Travel Nursing with a Partner: What Your Partner Needs to Know to Make it Work
Travel nursing can be exciting and fun. It can be a great way to explore new places and get new experiences along the way. But with so much travel involved, is it possible to do when you’re in a relationship? If you’re going to be traveling more often than not, can you sustain a healthy relationship at the same time? We’re going to take a look at some things you should know about exactly that.
Your Type of Partner
When it comes time to sign up for your next travel nursing assignment you’ll need to know what kind of partner you have. Do you have the type of partner who wants to travel with you? Or the type of partner who is going to stay behind when you’re traveling?
The Partner Who Travels
The first option is a partner who travels with you when you travel. This can be extremely difficult, but it’s possible. In fact, there are a few different ways that this can work.
- Your partner doesn’t need to work.
If you have a partner who doesn’t need to work, either because of another type of income or because they are unable to work or even if your income covers all of the expenses for both of you, it could be much easier for them to travel with you.
This option means that wherever you go your partner can come along and you don’t really need to worry about where you’re going to go or how long you’re going to be there. This makes it quite easy for you and your partner to continue your relationship while also allowing you to pursue your plans for travel nursing.
- Your partner works from home.
There are a number of different ‘work from home’ style jobs that might allow your partner to travel with you. Those who work entirely online or who are only expected to go to the office rarely or infrequently may be able to follow you while you are a travel nurse.
Working from home generally means that they can work from anywhere they are as long as they have a good internet connection. This also affords you and your partner the most freedom to travel with your job while also allowing them to bring in an income.
The Partner Who Stays Behind
This is where things are going to get a little more difficult, because if your partner is not traveling with you there could be long stretches of time where you don’t see each other. That’s not to say that it can’t be done, but it’s going to require a great deal more effort on both of your parts to make it happen.
When your partner stays behind it means that you and them are going to need a plan in place. Being apart for extended periods of time is difficult for any relationship. It’s harder still if you have children that you are spending time away from. But we don’t mean to scare you into thinking it’s never going to work.
If your partner is staying behind while you are traveling it’s important to schedule in time with each other. During an assignment this might mean scheduling Zoom dates or phone calls. Or you might be close enough to home that you could go home on a day off. The important thing is to make sure you maintain strong communication with your partner, sharing the normal day-to-day things and definitely reaching out to one another for the bigger things.
It can also be important to schedule downtime between assignments, especially longer ones so that you can return home or your partner can visit and you can spend time together in the same physical space. This allows you to feel more connected, to go on actual dates and to simply experience being together in a more traditional sense.
While being physically in the same location all the time is not a requirement of a relationship, it is important to have at least some time physically together. After all, physical contact with another person is actually considered one of only a few things that are actually required for a human being to grow and thrive.
Finding a Partner with Travel Nursing
While we’re at it talking about how you can make things work with an existing relationship, it’s also important to look at creating new relationships. Because maybe you’re not currently in a relationship but you’d like to be. Or maybe something just ‘comes up’ along the way.
The good news is that it’s absolutely possible to find a partner while working, even if you’re a travel nurse and you’re spending only short amounts of time in one location.
Online Dating
Meeting someone online is one way that you could find a partner even when you’re working as a travel nurse. Because this method of dating (at least in the meeting and ‘getting to know you stage’) is carried out entirely online you don’t have to be in any specific location.
This method makes it easier for you to find someone that you might never have met any other way. Now, once you get to the point of wanting to actually meet that person in real life it can be a little more difficult, but you’ll have time to get to know them and decide if they’re a good fit without having to worry about your travel in the process.
Finding Someone Local
This can be more difficult because you don’t have much of a ‘local’ to choose from. If you’re traveling a lot you might have a hard time even getting to know someone. Meeting someone at work might be the easiest option but keep in mind that you won’t be in one location for very long at a time.
What this means is you’re going to be carrying on a long-distance relationship when you move on again. But again, long distance relationships require work but can still be a lot of fun and just as fulfilling as a relationship where you’re in the same physical area all the time.
What You Need to Do
So, what are you going to do if you have a relationship or want to find a relationship while travel nursing? You need to think about how important that relationship is to you. If it’s important then you’ll need to put in the effort and the time to spend as much time with your partner as you can. And you’ll spend as much time trying to connect with them as you can as well.
When it comes down to it, having any kind of relationship is difficult. But when you’re travel nursing it means you’re not in one location for very long and that makes things even more difficult. Even still, make sure you’re not ignoring the possibilities and all of the great experiences that you and your partner can still have.
Even when things get difficult you and your partner can enjoy a strong, healthy, happy relationship. As long as both of you are willing to do what you can to make it work.
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