No two military moves are exactly alike! However, there are common concerns that factor in just about every military PCS move, such as; housing affordability and resale value, schools for your children, spousal employment, and the "commute," which may range from a non-issue in some areas to a critical issue in areas such as the metro Washington, DC region.
Although much of your planning, and many of your actions hinge on written orders, you cannot start planning the move too early. All too frequently, PCS orders and move planning occur when the military member is deployed, leaving the spouse with the challenge of planning the move while attending to that "small matter" of managing the household. Since our military training drilled us in organizational skills and methodical problem solving, and since many military specialties live and die by the "checklist," we offer the following checklist as a point of departure for the "ideal military move." It is worth stating again that you cannot start planning your move too early, and I recommend a house hunting trip (if feasible) of no later than 60 days prior to your desired move in date.
Click on The Military Home Buyers' Checklist (pdf) to download the complete checklist.
(To save this file to your computer, right click on the link, and choose "Save Target As..." or "Save Link As...", and choose a location on your computer.)
