Hi my name is Laura. We have orders to PCS to Osan in July. We will be CS. I have a baby boy, Austin, that is 14 months old.

I have some questions.

1. As CS do I need to get visas for my son and I before we go? I already have a passport and I just sent out for my sons.

2. How is the housing on Osan? I heard there was new housing. Is any of the new housing completed?

3. Can I travel to Osan with my husband? I heard that it depended on housing. If housing is available can I come with him? Or do I have to wait for him to move all our stuff in? We are shipping our stuff in May so it should be there before we get there.

Thanks!

Laura

Hi Laura! I am glad you decided to join us here! I am so excited to have a friend coming over there with me. Someone to shop with! haha.. we can go have clothes special made. Matt already has some stuff picked out for me to get, but I told him I'm not doing any of that until this baby lets me have my body back! :)

Anyway, you do not need to get visas before you go. The military takes care of the A-3 visa and the sofa stamp. They would even take care of the passport, but I know you already said you wanted the tourist visa, not the no-fee passport, which I agree with. You are definitely going to want to go to Japan if you are there for 3 years.

As far as housing, Matt said that some of the new housing is completed, but I don't know for sure. He was looking into it a little because he was thinking about trying to CS, but we decided against it. We still want to go to Hawaii. But, if they make Osan a more CS base and we can get there for 3 years, we'll probably move back after Hawaii.

As far as traveling to Osan with your hubby, I would say to plan against it right now. They tell you you can't, but I know some do and just stay in a hotel downtown for a while. If you don't want to do that, then you might have to wait a week or two. Who knows. Matt got right into a dorm even though he was told it would take a while. Have you talked to your sponsor yet? Hopefulyl he can get you some info on housing. If not, maybe use a DSN line to call the housing office to find some info. IF you go to the OSAN AFB website, it gives you that phone number.

Well, sorry I can't be more help! It won't be too long before you are over there. Its only 11 more days for me! Hey-- if you need to come when he does and want a place to stay, you can DEFINITELY stay with us. We will have an apartment right outside the gate, hubby is already in the process of getting that. Then you wouldn't have to fly without your husband, or would you need to pay for a hotel for a long time. Just a thought if you are interested. I didn't want to fly without Matt either, but I don't have the choice!

Hi, Laura!

Welcome to Osan..CS or NCS, I think you'll be surprised at how much you may like it here! :)

I'll answer your questions as best as I can, but with the caveat that I'm not CS, so I may be a little off...and that things here as far as housing are in a bit of an uncertain status right now, so things are subject to change!

1) As CS, you -may- not need a VISA to come,as you, being on his orders, have permission from Korea to be here. I would highly recommend , however, checking with the passport office at your base, or giving a call to the Osan passport office,and asking just to make sure. If you -do- need to get a VISA, they're not a big deal at all, very easy to get, through the Korean consulate for NCS'sers, and I'm presuming through MPF/Passport Office for CS'ers.

2) Housing at Osan is in a very ...chaotic..state right now. Currently, CS spouses are housed in one Tower-style house, and Mustang Valley Village, the "old" base housing. The two new towers are not supposed to open up until February and April 2008. The chaos now going on with housing is due to the fact that the military actually *leases* the MVV properties from the Korean National Housing Association, and there have apparently been problems that have come up in negotiation with them, and at this time, a termination of lease order has been signed. It's hoped that negotiations will continue and that termination of lease may be rescinded...but if that doesn't successfully happen, the residents of MVV may have to relocate by December 1 of this year...and since the new towers aren't going to be completed by then, they may have to move *off* base, or do early return, then come *back* after the housing is completed.

The powers that be are currently heavily in negotiation and are hoping to have some definitive information in the next few months. The resolution of this issue is understandably of high priority to the command.

