I'm reading between the lines, but I believe you may be coming to the special city of Seoul, given the paragraph about the hospital. Other bases, posts, sites, etc. are less fortunate when it comes to medical care. We have been there, done that more than once. A Missouri girl that follows the "Show me" State philosophy will be fine.
Sure, living will be a little more spartan than St. Louis, but others are here and doing fine. Support varies with your Service, so any Air Force advice does not always match with Army, or Navy. You should ask for a sponsor package asap. keep in touch!

Yes, even though you are non-commnnd sponsored you will recieve a with dependants cola rate.

If your well above an E-7 (i'm an E-6) I get $1350 for my housing (off post) right around $500 for my electric and COLA is different every month. anywhere from $390-$500.

Hope this helps.

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CH-47 SI

They must find it difficult...

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

Just a few thoughts;

You did not mention whether your family was traveling there with you on the initial trip over. If so I would highly not recommend this. The Turumi Lodge on base is nice and opened a few years ago. They had some Korean War vintage places that were across from the Hospital; however, I would not recommend an extended stay there. It is also very difficult getting a room at the Turumi. The close quarters living can also prove a little challenging. This stress will levels will be elevated if your family has never been to Asia. The Asian culture is quite different from the West.

The majority of the hotels in Songtan also have girls working the lobby and the rooms are not very good. I thought the 5 Star the best place to stay downtown. That was a few years ago.

Once you arrive in Korea you should purchase a SK Telecom calling card. You need to ensure you will have DSN capability on the card. It will be on the back of the card if it has the capability. The other option is VOIP, the bandwidth there rocks.

Once you settle in be sure you take the time to enjoy the culture there. There are several things you can do for very nominal cost. Although it is a little pricey, there is an amusement park nearby for you twins. The key is staying as active as possible while you are there. This will reduce some of the home sickness that most people experience while living there. You may want to consider hiking :-) Korea has a lot to offer if you only take the time to appreciate the country and their culture. The majority of the dependents I seen there were very stressed living there. This also included Koreans who were born there and have since became Westernized. They were very bored having to await their Spouses return from work. I would encourage your wife to seek employment while she is there. This will get them out of the house and fill there idle time. She may also enjoy learning the language. Learning to read it is also a great way to fill time. Their alphabet is an awesome system that linguist have a great deal of respect for. This will really help you get around whereever you go. The kids could enroll in some of the programs that Youth Services has to offer.

One last piece of advise. I use to tell my soldiers was to make the best of it while you are there. The time will go by quickly and you will enjoy your tour. You will discover the Korean people are very good.

Since you are also moving to the area during a time when USFK is in the process of relocating to the area you will experience the demonstrations. It would help to remember this does not represent the status quo of the people there. I have always believed the nK have seeds planted to create dissension between Korean and US relations. There are those that are influenced by the actions of those few.
You may want to check out the bridge at night. It over looks the harbor in Pyeongtaek. It is an awesome sight, especially at night.

I hope your transition goes well.

Kudos to you all. Everyone has given excellent advice. Ths detailed info about the phones, etc are things a newbie would not know.

Thank you,
Chuck

Monthly OHA and Utility Pay Charts show the max amount each month (for your rank). If I find a less expensive place than the chart shows, I do no get to pocket the difference. Is this true? If true, then in typical American wasteful sense, it would be smart to get the largest/most expensive place that my OHA would allow... Am I right?

Cheers,
Chuck

You will not get to pocket the OHA, but you will get to pocket the utility money. You will get the exact amount of your rent for OHA, but a flat rate for utilities.

Mike

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Visit USFK Classifieds, the FREE classifieds in Korea!

Good to know, thanks.

Chuck

Panic Mode has set in. Got my RNLTD today. 15 March!!!! That's not much time to sell a house and two vehicles!! Everyone says I should go to Korea set up house, then send for the family. Wife, who must travel 20 hours on an airplane carrying carseats, etc with twin 2 year olds said, "Not in your life!"

I think non-command sponsored won't be so bad after we go thru the extreme pain of getting there.

Cheers,
Chuck

Chuck;

15 March is not a bad time to arrive there. You experience the end of the winter. This winter there has been a cold one. I heard it is the coldest in at least 10 years.

If you do not mind me asking where are you currently living. I remember you mentioned your wife is from Missouri. My initial thought was you were at Leonard Wood. It is a rough trip going over even without children. The plne ride over is an ardous one to say the least.

I cannot over emphasis the stress she will endure if she travels with you on the initial visit. If she is admant I earnestly hope you have an apartment to move to upon your arrival. It is difficult to get a room at the Turumi Lodge. I could not seen any family staying at any of the hotels I now of it Songtan. I use to do a lot of TDY there and use to know the hotels well.

Has the real estate agent given you any ideas on the availability during that time? I just remembered the Real Estate agents there do not share listings. There are hundreds of agents operating in many cases next door to each other and will not share contacts or listings. It took 6 different agents before we can find a place. You should also have been assigned a Sponsor. You may want to ask the sponsor to take some pictures of the places the agents are showing. This would give a more portray the offers more closely. There are some nice places when you go out the main gate and turn left. You should be able to pick up a transportation special when you get there.

I wish you the best at finding a place before March.

I got hit by the non concurrent travel policy. My wife is the active duty member. She got here about three weeks before me. So I got to travel by myself with a 4 year old and two dogs. It's not something I'd like to repeat. She received her orders in hand around 10 days prior to her no later than date. So I got stuck doing everything to clear, myself. It gives you alot more sympathy for single parents. If you do have to travel non-concurrently, I'd recommend taking care of the house, cars, etc. prior to your leaving. It'll make it easier on her.