Hi!
I have recently given up travel nursing after 4 years of adventures! My home state was NC (member of the compact) until 3months ago when I decided to stay in South Florida. You do not have to pay a fee to another compact state. The only state that I had a little different requirement was Maryland. Compact licensee RNs have to notify the MD SBON that they were working in MD under their compact state license. Compact states are a godsend to travel nurses who have a legal residence in a compact state. There is no waiting period to use your compact license in a compact state.
I always found it better to plan ahead and get a permanent license in a non-compact state that I would like to travel to so I was ready to go when the opportunity presented itself. I hold 7different state licenses and plan on keeping them active "just in case" I get the travel bug again!!
GOOD LUCK TO YOU!