GUYS!!!!
I'm ever so excited to announce our next duty station:
Now, we bent over backwards trying to secure elsewhere just to avoid Fort Gordon (husband did NOT want an instructor slot there which is what would have happened). But one after another, slots were disappearing from the table. We'd pounce on an opening, only to find out by the time we decided/researched it, the opening was closed.
We decided to gamble while waiting to hear back from our connection at Shaw Air Force Base, SC. We knew there'd be a possibility that the Major there could put in a requisition for my husband to be pulled in that direction after talking to him. We opened contact with him in early December and he was game to put in the request asap. But by Christmas block leave, we had still heard nothing back.
My husband, chummy with his retention NCO, asks "What gives?" and the retention dude has no answer. Now I don't know every single term in the soldier world, but the retention guy is able to see some things that my husband cannot, and he told my husband that no requisition had ever been made, and that if it had, it would've already been visible.
Back to the drawing board.
We check the opening slot list again. Not much poppin'.
Options:
Germany
Belgium
Italy
Norway
Hawaii
West Point, NY
Fort Bliss, TX
Fort Gordon, GA
Some MEPS place in Chicago, IL
Not a damn thing we were interested in.
Someone out there is banging their head on their keyboard, thinking "What's wrong with you people?!?! Europe, Hawaii? Come on."
Well, living in Europe for one tour has been enough for us!
We're done. We've shelled out $30,000+ worth the travels here in 2.5 yrs. We need to move on. Travel is expensive and it's also the only thing that keeps our sanity in this place. We're ready to buy a house and invest that money instead.
And Hawaii...though I don't mind visiting an island paradise now and again, I've learned a lesson while living in Europe:
Just because it sounds nice doesn't mean you want to live there.
I'd rather visit Hawaii. Especially after living in Europe where the cost of living is high, I'm not willingly going to move to a place where its higher...dumb. And to be frank, I'm not wanting to feel stuck again for three years. Hawaii is an island, y'all. And island fever is real.
And then there's quality of life:
We heavily considered West Point.
But considering it's kind of in the middle of nowhere and we're about to embark upon a teenage majority household, I don't want to live in a place where my kids have zero teen job prospects. The movie theater, mall, and Walmart in that place are at least 45 minutes, one way, away. And chances are they'd be going to another DoD school which is an absolute NO in my book. Oh, and insuring teen drivers in New York state would make us poor. My kids wouldn't have a normal high school experience there. At all.
And other factors:
Average rent is $3k a month, and with our large family, we'd be shelling out at least $4k a month to fit in a rental.
Buying a house is out of the question. On average: $375,000+++ for a mediocre, outdated, 4 bedroom home that's still not big enough for the six of us.
We needed a place that we can see ourselves settling because it is a possibility that where we go next we'll be requesting stabilization for graduating high schoolers.
**Because our kids nearly graduate back to back (my son will be a senior while my twin daughters will be sophomores and in the window for request while our son is in his final year. And after the twins, our youngest daughter is just one year behind. Boom, boom, boom. It's entirely possible my husband can ride out the rest of his career here because of our kids' ages unless we choose not to stabilize for any reason.
We needed a location where junior colleges and a state university are near by; for not only our growing teens, but so that I can finish out college myself.
A duty station where there's stuff to do (even if it's a day shopping or at a park/zoo), and where we wouldn't have to drive over an hour away just to buy a pair of socks.
So we gambled.
After many discussions and going over lists that didn't have places we wanted, we decided to let the army choose.
It's scary doing that; knowing you could end up with a fate worse than what you've had before or could have picked, or possibly winding up with a place you absolutely are trying to avoid (Ft Gordon).
It paid off.
We are on assignment to Fort Riley, Kansas!
We wanted America and the army listened by putting us smack dab in the middle.
It was kind of an odd surprise because it was never on our radar. My husband had been checking the openings with his retention buddy since July of this past year (2016), and Riley was NEVER once on the list of slots available. I even have the actual printed slot lists here to prove it.
Though Riley wasn't our first pick, it's not on our "Hell No" list.
Many people have warned us that we'll hate it, or talk about how that they hated it, but after living at Rose Barracks for over 2.5 years, it'll be a nice change. We'll finally be able to buy a pair of shoes or go out to dinner without having to drive for at least an hour...at least there's that.
Also, not everyone knows that we have family only two hours down the road from Ft Riley.
Yup, my husband's parents were born and raised in Kansas, and though they don't live there now, some of my husband's extended family does; lovely people who we are in -somewhat-regular contact with. It'd be more regular if we didn't live across the world.
We're not strangers to the area, or the state, having visited it quite a few times in the past, so for the first time in our army life adventures, we actually know what we're getting BEFORE moving there.
Whew.
That's a nice feeling.
Basically, Riley ticks off our list:
It has four seasons.
Kansas State University is down the street along with community colleges.
Department stores, craft stores, hobby stores, movie theaters, restaurants, community pools, shoe stores, home decor stores, etc are all within a 15 minute drive or closer.
We didn't want to be in a major city, like Chicago, but we didn't want something in the middle of nowhere like West Point.
We're happy, and all very excited! And if we're all happy, then life is good.
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