"The minute I started working with Health Force, before I even accepted an assignment, I knew this was going to be a match. They were friendly and sounded like people who loved their jobs... but they were also completely straight-forward."

You may love your job and the work environment is great and you love the area and the pay is great. Then why move?

There many reasons people travel or combinations of reasons. Some people see the need for change to feel alive and see Travel Nursing as a chance to do that. Every decision has risks.

Before I left I did a 12 month Leave of Absence as a back up in case I wanted to come back immediately or before the 12 months was up. Most hospitals offer that option . Some Managers welcome you back with open arms but don't expect it everywhere in reality. In my case it was obvious I was going into Travel Nursing because I had been talking about it for years. Some places will do an LOA but you are not guaranteed the same job.

Some people Travel for the MONEY and you can make Mucho Dinero especially if you go to the highest paying states and work 48hr plus work weeks. Not for me I do fine with 36-40/wk.

Some people Travel for opportunities to work in prestigious facilities or in a part of the country they always wanted to be.

Traveling does give you chance to find a facility you like while getting paid to do it rather than spending your hard earned money to travel to an area to interview for a job you may not like.

As a Traveler you have a guaranteed job to a degree and if after the contract you don't like it you can go home or somewhere else.

-Some people Travel for the clinical variety or career opportunities they don't have back at home.

-Some people Travel to get away from home or they are burned out where they are working now.

-Some people want to find themselves and it does teach a lot about yourself.

Another reason to Travel is you can take long vacations between assignments if you want to. I was off between my second and third assignment for 6 months. I never could have done that in my permanent job. Although I probably won't do that again for a long time.

You have more flexibility to take vacations when you want and how long you want to. You also have the money to afford a vacation or a cruise.

Some Travelers blow their money and that is their choice.

Some people quit Traveling and tell others it pays well but the money is soon gone, well that is their choice too.

Some people refuse to travel because there is no pension plan. Well invest your money with all the extra you make in a 401K, Real Estate, Stocks etc etc. . I rolled my lump sum pension into an IRA that I received from my permanent hospital. For 6.5 years work it was only $5500, less than $1000 a year and less than 50 cents per hour

Also here is another way to think about Travel Nursing. Lets say you stayed in your permanent job until you retired at 65-70 yrs old and live off your meager retirement pension, social security, and investments. You won't have much to Travel on, you may not be in condition to Travel depending on how well you take care of yourself

As Traveler I can Travel the country and the world and get paid to do it while I'm young. I think people get too wrapped up in their tenure on the job and their pension and don't really break down the numbers and explore the real reason they don't want to Travel: FEAR of the Unknown.

That is just one way to look at it. I certainly do not want to put down people who work and live in the same place all their lives and are happy in there jobs and lives.

I just want to make you think. I want you to realize that staying where you are in life is a decision as well even though it requires no change. You should put careful soul searching thought in that decision just as you would into the decision to Travel.

Some Travelers take permanent jobs and then go back to Traveling later or back and forth.

Most Travelers I talk to love Travel Nursing even despite some bad experiences. I may quit one day myself but I doubt it at this point. I will never regret having Traveled though. Whatever you do be sure you know why you are doing it in your heart. Question yourself always.