Starting point
Who this guide is for.
Four kinds of medical-stay tenants make up the bulk of what we see on Furnished Unfurnished. The details vary, but the property they're looking for is nearly identical — and the traps they fall into are the same.
Travel nurse
13-week contracts, almost always furnished, almost always stipend-eligible. The single largest mid-term tenant segment nationally — and the one we see most often on Furnished Unfurnished.
Locum physician
Contracts from a single weekend through a full year. Often agency-sponsored housing, sometimes self-arranged with a stipend. Frequently traveling with family.
Traveling allied health
OT, PT, speech, radiology techs, surgical first assists. Same contract pattern as nurses; smaller agencies and more self-arranged housing.
Family near a patient
Children's hospital long-stays, cancer treatment, organ transplant recovery. Length varies wildly; almost always self-paying, often eligible for hospital-discounted housing programs.
What to filter on
The four amenities that actually matter.
Square footage matters less than you think. A 600-square-foot studio with the four details below is more livable across a 13-week assignment than a 1,200-square-foot two-bedroom missing two of them. Filter your search around these first, then add the wish-list items.
In-unit laundry — not "on-site"
After a 12-hour shift, the shared laundry room three floors down feels like another building. In-unit washer and dryer is the single highest-impact amenity for medical-stay tenants. If the listing says "on-site," it means the basement. Filter for the literal in-unit phrase.
A bedroom that gets truly dark
Day-shift recovery and night-shift sleep both need blackout-grade darkness. Look for blinds plus curtains, ideally both, and avoid bedrooms that face streetlights or hallway light. North-facing bedrooms outperform south-facing for sleepers on rotating shifts.
A real desk and a real chair
Charting, CEU coursework, and continuing education do not fit on a kitchen counter for 13 weeks. A dedicated work surface with a real chair (not a folding one) is the second-most-skipped amenity in mid-term medical stays. Confirm it from a photo, not from the amenity list.
Internet that proves itself
Telemedicine charting and CEU video lectures fall apart on under-spec internet. The listing should state the Mbps; if it doesn't, ask. 100/20 is the workable floor; 300+ is comfortable. WiFi alone is fine — you don't need ethernet — but the speed must be real.
The unit you remember from the assignment isn't the prettiest one. It's the one where you slept well, found a quiet corner to chart, and didn't have to think about laundry.
The math no one runs
Commute time, not commute distance.
A property 4 miles from the hospital but on the wrong side of rush-hour traffic can take 35 minutes; one 9 miles away on a clear corridor takes 12. Listing distance is almost meaningless. Map your commute at the actual times you work — not at noon.
| Shift | Map at this hour | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Day (7 AM–7 PM) | 6:00 AM weekday + 7:00 PM weekday | Arrive ahead of handoff; afternoon traffic is the harder direction. |
| Night (7 PM–7 AM) | 6:30 PM weekday + 7:30 AM weekday | Inbound rush slows you in; morning return-home traffic is the killer. |
| Rotating | All four times above | The worst of all four is your real commute. Pick the property accordingly. |
Where supply is reliable
Ten markets with real mid-term medical inventory.
Drawn from how Furnished Unfurnished listings perform across the past year, weighted by medical anchors (large hospital systems, VA campuses, federal medicine corridors). These markets reliably have furnished mid-term supply, not just vacation rentals repriced monthly.
- Tampa, FL
AdventHealth + Moffitt Cancer Center anchor a deep travel-nurse pipeline year-round. Strong supply in Hyde Park, Carrollwood, and the Westshore corridor.
- Houston, TX
Texas Medical Center is the largest medical complex in the world. Reliable mid-term inventory near the METRO Light Rail Red Line; Museum District and Midtown stay walkable.
- San Antonio, TX
University Health + the military medicine corridor (Brooke Army Medical Center, VA). Steady demand even in off-cycle months because of the federal anchor.
- Baltimore, MD
Johns Hopkins + the University of Maryland Medical Center. Supply concentrated in Mt. Vernon, Federal Hill, and Canton; longer commutes from the suburbs are usually a mistake.
- Minneapolis, MN
Mayo Rochester is within commute range for some assignments; M Health Fairview drives the metro pipeline. Deep mid-term supply in St. Paul.
- Washington, DC
Walter Reed + the federal medical complex. The commute to Bethesda matters more than the commute to downtown — choose the property by which hospital, not which neighborhood.
