Topic: Anyone else have an obsession with future postings?

[Nix]

Nomij's post about rent around bases got me thinking.  My wife is obsessed with knowing at any given time what areas of a town/city we may be posted to is ideal for us.  She knows the approximate prices for the types of houses in the areas we would consider, and where the immediate amenities like schools, grocery stores, employment opportunities for her are, etc.

I'm not complaining about my wife's obsession as it has had fantastic financial benefits for us.  I'm more curious if there are other CF members or spouses who also research this on a regular basis?

[irlandaiscanuck]

Hey Nix,

After lurking Army.ca for months, the lack of response to your post made me join.

I can definitely understand your wife's obsession. My husband isn't even officially in yet and I've been researching all of the different bases that he is most likely to be posted to and their surrounding areas. Even beyond checking out the MLS listings and the basic amenities... I check every city for rock climbing gyms, volunteer opportunities, the cheapest way to get back to visit my family, hiking and cycling trails and libraries.

I find that it makes me feel a little bit less like my future is something that might as well be picked out of a hat, it makes me feel a little more useful that when I just sit there worrying about all of the what ifs, and it's even made me excited about him joining and getting to move around every few years to put all this research to good use! 

[love_my_soldier]

Yeah.. I'm like that to. I research the heck out of everything before I do it. Always got to know what I'm getting into before I do it. hahaha!!! But it is great that my mom grew up on bases so I just got to ask her some stuff,but things have changed some since my grand father retarded.

[CDN Aviator]

my grand father retarded.

"retarded" or "retired" ?

 

[love_my_soldier]

My mistake..hahaha

[Hammer Sandwich]

"retarded" or "retired" ?

 

DAMMIT! Beat me to it......I gotta check "unread posts" more often....

Buuuutt.....you never know, ther could be an intersting story to go with that....(juat sayin')

[PPCLI Guy]

I'm more curious if there are other CF members or spouses who also research this on a regular basis?

We are on our 4th move in 5 years, and have had a total of 11 moves in 16 years of marriage.  Eventually you get beat into submission and just take it as it comes....

[ArmyVern]

We are on our 4th move in 5 years, and have had a total of 11 moves in 16 years of marriage.  Eventually you get beat into submission and just take it as it comes....

You married a Saint!

Funny, Royal Lepage (or whatever they are called these days) just made a comment to me last month about the number of posting allowances I've gotten since '03 (5 of them). I await the day where I actually am the beneficiary of a posting lasting longer than 3 years. This 5 years minimum posting (to 15 years in one spot!!) is unheard of in my life. Sigh.

[Eye In The Sky]

In my last unit, the Sgt I worked for had been on that Wing since '94.

He didn't even know we got 5 days Special (Relocation) leave when I was posted in, I had to *prove* it.  Umm, maybe if you knocked off 5 of the 6 inches of dust off of you from being here 13 years straight...

Oddly enough, when he got a posting message last APS to Comox...he got out.

[BulletMagnet]

Vern I haven't moved since I was posted in 2000 

Doesn't look like I'll be going anywhere in the near future either, I think I might try to retire without ever getting posted 

[blg]

I'm a CF spouse and also definitely like this!
Of course we want to know what we'll be getting into with our family, but we also know that our husband usually can't do these things due to the nature of his job.
Like, for instance, my husband is on course right now and we're being posted/moving right when he's done his course. Since he's so busy I have to take it upon myself to look into job opportunities, the area, vetrinarians, even good places for us to go to on weekends for hiking, camping, dates, etc;
I actually like doing it, so it's not a burden at all for me!
And, like the poster said above, it feels like we have a little more control over the move/posting. The military can put us where ever they want but atleast we have the control which house we can buy, what restaurants to go to, and the like!

[MelMC]

I'm also a CF wife who is like that. I like to know where we might be going, what's around. Where my kids could potentially be going to school or daycare, what the housing market is like might , where's good to eat fun places to go, and anything else that might come across my mind on any given search day! I feel a bit more in control about it when I know. I don't like not having a plan, even if its only a tentative one!

