Travel Nursing After 40: Thriving 13 Weeks at a Time
Our Journey to a Meaningful Life as Empty Nesters
Hi, We’re Lynda (the one in travel nursing) and Kevin (the husband & writer). We’re empty-nesters from California seeking a meaningful life of travel, adventure, and philanthropy.
We’re so glad you’re here! We are just regular folks trying to figure out how to live a meaningful life after an empty nest. We’re doing it by the grace of God through travel, nursing, and supporting children in need through global charities. And this is our empty nester blog about the trials and tribulations of travel nursing.
Where empty-nesting meets travel nursing
We’ve been empty nesters since 2021 when our son left for college majoring in mechanical engineering. He’s going to school in Oregon!
But we’ve been travelers long before that. My wife Lynda has traveled the world for over 30 years. It was one of the most attractive things about her when we first met. I wasn’t well-traveled before then, and she truly brought out the travel bug in me.
In fact, in 2001, we got married in Santorini, Greece! We were blessed with our son shortly after and took our yearly trips like most people.
Then, in 2015, we took a family trip around the world. The three of us spent 14 months visiting 37 countries.
And to tie the nursing into the travel, Lynda has been a nurse for 38 years. And although she did a short stint as a travel nurse in her 30s, she’s diving headfirst into it now. So as of 2022, she’s officially an empty nester traveling nurse.
She and I are currently moving around regionally, living in new cities every 13 weeks. Each travel nursing “assignment” lasts this long, which means we get to live (and work) somewhere new every three months.
Adding children’s charities to the mix
Beyond a life dedicated to nursing travel as empty nesters, Lynda and I felt called to make an impact on something bigger than travel and ourselves. We chose to begin supporting two young children in Uganda. We witnessed firsthand, just how meaningful a good education can be. Partially due to our involvement in sponsoring their education, both of the children we supported have now graduated from college. And, they are both paying it forward, helping others in their own ways.
Lynda, myself, and our son took a trip to Uganda and got to meet the children we sponsored. When we realized the impact we had made, and how much we had empowered and uplifted those children, we felt called to continue this mission and signed up to help more children.
Shortly after our visit with our first two sponsored children, we came upon a small village in the Bwindi Forest of Uganda. And what started with us at providing bibles, soon turned into something so much more. Today, we are now supporting 29 children in secondary school.
You can read more About Us HERE.
Why Start Travel Nursing after 40?
Thinking about becoming a traveling nurse? Learn from us (and possibly avoid our mistakes) what it’s like to become an empty nester traveling nurse. That probably means you’re over 40, just like us!
Trip Planning for Empty Nesters in Travel Nursing
A big part of being a travel nurse is the travel. We live for the places we get to see, the food we taste, and the people we get to meet along the way. It only makes sense to include plenty of tips and how-to’s for planning your trips on our version of an empty nester blog.
How to Support Global Children’s Charities
Sponsoring children in Uganda is one of the most rewarding aspects of our empty nester life. If you’re curious about doing it, too – learn all about it here!
Previous Posts
5 Lessons From Home Health Travel Nursing : Assignment 1
It’s safe to say we’re learning a lot as we go into travel nursing. We probably wouldn’t have known many of these lessons before jumping in. And...
7 Lessons learned from Travel Nursing after 40
After reflecting on our first travel nursing assignment, there are a few lessons we’ve learned that we thought might be helpful to others embarking...
Destination: Hermiston, Oregon
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