Guam Moms

oooooo! D&K - the waterproof digicam is a fantastic idea. there is so much to see underwater here- even if you aren't snorkeling/ diving! I sure could use a cookbook. Right now I google everything I wanna make/ bake. The upside is you can pick from the ones with really good reviews on the 'net!!!

Carrol- Chicory coffee- that was what she liked! :) That was buggin' me!

Hey Guam Bunch! It has been sometime since I have been on here. How is everybody doing? We are doing fine. My daughter got married-Navy man-in Guam too. We are going to have a grandbaby. We are so excited and so are the parents.

Hi Irene! Congrats on the wedding and baby coming! :)

Becky, what a beautiful picture! Your son looks happy!

well, my daughter and son-in-law made it to guam safely. they were pleasantly surprised when they went to base housing and were given a choice of 3 houses that were ready to move in to. They thought they would be on a waiting list. now they are trying to buy only what they need until everything else arrives. she did tell me that food is alot more expensive there even at the nex

Hi Tramama! I hope your kids enjoy their time here like we do. Lots of empty nice houses here in Harbor View as well. I guess I can expect to see a lot more moving trucks in the next couple months. Let your daughter know that the Commissary is all restocked on Wednesday morning here. And sometimes cold OJ is as low as 25-45 cents. lol. She might already know this but they except manufacturers coupons for a couple months past expiry too.

Thanks for the tips - I'll pass them along to her. I know that so far they have shopped at the nex and at Kmart. Their kitchen supplies are still waiting to be picked up from my garage so they have been eating out a lot, but they are eating a little at home - mostly cereal I think.

Thanks everyone. I hope everyone is doing great.

Andrea- Pretty much anything he needs will be here for him. The tricky part is getting around once he is here to and from work, Exchange and Commissary (bike, scooter, car?) and setting up communication back home. If he brings a hat, sunscreen, light clothing, flip flops, computer/ laptop, and a hobby or two (like games, instrument, books, water sport stuff) he should be just fine.

Rental Cars???? Where did you rent yours from? Or do you think we would be able to find a guam bomb/boonie car for under 1500 bucks since that is what our rental car would cost.

There is a rental car company on base with reasonable fees. We use it when our Guam bomb has a problem. There are occasionally guam bombs avail and this site might be helpful: http://www.dragguam.com/dragboard/forumdisplay.php?f=10

Sometimes sailors are leaving and trying to sell quickly too.

whats the name of the rental company on base? We have a car booked through thrifty out of the airport, for a month and it is running me 905. I would like to find something a little cheaper. Anyone know if you get reimbursed for the rental car?

It's National Car Rental 671-564-1870

We have arrived! do you ladies have any suggestions on this we should do after we settle in?

Welcome to your new home away from home! Well "furry vengeance" is playing at 3pm today on the Navy Base. You could take your son. For more listings go to: http://www.mwrguam.com/company_detail.php?keyword=movies . There is a beach on base called Dadi Beach. It is a small strip of beach- they all are here. Definitely wear flip flops for these beaches because they are rocky with shell pieces- when you get settled you can buy water shoes at the nex to protect you in the water. To get there take Marine Dr to the road that runs dirctly between the NEX and COMM (Nex on left / Comm on right), once you pass them on this short road make a right turn and Dadi will be on your left before the Barracks. It is a short winding road that heads down toward the beach and runs along the woods behind the beach. Park anywhere along that road. They are dog friendly too. Also you could take a ride down Marine Drive (the road straight out of the base) the length of the way. It literally goes straight up north to the Air Force base. Along Marine Dr is beaches; Chamorro Village- great Festival on Wednesday nights; lots of strip malls; if your turn left onto Chalan San Antonio- there is a Bank of Guam on the right corner-you will find a mall, restaurants and movie theater called GPO/ Hollywood Theater (you can get what's playing on Fandango). Chalan means "street, avenue". Across from the movie theater is a Coldstone (!!!) and a Ruby Tuesday, Chilis and Wendy's if you are looking for familiar places. That should get you started!

