Hello everyone. I am Apophis' wife, we are inbound to Osan this August. First of all, I want to thank everyone for contributing to this resource, it's proving very helpful to us. I have a couple of questions about what we absolutely need to bring with us, since we have a pretty strict weight allowance (500 lbs total). How are the off base apartments generally furnished? Dining room set, bedroom suite, living room? Desks? Entertainment centers? Bookshelves? Are the kitchens equipped with cookware, dishes, and/or utensils? What is storage like in the kitchens? I love to cook. What about linens (bedroom, bathroom, window dressings)? We are planning right now to come with just our computers, some clothes, and a few books and entertainment cds (music, movies, PC games). Can anyone advise me on what else I might need to bring that would fit our weight allowance? I want to spend as little money as possible when we get there on replacing items I could have brought with me. Thanks in advance =)

Christina

Forgot to ask about appliances, such as for in the kitchen, and also if we should bring along a television. Additionally, will the electrical hookups that we have here in the States for these type of items be compatible there?

Yes they will work.

You can also search for a thread called "your favorite 500lbs" I believe it is in general military.

I'll see if I can find it for you..

**EDIT** here is the thread....


http://www.usfkforums.com/osan-air-b...vorite+500+lbs

__________________
CH-47 SI

They must find it difficult...

Those who have taken authority as the truth, rather than truth as the authority. --Gerald Massey

Most apartments are furnished with at least a couch, coffee table, TV stand, bed w/ mattress, wardrobe, night stand, and a small two or maybe 4 person dinning room table, stove and refrigerator. Depending on how bad the landlord wants to rent the apartment you can ask for more stuff and they will usually give it to you. We just moved to a new apartment and one of the apartments we were looking at the landlord told us to just make a list of what we wanted and he would buy it. Most of kitchens I have seen have been small with very little storage.

Thanks eveyone =) I'm so afraid I'll forget something vital, bankrupt us by not bringing enough of what we need and having to repurchase the entire household once we get there, or exceed the weight allowance and getting charged an arm and a leg for that (anyone know how much that costs anyway?) This is my first international voyage, I'm very excited but very worried that I'll do everything all wrong too!

C

Calm down and relax, there are several other NCS wifes on this board. My wife being one of them and eveyone seems to like it and has very little to no problems.

Just remember when hubby is getting his gear ready for the movers make sure ALL his military stuff is marked PRO gear, this weight does not count against your 500lbs.

Also if you do forget something people are always leaving and selling stuff very cheap, you also have the thrift shop. I bought a very nice 8 piece dinner set with bowl, cups, and the little plate for around $5.00.

You'll love it over here!

__________________
CH-47 SI

They must find it difficult...

Those who have taken authority as the truth, rather than truth as the authority. --Gerald Massey

Our apartment came furnished with the following:

Queen size bed and one night stand
One three drawer dresser
One five drawer dresser
Full size bed
Four wardrobes
One collapsible plastic wardrobe
Korean twin size bed (longer than what our American twin size sheets would fit)
Couch
Long, low cabinet with drawers (we put our TV on it)
Microwave
Fridge
Stove and oven
Washer/dryer combo unit
Kitchen table and four chairs
Computer desk
Computer chair
110V to 220V converters
Air conditioning unit
Shoe cabinet by the front door

We brought:
TV
DVD player
VCR
Stereo
Computer
Clothes, of course
Toys and playthings for the kids
DVDs, CDs, computer games
Printer/scanner/copier

We purchased (I starred the things I wished I'd brought):
*Dish set from the BX for about $15 (4 servings - dinner plates, glasses, small plates, and bowls)
Blender (needed a new one anyway) from the BX
*Tupperwareish bowls that are used for storage/mixing from the BX
*Hand mixer from the Thrift Store
*Dish drainer from the Thrift Store
Sheets for the full-size bed (didn't have any of those) from the BX
Towels (were in need of new ones anyway) from the BX
Cleaning supplies from the BX
Food, of course, from the commissary
*Kitchen utensil kit (cheap service for eight plus spatula and mixing spoons, etc.) from the BX
*Tin pie plates and cake pans from the commissary because I didn't bring my good ones and I didn't want to buy new ones (wish I'd brought my good ones)
*Cheap cookie sheets from the BX (wish I'd brought my good ones)
*Cheap cooling rack from the BX (wish I'd brought my good ones)
*Drying rack for clothes from the BX (I use the dryer cycle only for towels and sheets)

All in all, you'll get by with what you have. My husband's birthday was just a couple days after we arrived in country and we were still staying in his dorm room at the time. I managed to make him a birthday cake WITH icing FROM SCRATCH with only a plastic mixing bowl and a microwave! Where there's a will, there's a way.

Hope that helps!

Kara

Thanks so much everyone, all this information is incredibly helpful =D I look forward to meeting all of you in less than two months!

Does anyone have knowledge of what sorts of items are considered to be "pro-gear"? I've seen a couple of posts of people packing computers, books, and printers as such. What about a bicycle for transportation to, from, and around base?

The bike maybe a little hard....but you never know. Tell the packer that is going to be his WORK transportation.

Give it a try, if you don't ask you'll never know.

__________________
CH-47 SI

They must find it difficult...

Those who have taken authority as the truth, rather than truth as the authority. --Gerald Massey