- Phoenix, AZ
Banner Health + Mayo Phoenix + the regional VA. Long summer demand from cancellation-heavy elective seasons; supply spreads from Scottsdale to Tempe.
- Charlotte, NC
Atrium Health + Novant. Strong corporate-relocation overlay, which keeps the mid-term inventory pool healthy outside of the travel-nurse cycle.
- Denver, CO
UCHealth + Children's Hospital Colorado in Aurora. Supply concentrated in Stapleton, Cherry Creek, and downtown; commute to Anschutz is the constraint.
- Nashville, TN
Vanderbilt + HCA Healthcare. The Music City overlay keeps mid-term inventory busy; book early for Q1 contracts.
What we see across medical placements
- Median contract length for travel-nurse placements.
- 13 wk
- Median monthly rent for a 1-BR near a major hospital.
- $2.4k
- Of medical-stay tenants who self-arrange (vs. agency housing).
- 78%
The money mechanics
Stipends, agencies, and how the GSA rate fits in.
Almost every traveling clinician contract gives you a choice: take agency-arranged housing (the agency handles the lease, takes their cut of your pay package), or take a tax-free housing stipend and arrange your own (you keep the difference if you spend under). The math is almost always better self-arranged — if you actually find a unit.
Stipend amounts are usually pegged to the GSA per-diem rate for the metro — the federal government's monthly lodging rate, refreshed annually. You can look up the rate for any city; it's public. Agencies that pay above-GSA are signaling a tight market; below-GSA is a signal to push back during contract negotiation.
Agency-arranged housing
Less work, lower total pay
- Agency picks the unit, signs the lease, handles utilities.
- You move in. Often furnished + basics included.
- Cost is bundled into your contract — you don't see line items.
- Best for: first contract, tight market, family logistics.
Self-arranged + stipend
More work, more upside
- You find the unit, sign the lease, take the stipend tax-free.
- Keep the delta between stipend and actual rent (usually $400–$1,200/month).
- Requires confirming a unit before contract start — typically 30+ days out.
- Best for: repeat assignments in the same market, or a deep market with surplus inventory.
Week one
A move-in checklist for the assignment ahead.
Five small actions in week one that prevent the friction patterns we hear about most often.
- Confirm parking before signing — covered vs uncovered, fee per month, and how late-shift parking works after 10 PM.
- Test the internet speed in the actual unit (Speedtest, two runs, morning + evening) within the first week.
- Photo-document every room including any existing wear so the security deposit conversation later goes well.
- Locate the building's 24/7 emergency contact and put it in your phone before your first night shift.
- Set up a separate folder in your email for rent receipts, utility bills, and the lease — your tax-prep self will thank you.
Frequently asked
Questions from the road.
- Do I have to use my agency's housing department?
- No. Almost every travel nurse contract gives you a choice: take agency-arranged housing (they take a cut) or take a tax-free housing stipend and arrange your own. Self-arranged is almost always financially better if the destination has real mid-term inventory, but it requires the discipline to actually find a unit before your start date.
- How much under the stipend should I aim to spend?
- Stipends are usually set to the GSA per-diem rate for the metro. The financially-optimal target is 70–85% of the stipend (you keep the difference tax-free), but the experience-optimal target depends on the city. In a tight market like Boston or NYC, expect to pay 95–110% of the stipend for something acceptable. In a deeper market like Houston or Phoenix, 65–75% of the stipend often gets a great place.
- Do landlords accept agency letters of guarantee?
- Most do. The letter from the agency stating the contract length and stipend amount serves the same function as a pay stub plus income verification for a traditional rental. Landlords who specialize in mid-term medical tenants accept these routinely; landlords new to the segment may not — which is why filtering for furnished mid-term listings (not Airbnb monthly conversions) matters.
- What if my contract gets canceled mid-stay?
- A real mid-term lease usually has a 30-day notice clause. That's the canonical mechanic for handling agency cancellations. Read the lease before signing for that specific clause — if it requires 60+ days notice or has an early-termination penalty, negotiate it down or pick a different property.
- Is on-site parking really worth the premium?
- Yes, on night shift. The difference between guaranteed covered parking at 1 AM and circling for street parking at 1 AM is the difference between getting six hours of sleep and four. Worth $75–$150/month at most assignments.