Oh- also for LuvinMatt- To your right as you exit the base - there is a black two man sub so you cannot miss it- is a very cool museum about Guam's history. I really think it is a great thing to go to. They have a short movie about the history as well, which really will help you appreciate culture here.

cool. I saw the museum when we were at the housing office. We will definitely check it out sometime this week. So far we have just been running around looking at housing. Tomorrow we have to get into contact with the Realtor and see what they have for off base housing.

Ooooo, I wish you luck with that!

I need some luck. They showed us an almost perfect house on base but hubby thinks we still need to at least see something off base to compare. I wish the bedrooms on base were not closet sized...lol Cause the house would be perfect...ah well.

Did you look at the Harbor View housing? Its been a good size for us but we don't have children and much furniture just yet.

I don't think so. We looked at 3 bedrooms in north tip and lockwood terrace. Oh and one 4 bedroom in Apra Palms.

Oh- wel check out Harbor View, I haven't heard anyone complain about space. Pics of our house are on my page, bu it was hard to get the whole master bedroom into the shot.

Your house is like the one we are staying right now. We are over on Madrid in one of the Navy Gateway inn and suites houses. I really like these but they dont come in 3 bedrooms as far as I know.

No, I only know of that Bay Views being big like that- behind us.

how does it take to mail a box to Guam? I mailed my son a box today just curious how long before he gets it

Since my daughter has been there I've mailed a couple of boxes. Each took about 6 days to get there. The flat rate boxes from the post office cost the same to ship as they do to the states regardless of weight. Only catch I've found is that I can't use the automated post office machine after hours because they require a customs form, so I have to wait in line at my (very inefficient) post office.

I mailed a bunch of Mail Jacob received here at the house and of course snacks and goodies and his Birth certificate (he wants to get a pass port) so he can go to other countries. Post man said papers and food are not insurable. So I could no insure it. I still have the receipt so hopefully it won't get lost. I did not list his birth certificate on the customs form.

Our flight was 22 hours. We started out in Nashville. We did not stop in Japan though. We stopped in Hawaii.

Hi...my son will be stationed in Guam beginning sometime between now and early next spring. His sub is coming out of dry dock and headed for their new homeport!

Andrea- I am glad he made it here safely!
luvinmatt- Did you guys find a home yet? There is a listing for a Santa Rita 3 bedroom/$1700 in the mininex next to Subway and Video Vision...

We did did a house in Piti. We moved in on Friday, well as much moving in as you can do without an HHG shipment.

We have only been in Guam 3 weeks but so far we really like it. The place is beautiful and the people are great. Housing really depends on when you get here. I suggest you apply for housing but also be looking out in town to see what is available. We looked at what housing was offering and were looking out in town in the same time and ended up picking a house in town.

luvinmatt- That actually looks like he pic I saw in the mininex! Well congrats on the new home! I hope your shipment arrives soon enough. The fence is an awesome touch- do you have a pet?

No pets. But the gated.fenced yard is great for the kids. We can lock the gates and they are free to run around and do whatever. The yard is what sold me on this hose. It really is perfect for the kids.

hey just wanted to do an update we will be leaving in a couple of days for guam.. was stressed but not so much anymore.. found out yesterday my car is waiting to be picked up and our hhg should be there next week (i hope that is what the movers said).. jealous that my dog gets to spend an overnight in Hawaii at a doggy spa while we fly 18 hrs straight :( haha.. but everything is going oka.. my mom and i are not getting along don't know why she is always wanting to fight with me over her dog who keeps trying to attack my son her grandson. she keeps defending the dog while i defend my son :Z. so ready to be in guam and chillaxin in our own place.

@ Tiffany
It really depends on his job and which command he is with. Since you are not on his orders you will have to try and get command sponsored after you get married which is not guaranteed. If you cant get command sponsored you will have to pay your own way to get here. If you can, I would get married ASAP at a JOP if you have to and try to get his orders changed to include you. Good Luck . We have only been in Guam for 3 weeks but really like it so far.

