Housing for travel therapists

How the setting changes where you should live

Therapy travel jobs cover more settings than most nursing jobs, and where you'll work each day decides where you should look.

• Acute care and inpatient rehab. You report to one hospital, so search within a few miles of it. Respiratory therapists on hospital contracts are in the same position, often with 12-hour shifts and nights.
• Skilled nursing and outpatient clinics. The building usually isn't a hospital. Search by city, or use the nearest hospital as an anchor and widen the radius.
• Home health. You'll drive to patients across a territory. Live near the middle of it, with easy parking and quick access to the main roads.
• Schools. School-based contracts for SLPs, OTs and PTs often follow the school calendar, so you may need housing for most of an academic year rather than 13 weeks. Ask hosts about longer terms and what happens over winter and spring breaks.

Searching near your facility

You can search any US city, or choose from 5,384 hospitals in CMS data and set a radius from 5 to 50 miles. The map shows listings and hospitals together. Filter by move-in date, price, bedrooms, pets, furnished and property type, save the homes you like, and save a search so you get an email when something new comes up. Before you sign, check the drive at the hours you'll actually work, and for home health, from the home to the far edge of your territory.

What to ask a host

• Is it furnished down to linens, towels and cookware, or only the big pieces?
• Are utilities and Wi-Fi included? If you'll finish documentation at home, ask about internet speed and whether there's a desk or table to work at.
• Where do I park, and is there room for a car I'll use every day?
• Can the start date move a few days if credentialing runs late?
• What happens if the contract is extended, or ends early?
• If pets are allowed, what are the fees and deposit?

Hosts list availability dates and a minimum stay, 30 nights by default, so filter by your move-in date first.

Stipends work the same way for therapists

Travel therapy agencies often pay a housing stipend the way nursing agencies do, and the IRS rules behind a tax-free stipend (a real tax home, duplicated living expenses, a temporary assignment) don't depend on your profession. Read how housing stipends work, and check the current GSA lodging rate for your area with the stipend calculator before you set a price filter. The guides are written with nurses in mind, but the housing and tax basics carry over.

Privacy and payments

Hosts don't see your email address, and you get a home's exact street address once you've arranged it with the host. Messages asking for wire transfers, gift cards, crypto or similar payment show a scam warning, and you can report or block a host. Med Pro Housing doesn't process rent or deposits; you settle those with the host directly, ideally after a signed lease. You can verify your PT, OT, SLP or RT license so hosts see a verified badge on your inquiries.

To start, search by hospital or city. The 13-week contract housing guide has a move-in checklist that works for therapy contracts too.