Military Nesties
Dear Community,
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
first PCS
My husband and I are about to get PCS orders. He just finished schooling so we haven't had to move yet. Any packing advice or what to do before hand and when we first get there? Anything we should buy beforehand instead of waiting to get there? It will be our first house together, so we don't have much to start a house with.
Re: first PCS
I went through one not too long ago, and the best advice I can give is to let the military move you. I'll admit to total bias, as our packers and movers were fantastic, but I still think it's a very good option. There's no way that FI and I could have done it so quickly or painlessly. They arrived at 8 am and we were packed up and the truck was loaded by a little after 1pm (we had a pretty full 2 bedroom/2 bath apartment), and I only had a handful of boxes pre-packed. I would make sure that you try to put things in the room they're going to go in when you get to your new place, that way the packers will label them correctly and the movers will put those boxes in those rooms. I had books everywhere when they packed, so I found books in boxes all over the house.
We did partial-DITY; in that we packed clothes for a week, bedding (we didn't leave until the day after the movers), valuables (jewelry, computers, etc.), perishables from the kitchen and stuff for the pets into the cars. I really think it's the way to go.
Do you have any furniture?
I ask, because not having any (or not having more than, say, a bed, and a few inexpensive bedroom pieces) might actually lead me to looking into a DITY move. This is the type of move where you are responsible for packing and moving all of your household goods. If you have very little, this might be useful - not only do you not have to worry about scheduling the packing, loading and delivery of your household goods, you will have access to them the moment you get a place to stay at the far end of the move. But, I'll stress the "have very little" aspect of this recommendation - lugging boxes of stuff and furniture is hard work, and while you might be able to find help on this end, you won't likely have any at the far end with a DITY move.
We have always gone with a TMO move - that's where movers are assigned to pack and move all of your household goods. (a few folks mentioned partial-DITY moves - in that case, the majority of their household stuff is packed and moved by movers, but some items are moved by the person/people who are PCS'ing)
During a TMO move, I gather up the critical paperwork, any items I want to have as soon as we arrive at the new place, my knitting and spare yarn for another project or two (hotel rooms are boring...), and maybe some basic kitchen stuff - a cooler, a cutting board, a couple knives, a microwavable bowl. And clothes - enough to last for 1+ weeks, so I can do laundry rarely during the course of the move. All of this gets put in the car, or in a specific room where I can close the door and tell each of the packers that "this room does not get packed", and possibly even label the door of the room.
I would wait to buy things until you get to the new duty station and have housing there. That way, you know what you are dealing with - for example, some places have 100% hard flooring - wood/tile/laminate/etc, and a good vacuum might not be the highest priority to buy there. You won't know the size and shape of rooms before you get there, either, so buying things now could lead to difficulties in the new place. So, if you don't already have it, wait until after the move. When you do buy, keep in mind that you will have multiple moves over time, and will have various homes that you will need to fit things into.
You may or may not find this helpful and it is in a different vein than the rest of the answers but...
The following is a list of things to ask your new neighbors, spouse group, etc. once you're there to help you get acclimated more quickly to your new surroundings. Plus it gives you a reason to break the ice with people! Good luck
The Basics:
Location of nearest hospital
Grocery store
Hardware store
Post office
Cheapest gas station
Food:
Best coffee shop
Breakfast
Favorite lunch spot
Happy hour deals
Dinner place
Best take-out restaurant
Health:
Doctors
Dentist
Spa
Gym
Shopping:
Best mall
Favorite local shop
Places that offer a military discount
Kids:
Best park
Library
Day care
Schools
People:
Great babysitters
Trusty real estate agent