Moving from one assignment to the next as a traveling nurse means starting from scratch forming new friendships and relationships. Getting to know a whole new set of people in your workplace is easy enough because you spend so much time there. Outside of work, it can feel daunting to make new friends. Pursuing friendships is worth the effort, however, because they enrich your life.

New friends will make a new city feel more welcoming and turn it into a second home. Friends offer a social outlet after a long shift and give you reasons to return and visit a city after you have left to take on a new assignment elsewhere.

No magic formula exists dictating how to make friends while traveling. There are three simple ways to create new friendships everywhere you go:

Explore your interests: If you are new in town, you can break the ice by participating in an activity you already enjoy doing in your spare time. This can involve joining a book club, taking a continuing education class or getting involved imaking n a social group that does fun activities like dancing, hiking or watching movies. Exploring your interests in this way can simplify your efforts to put the social back into your social life. You will meet people who share a common interest and you can use that common thread as a building block for further interaction. And it also offers a fun way of blowing off steam after a long shift.

Volunteer in the community: Serving other people builds a bridge toward friendship. Volunteering is a perfect way to lend a helping hand. Performing acts of service help you feel good about yourself while improving the lives of the people who you serve. You can connect with fellow volunteers who share your interests or you can form a bond with the people you are there to help. Volunteering not only lets you polish your social skills outside of a hospital or clinic. It also connects you with your local community and feel like you are part of it. There's nothing more rewarding for a traveling nurse than having opportunities to also help people outside their workplace.

Connect with your alumni association: Many colleges and universities have alumni associations with chapters in every major US city. Connecting with fellow alumni from your school in a new city will give you an instant network for social interaction. Alumni association chapters will typically host a variety of events throughout the year. These events can include workshops, conferences, dinners, dances and watching sporting events. You already share a common bond with these people having attended the same school. This offers a great starting point for building a stronger bond of friendship down the road.