Question about Moving

[NicoleH10]

Hi everyone I have a question about moving. My husband finishes boot camp 5/24 and the has 4 weeks of schooling at Great Lakes. My questions are when he get's his orders what are the best websites/tools to use to find housing? Does the navy provide any information/help on moving to a new state? We have a chocolate Lab, now with having a dog, will that make moving more difficult would we be able to keep her or have to get rid of her?.. Is it better to try and find on or off base housing? I am just trying to gather all and as much info now before we get orders bc I am 7months pregnant and by the time comes to leave I'll be hitting 9months. I am new to all this so all and any info is greatly appreciated!! Thanks in advance! 

[UrabissWife]

hey!!  as far as housing, when you find out where he will be stationed, you can call housing and ask them for all the info. just google the base and search for housing. they will tell you what they have available or if there is a waiting list. They will help if you live on base, if you don't live on base, as soon as he get his orders starts looking online for homes.

keep in mind, just because his school it 4 weeks, doesn't mean he wont be there longer. It took my husband a month to class up. just depends on the flow of the base at that time.

You husband will fill out all of the paper work for moving when it comes time. You can either have the navy move everything for you, or you can do it yourself (DITTY move) . if the navy moves you, make sure you pack as much as u can into your car b/c it can take up to a month or more to get your stuff. If you do a ditty move, the navy will reimburse you for all your expenses . We did a DITTY.

having a dog will be harder if you live off base. base housing usually accepts dogs. but living off base you have to go through the pet deposit, or other stuff. but that doesn't mean you wont be able to find a home off base.

on base housing means everything is paid for , rent utilities. but they take all of your BAH. if you live off base you get BAH. It honestly depends on where you are going to be at. You have to consider if they area around is safe, and also some bases have a long wait list to get into base housing. We don't live on base, and we pocket money. our rent+utilities is less than what we get for BAH so we pocket some at the end of the month which is nice.

I hope that helped. if you have any other questions feel free to ask :)

[Nellz15]

one really cool site for housing is   http://www.ahrn.com/     since you can put his base and search by distance, price, and pets.  Were about to move out of our military housing because their eating us a new one on rent.

I cant say for on base housing since San Diego doesn't have it, but the military housing were in is ok.  From my experience military is easier to move into but then he will always be surrounded by the navy, which is fine for some people but not for everyone.  However civilian housing seems to be cheaper, you just need to research the general area.

As for moving I have no experience since my MiL talked my husband into just mailing our stuff n not taking furniture.

[NicoleH10]

Thanks ill have to check into that! 

[meagan5220]

some websites to use: ahrn.com, militarybyowner.com, Zillow.com, trulia.com, realtor.com, homes.com, hotpad.com, and google property management companies in the area where you will be moving and look at their rentals as well. Also, craigslist can be a helpful resource, lots of companies actually use it for free advertising, so the best thing to do is to look for the actual company the house is being listed through, or contact a local realtor and get information about if the house is actually being rented out. Also if you email about the house and you get an email back saying they wont give you an address until you fill out an application that's a negative, if they say they are "serving overseas" or a "missionary overseas" and they will send you the keys once you send the deposit check that's another negative. All signs of scams, also if they say the rent is in USD that's another sign.

As far as finding housing with a lab you honestly should have no issues at all, and as far as getting rid of her that would be only if you decided not to search for a place that would allow her. Its harder with dogs but its not impossible. I found a place to live that would accept my dog that is an "aggressive breed" took a little effort but I wouldn't give her up for the world. Most places that take bigger dogs take Labs because they aren't considered aggressive.

 

as far as off or on that's a personal decision personally I choose to live off base because I have always preferred to separate our lives at home from the military and because we have always found places that were cheaper to live in and what we wanted in good areas so I never felt the need to live on base. Remember if you choose military housing there might be a wait list which could impact if you move immediately or have to wait or have to find temp housing in the area. Just some things to think about :)

[Lily_ter'swife]

Thanks for the info ladies :)

I have a few q's as well.

What steps did you have to take to get the whole moving application process started?
What about having a power of attourney?
How do I apply for the military to move me?

We will be stationed in norfolk.

I've never been to the east coast, nor have i moved across country! Super nervous!

[meagan5220]

First thing, are you on his orders? If you aren't and you weren't married before they were issues the Navy will move him, not you. Just fyi. If you are on his orders awesome :)

 

The website for the move is called move.mil if he is in school his best bet will be to go in and get some help setting it up. the website is extremely troublesome and a pain. If they will help him that's great. They are more likely to help when they are in a school. Or he can ask one of his LPOs that is married (lol my husband asked one that wasn't and he told him to sell all our stuff and just have me drive the car to our first duty station and start all over... NOT happening lol, not to say anything bad about the unmarried guys but all of the ones my husband talked to had no clue how to do a move.) A power of atty isn't super needed. The really only thing you might need it for is to receive or release the household goods if he wont be there. or if you are applying for a place to live and he is out of pocket you will need a POA to sign his name on the application and/or lease.

 

Norfolk is tricky. most people choose to live in the surrounding cities because its hard to find good places to live in Norfolk for good prices. I live up in Hampton not too far from there but I don't venture down across the tunnel too much. Traffic is crazy. lol