Moving to a new duty station can be a really fun and exciting time for many families. Military moves overseas are challenging, difficult and stressful, even if you are truly excited about your new duty station.
We just PCS’d to Okinawa, Japan and it was a whirlwind to say the least. Preparing emotionally in the months leading up to our move was an understatement to say the least.
There is so much we overlooked and wish we would’ve done differently looking back. The good news is we made it in one piece.
The other good news is I am going to share our mistakes with you so you can avoid them if you are preparing for future military moves overseas.
1. Store your vehicles if you cannot bring them.
If you maintain your vehicles well and they are paid off, I would recommend storing your vehicles, even though you need to pay storage insurance while overseas. Moving overseas kind of puts you in an awkward predicament when it comes to selling a vehicle.
Typically, you need your vehicle up until very close to your move date, which is a less than ideal situation when it comes to negotiating a good sales price. Time isn’t on your side and you are more likely to sell your vehicle for less than it is truly worth. I vote for storing your vehicles.
2. Evaluate how much you REALLY need to bring.
One of the things that we really overlooked was what we should and shouldn’t bring. The fact that the government would issue us furniture during our tour in Japan slipped our mind. I don’t think we would’ve brought nearly as much stuff had we remembered that.
Even items like beds and mattresses, the government provided us with what look like a brand new bedroom set to use until our own items arrived. When we saw that it made us wonder why we shipped our own stuff halfway around the world.
3. DO use non-temporary storage.
When moving overseas the government will usually move items you don’t want to take overseas to non-temporary storage and keep it there until you return to the states. They move it and store it at no cost to you. We opted to use our enclosed trailer and drove it back to the Midwest to store at my in-laws house.
Government storage is not climate controlled, and we were concerned the hot and humid summer would have a negative impact on our furniture. At any rate, moving our stuff back to my in-laws was a lot of additional work on our part, and we have to move it to our new home once we return to the states.
I’m not sure that it is worth the additional work. Non-temporary storage seems like a much simpler, practical plan.
4. Read the informational stuff.
Being stressed about the move, it seemed our brains turned to mush. To add to the mush, we also did read our Welcome aboard Package and other information as closely as we should have. We definitely looked at it, but I would say re-reading it several times is well worth it.
5. Don’t bring your garage shelves.
Seriously. Who does that anyway besides us? Probably no one. I think that’s just the truest sign that we were so stressed our brains turned to mush. I put this here, hoping to get a few laughs. Cause really, I’m pretty sure we were probably the only ones who were absent minded enough to bring our garage shelves.
6. Set aside a good amount of money.
Like I said in my post, The Hidden Costs of PCS Moves, moving isn’t free in the military. Loss of money over the sale of a vehicle, throwing away all liquid cleaning supplies and toiletries, and buying new things for your new home that the government doesn’t supply are just a few examples I explore in that post.
Having a good amount of cash on hand to cover expenses will eliminate financial stress during the move. This is one thing we did right, and on top of everything we did wrong, I’m so glad money wasn’t contributing to the stress.
7. A few words about pets.
We did not have pets, but if you do, be weary of hefty expenses creeping up on you. If the government books you on a flight and there is no room for your pets, you still have to take the flight. This means you will need to find a way to get your pets overseas (if you choose to do so) and you will be responsible for paying all expenses.
This can run thousands of dollars. Seriously. I’m not saying don’t get a pet or bring pets overseas. Just keep this in mind if you have pets or are considering getting a pet.
Read: How to conquer a PCS move with pets (and not regret it!)
Want more on Military Life?
- 20 Must-Have Documents for Your Next PCS Move
- The Hidden Costs of PCS Moves
- Are DITY Moves Worth It for Military Families?
- Best Overseas Moving Checklist for Military Families
- 10 Books That Will Help Military Kids During a PCS
Liz L.
Thank you so much for all those great tips! We are PCSing to Atsugi Japan in a few months. I was so happy to find your post!
Great tips!
Liz L. @findinghomeport
Lauren Tamm
Hey Liz, I’m glad you found the post helpful. If you ever have any questions about moving overseas, feel free to shoot me an email! We had a sponsor, but with all the stress and craziness of everything, it would’ve been so helpful to have lots and lots of reminders about all the things I needed to keep in mind. In the end, it all worked out…but you know, advice always helps in these types of situations!
Ana Lynn Amelio
Just yesterday Frank and I have been discussing pets and we talked about how it doesn’t really pay off to have pets before we settle once and for all because of the expenses associated with moving them. I figured it would be somewhere in the thousands! Awesome tips (even for non military families!)
Lauren Tamm
Funny enough, Ana, our close friends were not able to get their pets on a military contracted flight out to Okinawa. The cost of flying them (2 medium breed dogs) out at a later day was upwards of $7,000. Could you imagine? I’m sure that there are prices much lower than that, but I’ve heard averages around $3,000 per animal. So crazy! I told my husband no pets until we are out of the military. Unfortunately, it is just too much with him being gone frequently, in addition to the moving every 3 years.
