoy each others company.
Several travel companies have been calling to check up on my plans and I honestly enjoy talking with them. I explain my intentions to travel to Hawaii the first of the year and glean little bits of helpful info from them.
As for which travel company I will use determines first on who can get me the ideal assignment locale, as I prefer Oahu. What other methods will I use to pick a travel company. Well... that's for another post.
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