Quick Answer: Travel nurse housing near Anschutz works best when the lease ends when your contract does. Look for a furnished or furnishable unit within a 15-minute drive of campus, a 3-month or month-to-month term with no early-termination penalty, and a deposit refund timeline you can collect on from another state.
A 13-week contract at UCHealth or Children's Hospital Colorado does not fit a 12-month lease. That mismatch is the entire problem with finding travel nurse housing near Anschutz, and it's why a lot of nurses give up and overpay for an extended-stay room. Oslo on 6th sits at 14200 East 6th Avenue, serving Aurora's City Center North area with brand new studios and short-term lease options.
What to Look For in Travel Nurse Housing Near Anschutz
Four things decide whether a short-term lease actually works for an assignment: the term length, what "furnished" covers, the total move-in cost, and how fast your deposit comes back. Rent is the number everyone compares. It's rarely the number that hurts.
Lease term and what happens if your contract extends
Ask two questions before anything else. Can I sign for three months? And what happens if I extend for another 13 weeks? Some communities offer short terms at a monthly premium. Others quietly roll you to month-to-month after the initial term, which is what you want. Get the extension answer in writing, because contract extensions are common and scrambling for a second apartment in week 11 is miserable.
Furnished apartments for travel nurses: what's actually included
"Furnished" means wildly different things depending on who's renting to you. One operator hands you a bed, a couch, and a coffee maker. Another includes linens, cookware, and a TV. A third counts appliances as furnishings. Ask for a written inventory list. Then look at the photo gallery and virtual tour so you know what the space looks like before you commit sight unseen from three states away. Studios with a built-in desk save you buying one.
Deposits, fees, and Colorado's 30-day refund rule
Under Colorado law, a landlord has 30 days after your lease ends to return your deposit or send you an itemized statement, and the lease can extend that to a maximum of 60 days. Read which one your lease says. If you're driving to your next assignment in Phoenix, a 60-day clock means a real gap. Also separate refundable deposits from non-refundable fees when you compare total move-in cost, since they are not the same money.
How Much Do Short Term Rentals in Aurora CO Actually Cost?
Budget by the assignment, not the month. The federal government's FY 2026 lodging rate for the Denver and Aurora area runs $165 per night from November through March and $215 the rest of the year, which is a fair proxy for what local hotels charge. Over 91 nights that math gets ugly fast.
| Housing option | Cost for a 13-week assignment | Usually included | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hotel or extended stay | Roughly $15,000 to $19,500 at federal lodging rates | Utilities, Wi-Fi, housekeeping | Eats most stipends; kitchenette instead of a kitchen |
| Furnished mid-term rental | Varies by operator and season | Furniture, utilities, sometimes linens | Priced above market rent; summer inventory disappears |
| Studio on a short-term lease | About $3,300 to $4,000 in rent, plus deposit and fees | Full kitchen, in-unit finishes, furnishings optional | You may furnish it yourself or pay for a furnished unit |
| 12-month lease broken early | Rent plus a lease-break fee or remaining-term liability | Same as a standard apartment | The most expensive mistake on this list |
For context, the Census Bureau puts Aurora's median gross rent at $1,835 across the 2020 to 2024 estimates, which covers every unit type in a city of roughly 410,000 people. Studio pricing sits well below that. As of August 2026, CU Denver's off-campus housing portal lists Oslo on 6th studios in the $1,099 to $1,325 range and marks the property at 1.8 miles from campus, though third-party listings lag reality. Check the current studio floor plans for live pricing.
Are Hotels Near Anschutz Medical Campus Worth It for 13 Weeks?
Hotels cluster along Colfax within a mile of the campus, and that walkability is genuinely convenient. The tradeoff is cost and space. Three months in a hotel room with a microwave and a mini fridge wears on you around week five, especially on nights.
Getting to campus from two miles out takes about eight minutes by car outside rush hour. Transit is workable but has a catch worth knowing: the RTD R Line stops at Fitzsimons Station, and CU Anschutz runs a free shuttle from there into campus, but that shuttle operates weekdays only and stops running in the late afternoon. Night shift and weekend nurses will drive. Plan parking accordingly, and pull up the map and directions to time your own route before signing anything.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. How far is travel nurse housing near Anschutz from the hospitals?
Most options that make financial sense sit one to four miles out. Oslo on 6th is listed at 1.8 miles from the CU Anschutz Medical Campus, which puts University of Colorado Hospital and Children's Hospital Colorado inside a ten-minute drive at typical shift-change hours.
2. Do apartments for travel nurses require a credit check and proof of income?
Almost always, yes. Come prepared with:
- Your signed agency contract showing the assignment dates and pay rate
- Recent pay stubs, or an offer letter if you haven't started
- A government-issued photo ID
- Your recruiter's contact information for employment verification
3. Can I use my housing stipend on a regular apartment lease?
Yes. Stipends are cash, and no one dictates where you spend them. Whether that stipend stays tax-free depends on maintaining a legitimate tax home, which is an IRS question, not a leasing one. Talk to a tax professional who works with travelers before you assume anything.
4. Is traveling nurses housing near Anschutz served by light rail?
The R Line runs up the I-225 corridor with stops at Colfax and Fitzsimons, both near campus. A free CU Anschutz shuttle connects Fitzsimons Station to five stops on campus, weekdays only. If you work nights or weekends, treat rail as backup and budget for parking.
5. How long does it take to get a security deposit back in Colorado?
Thirty days after the lease ends, unless your lease specifies a longer window, which cannot exceed 60 days. Landlords cannot withhold for normal wear and tear. Give the office a forwarding address before you leave the state, because the refund goes to your last known address.
Signing a Lease That Fits Your Contract
The best travel nurse housing near Anschutz is boring in the right ways: a term that matches your assignment, a written furnishing list, a clear deposit timeline, and a commute you've actually driven. Aurora has real inventory for this if you look past the extended-stay listings. Apartments for traveling nurses do not have to mean a compromise, and a brand new studio a couple of miles from the medical campus beats a hotel room on almost every measure that matters over 13 weeks.