Traveling NP

I know I have been MIA in the last several months. I think it is time to give a life update. Once I returned from my European/Moroccan travels last summer, I ended up having to return to Europe several more times for personal reasons. This meant flying roundtrip to Europe twice after already spending 3 months of full-time travel. As a result, by the time I returned to Miami at the end of October, I was exhausted from all of the travel. For the first time in my life, I could honestly say I did not want to travel in the near future.

Since we agreed to settle down in Miami for 1 year, we had to search for a place to live. I was surprised by the high cost of rent. It was easily more than $3000 for a 1-bedroom apartment. Most of them seemed too small for me for 2 people to live in. I am fine living in small places such as in Europe temporarily. But as a permanent place, I wanted it to be spacious and have enough closet and kitchen space. We explored different areas but eventually decided on a place that is close to my family but conveniently by the metro, for my husband to have easy access to downtown. We got a more affordable price since we moved in during December which is off-season. It took additional time to get the place furnished as well.

Additionally, after 7 years of not having a car, I went car shopping. I have always been a car enthusiast and had my eye on the Porsche Macan SUV. After test driving the different versions of the Macan (Sport, GTS, regular), I was very disappointed. The car didn’t drive that great for the price tag. In fact, the Mercedes AMG was way faster and sportier for significantly less. I don’t like big SUVs. I really enjoyed the Mercedes glc300 AMG. It was a perfect size and speed for me. However, I would be sharing the car with my husband since I work remotely and don’t need a car every day. Since my husband is a new driver (they walk/take public transportation in Europe), I didn’t feel comfortable getting the AMG because it is too powerful of a car for a new driver. Especially with the crazy driving of Miami.

So we ended up getting the Mercedes GLC300 (without the AMG), silver verde 2026. I brought my dad and husband to negotiate for me, but turns out I am the better negotiator. I guess all of those years negotiating locum tenens contracts benefited me. My mind was still on pre-covid car prices so my dad kept reminding me that the price I had in mind was too low. But I got the price lower than anyone expected J

After not working for 3-4 months, I jumped back into telemedicine. December was extremely busy, since everyone across the country had influenza. My job kept giving incentive bonuses to work and I think I worked 50 hours each week. I even worked on Christmas eve and new years eve which is a first for me, just because the incentives were so worth it. I ended up making the most I have ever made in one month which was a whopping $50k! That’s how busy it was at work that month and I was definitely burned out by the end.

Hence, those are the reasons I have been MIA. Not to mention we decided to have a Happily Ever After Party to celebrate our marriage last minute. More on that in the next post. Update me on your lives as well!

I have worked as a locum NP with LocumTenens.com and they have been a partner of travelingnp.com for many years. Their website has a lot of resources that can be beneficial to both new and experienced locum providers. Here are some of my favorite resources from LocumTenens.com.

Job Board and App

LT makes it easy to search for available locum tenens positions in your chosen state or specialty. They have a job board that is easy to navigate and can help you apply for jobs within minutes. They even list the recruiter you will be in contact with regarding that specific position.

Additionally, they have an app you can download on apple or google that provides all necessary information while on assignment, including location, schedule, and travel arrangements. Clinicians can even submit their timesheet via the app. This is convenient in today’s modern technology age.

Know Better Blog

LT has their own blog in which they offer interesting posts related to working locum tenens. One of my favorite posts of 2025 was Moms in Medicine: How locum tenens work helped me find balance because many of my readers have asked how they can do locums while raising children. This blog post supports my belief that mothers can find flexibility in their career through locum tenens. They can find a happy medium between being a stay at home mom and providing temporary coverage for healthcare facilities in need.

I also like this older article 5 Reasons to Work Government-Contracted Locum Tenens Assignments that is still relevant today.  It discusses the benefits of working government contracts such as being able to utilize any state license to start work immediately. It also details how there is more liability protection working these contracts due to the Federal Tort Claims Act.

Resources

Through the LT website you can find various resources under their “Resources” tab. I like their recent survey report What to know about the clinician workforce today. It illustrates where clinicians are working and what factors are important in choosing an employer. Although compensation is important, clinicians are placing greater emphasis on work flexibility.

The clinician resources are great for those getting started in locums, because it has information about credentialing and working as a self-employed contractor. For instance, Practical Tips for Managing Expenses gives examples on how to track expenses while on assignment, for both reimbursement and tax purposes. I like this resource because it can be overwhelming at first for new locums NPs to organize their budget.

