If you’ve just matched to a 13-week assignment at Hennepin County Medical Center or one of the University’s hospitals, your first job isn’t packing — it’s finding somewhere to live that won’t swallow your housing stipend or trap you in a 12-month lease. The good news: downtown Minneapolis makes this easier than most cities, and Oaklands on 9th was built almost exactly for this kind of stay.
A Short Commute to HCMC, the U, and the Rest of Downtown
Oaklands on 9th sits at 215 South 9th Street, right in the heart of downtown. Hennepin County Medical Center — HCMC, the region’s Level I trauma center — is just a handful of blocks away, across from U.S. Bank Stadium. For most shifts you can simply walk, and when January turns brutal you can stay indoors the whole way: downtown’s skyway system is the largest enclosed, second-level walkway network in the world, running 9.5 miles across about 80 city blocks.
Assigned to the U instead? M Health Fairview University of Minnesota Medical Center on the East Bank is a quick ride on the Metro Transit Green Line light rail, which stops just a couple of blocks from the building. No car, no parking headaches, no scraping ice off a windshield before a 7 a.m. start.
Furnished, Month-to-Month, and Ready When You Are
The thing most travel nurses dread about a new contract is the logistics — buying or renting furniture, setting up utilities, hunting for a short lease that landlords don’t want to sign. Oaklands skips all of it. Every studio is fully furnished with a full kitchen, and your rent already includes WiFi, all utilities, heat, and free on-site laundry. There are no contracts and no year-long commitment: stay a night, a week, or the length of your assignment, and extend month to month if your contract does. You arrive with your scrubs and a suitcase, and you’re home.
What’s Included
Three room tiers — Good, Better, and Best — let you match your space to your stipend, and some units are pet friendly, so the cat or the dog can come along for the contract. Because the building is a restored 1889 brownstone (designed by noted Minneapolis architect Harry Wild Jones and renovated in 2019), you get real character instead of the beige sameness of a chain hotel — at a price that tends to beat one, too.
Downtime Between Shifts
A good assignment isn’t only about the commute. On your days off, everything downtown is close: the two-level Target on Nicollet Mall is a few blocks away for groceries, and Orchestra Hall, Target Center, Target Field, and the Armory are all within an easy walk for a game or a show. When you want to actually see the city, a Minneapolis Trolley Tour is a fun, low-effort way to get your bearings — scenic, ghost, and true-crime routes included. And if family or a partner comes to visit for a weekend, send them to 300 Clifton, the owners’ historic bed & breakfast in nearby Loring Park, for a romantic stay just minutes from your door.
Settle In for Your Minneapolis Assignment
If you’re heading to HCMC, the U, or anywhere downtown, a furnished month-to-month studio takes the hardest part of travel nursing off your plate before you even arrive. Check availability and book your studio, or call us at (612) 314-5124 and we’ll help you find the right fit for your contract dates.