[armychick2009]

When I was with my ex, we only got posted once but - had moved three times in two years while in the original city we met. When the posting came, we were already "pros" at finding places to live, with the difference being we bought. He was overseas when he got his posting message so I went ahead on my own to the new town to look at places on my own little private HHT... what a disaster that was (the houses were crap!)... but it was only three hours from where we lived so I bore the cost of going down. It worked out perfectly though because when he got home, we were on the official HHT and had a placed picked out the same day we went down. Lucked out for sure.

If I had a family, maybe I would have cared more about the little things but - it was just the two of us and all we needed really was a place to live. If we posted to a larger city (instead of Petawawa), likely we would have put more "thought" into things like schools, crime, nasty neighbourhoods... (Though, I gotta say paying $250 K for a house in Petawawa where the two car attached garage was STUFFED with garbage, was a bit of an off-putter... definitely NEVER settle for a house when you go somewhere!)

[FastNFurious]

Im ex military and a Military spouse.  I am like this, and I am thankful for a posting that hubby currently has is for 4 yrs.  Then we plan to go back to where we came from.  I am constantly looking at cities and the cost of living and the availability of housing in those areas.  Its things you need to plan for.

[DaisyDee]

Like irlandisacanuck I joined after lurking a long time so I could reply to this post. I can answer questions about Winnipeg, Vancouver and Vancouver Island. Is there anyone who is willing to answer my obsessive compulsive questions about Halifax, Petawawa or Trenton?

[Nix]

we got 5 days Special (Relocation) leave when I was posted in....

We get five days leave for relocation? I'm assuming this is on top of the days for moving packing unpacking etc, is this correct?

[PMedMoe]

We get five days leave for relocation? I'm assuming this is on top of the days for moving packing unpacking etc, is this correct?

IIRC correctly, you get 5 days total (on each end) for relocation. 

Link:  CF Leave Manual.  See section 5.11 Special Leave (Relocation)

[justmyalias]

Is it fair to say that the internet has made this posting lifestyle a heckuvvalot easier than it used to be to go into a new place cold turkey?

What other hardships do people find they are still facing (even with so much information available online) with new postings?

btw, Bravo for taking such an interest in doing all this background checking.

If any of you spouses are website guru's (or have an interest) I would strongly encourage you to seriously consider consolidating information from similarly inclined people and putting together a website for military folk as a reference site.  You could make it a similar 'forum' style place.  You could even build it up to address various other things that affect all.

[dogger1936]

IIRC correctly, you get 5 days total (on each end) for relocation. 

Link:  CF Leave Manual.  See section 5.11 Special Leave (Relocation)

I've gotten 5 days each side every move so far.

[PMedMoe]

I've gotten 5 days each side every move so far.

That's exactly what I said;  5 days on each end.

[dogger1936]

That's exactly what I said;  5 days on each end.

You also said IIRC.

[PMedMoe]

You also said IIRC.

And posted the link.  Table 5.11.11 on page 44.  Look it up.  Depending on the type of posting, it may be less than five days.

You can disregard the IIRC.  That was more of a CYMA comment.   

[Nix]

It sure helps when you have special circumstances such as a special needs child or a spouse who doesn't/cant drive etc.  I can't imagine trying to find a place to live without feedback from other members who know the area.  My wife has expressed concern about feeling isolated when we move to Petawawa if we aren't living walking distance to a bunch of amenities.  Now we know where we're getting posted I'm starting to want to know more as well.

The site may be a good idea, does anyone know if there already is such a site out there?

And, by the way, the CFHA does not list how much Q's go for in Pet.  Strange considering all the other bases I checked list the price (varies per model) and a bunch of other info like what houses are available.  Pet right now has zero PMQ's available if you go by the CFHA site.

Is it fair to say that the internet has made this posting lifestyle a heckuvvalot easier than it used to be to go into a new place cold turkey?

What other hardships do people find they are still facing (even with so much information available online) with new postings?

btw, Bravo for taking such an interest in doing all this background checking.

If any of you spouses are website guru's (or have an interest) I would strongly encourage you to seriously consider consolidating information from similarly inclined people and putting together a website for military folk as a reference site.  You could make it a similar 'forum' style place.  You could even build it up to address various other things that affect all.

[George Wallace]

Out of curiousity, have you looked at Google Earth and gone to Streetview?

[Nix]

I have, not as much as my wife mind you, but I have checked it out.