moving from the US to South Korea?

T - posted on 08/21/2012

i'm here at "the hump" camp humphreys. cs makes living here a lot easier. they make you jump through hoops for a lot of things if you aren't cs. for example you can't have a car if you're un-cs. there are other things, but i'm not sure what.
i'd be happy to answer any q's i can!

Bria - posted on 08/21/2012

T, Im with Nyke I have a billion questions I would love to pick your brain when u get uh min. thanks

Bria - posted on 08/21/2012

Nyke, your lucky I have never flown and I'm 25 an by the time we leave I will have a 2yr old and a 11month old and my son hates strangers so this plane ride is going to interesting, and as of right now it looks like hubby will be going first and we have to follow cause he check and he says we're not even on his orders so this is such a big change Im happy Im not the only one making this transition.

Bria - posted on 08/21/2012

Jennifer, oh ok thats ok then Im happy I have u ladies to talk to cause I sure dont know what Im in for I think we're going to camp humphreys but Im not sure and what is CS I mean I know what it stands for but why do we need it, and should we start the passport process now? His orders doesn't have a date on them yet so we're thinking made around the begining of the year is when we will be moving.

Nyke - posted on 08/21/2012

T, what Camp are you at if I may ask? We arent taking our vehicles either. I am concerned about getting a nice place becoz we are traveling with my hubby. I have a million questions for you lol.. let me know if you have the time. :) Thanks.

T - posted on 08/21/2012

hello! i have been in korea since march 2010. it's not terrible over here but it's certainly nothing like the states! make sure that you bring really nice pillows and linens. the px has a horrible selection. also get ready because everything closes here at like 8pm haha. but the food is great (if you like to try new things) and there is a ton of history here. as far as vehicles go, we didn't bring ours over and i'm glad we didn't because the driving here is crazy. i'd suggest just buying a junker that way you won't mind if it gets a litle dinged up. we live off base and it's not the greatest. but that could just be our complex. however, i'd suggest putting your name on the housing list as soon as possible because living on base is a lot more convinient.
good luck with everything and i hope you enjoy it here :]

Nyke - posted on 08/07/2012

Oh wow, okay.. that's right becoz my oldest will be attending high school on Osan. Im so excited! And a little nervous about living off post. We have to as soon as we get there, and the waiting list is about a year +. Is everyone taking there vehicles? Hubby and I said we weren't but now Im concerned about getting around. *We all should try to keep in touch.

JENNIFER - posted on 08/07/2012

Nyke, no far at all we past it coming from osan and it was like 10 20 mins away

Nyke - posted on 08/07/2012

Bria, this is our first overseas tour also. And although my girls are older (8, 13, & 15), none of them have ever flown are can be the biggest babies lol. So I am not looking forward to the plane ride either! I am thankful to have assistance with this trip (hubby) becoz we're coming from the East Coast, and I heard the flight was like 19 hours from here. I have no idea what can keep them entertained for that long. *my kids don't have tablets or anything like that*

Nyke - posted on 08/07/2012

Oh yea Jennifer, I must have mistyped. We are going thru Soldier Support, but here they have you go to the website to complete the app, then make an appointment to take it in for processing. We're in Fort Lee. Maybe becoz its an AIT & MEPS post, