I look at the following aspects of the location for my assignment:
I live in a very remote area, so by default my assignments require air travel. Since I travel with kids, location has to be accessible by a direct flight. It is worth checking what time of the day the flights arrive and depart, and where the car rental is located (e.g. if a long shuttle ride is required). Check what flights are available in case your preferred flight is canceled or delayed – I have ended up on a red eye as my only option several times.
Metro areas tend to have more availability for childcare (more on that later), kids activities, services to make travel and daily life easier (Uber, kid-friendly cab services, grocery stores, stores that carry kid necessities, resale stores), and quality accessible medical services.
In some cases, travelling for work where family members or close friends are available can be a great source of help and general social support/safety net.
To recap, if you are traveling with kids solo for work, first things to assess in a possible assignment location:
- Available flights in and out (and dont forget to check what your back up options are in event your preferred flight is missed/canceled/delayed)
- Ease of airport navigation – does airport require shuttle to move between gates or security? How often are flights delayed or canceled? Where is the rental car counter located?
- Does the location have things for kids to do, easy to access grocery stores, stores for kids’ necessities? Bonus: look up any special events (e.g. Disney on ice) that you could attend while on location.
- Availability of childcare (read more on that in dedicated section).
- Family/friends/social support
These are the major points I look for before moving on to considering hospital/schedule/compensation.
Leave a Reply