Military to civilian life?

Question

Does anyone have any advice for going from military (Navy) life into civilian life. I know my husband has classes he can attend, and he plans to, but I need to know what I can do, what bills I can expect to pay and how much (living in basehousing). Also anyone from Albuqurque,NM let me know what the cost of living is like. Any help that you can offer is great!

Answer 1

Because you've been living in base housing (and probably having "rent" deducted from his pay)...you can expect to pay at least one month's rent as a security deposit plus one month's rent upon signing a lease for a place to live...this is only because you have no rent payment history...you'll be entitled to a VA home loan, which is great if you think you'll want to buy a home (although I was always grateful that we rented at first and bought a home only after we were very familiar with the area...). As a general rule of thumb, multiply your total gross income by three and that's the top end of the amount of house you can afford to buy...the "no money down" feature about the VA Loan is wonderful but means that your house payment will be higher each month....there are so many pitfalls regarding buying a house upon moving into a new area that renting for a while makes sense, IMHO....

You've probably been paying for telephone and cable TV, however...and therefore have payment histories with those companies.....because you're going to be moving to a totally new area, you can expect to pay a deposit for the telephone, cable, and utilities in the new city...and be happy if you don't have to....you might talk to your local service providers now and ask them if they will provide a payment reference letter for you...in the past any "deposits" were waived when I presented such a letter in my new city...and this assumes you've made timely payments, of course...you'll also have insurances to pay (i.e. vehicle, renter's / homeowner's)....you can call your insurance company and ask for rates for the new area...take a telephone book from your old city to your new one....(and a base telephone directory, too)....also take old payment stubs from all bills you currently have (I assume you maintain good records...)

Make sure you and any children are enrolled in DEERS or equivalent health care system before he gets out. Get all medical files from any of your local health care providers to hand-carry to your new city...there may be either an active duty military medical presence or a VA hospital in your new area; if so, a call to them now to learn about any enrollment or sign-up requirements would be a good preparatory step...

...Your husband needs to get copies of his evaluations, awards, and any other "letters of appreciation," etc. that he can use during the resume-writing process as well as present during a job interview, for example...he also needs to establish a list of those willing to be his professional and personal references.

As far as schools are concerned: The best way to judge a school system is by knowing their percentage rate of graduation...see if there's a school system with a 97 percent graduation rate or higher, lots of extra-curricular activities, etc...also ask how many of their teachers have degrees in the subjects they teach....visit the PTA's national website and the local school districts' websites to learn more...

Start watching / listening to / reading local media in your target city to become familiar with local news (and you can do that on the Internet)...

Visit CareerBuilder.com and research the job market in your target city to become familiar with local employers and their needs...write a great resume...establish a list of professional and personal references for yourself......if children are involved I'm sure at least one of you (if not both) will need a job with medical benefits in case there's no military medical care available for either you or any children...and the VA charges for meds and procedures, too...so you may want to inquire further now, before leaving your old city...

...and don't forget to file a change of address form with the post office in your old city!

Hope this helps!

Answer 2

DH's a career counselor with the Navy and he says you can take the TAPs course with your DH. That way none of the information gets lost like it would if he tried to explain it to you.

Albuquerque can be pretty reasonable to live in. I have family that lives in the city as well as towns south of it. A lot depends on which neighborhoods your looking at. Be careful of the Rio Grande River. There aren't that many bridges across the river so if you live on one side and work on the other you can have a very long commute. The area has a growing high tech industry and lots of government employment.

I'm hoping ABQ looks good for us when DH retires.

Answer 3

Start looking at how much it costs to rent or buy in the area you're going to move to. If you find somewhere you want to live - most times you can call the power company - give them the address and they can tell you about how much the electricity runs for that particular home (it'll be based on how much prior tenents used). Same with the water company, etc.

Don't forget - if you buy a house, you can use the VA loan. Helps with costs.

Answer 4

i got out last year, make sure to get med insurance, and also, start looking for work now.

he should plan on going to school if possible, the GI bill coupled with my college loan nets me about $10 an hour if a factored the same amount of money as if i was working a full time job, plus i work part time for $8.50 an hour, so its good living.

other than that, make sure he keeps his dd214 safe and secure and make plenty of copies, also get resume help, a resume can be the make or break difference in getting a job if he is not going to school.

and if he wants to work, look at federal gov jobs, start now, it takes awhile to get one.

and he should get a list of supervisors for reference for future work.

good luck.

Answer 5

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