Decisions! Decsions! to move or not to move with husband!?

[Brenda]

Hi ladies!

 My husband who graduated basic training march 29th 2013 ( woo!) is now at A school across the street in Great lakes for his EOD prep.. he leaves to panama city may 9th for dive school, hes there for 8 weeks and then goes to Eglin FL for 38 weeks.. Now my question is, should myself and our 2 year old son join him out there while hes out in FL for school? seeing that is a very long time, i know some people may say do wait till he gets his orders then make the move, however i know it sounds silly, but the distance as us wife knows is never fun, im leaning toward moving out there, but another half is saying to wait. Have any other wives have similar situations or have been in this pickle? if so whats the best to do? as im a new navy wife still, things like this may be a bit indecisive for me.

thank you!

[NerdyNavyWife]

My Husband and I don't have any Kids, and when he graduates BC he will be in GL until December for both A school and C school (He will be in the Advanced Electronics Computer Field, probably as an ET).  Because we don't have kids, we decided that it is too much frustration to pack up and move to one place, just to pack up and move again 6 months or so later, especially since I currently have a steady job now.  We didn't think it was worth the hassle of moving and gambling on if I get a decent job for 6 months or not.  So I am staying in NC and waiting for his orders.  But I can also visit on the weekends once he is granted liberty too, so it is a little easier for us.  

Another thing to check is if the Navy will move you if he is in FL for that long.  I don't know what the rules are for that yet as I am a new Navy Wife too.  But If they can move you, It might be worth it.

Really, If it is worth it for you to move twice in one year.  Do it.  If it isn't and you think you can handle 38+ weeks, Don't.  My Mother-In-Law always says "A person can make it through anything, if there is a light at the end of the tunnel."    

[Angie]

Fyi, ET and FC "C" schools are not in Great Lakes

[abuon18]

I am pretty sure the Navy will only pay to move families if their spouse will be in school at one command for 6 months or more. Ultimately no one else can decide what is right for your family but I wanted to give you that bit of info to maybe help you decide.

[Anti M]

The school is long enough for a paid move.  Most will allow him to live with you offbase after a couple weeks and he earns his liberty privileges.  The big question is how things are done at his school, they all vary a little.  

Moving means paperwork, inconvenience, and a lot of hurry up and wait for approval.  You will bear the brunt of packing and driving down there by yourself, or of overseeing a packout and driving down, and finding a place to live if housing isn't available to you.  It also means more time together as a couple, and an easier move when he does get orders.   More father-son time, even once a week , is going to make a better bond with your son.

Waiting for now also makes sense, you can set money aside for the move, because even a paid move means money out of pocket up front.  Gives you time to get organized for the big move, lets you get even thing sorted out.   You only have to move once in one year, not twice.  

Your child isn't in school yet, that's helpful.  I don't know if you have a good job or not, that's a factor.  And how close you are to your family, how you'd feel by yourself down in FL, or if you won't mind that.  

In either case, you should be prepping for a move now.  Get your essential paperwork file organized.  Start throwing away old clothes and broken things,  select items for sale or donation, inventory and document your valuables.  Get your car ready for a road trip.  These things will creep up on you and bite you in the ass if you don't get them done.  When a move comes, you think you have time, but you don't, it will happen fast when it does happen.  Hurry up and wait, then sprint is how the Navy does things.

[Brenda]

Thank you everyone for the tips and advice! much appreciated :)

[UrabissWife]

heyy girl. okay soo i know i don't have kids, buttttt i  moved down to be with my husband when he went to A school in Pensacola FL and he was only there for 2 months :D  and Im glad i did. i had so many people tell me not to , but i did anyways ..... i didn't move move there like pack up all my stuff and move it there, we had all of our stuff in storage and i loaded up my car with what i needed and went down there. i stayed at an extended stay . so it was like a hotel, but an apartment, i paid monthly, and it had a kitchen in it.  but since the navy wont move you to his school, when he gets his orders, they will only move you from where he signed up for the navy . like where your BAH is based off of right now. so you would have to pay out of pocket for your move ...... how it worked for us , is since I drove down there, the navy paid my husband gas money to get from florida back to Idaho (where we were from )  then from Idaho we loaded up our uhaul and moved to here. and we got reimbursed from that.  the navy usually pays for the plane ticket for them to go home and get everything, but some people do end up buying cars when they go to school so they just give them gas money upfront. i hope that makes sense and i didn't confuse you with rambling :P  ALSO his schooling says for so long... but it may take him a while to class up sooo he could be there longer than 38 weeks. it took my husband a month to class up

[UrabissWife]

ohhh but the navy will pay for you to move to florida if you want... so all that jibberish about them only moving youre stuff from where you are now to his first command....ignore that :P  its longer than 6 months i  just didn't do that math whooopps :P so he just has to fill out papers when he gets there.... you can start looking at places to stay