That sounds miserable. I would rather stay with my group, make slightly less, have the benefits package, and sleep in my own bed every non call night. There is something to be said for knowing your environment, where everything is, who will help you in an emergency, etc. Plus the little things like dealing with tax implications of 1099, where to park, where to get food, knowing the surgeons and nurses, who is reliable and who is not.
Once you pay the taxes, cover the costs of lost benefits, and account for the cost of being in a city that you don’t know or don’t like, I think the value proposition loses some of the luster. Perhaps if you can find a really good paying Locums job that could be steady and long term, you might eventually feel like part of the team instead of an outsider.
I have been shipped to other hospitals periodically to fill in gaps and I find it less fulfilling than being in my comfort zone that I’ve known for a long time. It can be a nice change of pace every once in a while, but I don’t care for it on a regular basis. I like some degree of predictability in a career where there is a lot of unpredictability. Some people are comfortable with constant change and others like their comfort zone. Part of it is figuring out which personality category you fit into. I can fit in most places, it just becomes whether I want to or not.
Those are things I would worry about.