I was wondering if anyone would be willing to share their moving process after the academy? I know how many days you get depends on what facility you get. I guess I'm not sure if I'm missing a part of the process but did you just immediately go home and start looking for apartments/houses or any other kind of housing arrangement after learning what facility you got? I'm just curious about the logistics of it. Thank you anyone who shares!!
Moving after the academy
- Thread starter Nableaux
- Start date
32andBelow
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You’re basically on your own. Once you get your list you should start looking and ranking different options so you have an idea about what you should do in each city.
Whiskey Charlie
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This. You won’t actually know where you’re going until the last day at academy since that’s when selections are made. You do get 64 hours of change of station pay on top of the 1-3 days travel time for the location. The change of station pay doesn’t have to be used right away either. I stayed in a hotel for a couple nights and found a house to rent in that time.
the inquirer
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I finished Oklahoma and drove back home to Cali. I chose Minnesota as my facility so I was given 2-3 days (don’t exactly remember). You also receive 8 days(64 hours) of change of station leave regardless of where you go. This leave has to be used within a year or two of placement. I also took two more weeks unpaid because it was the holidays. I finished academy on December 5th and reported on January 2nd. Most facilities will be ok with you taking unpaid leave since you aren’t usable anyway. During this whole time, I compiled a list of about 10-15 apartments that I wanted to check out and started making appointments to see them for when I will be in town. Once I arrived, I got an extended stay hotel for one week. For the apartment that my wife and I wanted, we had to wait another couple weeks to become available. We ended up staying at the hotel for 3 weeks total. Also, regarding our possessions, I bought an enclosed cargo trailer and I towed it with us and had it parked at the hotel until we found our place. Then I sold it.
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- Facility
- ZSU San Juan CERAP
You will call your new facility and talk to someone there (ATM, support manager, etc who you can discuss your start date and some of what to expect when you show up. For me, I was given ZSU and I was from NH. So I got 4 days to drive back to NH, plus 2 RDOs, then 1 day to fly to PR. I took another couple change of station days so I had some time to pack up and start making calls about houses. My classmate and I split an Airbnb for a week so we had time to find housing. I basically flew in on a Sunday, started on Monday, and had my house rented by the end of the week. It was a pretty stressful time but the facility should work with you to make the transition a little easier.
If you’re smart. Before you go to okc, pack eveything for a move. Get a storage unit, put it in the garage etc. that way you can load up and not waste COS time on packing
Tater_Toad
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I lived in my car for a couple weeks. Nearly got arrested because apparently street parking overnight is illegal here. Ended up taking 3 months to find a place to live that I could actually afford on the horrible AG pay.
ClearanceClarence
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That’s a great idea unless you fail.
GroundClutter
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Don't suck
ManBearPig
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I mean if they wash out, they will have plenty of time to unpack.
Sassyquatch
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I packed and brought as much stuff as my car could fit when I went to OKC with the intent that I could get stuck on the opposite side of the country. When I got placed, it was only like 2 extra hours to drive back home on my way to the facility and I ended up staying home for a couple days and getting more stuff. It was much easier being single without a family and I basically just started from scratch when I moved.
I rented a storage unit & stayed at an Airbnb for 3 weeks when I moved up here while I looked for an apartment. Ended up renting a room for 6 months which helped a ton on AG pay
I rented a storage unit & stayed at an Airbnb for 3 weeks when I moved up here while I looked for an apartment. Ended up renting a room for 6 months which helped a ton on AG pay
32andBelow
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Also selling most of your shit and starting over can be a great feeling. Do you really need to keep that couch?
GroundClutter
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Went to OKC with my wife after we packed up everything in a storage unit back home and sold one of the cars.
Ended up driving through the new city to get home and looked at rentals she scoped out after we picked; found one that wasn't a shit hole, signed the papers and continued home. Visited family a few days and drove back down in a u-haul.
Ended up driving through the new city to get home and looked at rentals she scoped out after we picked; found one that wasn't a shit hole, signed the papers and continued home. Visited family a few days and drove back down in a u-haul.
Storage units are cheap. Worst case you’re out a few hundred and some elbow grease
ClearanceClarence
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Moving supplies isn’t though, especially if you’re properly packing for a cross country trip. Last time I did it I dropped probably $2K on boxes, wrap, straps, etc
RalphBeast
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I got ZAU and grew up literally 25 minutes away from the facility. So just crashed at my parents place rent free baby until I checked out. Then another 2 years until I married, my wife and I were able to almost pay for our first house in cash. Still in that house 15 years later. That's basically the strategy everyone should use.
Well shit, lemme shoot HR an email and see if I can redact the first 5 years of my career.
SuckMyATIS
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I went home then ended up living an hour away from work because all of the apartments online looked like shit. I’d suggest you go straight there, get recommendations from the controllers start that process then take your change of station and go home. I could’ve been smarter about it but some of the cities you get off rip aren’t great and the people that have been there have way better ideas of the area than anything you could get online.
Probably the most stress I've had to deal with and I'm including training in that. Really not fun trying to find a place with the little time you have and if you're graduating during summer like I did, expect a lot of the good places to be booked. Definitely doesn't help you're alone in the process and expected to navigate everything right after fighting for your job.
It's a big reason as to why I always advocate for those going to the academy to book your stay at any of the major hotel chains to rack up points/nights. I spent the entire first week apartment hunting and all of it was covered. Plenty of points leftover too.
Since someone already mentioned renting an Airbnb (it will be costly), you can also try asking around your training department or your area. With the former, you have people in a similar situation and some might be willing to split the cost. Couple trainees in my area have been housed temporarily while looking for places. Obviously, don't be a shitty housemate cause the entire area will know about it. In any case, I would definitely ask other trainees where they're currently staying as that will provide an immediate list of places to check out.
Personally, I felt going back home was a waste. I wanted to start asap (starting one day earlier could literally be the difference between being in a D-side class or having to wait 6 months for the next one) and you could always visit back home later. It helped I already had a goodbye party before I left OKC.
Best of luck.
It's a big reason as to why I always advocate for those going to the academy to book your stay at any of the major hotel chains to rack up points/nights. I spent the entire first week apartment hunting and all of it was covered. Plenty of points leftover too.
Since someone already mentioned renting an Airbnb (it will be costly), you can also try asking around your training department or your area. With the former, you have people in a similar situation and some might be willing to split the cost. Couple trainees in my area have been housed temporarily while looking for places. Obviously, don't be a shitty housemate cause the entire area will know about it. In any case, I would definitely ask other trainees where they're currently staying as that will provide an immediate list of places to check out.
Personally, I felt going back home was a waste. I wanted to start asap (starting one day earlier could literally be the difference between being in a D-side class or having to wait 6 months for the next one) and you could always visit back home later. It helped I already had a goodbye party before I left OKC.
Best of luck.
