4 Easy Ways To Make Friends As A Solo Travel Nurse

As a travel nurse, you are constantly moving around as new contracts and opportunities within healthcare arise. When hopping around from city to city, you might find it difficult to make new friends at each location! Being unfamiliar with new people and communities around you can be quite daunting to some, so try the following tips for ways you can start making friends quickly and easily in your new surroundings!

1. Try Using Apps Like Bumble BFF Or Meetup

There are a lot of convenient and easy-to-use apps in which you can download to make friends in your new community. With Meetup, you can explore topics or hobbies you love and quickly make new friends who share similar interests in your new location. There are an array of activities you can explore, such as: group sports, exploring the outdoors, making crafts, concerts and bars, or even playing board games. Once you join a group you can then begin to get the details on the meetings and build connections with the members of the group in-person. 

Since travel nurses are always in transit and working in new locations, they are probably familiar with the dating app, Bumble. However, there is an extension to this app known as Bumble BFF. This app can give an individual the opportunity to create platonic relationships in the new city they have accepted a travel nurse job in. By adding hobbies, interests, personal details about your life, what you might look for in a friend and pictures that highlight your personality, you can be sure to connect with some new future friends! Conveniently, as new travel nurse jobs arise and you sign a contract in a new city, you can change your location within the app to start looking for even more friends! 

2. Attend Events Through Resources Like Nextdoor & Eventbrite

Events are also a great way to meet new people who share similar interests. Eventbrite is a handy tool which a travel nurse can use to find live events that match their interests within their new community. Find live music, local festivals and community events all on the same website. Eventbrite allows you to search for events far into the future, so you can start to get excited to engage with your new community even before you sign a contract in a new location.

Another great tool to allow you to acquaint yourself with a new community is Nextdoor. Local neighbours share their expertise on the community they live in, which allows newcomers to discover local gems and stay informed on what is happening within the community. Nextdoor recommends great restaurants and shops in the community for newcomers to explore and puts all the happenings within individual neighbourhoods into one spot. Think: art festivals, cookouts, and other fun community activities. 

3. Ask Your Staffing Agency To Connect You With Your Coworkers

When looking for a travel nurse job, the first step is to apply with a staffing agency. Well, your staffing agency is an amazing resource for making new friends during your contract, as they are connected to everyone who is placed in the same area as you. Not only should a staffing agency put you in touch with other travel nurses currently deployed in your location, they usually organize outings to help familiarize everyone with each other. 

Canadian Health Labs in particular, uses Facebook groups to help connect travel nurses deployed together, in addition to hosting employee events like our most recent white water rafting trip. The Facebook group is an easy way for travel nurses to share places they’d like to explore in the area, as well as coordinate trips together during their days off. 

4. Be Assertive!

A little breaking of the ice will go a long way with your coworkers and can lead to connections and friendships that last a lifetime. Is there something you want to do, or somewhere you want to visit? You don’t need to wait to be invited! Initiate your own outing and extend the invite to your coworkers to come along. As fellow travel nurses, everyone is in the same boat as you, so putting yourself out there will always be appreciated. 

If you’re interested in applying for a travel nurse job with Canadian Health Labs, check out our current positions!