Military Relocation: Things to consider before making the move
If you belong to a military family,you might have already experienced moving home from one location to another every few years. Packing all the household stuffs, taking care of all social, professional and personal obligations, and carrying all important stuffs (both tangible and intangible!) to a new location, does require a lot of planning and organization.
Check out an interesting infographic below:
familyactivities.co
On an average, every 1 to 3 years a military family moves. and a kid in military family has to change his school around 6-9 times on average.
If you have to live in a house off-base, you might consider renting or purchasing one. However, there are few things you must take into account before deciding on the house. Though you have your BHA (Basic Housing allowance), you might want to consider certain other financial obligations that might impact your planned budget. Some of these factors are mentioned below:
1) Distance of your new home from the base: How long will it take to travel to and fro, and how much will it cost?
2) Cost of searching a home: A real estate agent or a broker will charge a fee for getting you the house (either for renting or for buying). Checking classified ads section of local news papers can save you the fee amount but might cost you in terms of time and efforts.
3) For kids, you definitely have to consider the distance of schools from your home and the best mode of transportation available.
4) Size of your new home: You indeed have to check whether your new home will be able to accommodate all your household stuffs or not, in which case you might have to spend some money in getting an additional storage.
5) Does your new home require repair work? Is your new home perfect to your desires, or does it need some work, e.g. the walls might need to be painted or the flooring might need to be changed as per your choice. Consider the cost and add it to your budget planner.Even if you are living off-base in government approved rental homes, you can always inquire about home repair and household installation services available at the base and avail them.
Once you've decided on all these factors and planned your budged accordingly, you can check on the list of things you might want to purchase for your new home. You can save some major bucks by contacting the thrift shops of your military installation community that usually has almost all household items at very low prices.