In this generation, dating is not easy for anyone. From bad dating app experiences to a lack of genuine connection, it’s hard to keep up in the dating world. As a travel nurse, there is an extra level of difficulty when looking for a relationship or dating: distance. With several continuous travel assignments each year, you never know where you are going to be placed. Although this can be challenging, there are several tips and tricks you can implement to keep that spark alive in your relationship.
Love on the Move: Tips for Long Distance Dating
If you’re off the market and are already in a long-distance relationship, here are a few golden tips and tricks to keep the spark alive even from miles away.
Communication is Key
Honest communication is key when long-distance dating. It is important that you and your partner have a conversation and set clear expectations of what your relationship is going to look like while on assignment. This could be sharing how much you expect to communicate each day or figuring out when your significant other may be available to chat.
Setting these communication standards upfront helps avoid small hardships and can create a comfortable space to share feelings.
Quality Over Quantity
When in a long-distance relationship, it is important to focus on the quality of the time you spend with your partner rather than the quantity of time. To enhance quality time when you and your partner are together, try focusing on more meaningful activities that require you and your partner to be present in the moment.
Some activities you can do when you and your partner are together could be cooking a meal together, watching a new show or movie, exploring a new place or city, or going on a new adventure such as a hike.
Scheduled Time
One of the strongest tips for surviving a long-distance relationship is setting a scheduled time to chat with your partner. This could be a specific hour you talk every day, or a specific day of the week. Deciding on times and schedules will be unique to each relationship, but it is a simple principle that gives you something to look forward to.
A bonus tip on top of this is to use a platform that allows you to see or hear your partner, such as a phone call, FaceTime, or video call. Sometimes simply hearing or seeing your partner can help ease the feelings of missing them when you aren’t in the same city.
Get That Calendar Out
Constantly being in different locations for work can be very challenging. By planning and scheduling your next visit with your partner, it can help give you something to look forward to rather than playing the guessing game of when you are going to see each other again.
This tip can help provide security before returning to distance. Getting a new nursing assignment can be very stressful and overwhelming. By having a planned visit in place, it can help to make the distance feel a little smaller.
Never Stop Flirting
In a long-distance relationship, it can be very easy to get caught up in the mundane routine. Send the sweet text and give the compliment as if you were still trying to ‘win them over’. Keep dating each other, even from miles away.
Don’t Forget to Stay Present in Your Own Life
With distance dating, especially as a busy and hardworking travel nurse, it can be easy to spend your time wishing you were with your person. But you don’t want to put your life on hold. Go out and meet new people, explore the city with your co-workers, and go to a local event your city is hosting. Even though you and your partner are apart, it is healthy to still enjoy your own time and grow individually.
Tips For Active Dating as a Travel Nurse
If you’re still actively on the market, here are a few tips and tricks you can use for putting yourself out there while also prioritizing yourself and your career.
Dating…More Like Exploring
Instead of treating dating as a ‘separate task’, imagine it as an opportunity to explore and discover the area you are assigned. Shifting to this mindset can help relieve some of the pressure, stress, or nerves for a date you may have planned.
Even if there is no spark or interest in a romantic relationship from the date, you were still able to discover a new area of your temporary home. Just think, you may have found a new hangout spot for you and your co-workers!
Know What You’re Looking For
Going into a first date, it is widely encouraged to have an open mind with minimal expectations. Although this is true for many typical dating scenarios, you may find that dating as a travel nurse requires you to have more standards in place due to constant moving.
For a travel nurse, it’s important to know what kind of headspace you are in so you can clearly set expectations for yourself and your prospective date. Determining if you are interested in finding a long-term partner versus casual dating can help guide you in making decisions.
Having higher expectations, standards, or qualifications for a potential partner can help you better navigate the dating world as a travel nurse. Having a sense of clarity can help you better match with other like-minded people and potentially lead to a real connection.
Balance Your Career and Your Social Life
As a travel nurse, you may not necessarily be on the hunt for a partner during your travels. It is completely okay not to be interested in a serious relationship, but it is still important to grow and build your social life and community outside your career. As a travel nurse, your job and work matter immensely, which makes it easy to get caught up in work.
Even though this is important, spending time with others and making new friends can help make your home away from home feel more special. By balancing your career and your social life, it can make all the difference in the experiences and people you meet while at your assigned location.
Explore Your Community and Build a Social Life
Although there may not be an assignment available at your dream location, such as Hawaii, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t go out and explore what your assignment location has to offer. Exploring and familiarizing yourself with your community is a great way to casually meet new people and get accustomed to their social life.
Exploring your community or town can expose you to various social activities, such as a local running club, volunteer groups, or even a trivia or karaoke night at a local restaurant or bar. Participating in or joining these types of events can make you more comfortable in your new community and can help you grow your social circle.
Travel Nurse Dating Sites
Okay, let’s be honest, we can all agree that there is a negative stigma around dating apps and dating sites. Some people have horror stories, and some have successful love stories.
As a travel nurse, the constant moving around and traveling can leave you burnt out and uninterested in ‘actively walking the streets’ to seek out a potential partner.
Using a dating app as a travel nurse can be a helpful tool for matching with other people who have similar requirements in a dating partner. They can be a convenient outlet for connecting with others who share similar interests and goals.
On a similar note, using a specific travel nurse dating site can be a great way to match or find people who understand and connect with the lifestyle you live. As a travel nurse, you have limited free time. So, the use of these dating apps and sites can be a simple and easy way to meet new people without spending your highly valued free time searching.
It’s Hard Work, But It’s Doable
Whether you’re already in a relationship or actively seeking one, dating as a travel nurse is hard work. It requires time, effort, patience, and energy across all aspects. Balancing new relationships can be hard, especially when your life and career revolve around uprooting your life and constantly moving locations.
Even with the challenges you may face, your journey will be filled with many rewards. The various connections and people you meet along the way can help shape and influence you and your career.
Hopefully, through these tips and insights, you can better navigate the dating world with confidence wherever your career leads you.
