I am Headed to a city located in The Great Plains, but the state itself isn’t considered a Plains state! The city is known to be the death place of Jesse James and the birth place of Eminem. It is a college town of 75,000 people.
Any guesses on where I am headed next??
Saint Joseph, Missouri
About 30 minutes north of Kansas City, Saint Joseph is a ”small” town located along the Missouri River. Although not the grand adventure location we all dream about, but with plenty of bike trails and tons of disc golf courses near by, I am sure I will be able to keep myself busy during this 13 weeks contract!
So, why did I choose this location? I’m going to elaborate a little more on what is important to me and why!
- Low cost of living- cost of living is directly reflected in RV park prices! For some reason, RV parks have started to match their Monthly rent to the average rent cost of apartments. Yes, RV parks are starting to charge upwards of 900-1,200$ a month in some cities just to park an RV!! If you look at high tourist areas like Coastal areas, near National Parks, or cities like Denver or Salt Lake City, you can expect to pay 1,500+ a month. This too is a huge reason why I stick to small city contracts! For Saint Joseph, my RV park is the same as I paid in Farmington, NM and Tyler, Texas! I really don’t like having to work to live and making sure that I can keep my cost of living low, means I can save more while spending less.
- Less than 100k population! Now, I have broken this rule more times than not…. But I honestly do try to find small city contracts! Saint George, Utah… Asheville, NC… Farmington, NM… Tyler, Tx (barely above 100K)… I found the size of these cities to be much more manageable for me! I didn’t have to worry about traffic getting to and from work, I felt more comfortable getting out and about, and I learn the city and feel familiar with it by the time the contract is over!
- Appropriate Call requirements- I have learned that being a travel nurse means I am a target for the worst schedule and heavy call requirements. There is nothing worse than being new to a hospital and having to work alone, in the middle of the night, with very limited resources. Every hospital is different, every charting system is different, and every patient is different… you put all of this together during a 2am emergency case and it is honestly the scariest scenario you can put me in! Most hospitals run call the same way with only 1 nurse… Saint George, Utah was the first hospital that I ever worked at that did 2 nurse call! It makes a HUGE difference in patient safety! Saint Joseph, MO will be my second contract that does 2 nurse call! Saint Joseph also does 3-4 nurse call on the weekends which is AWESOME!! This contract will have 1 weekday every week and 1 weekend every month requirements, which is a lot, but knowing that I am never alone and always have someone to help make the process smoother is worth the high call demands.
- Pay Package- We all know Travel Nurses make more than Staff nurses… the amount we get paid varies greatly between specialties, location, and need…. I would say Endoscopy is not a high demand field compared to others. Endoscopy pay is nowhere near the 10k a week pay that the government was bashing last year while they were trying to put a cap on nursing pay and raises!! That kind of money is usually seen in specialty ICUs and ER’s! On overage, I get paid about the same, maybe 5 dollars more than staff nurses these days, but I also get paid a housing and food stipend. The amount allotted for stipends is dependent on the State and what the limit the Government has set. With the hourly pay plus the stipends, I want to feel like I am making enough money that being away from home base and family is worth it! Saint Joseph will technically be my second highest paying contract, keeping in mind my pay vs my cost of living expenses.
This contract/location also had some added bonuses.
- RV park 2.5 miles from the hospital! Now, this may seem weird but hear me out… While in Farmington, NM, I walked home from work nearly every day!! I lived only 2 miles from the hospital and I loved being able to get a little exercise, clear my head, and breath the crisp fresh air of those winter afternoons! Remember that I have a 22ft F350 mammoth of a truck and driving it, parking it is not easy! Most parking decks at hospitals can not even accommodated the 7 ft height and with a 20 point turning radius, I need a city block to turn around. If I can drive less and walk/bike more, it’s a huge bonus! Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE my truck and it allows me to live the RV lifestyle with more freedom… It is just not a city daily driver!
- 50+ miles of Bike/Walking paths in and around the city! Not only for the reason listed above but also Watson! Having a nice walkway to take Watson to get a little outdoor time is huge!
- The Weather- We have been frying toasty here in east Texas all summer! We are ready for FALL and we will walk right into it when we get to Missouri. It will get cold during this contract, but we survived high desert New Mexico and its 4 degree mornings for 13 weeks! With the new rig that has more insolation, the new RV skirt we just picked up in South Dakota and everything we learned during or frozen desert days in New Mexico… I am actually excited to get out of this 105 degree Texas heat! During this contract, we should see an actual fall season and maybe even early winter snow but not plummet in temperature! We hope to be on our way home before their deep freeze sets in.
And that’s why I chose the completely obscure and totally unexpected location of Saint Joseph, Missouri! I do expect this contract to be more of a ”working” location and less of an ”adventure” location, but like always, I will make the most out of it! Mountain biking, disc golfing, exploring nearby cities. Who knows, maybe I will find those hidden treasures that will make this location one for the books!
Yesterday, I signed my official written contract and am now waiting for my onboarding coach to reach out. Keep following along as I prepare for my 13 week travel nurse adventure in Saint Joseph, MO.
