People see our setup on Instagram and always ask the same thing: "How do you fit your whole life into a rental?"
The honest answer is — you don't try to bring your whole life. You bring the right things. After years of 13-week contracts, we've figured out exactly what makes a temporary apartment feel like home and what's just dead weight.
Content Creation
Sony ZV Camera
We got this in August and we're still learning everything it can do — but we already love it. We don't use it every single day, we bring it out for day trips, local spots worth documenting, and anywhere the scenery earns a real camera instead of a phone. The shots are in a completely different league.
Otis also has a habit of photographing every MRI suite we work in. Different machines, different layouts, different hospitals — it's become its own accidental photo series. Eight years of scanners across GE, Siemens, and Toshiba and no two rooms look exactly the same.
Entertainment
Portable Projector
We stopped dealing with whatever random TV setup comes in a furnished rental and started bringing our own. Once the sun goes down, the projector goes up. Movies, shows, whatever we're watching together that night — all of it on a wall-sized screen instead of a 40-inch TV from 2016. We're currently upgrading ours and will share the new one when we land on it.
During football season it pulls double duty. Ohio State games and Miami Dolphins games are non-negotiable viewing events in our house. If you know, you know.
PlayStation
Otis is the gamer. Madden and Civilization are the go-tos — one for when you want to zone out, one for when you want to accidentally lose four hours of your life. After a long stretch of 12-hour MRI shifts, sometimes you just need to run some plays or build an empire before bed.
Apple TV
Every rental has a different smart TV situation and none of them are good. We plug in the Apple TV, have our setup exactly how we want it in five minutes, and never think about it again. All our shows — we watch everything together — run through this.
Tricia's iPad + Headphones
Tricia's iPad is her off-shift headquarters. Puzzles are her thing — she'll sit with a puzzle going for hours and fully decompress. Pair that with her headphones for music and she can completely check out after a long ultrasound day. That ability to mentally leave work at work is underrated when you're living in a new city every 13 weeks.
Fitness
Bowflex Adjustable Dumbbells (up to 52.5 lbs)
One set that replaces an entire rack. We set up in whatever space the rental gives us — spare bedroom if we're lucky, garage if there is one, living room as a last resort. The Bowflex handles everything from light accessory work to heavy compound movements without taking up more space than a suitcase.
TRX Suspension Trainer
Hooks over any door. Rows, pushups, core work, single leg movements — a full workout from something that weighs almost nothing. This is the piece most people are skeptical about until they actually use it.
Adjustable Bench
The piece most people forget. Dumbbells alone limit what you can do. Add a bench and the whole setup opens up — chest press, incline work, step-ups, split squats. We've never had a landlord bat an eye at it.
Garmin Watch
We use it to track recovery, not just workouts. Body battery and HRV data tells you when to push and when to back off — which matters a lot when you're working 12-hour shifts and trying to stay consistent. We walk together when schedules line up. The data keeps us honest about when the body actually needs rest.
Outdoor / Living
$50 Charcoal Grill + Chimney Starter
Best purchase we've made. A basic charcoal grill from Walmart and a chimney starter — no lighter fluid, no fancy equipment, no regrets. We've set this up on apartment patios, in parking lots, at beach accesses. Wherever we land, if there's outdoor space, the grill comes out.
The menu is always the same. Otis handles the burgers and brats. Tricia's order never changes — medium rare filet or New York strip, salt and pepper only, no marinade, no fuss. Charcoal does the rest.
The whole setup costs less than one restaurant dinner and the food is better.
The Philosophy Behind the List
Everything on this list earns its space by doing one of three things: it makes us feel at home, it keeps us healthy, or it helps us document the life we're building. If it doesn't do at least one of those things, it doesn't make the trip.
Travel healthcare already strips away a lot of the comfort of a permanent home. The right gear gives some of that back. You're not just working contracts — you're building a life on the road. Might as well build it well.