You wait, and you wait, and you wait …
And then, bam, PCS orders magically appear. Yay!
One of the first things that usually comes to mind is: “Where will we live?”
That’s when the fun begins, searching the internet for rental listings, messaging your friends or friends of friends who have lived at that duty station before, wondering about temporary lodging, and trying to figure out how to make it all happen without tearing your hair out.
Often times, the best answer is to rent a house or apartment sight unseen. Yes, it can be nerve-wracking to commit to someplace you’ve never personally laid eyes on. And yes, it still takes some work on your part to research the area and, in particular, confirm the details of any place you consider renting.
But getting one of the biggest decisions of a PCS move – where to live – crossed off the list before you even leave your old duty station can set the stage for a very smooth transition.
Here are six reasons why renting a home sight unseen at your new duty station can make your PCS less stressful:
- You have to be at the new duty station in two weeks, or by some other ridiculously short deadline. That’s not much leeway to plan ahead and have properties waiting for you to look at when you arrive, let alone deal with all the other PCS details.
- The new duty station is 5,000 miles away, and there is no way you can make it there for a house-hunting trip, which is a rare luxury anyway.
- The housing market at your new location is ridiculous. You saw the perfect place advertised this morning, but it was gone 30 minutes later. Renting sight unseen allows you to grab that dream home in the just-right location before someone else does.
- You can do a door-to-door move. Imagine showing up at your new duty station and your household goods meet you there. You won’t have to roll the dice on installation lodging, either. And sleeping in your own bed the first night? Cha-ching!
- Moving into your own place right away means you won’t be as tempted to et out, or grab convenience foods. This is also a plus for those who are health-conscious (even just those of us who tend to gain a few more pounds with every PCS, cough-cough).
- Renting sight unseen and moving in immediately upon arrival means you can get settled and get on with your life, and face all the challenges of a new duty station head on. If you have kids, you can register them in the neighborhood school right away. You can find that perfect dog park, scope out the nearest grocery store, get right to work in your job, plus meet your neighbors and make new friends ASAP!
Written by: Jan Childs
