Had my overseas screening yesterday!

[audette]

And the case manager told me that she couldn't see any reason I'd be denied for accompanying DH. Yay!

They might even be able to get the finalized approval in place before DH's orders get cut, so he won't have to go and get them amended.


Has anyone stored things like washer/dryer or motorcycles or freezers for a couple years when on an overseas assignment? Noticed any damage to stored household items due to lack of climate control? We're starting the process of decluttering, and are trying to decide what is even worth keeping...

We will only be authorized half of the normal PCS weight allowance, and can borrow furniture at the overseas location, so much of our larger items will be going into storage.

[kcd0531]

:Y: :Y:

I have no advice; but good luck!

[audette]

Well, it would be getting packed/crated up here, but I don't know if it would be stored here. And yes, the humidity is a concern...

Blech. This is the part that sucks about overseas moves. Is it worth storing a 9 year old couch and loveseat? 30-40 year old bedroom set? camping gear? Framed pictures we don't want to take?

It's a sucky part I'll deal with for the nifty part of getting to live overseas, but it does put us in a quandry...

[basilosaurus]

I didn't store anything like that, but my furniture was scratched all to hell when it arrived. I blame the shitty movers from Omaha, though. As I said before, our stuff was stored at hq in Co Springs.

I'd store everything you're unsure of. You don't pack it, move it, or pay for it. It's so much easier to make the decision to keep/trash after you've lived without something for awhile.

My only exception to that is if you'll take a hit on depreciation which would really only apply to vehicles.

[audette]

Oct 3, 2012 13:26:39 GMT -5 basilosaurus said:

I'd store everything you're unsure of. You don't pack it, move it, or pay for it. It's so much easier to make the decision to keep/trash after you've lived without something for awhile.

This is actually a really good way of looking at it. Huh. Makes sense.

I think we still need to do a serious declutter, because, well, we really need to do that anyways, but you're right - there's not really a downside to storing something if we're not sure about keeping it, other than potentially having to find a convenient way to get rid of it after the next move.

[audette]

Hrm. This is awkward.

I've been told to apply for a no-fee official passport so I can use it to get the appropriate visa to go overseas.

Except, I can't get one - I'm not a citizen.


Which means my visa (which I understand is going to very obviously note me as being a military dependent) will have to go into my Canadian tourist passport.

I can understand why this has to happen this way, but I find myself kinda nervous with the potential persec violation of being so obviously marked as a military dependent in the one document I am required to use when I travel internationally.

On the other hand, life will be a teeny bit simpler because I won't have to keep track of two passports.


And now I need to figure out how to get a new Canadian passport in a hurry - I only have a couple pages left in my current one, and it would expire while we are overseas. Thankfully, we live within driving distance of Canada, and there are passport offices there that can do a 24 hour turnaround (although I have to pay nearly double for that service timeline).

Fun times.

[panicked]

I didn't have a no-fee passport. I traveled on my tourist passport and had my visa/SOFA stamp placed in it. When we flew back home, I didn't even get singled out for a more thorough inspection. I wouldn't worry about it!

We stored almost everything we owned when we went to Korea. With the exception of a few small appliances, everything came through just fine. We even stored our car. It started up beautifully when we got it back. We did get an oil change/tire rotation/etc right away though. I will say though, the stuff we bought in country that we shipped back to the US was trashed! The stuff that was of any value was either stolen or damaged. Be sure to take pictures, track serial numbers, and make absolutely sure you double check the inventory sheets.