Moving?

Calimama wrote: One of the options DH and I have are moving to be with an intelligence unit. It would mean no deployments for the entire 4 years but we'd have to move to..



JAPAN!! Not my first pick of places to live but it might be worth it to have DH with us. Would you stay here and have your DH deploy or would you leave your life.. country.. family to have him home all the time?

BTW... I'd still get PC in Japan right?

cameragirl21 replied: that's a tough call. i think as long as Bella is not in school it could be a great opportunity if it's only for four years. Once she's in school obviously it will be harder to be in another country.
it would certainly be a wonderful experience for you, assuming you don't have any plans that would have to be put aside by going to Japan, like if you were planning to go back to work or anything like that.
and yes, you can get PC.com anywhere there is internet service and i know people in Japan have access to the web.
it's a beautiful country and like i said, a great learning experience. i'd want some sort of assurance that i could return to the states after the 4 years though.

Kirstenmumof3 replied: I've heard of a Family from Thunder Bay, her DH got a transfer to China (he was not in the army or anything like that). She said where they would be living would be in a little suburb, with other families in the same situation. They have a Walmart and other department stores. I'm not sure if it would be the same in Japan, but I would do some research before you move! Good Luck!

stella6979 replied: If it's only for four years, I would most definately move so he could be home.

luvmykids replied: Whew...it would be hard but I think as Jennifer said, with Bella so little, that is an upside. The downside is her being so far away and family missing out on her. If you can look at it as a big adventure together it might be really great.

C&K*s Mommie replied: I'd go. Just another sacrifice to be made. Fortuantely with digital cameras, and internet anyone here in the States missing out on Bella's life would still get to see and hear about her adventures in growing up.

When will you have to make that decision to move or stay?

mom21kid2dogs replied: If was just you & he I'd move in a heartbeat. It just depends on how much you currently rely on family support,etc. If you're used to not having it, I doubt moving would be a huge issue. OTOH, it's darned far away even to get home for a holiday.
Good luck whatever you choose.

Calimama replied: It would be in contract that it's only for 4 years. I've learned how important contracts are in the Marine Corps. Bella is 7 months now so when we got back to the states she'd be starting Kindergarten. We would live on base with other American families which I love.

I don't know when the decision has to be made. It's either stay here and have him miss a lot of her life for 4 years or move her away from everything we know. The other thing that is weighing me is having another baby. If we stay here we won't TTC until he's out so he wont miss the birth. If we move to Japan and he's home than we can TTC whenever. Such tough decisions.

Oh and our family is 3000 miles away, we talk on the phone maybe once a week but we have no help out here and rarely see them..

grapfruit replied: I'd go. It's an amazing experience, and if your family isn't close anyway then you don't have that to worry about. Plus you'll be w/the family that counts

My friend spent a few years in Korea (not Japan I know) in the Air Force and LOVED it. She travelled a lot around Asia and said it's her most favorite place in the world. She said she'd move back in a heart beat. And she's super close to her family! Sure it may be hard, but in the end it will be a once in a life time experience for all of you!! (she is in intelligence btw )

stella6979 replied:
I agree that it would definately be a tough decision, but if it's a way to keep you all together so your DH won't miss anymore than he already has, I say go for it. That's JMO though.

cameragirl21 replied:
in that case i'd go in a heartbeat. they can come visit you in Japan the same way they visit you now, when they visit and you can come here too for various holidays. if that gets rid of the possibility of deployment i wouldn't even give it a second thought.

MyBlueEyedBabies replied: I would go in a heartbeat.

heck I would even go if my kids would be in school there. Since you will be on an American base you will have a lot of the small comforts of home but teh biggest plus would be having your dh home every night. To me that would be worth moving anywhere.

CantWait replied: I think Japan would be an awesome experience, and it's only for 4 years, so it's not like you'll never see family again, or they'll never see you again.
As a military wife, I wish we could still get postings in Germany, that would be super cool.

Brias3 replied:

That is EXACTLY why I agreed to our overseas moves. It simply came down to that statement alone.

My husband's not in the military but we lived overseas for just over six years due to his work. It wasn't all bad, we actually had the opportunity to experience so much we wouldn't have otherwise and have memories to last us forever. It WAS, however, the hardest decision we've had to make as a couple in our entire relationship.

If you need any advice or help with anything, I've done two international moves (well three technically but we were only in France for four months) and we lived in Hong Kong as one of those moves for four years. I'd be glad to help with any questions you might have as you try to make a decision!