How to do the military move...

As our departure date nears, we have begun to plan how to get ourselves, our baby, our two dogs, and our vehicles exactly 2,865 miles across the country.  If you've done a military move before, then you know that there are a number of ways to do it, and many strategize based on ease and affordability.

A really good thing about moving with the military is that they will move EVERYTHING for you.  That means, they will send a moving crew and an 18-wheeler to your house and they will box it all up and move it, then unpack it at your new home.  This is by far the easiest way to move your stuff from place to place.

Another option is to move yourself, which a lot of people do because the military will pay you by the pound and by the mile and you can often make out with anywhere between $10,000 - $18,000 in your pocket afterwards.  However, this is the most difficult way to move.

When we moved from Montana to New Jersey, we did a partial DITY move and made a few thousand dollars with less headache.  I personally like this option, and especially now that we have a baby it seems like the most logical.

However, we have a couple road blocks.  For one, the military will not ship vehicles, so we have to figure out how to get our cars to California.  I would rather not put the miles on my car, and I don't foresee having our 1.5 year old in the car for 4 days, so I plan to fly with her.  My husband could probably drive his pickup truck and if he puts a cap on it, he could take the dogs as well. Add a UHaul trailer with some of our stuff in it, and we can make little money on that.  So... what to so with my car?  Sell it?  Ship it?

...to be continued...

A New Year Brings New Changes

As soon as the first of the year arrived, I realized that it was about time to think about our move to Fairfield, California. Of course it's nice that we have about 5 months, but the wisdom I have tells me that the time will fly and we will be out of here before I can blink twice. There is so much planning involved, such as whether or not we fly or drive, how we get the dogs out there, and what about our vehicles? Then there's the packing, cleaning, and then it's off to the West coast. Time to make a change... Again. Thank God I crave change. However, it's still a little nerve racking and I find myself a little anxious. I think I will go buy some plastic bins today...