PCSing to Oki in June/July - Anyone else???

addam&tara

Hi, 

I will be PCSing with husband around June or July.  He is USMC and will be leaving in April.  I'm waiting until LO is about 2 months old before I follow him there.  

I was just curious if anyone is there now that I could get to know, chat with via email or thebump private message, or ask questions.  

Is anyone else going over anytime soon?  

I'd love to see if anyone is in the same boat!  I'm due March 14th and am totally excited about this experience.  I've never PCS'd with hubby before so its all new to me.  I'll be leaving my career to pursue career Mom status!  I'm so grateful to have the opportunity to be a SAHM!

I hope to hear from anyone who may be over there now or going there soon!...or anyone with any insight or things I should keep in mind or know about !  

Thanks!  

pesci12

I was AF stationed in Okinawa for 4 years, and absolutely loved it.  For a small island, there is always something to do (and lots of good food too).  I didn't have LO at the time, so I have no insight there.  I have been to four bases so far and it has definitely been my favorite assignment.  Enjoy it!

Airmans Wife

Hi! I am currently in Okinawa with my DH. He is Air Force. We have been here since September 2011. Some people LOVE it here and others don't. We are in the indifferent boat, we don't love it and we don't hate it. However we do love the weather! When you get here, it is going to be hot probably over 100 most days, but during the winter months it's usually about 60 so not bad at all!

Restaurants off-base are good, but so expensive (the Yen rate went down and now it's expensive to do anything off base really, think $60 for a dinner out and it's not even that great of food!). We eat off base maybe once a month, just to try new places otherwise stick to onbase. Our favorite on-base place to eat is Naps it's on Camp Sheilds and is super yummy and cheap! 

 I am just about 15 weeks and will have our baby here on the island, a little nervous about that. Otherwise it's a pretty safe place to raise kids, little crime rate hardly nothing happens. We live off base and feel perfectly safe where we are at! We love off base housing our house is HUGE compared to what the onbase housing situation is! 

I don't know about USMC but the AF has great wives groups you can join and meet people! Also there are many play groups, and a couple Facebook groups you should jump on those and start meeting people, great place to meet people and make friends!

 Alot of people here are very into water sports, my DH and I are not that into snorkeling and diving, the ocean 'animals' kind of freak me out lol. But DH does like to go Deep Sea Fishing, the guys from his shop go a couple times a year so that is nice. 

 Kadena's BX is the biggest on the island so you will probably go there quite a bit, we are stationed at Kadena (live off base though), and it's always busy! It's kind of like a mini-mall. Lots of different shops in the building! 

Restaurants on the bases include: Chilis, Macaroni Grill, Naps, Burger King, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, Anthony's Pizza, A&W, Subway, Popeyes, Charlies Subs, and then of course all the clubs have restaurants! 

There is lots to do on the island, and most of the bases ITT offices offer monthly tours for you to explore the island, some of them are kind of pricey, but they are fun and you get to see lots of the island in one day! If you like history there are so many different sites to see, it's kind of great (I love history though).

Island life can be great at times, but at some point I am sure you will have Island Fever! Lots of people get in the attitude where they just want to get back to States for a few weeks! I just went back in January and loved my time at home, but was happy to come back to 'warm' weather here! Lots of wives will go back to the States during the summer with their kids to see family. I must say as great as the island is, everyone just needs to get away sometimes! I think a lot of that is to do with the language barrier and how things are just so different here! The way of life here is completely different than that in the States.

My DH and I do enjoy this island for the most part, this is our first overseas assignment, and it's definitely quite an adventure and a life changing experience! SOme people love it here so much they are doing double tours here (6 years), us on the other hand are not extending, but that is because we want to get back Stateside to raise our baby somewhat closer to family!

 If you have any questions feel free. I am no expert about Oki Life, but I am living it right now! 

Loosie

I am on Oki as well and our first baby is due August 20th!  We just finished up our first year here and have two more to go.  It is different than I expected, but overall we are enjoying our experience here.  Keep us posted if you have any questions!