How will this affect you? Again,that's uncertain.. there is a possibility that you may get housing in the Seoraksan Tower-style housing due to attrition (someone moving out may leave an opening in the apartment) as those openings , I -believe- are to be filled by a balance of those newly coming in to Osan and those who would be moving up from MVV. Needless to say , the residents of MVV that I know are -not- too happy with this idea of having to move off base,and not back on, and newcomers getting the apartments that are coming open, especially after some of the residents there have been waiting a year and had been assured they'd be getting those apartments as soon as they become available. One of my cs friends here is pregnant, due sometime in mid-November, and is now looking at the possibility of having to move twice in a matter of months, once downtown, while in the last stages of pregnancy, and then again, back to base housing, likely with an infant. Not a fun prospect, especially given that she -hates- the downtown area, and really doesn't want to live off base. They haven't been here long, only about 6 months, so their DEROS is later , so we're keeping fingers crossed that they'll be among the first to be allowed to move into the towers, but..at this point.. who knows?

The other option that I think may be available to the command is allowing newcomers to live off base, with a waiting list to get on base, much as it is in the States, or any other European country. Right now, things are just up in the air, due to the negotiations, so..it's really a matter of just having to wait for things to get settled.

3) If housing is available, you can do concurrent travel, arriving with your husband at the same time. You shouldn't have to wait for your stuff to arrive to move in, as they also have a loan closet at AFRC for CS families.

Now -THAT- being said...if the situation with MVV is not resolved by the time you get over here, there is a -very- distinct possibility that a non-concurrent travel order may be put into place,and you -would- have to wait until your husband arrived and got housing arranged.

As I said, I wish I had more definitive answers for you, but so much is up in the air right now,and dependant on how these negotiations go..Keep checking back, have your husband check with the housing office here at Osan. This forum is great for info... you can also check out the MigAlley Flyer base newspaper on the AF Crossroads site (if it's ever updated *grumble*) for other news about the issue,etc.

I hope this helps some, again, my apologies for not having more info.

Dee :)

Wow, thanks for all the information. I had no idea all that was going on with housing. I think I will either try for the new housing or live offbase until the new housing becomes available.

Welcome Laura!

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Laura,

Welcome to USFK forums About living in Korea the landlords will Max you out no matter what the condition of the Apartment is they know how much you get. Go to the Korean Government site tons of info there read it like it's the last thing you ever gonna do. Keep in mind your going to another country (Our rules don't apply) Be genuwine with the people they will help you.

Bones

I disagree. We tried our hardest to max out our allowance and we weren't able to do so without having a car to drive. I specifically asked for more expensive apartments and still found nothing more expensive. At no point did I feel I was shown a place where the price was jacked up. I would recommend finding a reputable realtor, it makes all of the difference. We used Korea Realty, as did many others, and have been very happy. Of course the first thing I was asked was my rank, but I feel it was used as more to find a baseline of apartments to show me (Rank=cost and ability to drive) in order to not waste mine or the realtors time.

We looked at over a dozen apartments and I felt everything was appropriately priced. Older, thus less expensive, villas are within walking distance of base are 800,000 to 1 million Won. 1 million on up for apartment style buildings farther out from base (but a long walk) and the sky is the limit for any houses or apartments further out that you really need a car.

If you feel you are being taken advantage of, find another realtor. There are 5 on every block. Actually, go to all of them any way. We went to 4 different realtors and went back to Korea realty because we were happy with them and their listings.

I have to agree. The apartment we found is $850 a month and we could have gone almost up to $1400. The realtor my husband found was really great about showing us nice apartments, but could have went further out from base, and I'm sure they would have been a little more expensive. But, with 3 children, I thought I'd be happier close to base! I think he said he went to a Century 21, but I've heard great things about Korea Realty.

I have to echo "Barney" and Brianna here....our experience was much like theirs...our apartment is about 3 minutes walking distance from the main gate, and our rent is substantially below the max available for someone of our rank.

Like "Barney" , we were asked our rank when we first entered the realty office, but I also felt that it was more to establish a baseline to determine which properties that should be shown, rather than to establish rent at any one given location.

