We've been in a hotel on post for just a little over a week. As of tomorrow, we're staying on our own dime because the Army will only reimburse you for 10 days here. That's right, reimburse. We have outed the money for our entire stay here, unlike Hawaii where they pre-pay for you so you don't end up in the hole. Whatever. I'm not bitter or anything. Anyway. What was I saying? Right. 10 days.
First of all, who the heck can find a place to live in 10 days...WITHOUT A CAR?! I swear, the military has a sick sense of humor. Or they just want to snag all your BAH by forcing you into a house on post. Which is exactly where we're headed on Friday.
They sucked us in. Really, we have no better option. We don't have a car. We can't afford to stay in a hotel until our car gets here in April {yes, April, even though we shipped it in February} and we can actively look for a house. Also, we're really hoping to buy a house here. Lord knows that doesn't happen in a week or less.
The house we're temporarily moving into? Tiny. Like our-bed-wouldn't-even-fit-in-the-master-bedroom tiny. Not even kidding. I think the only reason they consider it a master bedroom is because it has a bathroom attached. The second bathroom upstairs is bigger than the master bath! What?! The kitchen is literally half the size of our last one. As is the living room. The only bonus to this house is the extra bedroom (it has 3) and bathrooms. I think the people the Army hired to build housing for them 10+ years ago were smoking crack. Our house in Hawaii had one bathroom, which was fitting of a hotel room - and not a nice one. {It wasn't terrible. It was just small.} This house has a "master bedroom" the size of most people's guest bedrooms. I don't even know...
Just so you can see the ridiculousness for yourself. =P
Needless to say all this has reinforced our wish to live off post. Because good gravy, I think I'd go crazy there! I also caught a quick glance of our new, yet temporary, neighbors. Let's just say I don't think I'll be making many friends in the new neighborhood... ::shudder:: {Side note: Our super sweet neighbors in Hawaii ended up with crappy neighbors in our old house. Win some, lose some, I guess!}
Even though we are no longer "homeless," we're still carless and stuff-less. We will be getting our unaccompanied baggage Friday, but... Let's face it. All I'm getting are pots and pans, an air mattress, sheets, blankets, towels, a TV the size of a computer monitor, and some toys for Charlotte. That's not much. I mean, call me picky or needy, but furniture would be fantastic. Even just a futon to sit on while I squint at the TV! Is that really asking for so much? I think not. {Just FYI, our household goods won't even be here until the end of April.}
Oh, the many, many joys of military life. *sigh*
P.S. Totally spaced on Wednesday Walkabout because of the house-viewing thing. Whoopsies! I'll try to do better next time.
16 comments:
Love the military life. I didn't realize some places would pre-pay for lodging for you. I always just assumed you paid for it, then waited to get reimbursed. I wonder what will happen when we move back to the states. We have a vehicle, but it's in one state and we most likely will get stationed on the other side of the country. We'll have to pick it up and drive since it's not in govt storage. Then we'll have to buy another one. At least you don't have to worry about that. We'll have to sell our 2 cars here cause they won't ship to or from Japan. PCSing is expensive! Sorry, I just kinda ranted there.
Yikes it all sounds a teeny bit crazy! But you know what? You are together and back in the mainland and everything else will come : ) I am sorry it isn't until April though!
I wish I had known about the 10-day limit when we left Hawaii in 2010. We ended up living in a hotel for 3 weeks, so we had to pay for 11 days out of our pocket. And they don't help you find housing here on the mainland like they did for us in Hawaii. (The wait list for post housing for my husband's rank was like 2 years...whatever.) I wish the powers that be understood how much goes into a military move when you have a family. It's so much more than getting on a plane and going from point A to point B. Guess I'm ranting, too. lol Thankfully my hubby should be retiring very very soon. I am ready for him to be a civilian. :-) Good luck with the rest of your move tasks!
Moving is the worst. We will have moved 4 times in 2 years this summer. It has taken a toll on our bank account. I hope you find a house to buy soon!
They will only pay for 10 days and they don't even pay iT up front? Wow way to make me terrified to PCS! lol So you're depleting all your funds, plus you have no way to get around. Lovely.
Hang in there! Husband and I got to Campbell Sunday night, looked at 12+ houses on Monday, looked at another 7 ish on Tuesday, put in an offer on Wednesday and signed papers today. It can be done. Keep your head up!
Ahh PCSing troubles. Thanks Army! Right?
If you can find the ACS building on post, they might have a lending closet with folding chairs/table/other furniture!
PS. Your master bath looks quite grand compared to mine. lol (wish I was joking.....)
Military life = roller coaster! Our first house on base was tiny too. That neighborhood has since been demolished. Lucky that they have something available for you so soon though. We were on a waiting list for 6 months the first time around and almost 4 months for a new,bigger house on the same post when we found out we were pregnant with our second. Let's not even talk about the issues with BAH that caused! And when we ETSed last August we went over a month without furniture. At least by living on post you don't have to pay for a cab anytime you need to run errands
Just remember that the military will only move your HHG once unless it is from on post housing to a different on post houseing. use the time until that comes to find a house if you can. moving all of our stuff was a pain in the butt. I was pregnant and had horrible morning sickness. I can't even imagine doing it with a kid.
I feel you on the "reimbursment" issue. Last year my hubby was TDY en route for 3 months and we had to pay out of pocket for his travel across the country in his own car and his extended stay hotel for the whole 13 weeks becuase the barracks were "full", then when we met up at our new station we ran into the same thing y'all are having to do. I really hope that you get ALL your money back becuase in the end we only got back 65% of the $3k we spend on the hotel becuase his unit and "big army" were fighting over who had to pay it to us. Thank you Army.
So glad you're back on the mainland, you seem so much happier!
This is exactly why I don't want OCONUS orders :( I'm not ready for the nightmare! We weren't PCSed when we moved to CA bc my husband's orders weren't long enough so we paid everything out of pocket with no reimbursement (hotel, etc). I went without HHG for TWO YEARS before the Navy finally PCSed us, bc I wasn't paying for a cross country move! What a joke.
So sorry about PCS woes!
We are national guard, just came off activated status, and are living in our friends' basement with our two kids and dog while we wait for our house to close. VA loan takes FOREVER!
At least the Army pays a bit for you to be in transition (we don't get anything except 2 months of storage paid for). I hope you got some kind of permissive TDY maybe (I'm no expert on it, since I'm not AD, though)... we didn't even get to take the leave my hubby earned while on active status... he just lost it. :(
Yet we all do this military thing for some reason! Hope things look up for you soon!
Oh my gosh, what ridiculousness! I'm so sorry.
I hate any situation where an employer expects an employee to pay for work-related expenses with the promise to reimburse. That is #$%#$%(. (put your own word in there.) Found your blog through Walkabout Wednesday. Good luck with the rest of your move.
Gah, you just reminded me that we haven't seen our TLA money yet! Hopefully you find full-time quarters soon as for the car, I fully recommend hotwire.com if you haven't gotten one yet. Why? Because you can get the hot rate. Otherwise, priceline it and negotiate. When we got to Japan, they forgot to tell us about the cab's numbers or the shuttle bus that existed. We hoofed it for a week... with a stroller. Good luck!!
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