Gretchen
I would have to disagree with two. We brought our car, as we were still making payments on it and it works well for us (we are in Germany.) No sense in paying to store a vehicle you still owe on and buy another over here. We drove our other one until we left then left my parents with a POA to sell it.
Second, we live off base, but on base housing here has basement storage that apparently floods often. EVERYONE recommends bringing garage shelving. And off post we could have used it on our basement, but we didn’t own any so it didn’t matter. (Our house has a surprising amount of storage for Europe.)
I agree pets were my biggest stress coming over. We purposely got a Patriot Express flight as it saved us hundreds (or more?!?) getting our pets over here. But we had to fight a bit to get it, and were responsible for getting ourselves from NC to BWI. (I have family nearby so it was fine.)
We stored a lot, only brought our easentials. I bet we will get rid of some of that when we get back stateside.
Lauren Tamm
Gretchen, it is so helpful seeing all of your suggestions. It really it tough to know what to bring until you get there, which makes packing a really tough decision. Every duty station is so different. Both our vehicles were paid off and well maintained, so I feel like it would’ve benefited us to keep my vehicle as well. However, now that a few months have passed, I feel better that we sold it. I agree that if you have car payments, probably smart to sell. Thanks so much for your thoughtful and helpful comment!
Heather @ Life of a Traveling Navy Wife
Great tips for those being stationed overseas. I have a friend whose husband was stationed in Italy and yes, it was quite the feat getting their kitty cat there. I would agree – be leery of those expenses!
Lauren Tamm
I love animals and we had pets throughout my childhood, but at this point they really complicate things for us with military moves, so we hope to hold off until we are out of military life. We will see. Thanks for visiting, Heather!
Heather K
I feel like I need to write an entire post dedicated to bringing our dog to Okinawa. We seriously debated what we were going to do, but decided since my husband would be gone so much for work & we don’t have kids that it was worth it to have her here with me. It’s such a process – totally doable and depending on when you are PCSing the cost can be kept at a minimum. But you are right, at the peak of PCS season spots are limited and it can become beyond challenging/expensive!
Lauren Tamm
Ha, ha…so true Heather! You are right, if you are able to get on an AMC flight, I don’t think bringing pets is a problem. I think it could be pretty easy if you got a slot for your pet.
I know those spots are incredibly limited and if you are PCSing during the normal season, there is a good chance your pets won’t have space. Flying pets commercial is very expensive so I’ve heard. I also agree that it is a huge process…I also heard that the vet bills to get them prepped and ready to come over here can really add up. Thanks for stopping by Heather, and have a great week!
Brittany Latham
I found this helpful my husband and I are moving to misawa Japan, he’s already there and I’m just waiting to leave:( I was planning on taking my dog and at first didn’t think it was possible because I heard it’d probably be in the thousands to send him, then the other day I read between 40-200?!?! So I’m left confused once again! This is our first pcs and I hope it goes good been doing tons of reading about making it easy, this one helped !
Lauren Tamm
It’s so awesome that you found this helpful, Brittany. I wrote this immediately after we got to Japan, and I think I was probably wrecked with anxiety. Much of what I worried about actually ended up working out. There is an extra storage unit on our base housing and we were able to put our garage shelves there, lol. I do agree there is mixed information about pets. I know patriot express is basically free. Commercial airlines when you are not with your dogs gets pricy. I’m only able to share what I know from others. I would be very interested to hear how this turns out for you! Would you message me? I know so many readers love the inside info. Thanks for stopping by and I’ll be thinking of you and your big move!
Lauren
Gretchen Noelle
Jumping back in to comment on pets: Patriot Express is $110 per pet, and more over certain weights (I can’t remember the cutoff.) So our dogs (65 and 85 lbs) were each twice that, and the cat was $110. So we paid less than $600 for all 3. (Also, it was a miracle we got all 3 on the flight. They only let you book 2 in advance; the third we booked 10 days before we flew because there was a spot left for her! Book pets at the same time as your tickets–only 10 are allowed per flight!) I have heard Lufthansa is the next best option in terms of price; United Pet Safe is another option. (I’m already stressing about getting all 3 back to the US in a few months.) If you fly regular commercial, large dogs are easily over $1000. Best of luck!
Lauren Tamm
This is such great information Gretchen! Thank you so much for sharing because I’m totally clueless about the whole pet thing!
Lauren
Patti Rinard
Brittany:
I know your post here on Pinterest is 2 years old, but my daughter and her husband, currently in Altus, OK, are leaving for their first overseas post to Misawa in 2 months (2/2017). They have a german shepherd (20 mos. old) and a cat (6 yrs old). She hasn’t been able to get any consistent information on cost, quarantine, and breeds not allowed in the country. It would be so helpful since you’ve been there if you could let me know what your email is. I could have her contact you. Thanks!
