Military Nesties
Smudges*Mom
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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.
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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.
Question for those who have moved overseas
What did you do about your cell phone and plan when you moved?
How quickly did you buy phones and get a plan when you got to your new duty station?
I am thinking that we'll cancel our current plan just as we are moving, but buy a pay as you go phone for use when we come back to the states for visits. I want to get my phone quickly once we arrive, but I'm concerned about getting a good deal and knowing our options.
How quickly did you buy phones and get a plan when you got to your new duty station?
I am thinking that we'll cancel our current plan just as we are moving, but buy a pay as you go phone for use when we come back to the states for visits. I want to get my phone quickly once we arrive, but I'm concerned about getting a good deal and knowing our options.
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Re: Question for those who have moved overseas
My contract ended the month me moved, so I just didn't renew mine. DH brought his orders in to AT&T and they allowed him to suspend his service for the duration of the orders.
DH and I each got phones the day after we arrived. Our landline took a while because Egypt is Egypt and they do things weirdly, but I'm sure Germany is much more efficient. Cell phones were very easy to get. There are provider stores all over and you can also buy phones and SIM cards at any electronics store for the most part.
From my experience in both Europe and the Middle East, every one uses pay-as-you-go phones. It's much cheaper that way. For some reason actual plans are really expensive in Europe. You can buy more credit at any gas station, convenience store, bank, and some providers even have kiosks on the street. I know with Vodafone you can also top-up online.
I've always used Vodafone overseas and their service is great. I have SIM cards with Vodafone numbers in Ireland, France, Italy, and Egypt and they all work all over Europe and the Middle East. I got service everywhere I went in the UK, Ireland, Croatia, Bosnia, Italy, France, Egypt, and Turkey. (The only reason I got new SIM cards in each place is because you are charged roaming when you're out of your own country, and a SIM card is the equivalent of about $10.)
In Korea, we just got a local pay-as-you-go phone. It was a pain in the butt, but all but the most expensive US phones AND plans work over there.
Glad you asked this, I was thinking about this as well! I am happy to read that carriers will let you freeze your contract with orders, our contracts are not up until about 6 months after we move to Germany.
Changing the subject to landlines...I have read on some forums that some people will get Vonage here in the states and use it over seas, that way you have a US number there. Does anyone have any experience with this?
I don't have vonage, but a lot of my friends do and love it. You can also get a land line, with a stateside number on base if you don't want to rely on the internet. We have neither, we just use skype for free on our iPhones
I'm fairly certain that cell phone companies legally must suspend your account if you get military orders elsewhere, just like a landlord has to let you break your lease. To my knowledge most cell phone companies are aware of this and do it with no hassle at all, but if for some reason you get any resistance just keep pushing.
I got a pay-as-you-go phone as soon as I got to the UK, which generally works fine as long as you just want a simple phone and plan. If you want a smart phone, then it's usually less expensive to get a contact like you would in the US, because these include more data and texts at a better price. Getting a contract shouldn't be too difficult if you show US military orders (they consider this proof of employment), though you may have to wait a few months to prove you are trustworthy before they'll let you add extras like international calling, etc. When we go back to the states we will just use pay-as-you-go.
I didn't get a Vonage number for two reasons. #1: Skype. It's ridiculously cheap, and I can use it on any computer or on my iPhone. My family and I can also use FaceTime through our Mac's and iPhones. #2: my phone/internet/TV bundle let me add unlimited international calling for 5 pounds a month.
You can cancel almost all of the carriers cell plans with orders.
Vonage is the way to go, but you must get the plan while you are still in the states or do it through someone else, they no longer sell to people stationed overseas.
Skype is not a good alternative. The clarity sucks. Not sure why, but Face to Face is crystal clear, but using Skype with the same people, just minutes later is poor quality.
While there are alternatives to TMoble, you won't get an IPhone. And IPhones, with Face Book as your primary form of communication. I can't explain why, but people will pm through FB vs email each other.
Like PPs mentioned, most companies will cancel or hold your account upon presentation of orders.
When you get to your station, you will want to get a cell in that country. (Overseas in Europe, land lines are still common, just a heads up!)
If you want to be able to have signal on your cell when you come back to the US for vacations/visits, and have decent signal throughout the region (Example: You're moving to Germany and want the cell to still work in other parts of Europe) you will want to buy a cell phone that is "triband".
I figure we'll cancel our current contract. The phone numbers are from an area we are not likely going to return to, so new numbers when we return is fine.
There seem to be new small details to consider and act upon all the time with an OCONUS move. I wish we were there already!
Sorry, I'm late on this. We've done a few overseas moves and done something different each time.
First time, we were on a family plan with H's parents, so we put our parts on hold, and they let the contract run out and moved plans.
When I moved last year, t-mobile told me I could cancel my contract, no charge when I brought in orders. Although I was only going to be in Korea 5-6 months, we didn't know where were we were moving, so it didn't make sense to hang on to it. But, then they screwed me and charged a termination fee, like 2 months later. I tried to get it taken off, twice, but no luck. Now they tell me I can put the account on hold for up to 36 months. Yes, I went back to T-mo when I moved to Hawaii this past summer since I already had my unlocked phone, and they were the cheapest. However, I'm on pre-pay with them, so I can jump at any time.
FWIW, I never worried about having a phone when I visited the States. I think we only came back once during the couple years we were both overseas. A couple thousand in airfare and 20+ hours in traveilng made visiting my family not very practical. They encouraged us to take other vacations.