I feel that our apartment is perfectly in line with pricing for the apartments in the area around here, and haven't seen much present here in the Osan area... what it's like around Yongsan, Humphreys,etc, I can't speak to, as I haven't had that experience. I only was shown one apartment here that I felt was overpriced and I got the impression that the realtor wasn't thrilled at showing it for that reason.

There were more expensive apartments available further out.. I have a friend that lives in the Innosville Apartments (her husband's not military, but a government contractor)..and they're expensive, rent wise (she told me she could never afford such a place in the US) , but from what I've seen , worth every penny. Opera House, near base, is also more expensive than your average Songtan apartment, however, it's a brand new building,and the units are -gorgeous- and -impeccably kept- so, in my mind.. it's worth the extra for it.

As for "shopping" around for realtors.. YESYESYES..If you don't like one you're dealing with or feel like the one you're dealing with is somehow taking advantage with you... *definitely* check around. Since realtors here are effectively "one-stop shopping" for all your household needs, including utilities, translators,etc., you need to be dealing with someone you hold confidence in...don't be afraid to look around until you find one.

We, for example, met with a rep from Century 21, and although they were nice, we just had a bad vibe about it, they were really pushy and seemed more intent on making their "sale" than getting us somewhere we wanted, we went to Han-Mei, and they were -very- nice, just had very limited listings. Korea Realty proved the perfect fit for us, Michelle was great about answering our questions,and making sure we had what we needed paperwork wise,etc.

The bottom line? Not all realtors are for everyone, find the one you're comfortable with, and you should be fine.

If you find and go with a reputable realtor, gouging shouldn't much of an issue at all, not near the Osan area.

Dee :)

Hopefully, the whole issue about the MVV housing will be resolved by the time you arrive,and you shouldn't have to worry much. :) I know the General has placed this matter on a high priority status,and has folks working it diligently, and hopes are high that an answer will come by mid-summer, or so. The idea of having to move everyone out of MVV is a logistical *nightmare* especially at a time when budgets are so tight, so hopefully, everything will be resolved, and nothing will change at all, until Feb-Apr 08, when folks start getting moved into the new towers.

Unfortunately as far as choosing housing, CS spouses actually have less ability to choose where they live than we NCS spouses. CS spouses are required to live on base, and housing here is like the iron fist without the velvet glove, I'm told.. you don't get choices, you're assigned a housing unit,and that's it. I believe they've currently placed a "stop" order on assigning anyone to MVV, due to all this so if there's availability at Seorksan Towers, I'd imagine that's where they'll place you. The good news is that Seorksan Towers is *far* nicer than MVV.. the bad news, you'll have a lot of folks who have been waiting here for a year in some cases, for the opportunity to move into the Towers from MVV, who won't be happy that you got the housing that they were at one time promised. :)

Hopefully, you'll have a full spectrum available to you by the time you are scheduled to arrive...and hopefully, this will all be resolved before they have to issue a "non-concurrent" travel order for those who are coming with their husbands.

A curious little note though, for all of us who live off base..has it occurred to anyone just how much it would affect the local housing area, if the deal falls through,and residents have to move off base due to the closing of MVV? I'd imagine properties a short distance away from the base would become prime property, and housing nearer the base even more so...

My personal fear is that somehow this lack of housing will delay the change for NCS spouses to accompanied status tours that General Bell has expressed a desire for wanting, since effectively, Osan doesn't have the facilities to offer housing to us now... personally, housing isn't one of the benefits that I'm interested in, all that I really want is non-space A status at the DoD school, and dental clinic! *G* It would be nice if they would offer us those benefits even if they don't have the housing available..but I'm not sure they would "separate" or "itemize" benefits like that, if they can't give us the "whole package". I guess only time will tell, but I'm becoming less enthusiastic that we NCS spouses here at this present time will see anything from General Bell's statements.

Dee :)