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.
If you walk into a military family’s home during a PCS, you will find a good portion of their belongings squished into Ziplock bags, or stuffed into large, plastic totes. These items are an absolute necessity to keep liquids from leaking, and objects to remain clean, protected, organized, and maybe even color-coded. I sincerely love Ziplocks and totes! I can’t imagine my life without the use of them…because they are not only a necessity during our PCSes, but they are also still a part of my daily life.
I miraculously survived a road trip recently, where I, alone, took my four children to visit family and friends. We traveled through eight different states, stretching roughly 2,810 miles (not including the miles in between to pull off and use the travel potty, take an off-route break for gas and food, and visit extra family and friends outside of the main destinations) and we took 18 days to do it all.
“Hi, I’m new.” I can’t keep count on how many times I have said that in my married life. I’m sure you can relate. As a servicemember’s spouse who has moved numerous times, you find yourself in many new circles. You make introductions and small talk, it comes around to you, with a little hand raise you chime in “…and I’m the new one!”
Moving. PCSing. Relocating. Whatever you want to call it, the event (no matter how routine for some of us) is really not a singular activity. The whole process comes with much more than a pile of boxes containing everything you own.
If you’re selling a home near a military installation, you may think that, in light of the continued sellers’ market, all you need to do is clean your home, get it on the market, and voilà!… you’ll be signing closing paperwork. But there’s so much more when it comes to home selling and setting your home listing apart from others! The key is to think like a home buyer and provide the information they’re looking for when home shopping. We took a poll on social media and are sharing a few features military home buyers say they want to see in a property for sale, beyond the basic info like number of bedrooms, baths, garage size, and storage space.
As we near the PCS season, it brings a lot of emotions in relation to the future, and sometimes, that includes a little lamenting:
Sometimes, I enjoy the simplicity of staying in a tiny place, whether it’s a guest room in a family home while on R&R, a calling a hotel home while traveling, or a temporary lodging facility (TLF) on an installation during the transition of a PCS. Maybe it’s even a cramped apartment while stationed overseas. Sure, it can be a challenge as family members trip over each other while getting ready in the morning, or figuring out sleeping arrangements, or having six family members share one bathroom.
But, I also appreciate how small spaces can actually tend to alleviate a little stress.
Almost every day, for the last three weeks, I’ve started my morning with a special brew. I walk down to the cozy café (that is, the breakfast lounge of the installation hotel—PCS, anyone?), and pour the nearly fresh coffee into its signature Styrofoam cup. I’m a decaf person, but depending on the night from which I have just awoken, I may mix myself a half-caffeinated cup of coffee, or a few times now, full-on regular.
So yeah, it’s been a little rough.
During your first PCS, you’re so overwhelmed from learning move.mil and jumping through all the hoops that you’re just trying to survive the chaos. You’ve also packed, loaded the car, and headed to the new house you worked hard to find and budget for. Your first thoughts driving across the country probably aren’t about renters insurance, but military families need renters insurance.
When you’re first starting out, you don’t know what you don’t know, right?