Hi Tiffany & welcome! Well I can vouch that if you are not married and already on his orders when they are cut, you will have to apply for Command Sponsorship, which is a long process. I took the risk and flew myself and my things to Guam and we were married here 3 days after I arrived. Before I came, DH had to put in a request chit for us to get married. It took several weeks for the command to sign off, so I am glad he started the process a couple months before my arrival. After we were married, he got the paperwork for me to get an overseas medical screening (I brought all my medical records, which helped- but it still was a week long process of shots, exams and interviews). Once that was approved, he had to get a bunch of people to sign off on CS, which seems to be the part to take the longest. They have this weird rule where, if you do not type, space, spell, date everything exactly as the person at the end of the line wishes, he will send you back for all the signatures again- which happened to us in spite of being diligent and anal about everything. All in all it took a month and a half- and this whole time you are not allowed to live on base with him- very expensive! Save up!!! So every day you have to get a pass to be on base to get things done, which is quite annoying. We were very lucky that he had a friend whose spouse did not work who drove me building to building/ appt to appt while hubby was working. Otherwise he would have had to take even more time off from work to handle it. I cannot tell you the relief I felt when I got approved and we finally got a home on base together. It made it all worthwhile.

Hi everyone our son has been in Guam about 4 months he loves it. He says he wishes he could stay there until he retires. He has only been in the Navy 2 years. He wants his brother to ask fro Guam as well. Our youngest son leaves October 4th for basic training.

Andrea- Definitely have your son call housing about the bugs. My husbands barracks had ants like crazy- you cannot leave a single crumb anywhere in the barracks- haven't had a single problem since we moved him out of barracks. It was tough for my husband at first too because he didn't have a car and it was raining a lot. Until he got a bike he walked everywhere and sailors would feel bad and offer him rides. He got a bike, which got a flat. If he meets sailors that drive he can carpool. The Single Sailor Sanctuary was a life saver. That is where he hung out, met people, played games, used the computer. I asked him a couple days ago if he missed it now that he's married and he admitted he does because he can't play the instruments anymore! It will get better.

Andrea- also, my husband recommends he save a couple paychecks for a scooter for about $900 (they are safe on the road here and commonly used). We have a car and a scooter will be our second "car". The NEX sells bikes too, which he should be able to afford in one check. My husband also says to do what we did: get MCV brand home phone with long distance, they do not require a deposit. We have a package with MCV as well, which is internet, cable and phone. They have a website you can check out. We only use 1.0 internet which is the cheapest and works fine. And we only have basic cable because we realized we never watch the excess channels.

Oh wow Andrea- I am sorry I know very little about AAFB except for the NEX/Commissary shopping (which is better than Big Navy imo). It is about a 45-50 ride from where I am on Big Navy. I have been hearing about the housing challenges for new arrivals on both. I hope his roommate and sponsor are supportive and help him get situated.

Mona- My goodness that photo is priceless!

Andrea- So glad it is improving for your son!

Mona That grandbaby is so cute. Well it has been some time since I have been on here. Myh daughter got married to a Navy man and they are expecting their first in March. We are so excited.So I hope everyone is doing great.

Irene- Congrats!!!
Cndysac- Yay! So glad you are enjoying Skype!

anyone know if we can post for sale stuff in here? I have a dining room table and 4 chairs I need to sell. Our house is bigger than expected and we purchased a new table and chairs before we left, it is way to small for the dining area we have...lol

Maybe post the pics on your page and direct us there?

thank you LivNLrn. Posted the pics in my profile if any one is interested.

hello everyone. My son just landed in Guam yesterday. He checked in and will be working at the hospital for the next 2yrs. My cousin meet him at the airport just to make sure he was safe for me. I love my family! I haven't heard from him today. I hope he had a good 1st day at work.

Anybody else have a corpsman stationed at the Naval Hospital?

Hi Niki, I could be wrong but I was told dependents are only allowed to accompany if it is a 3 year tour. I am not sure about the E3/E4 thing. You can always come over non command sponsored. I would not recommend it though because it is pretty expensive here, especially if he wont be getting married cola and housing $$.