 |
| The photo above is from Fort Belvoir's Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/fortbelvoir |
I'm going to let you in on a little secret...
I'm freaking out!
And, at the same time, I'm pumped that my husband and I will finally have a place together. Yippee!
Before we got married, we set-up a joint fiancee account and started to save up. For the last year now, we've been working on our joint savings and are pretty ready for all the necessary home purchases. I've been living with roommates practically my whole time in NYC - and we all have our own furniture that makes up the apartment. My contribution is the dining room table besides all my room stuff. So everything else, I don't have - that includes, a couch and other living room items as well as practically all the kitchen appliances and gear. My husband is coming from barracks living, so he's got nothin'.
It's funny because a couple months ago we made our first huge purchase - a car! We bought it even before we he got notification of his new location. In Korea, they have overseas car buying programs, so we were able to get a 2014 Jeep Patriot for dirt cheap. I've been eying the Patriot for awhile and we got it fully equipped. Now that we know where we're going, the car will be waiting for us in Virginia.
My type-a personality is in full swing and I'm researching like crazy. Once I wrap my head around all this madness, I would like to put together a more formal list (rather than thousands of post-it notes around my room as I think of another thing). The last couple of weeks, I've just let my mind run wild with thoughts and plans. We're also lucky with Fort Belvoir because it's just about four hours away from NYC. I can easily scope out the place on a weekend. It's actually closer to me than Fort Drum - and I used to take the bus up there every other week for about a year!!!
Yes, I was crazy...crazy in love (couldn't help it!).
I've already experienced one PCS with my husband, but I hardly count it because it was his PCS En Route to Korea (he went from Fort Drum to Fort Huachuca (for four months!) to Korea) and I didn't move.
So, what's the best advice you've received when you were a first-time PCSer that really helped you?
Posts
Ohh, I have all sorts of advice. My first would be to not buy everything immediately. Stick with the basics. And when it comes to large furniture, you don't have to furnish your whole place in a weekend. We bought our bedroom set in stages which helped us build up savings.
ReplyDeleteThanks Lisa!! Awesome advice! I greatly appreciate it!!
DeleteHere is a post I did last year with some PCS tips http://kyleandjensmith.blogspot.com/2012/11/pcsmoving-tips.html I hope it helps! :)
ReplyDeleteYou are the best!! I'm sure your post will be extremely helpful and can't wait to read it!
DeleteWish I could help you there, we've only done the move from our apartment back to my parent's house, but I well understand your anxiousness. I've got a ton of time to go but I'm already freaking out about furniture and living arrangements. I will tell you this though, when we first moved in together we basically just had a bed and a futon. I found a ton of our things on Craigslist that were gently used, dirt cheap, and just needed a little love. They lasted quite a while and we saved a lot of the pieces, so it might be something to consider if you're thinking about small apartment living, and keep saving for the good furniture for a big house :) Plus then you don't have to be as concerned about your good things being trashed in the next PCS.
ReplyDeleteCraigslist is a good idea! When I first moved into my apartment, IKEA was my one stop shop - most of my room is from the catalog! I also used mom and pop local furniture stores to supplement other items, like the dining room table because I was able to haggle! Like...oh, 300...free delivery, etc. - that's NYC, but we'll see about Virginia! You know Lauren, when my husband left for Korea, his follow-on was one place, and they just changed it last minute...that's one thing, don't rely on where they tell you from the get-go!!
DeleteBiggest piece of advice... don't buy large furniture just to fit the home you're in at the time. This way you don't have to worry about it fitting or having to trash it the next time you PCS {You never know what housing (size) will be like at the next duty station}. For us, IKEA was awesome, for things like bookcases, lamps, tv stands, picture frames, etc. Also, the PCS Binder has been my ultimate savior during our current PCS.. here is the post I wrote on it
ReplyDeletehttp://www.mysubconsciousramblings.com/2013/10/the-pcs-binder-stay-organized-during.html
Awesome! What a brilliant idea!! Thanks a million for sharing your post with me Loren!
DeleteMark has nothing furniture-wise either...he always lived off-post, but it was in a furnished apartment. I technically have a small table to contribute....but my parents have been using it since I moved back after college for our family room TV. So I'm not sure they'll want to give it up now! LOL. I think we will be getting my parents' old kitchen table...the one I grew up with, actually! It badly needs a nice tablecloth to go over it, though....
ReplyDeleteCan't wait till he gets back from AFG, we have our church wedding and honeymoon, and then PCS to Ft. Huachuca!! Exciting times! :)