Army Life How Soon Do You Start Prepping for a PCS

Your spouse just received their orders, you now know you’ll be moving/experiencing a PCS very soon. How soon do you start prepping for a PCS?

Army Life:

How Soon Do You Start Prepping for a PCS?

This is a question I feel is just dependent on how much of a notice you receive. I have friends that have moved in as soon as 2-3 months, so the prepping starts immediately. If you are a member of a Military Spouse network or forum community, it’s easy to  gain access on where you will be headed next. Myself, I start planning as soon as we get word. We have been fortunate that we’ve always gotten a few months notice to get the planning going early. My hubs and I are over thinkers. I always begin the hunt for housing and he starts getting information regarding the movers etc and handles the “military” side of things. I’ll be on my own if he’s ever deployed and we have to move. Let’s hope that doesn’t ever happen!

I have friends that have done this and they R.O.C.K.! Super Spouses! 

To Live on or Off Post 

I have been told I’m spoiled.. Maybe I am. In the three PCS moves we have made we have not ever lived on post. It’s not that we want away from the base, it’s just always worked out that way. We have gotten lucky with the locations we have moved to. When Aramis was a baby, a yard wasn’t a priority for us. So apartment living was what worked for us. Now that the boys are bigger and enjoy being outside a yard is a must so we have been living in houses. But there might be a chance one day that we get to live on post. It’s always a possibility we are open to. I’m not that spoiled. 🙂

Schools for your Military Kid/s

Before our children were school age, I never even thought about the school districts we’d be living in. Now that Aramis is in 1st grade, that’s one of my top priorities. Do you check the rating websites? Or do you use the spouse communities or do you go straight to the source and check the school districts in the areas you plan on searching for housing? If you live on post and there are schools on the installation the choice is easy if you choose to stay on post. We are a little more daring and will most likely live off-post so the school situation will def take some research. I will also research their curriculum as well. That is one thing I will say about military spouses, you get in a group of them and start talking schools- we do our homework! It’s bad enough that we have to take our kids out of schools every time we move, our major concerns is that our kids are up to par for their next school.

How Far is Too Far?

If you plan to live off post, how far are you willing to commute on a daily basis? Each time we have moved we search the area closest to base and go from there.  Depending on the installation you are moving to the areas around post can be very sketchy. So a lot of families choose to live a distance from the installation. One thing we constantly hear is, “We want to get away from the base,” so they live 30 minutes away or even further. Personally I think anything over 30 minutes is too far. You have to think gas prices and wear and tear on your vehicles. But don’t get me wrong, I won’t trade a short drive for personal security. If I don’t feel safe, I’ll be out a little further. Just me.. I’m kinda paranoid.. don’t mind me 😉 

Those are some topics to start with. Once we get orders to PCS, I’ll probably update or start a series. PCS-ing is a stressful time, but there are ways to make it not so stressful. The beautiful thing is that you’ll be moving on to another location that you and your family can explore.

I always say, don’t get upset about a duty assignment. It’s what you make it of and if you make it awesome- You’ll be sad to leave when you have to. If you don’t make it awesome… well let’s not talk about that.. 🙁

Questions? Comments?

If you have any questions about PCS-ing please send me an email at  info at candypo dot com.  

Candy