Stephanie Fraker, based in Horse Shoe, North Carolina, decided to become a travel nurse about seven years ago. Since then, she and her husband and their two sons have lived in California, New Hampshire, Guam, and more. Available housing plays a significant role in where she decides to take a contract.

“In general, maybe a week of pay for the rent is kind of a goal that we go for,” Fraker said, but the rule sometimes gets broken. “There’s definitely places we’ve gone where it’s not like we’re trying to save as much money as we can, like when we went to Guam.”

She and her family are currently renting a farmhouse in Maine where there are horses, chickens, and goats.

“Everywhere we go and all the different stuff we can do is part of their education really,” she said about her sons, who are home schooled. “I hope it makes them really well rounded and empathetic and appreciate how different people live.”

To hear more of Fraker’s story, use the audio player above.