Patti Rinard
Lacey
Thank you for the post and everyone else for all of the replies. We just found out that we MIGHT be PCSing to Germany, and I’m already tapping into my friends who have PCS’d over there before us. We’re about a year out from the the earliest possible date of PCS, so I feel like I have loads of time, which is a total and complete lie, given that I’m due with baby #3 in April and my husband leaves for 5 months of training in July, potentially coming home RIGHT BEFORE we PCS. All tips are appreciated. Does anyone know how I go about finding out how much it will cost us out of pocket to ship our second POV? It’s a Kia Soul and basically made for European driving/parking, plus we’re still paying on it – from the anecdotal evidence I’ve read, it would probably be equal if we pay to ship versus selling it and buying one overseas for use there… Also, since we’re still paying on it, should we expect issues with our lender and us shipping it overseas? Thanks ladies!
Gretchen Noelle
The military pays to ship one vehicle for you. But people used TransGlobal to ship their second here (I’m in Germany–Stuttgart). Ballpark was around $2000 from what I hear, of course depending on the car and where you are shipping from. You will have to get a letter from your leinholder. It was a hassle, but doable, with one company (for our car) but simple for our motorcycle, since it was financed with USAA.
Lauren Tamm
This is such great advice and helpful information. I really need to update this post with all of the wisdom everyone has shared in the comments. Thank you so much for sharing! Have a great rest of the weekend.
Lauren
Lauren Tamm
Hey Lacey, I don’t have any insight about sending a POV overseas, but it sounds like Gretchen responded to your comment and said ballpark $2000. It’s awesome getting everyone interacting and sharing great pieces of advice for this post. My husband was gone for training until RIGHT BEFORE we PCS’d as well and that does make things slightly more stressful. So I definitely empathize if that is the way it works out for you guys, but it can be done!! 😀 Good luck with everything. If you learn more and would like to share, feel free to come back and leave another comment. Have a great day!
Lauren
keatingbartlett
Great tips! We’ll be moving to Japan in May and most likely wont be taking our puppy with us. I’m very upset over it, but my husband says the quarantine process isn’t good for pets which is another thing a lot people need to look into when they make a big move like that! We’ll be leaving our dog with a very good friend of ours while we’re gone.
Unfortunately, we also wont be taking cars overseas either. We just sold mine and my husband will be storing his truck at his aunt’s house back home. Not ideal considering we still owe money on it, but it would cost us an arm and a leg to get it to Japan.
We’re still 4 months away from our move and it’s already stressful! I’m hoping the next 4 months will go by quickly.
Lauren Tamm
Yes, we did not bring pets or cars to Japan and it was the best decision ever! Once we arrived on island, we went ahead and bought 2 older cars from the lemon lot on base. So far, so good. I think both of are cars are 2001, ha, but they run really well and buying a car overseas is a temporary thing so most people buy an older used car. 4 months will go by super fast.
Lauren
Kristi Edelen
We have to cars that arent paid off and are not even remotely close to Kelley Blue book value. We are PCS’ing to Yokota Japan in 9 months and I am flipping out. I can’t afford to to buy a new one when we get there and pay on 2 vehicles I can’t bring! Any suggestions?
Tara
We are leaving Okinawa in 30 days! I wish we had this article in 2012! We however did not bring pets but will be leaving with our dog. The expense of shipping a dog is crazy, but we are lucky and have an AMC flight home! For those new to island and have a family I recommend getting a 500 plate on your cars!! The road tax for that plate is a reasonable price, and with gas going down awesome on gas!!!
Lauren Tamm
Awesome tips Tara! Darn, sorry to hear you are leaving Okinawa. We just got here 🙂 I hope your PCS back to the states goes really well.
Lauren
Tiffany
Hi Lauren,
Thanks so much for the article! We’re approaching PCS this summer as so many other families and one of the possibilities is Okinawa. My main concern is the fact that we are now in Peru and most of our household goods are packed into government storage in CA! I’m not sure how we would figure out what needed to be sent and what needed to be left in storage! Do you have any insight on that issue? I have a military wife/travel blog too! I’m glad to find your blog via pinterest 🙂 I’ll be following you!
Lauren Tamm
Well. We lived in a 2 bedroom town home and we left behind all of our winter stuff and most everything from our garage. We also didn’t bring our couches or any big bulky type furniture. But it’s really a horse a piece. Some people feel they brought too little and some feel the brought too much. You do get a set of government furniture when you get here, but you definitely don’t want to sleep on a government bed for 3 years. So definitely bring your own bed!! And we brought all of our kitchen stuff. Feel free to email me at themilitarywifeandmom at gmail dot com if you want to chat more about moving to okinawa and I would be happy to help!