In previous posts I have written about transitioning from locum tenens to working telemedicine full-time. Check out this article I wrote for locumstory about how being a locums prepared me for telemedicine:

https://locumstory.com/spotlight/locum-tenens-experience-telemedicine-success

Check out this article I wrote for CHG’s blog about how working locum tenens can help you retire early:

https://comphealth.com/resources/retire-early-with-locums

Check out this article I wrote for LocumStory about how locum tenens has evolved over the last 10 years:

https://locumstory.com/spotlight/locum-tenens-np-improvements

Thank you to readers that submitted questions to ask a recruiter! I have partnered with LocumTenens.com to have the questions answered by one of their amazing recruiters. I have personally had a great experience working with LT.com and recruiter, Elizabeth Prater. Check out the article below for the answers to your questions:

https://www.locumtenens.com/news-and-insights/blog/a-look-into-locums-top-questions-from-travelingnpcom-answered-by-a-recruiter

Check out this article I wrote for Comp Health‘s blog about negotiating locum tenens contracts as a nurse practitioner:

https://comphealth.com/resources/how-to-negotiate-np-contracts

Check out an article I wrote for Comp Health’s blog, about managing multiple licenses as a locum tenens nurse practitioner:

https://comphealth.com/resources/maintain-multiple-np-state-licenses

We spent the last month of our summer break in France. We started in the French Riviera in Nice. We used that as a base to visit other towns such as Cannes and Monaco. Nice was wonderful. There are many beautiful beaches nearby, within a 20-minute bus ride. It was probably the warmest Mediterranean water I have ever swam in (not sure if it’s just climate change). Nice has its own beaches too but they have large pebbles instead of sand, which are slippery and the water isn’t as good. I liked the mixture of old town and new town. It is pretty diverse when you leave the tourist area. Monaco was disappointing! Not much to do there, I do not recommend.

We spent a few days in Corsica, since it was nearby. It is the island where Napoleon Bonaparte is from, so I’ve always wanted to go. Fortunately, it also has gorgeous beaches. It was cool to see Napoleon’s house and relics of him everywhere.

Afterwards, we flew into Bordeaux, France so that we could travel to the Loire Valley. I have always wanted to see some of the chateau’s there. I narrowed them down to Chateau Chenonceau and Chateau De Chambord. They were different from each other but absolutely incredible! I highly recommend. I had just finished reading a book about King Louis XIV and he lived in both of those chateaus at some point.

We ended the trip with 5 days in Paris. It was probably my 6^th time in Paris. Paris is always a good time. We did a day trip to Chateau Fontainebleau which is 40 minutes away via train. What an amazing chateau! It was beautiful inside and I loved seeing the “Napoleon Apartments” with some of his personal items. I am not sure why it isn’t as famous as Versailles, it is just as nice!

I enjoyed seeing other parts of France. We really liked Nice and wouldn’t mind living there for an extended period of time, especially since I love living by the beach. However, when we made it to Paris, we both thought “there’s just nothing like Paris”. So of course I would love to live in Paris for an extended period as well.

I have been a bit MIA on the blog as I enjoyed my summer. My husband received his green card in April so we soon left to Europe. We spent almost 3 months abroad, and just returned to the USA.

We spent about one month in Italy. I hadn’t been to Italy in the last 10 years. It became a popular place after covid, and everyone’s Instagram made it look better than I remembered. We started the trip in Rome, which actually WAS better than I remembered. I think going in May when the weather was perfect made a big difference compared to the last time I went in the heat of July.

We continued the trip to the Amalfi coast, which was my first time. I highly recommend it for a ‘romantic’ trip! Definitely rent a private boat for views from the water. We continued onward to Florence and Venice. Venice was also better than I remembered! I think it was because we stayed locally instead of rushing in on a tour like last time. This time, I was able to go inside San Marco Basilica which was incredible. My favorite part was seeing the original Triumphal Quadriga.

We also visited Milan, which was my first time. I didn’t get the memo that people go there for luxury shopping. I had a better experience in Italy than the last time I visited, but I don’t see myself “living” there for a long period of time like I had in Barcelona.

The second month, we spent in Morocco, which is where my husband is from. We spent about 2 weeks in Fes, where his family lives. It was my first time in Fes (not in morocco), but I wasn’t a fan. Mostly because it lacked greenery and was more conservative than I expected. We did a trip to the North of Morocco which was my first time.

We stayed in the famous blue town – Chefchaouen, right in the mountains. It was beautiful, and a nice break from the summer heat. My favorite town was Tetouan. It is modern, clean, and lots of greenery. People are more modern and less conservative there. They also have a popular beach town called Cabo Negro, with nice clear water.  

We continued the journey to Tangier. I expected to like Tangier the most from what I’ve heard, but was actually disappointed. It was cool to see how close Spain is from there – you can actually see Spain across the water. It has a beautiful beach and boardwalk, however the air wasn’t clean, and there were a lot of homeless people.

It was also my first time in the capital of Morocco, Rabat. I really liked it! It is also clean, with a lot of greenery. There is public transportation such as a tram. There aren’t many motorized scooters like in Fes, so it feels less overwhelming. It also has a gorgeous beach! If I had to live somewhere in Morocco, it would probably be there.