EMERGENCY! PCSing right now, I've moved to hell!!

maganh91 · March 2013

Omg I have already had one break down since I drove into the city of Jacksonville, nc. If I don't get out, there will be another one very soon... 2 weeks ago we got orders, surprise... 2 weeks until we were suppose to check out... So I didn't have time to get a house or visit the city or prepair in ANY way at all. Literally... I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT TO DO NOW. We drove the 9 hours here, with our 3 month old. Now after an awful drive, I'm sitting here in the shakiest days inn on the planet! HORRIFIED to hear the people above us walking and EVERY WORD of the people next to us. Oh, not to mention the parties and the yelling, and the scary parking lot, at 11:30pm, WITH DIRTY TOWELS. I would, of course, be staying somewhere decent, but the military hasn't given us ONE PENNY for moving! Not a single cent! We were suppose to get it some time last week or earlier, but now the entire spur of the moment move is out of pocket. My DH asked about advanced TLA, they said that they didn't have enough time to get it to us... They said that because of how last minute everything was, we won't get our moving money for another week and a half! We have NO house, NO belongings except a suit case, or money for a nice hotel and I'm having a heart attack! Oh dear god please someone help. Please get me out of this hell hole!

Beachy730 · March 2013

Ditto the others. This is exactly what emergency credit cards are for.

You obviously have internet access somehow, you can start looking up house and apartment rentals if you won't be living on base, and spend the day driving around checking them out as well as areas.

Ilumine · March 2013

So you are telling me that the hotel on base is full? Also, you can contact housing and ask if they have any TFLs available.

+++Sorry, the hotel at Lejeurne is full until Tuesday. However you should still try calling to see if their are any TLF's open. It is out of PCS season.

amandoza23 · March 2013

We had to move from Colorado to MCAS Yuma driving a moving truck towing a car and driving another...It was a 16 hour drive and we had to do it all out of pocket. Get a nice hotel..don't stress yourself out about it. We just took it out of savings because I wasn't about to stay in a sketch hotel. Get out and explore but most importantly BREATHE.

KDS1987 · March 2013

Go to Navy Relief society and get money out if you are unable to support yourself for the move. The military will give you that money back, just like every other move.

Like others said, you have internet access so you can obviously start looking for a house. There are plenty right around Camp Lejeune. Base housing is also pretty decent there so you should consider applying for that so you can get on the wait list. Jacksonville is not a horrible place to live, so relax. Trust me, the USMC has worse places they could send you. There is a relocation assistance office sort of by the hospital if I remember correctly, they can give you plenty of information about the area and where you can start looking for housing.

Also, Jacksonville has TONS of hotels... go to a different one. You don't have to stay at a five star resort to get a decent place to sleep.

Ktbug613 · March 2013

I dont have any better advice for your money situation than has already been said.

As for housing, base housing is nice, however cost of living in the surrounding areas is cheaper than BAH so its often more beneficial to just rent off base and then you have the extra money towards other bills. To save your sanity try to get out of jacksonville during your time here. Jacksonville its self is kinda of a crappy little town, filled with young partying marines, tattoo joints and strip clubs. Most of our friends who who live in jacksonville don't like it much. I HIGHLY reccomend checking out the surrounding areas. We live in Swansboro/hubert area and absolutely love it. My husband was actually medically retired and we chose to come back here. We also have friends who like topsail, and holly ridge though they can be a bit of a drive depending on what part of the base your husband works. Swansboro/hubert are the easiest drive to base and allow your husband to skip front gate traffic

CrystalC514 · March 2013

maganh91:
Omg I have already had one break down since I drove into the city of Jacksonville, nc. If I don't get out, there will be another one very soon... 2 weeks ago we got orders, surprise... 2 weeks until we were suppose to check out... So I didn't have time to get a house or visit the city or prepair in ANY way at all. Literally... I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT TO DO NOW. We drove the 9 hours here, with our 3 month old. Now after an awful drive, I'm sitting here in the shakiest days inn on the planet! HORRIFIED to hear the people above us walking and EVERY WORD of the people next to us. Oh, not to mention the parties and the yelling, and the scary parking lot, at 11:30pm, WITH DIRTY TOWELS. I would, of course, be staying somewhere decent, but the military hasn't given us ONE PENNY for moving! Not a single cent! We were suppose to get it some time last week or earlier, but now the entire spur of the moment move is out of pocket. My DH asked about advanced TLA, they said that they didn't have enough time to get it to us... They said that because of how last minute everything was, we won't get our moving money for another week and a half! We have NO house, NO belongings except a suit case, or money for a nice hotel and I'm having a heart attack! Oh dear god please someone help. Please get me out of this hell hole!

Lol sweety I am so sorry I wish they had given you a lay of the land there are some nice places in jville we're stationed in Cherry point.

tlalli7106 · March 2013

Ditto to almost everything above....this is why it's so important to have an emergency savings or credit card for emergencies available. But seriously, if you weren't in a hotel and at your home from wherever you came from, how would you be feeding your family, paying your bills? Payday was literally three days ago, how can you not have a penny to your name?

Every duty station has its ups and downs and the one thing you can count on is that it's not forever, you will eventually leave. But it is what you make of it. I have a brother at Camp Lejeune and a friend that just left Jacksonville. I know it's not the biggest little town in the country but there are other options to than a Days Inn there.

Hopefully this will be an eye opener to you and your family about the importance of a budget and responsible financial planning.

KatieKT · March 2013

There are many other hotels you can stay in. We tried to get orders to Lejeune. We had some good times there! After you feel settled hopefully you will feel better. Try not to stress.

shill0810 · March 2013

I don't like it here at Cherry Point. I don't really know much about Jacksonville, I've heard a lot of horror stories. Cherry Point, in my opinion, isn't much better. Good luck just the same.

tinychefjackson · March 2013

We have never gotten PCS money up-front. They reimburse you. A word of wisdom-- if you know orders are up soon, start saving whether or not you know when/where you are going. And I agree that better lodging is probably attainable, especially with military/government rates. DH and I made a cross-country PCS with 10-days' notice and a 3-month-old while on E-3 pay. The military takes care of us so much better than people admit, but you have to take a little personal responsibility.

tinychefjackson · March 2013

calindi:
tinychefjackson:
We have never gotten PCS money up-front. They reimburse you. A word of wisdom-- if you know orders are up soon, start saving whether or not you know when/where you are going. And I agree that better lodging is probably attainable, especially with military/government rates. DH and I made a cross-country PCS with 10-days' notice and a 3-month-old while on E-3 pay. The military takes care of us so much better than people admit, but you have to take a little personal responsibility.

Amen to the bolded. There's something to be said about a positive attitude and some self initiative. Any new location is mostly what you make of it. I know people who have been sent to 29 Palms, the dreaded middle of nowhere USMC base, who absolutely loved it. Join the Family Readiness Group, participate in base activities, join a church bible study if that's your thing, find a club, take a class - you're not the first person to move to a new place. If there's something you can fix, like a lousy hotel, then fix it. Otherwise, try to view the move with a positive attitude. It's only as lousy as you let yourself believe it is.
And tinychefjackson - I noticed in your ticker that your DD's name is Evelyn Rose - that's my dream name for a baby girl, and DH has nixed Evelyn. I still hope to convince him! I'm glad there's at least one little girl out there with that name, though.

Thanks! We know several little Evelyns (all copycats LOL). We call ours Evie (ee-vee, not Eh-vee).

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EMERGENCY! PCSing right now, I've moved to hell!!

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