Engage. Educate. Encourage. EMPOWER.
Ah yes… The blessed PCS! It is an intense time of adventure, uncertainty and new beginnings. But we want to take some of the guesswork out of it, so check out the images below for more PCS info (don’t miss our most popular feature, Post with the Most!), or keep reading to our latest PCS features from our blog.
At the height of the 2004 housing market frenzy, I went on a blind date with a house we had purchased sight unseen. PCSing to Washington, D.C. from Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, that summer, our housing search, in that wild market, was like speed dating, where everyone already came in with an engagement ring. Every time our realtor or our internet searches presented us with a good option, the owner’s would glibly relay that they “already had two or three contract offers just that day!”
It is go time! You have been anticipating and preparing for your PCS for months now, and it is finally upon you. Your moving checklist is nearly complete, but here are a few things you may have overlooked in the throes of another military relocation:
Before you plunk down the card at Home Depot or call the contractor, you need to ask yourself “Who am I improving this for?” Dependent on your answer, you should seriously consider whether or not this project is right for you. The bottom line is that you should go into any home improvement project with the mindset that you’re doing this for your own enjoyment, and not as a way to make money.
Big Sarge is getting moved to Fort Richardson, Alaska. Since he’s received these orders, the report date has changed three times.
Whenever the mysterious “branch” is mentioned, I have a vision in my head of a Jabba the Hutt-type character, with a map and a calendar on the wall, holding a dart with Big Sarge’s name on it. And when she threw the dart at the calendar, she didn’t really throw it hard enough, and it fell out. That’s why the date keeps changing. She has to keep re-throwing the dart.
The Road Trip, part of the Great American Military-Family Experience, right?
We do it to PCS across the country. We do it to visit family at home and catch up with friends we moved away from so many years ago. We do it for some R&R and to get out and see parts of the country so many American families will never see.
Military relocation is a unique aspect of the rental side of the real estate market. Any one who has been waiting for a hard copy of orders knows that it makes it very difficult to search for housing at your next duty station. I am certain there is no shortage of military families that have stories about a last minute change of orders and the upheaval that ensued afterward. In fact, we recently received an email from one of our customers that was faced with a difficult situation due to a change of anticipated orders.
Dear, Field Problems:
I have been married to my husband for eight months. He has been in OSUT the last three months and will be graduating soon. He will be stationed at Fort Stewart, Georgia, right after graduation. and it will be our first duty station.
I am currently living in Illinois. I’d like to get advice or tips on moving (especially your first move) in the Army. I also have some general questions: What do you wish you had known before your first move? Should I go with him or stay here until he gets settled and then move there? Where do I find information on housing and communities in the area?
Amanda; new military spouse
As we begin 2011, I want to start by wishing all my fellow military spouses a very happy new year. I hope 2011 brings you all the best. My new year has started off well. I have gotten myself organized and geared up for the year, but change is on the horizon.
Toward the end of 2010, my husband found out he would be going to recruiting school.
I was driving on post today in my usual rush-rush and turned down the street toward my house. All of a sudden, I was taken back to two years ago when we drove down that street for the first time, when the houses were all mysterious, and I didn’t know where we would live.