How To Make Friends While Travel Nursing
Tips, Travel

Making friends as a Travel Nurse makes each assignment more rewarding.

One of the most common fears among Travel Nurses is that they will be without friends. Do you worry about leaving your current friends behind? Do you worry about trying to make new friends in a new city?

Constantly moving is a great way to see different parts of the country, but it can also be lonely at times. Connecting with people while you’re out on the road is easier than you might imagine. You just need to know how to go about it.

Today’s technology has made it very simple to meet people in a new city, and some of these apps were designed specifically for Travel Nurses. If that’s not your style, you can still opt for the old-fashioned way of making friends. In this post we’ll cover some ways for you to avoid loneliness while you’re on assignment.

Facebook groups for Travel Nurses

There are many ways to take advantage of social networking to meet up with new friends, and you can even get started before you head to your assignment!

Gypsy Nurse’s Travel Nurse Network is a group on Facebook with over 78,000 Nurses across the country. Travel Nursing Newbies (14,000+ members) offers advice to new Nurses, and Travel Nurse Housing helps connect Nurses with places to stay.

These networks feature thousands of Nurses. They are a great way to find Nurses who may work at the facility you’re heading to, or at least in the same city.

Apps for meeting new people

There’s an app for everything these days. That includes apps for networking and socializing with other Nurses.

Code Happy

Code Happy is another app that allows you to connect with other Nurses. Here you can find support, vent when you have a bad day, and make some new friends in the process.

Nextdoor

Nextdoor is a neighborhood-centric app. Based on where you live, you’re placed in an online community with your neighbors. Nextdoor is a perfect way to find out more information about your neighborhood and things to do there, and it’s an easy way to meet new people.

Supper Club

Supper Club is a meetup app with food at its center. You can host dinners at your home, or meet up for dinner to make new friends in your new city.

Meet My Dog

Traveling with a dog? Meet My Dog is a social app for you and your pooch. Meet up with fellow dog lovers in your area.

The old-fashioned way

Don’t ignore the people you’re around every day. Try to make friends with your coworkers. Hospital drama can sometimes interfere with this, but you’re bound to find someone to get along with.

Once you’re settled into your new place, consider throwing a house-warming party. Invite your coworkers, but invite some of your neighbors as well.

Make regular trips to the local coffee shop, art gallery or other places you might find a like-minded friend.

Making friends the old-fashioned way is easier for some Nurses than others. It all depends on your personality. If introducing yourself to a stranger isn’t really your thing, you can use some of the tech options above.

Need some more inspiration?

Here are a few other places you can find advice on making friends in a new city:

Have a good story about making friends on the road?

We’d love to hear it. Help keep your fellow Travel Nurses from becoming lonely. In the comments below, share some ways that you’ve made new friends when new to an assignment.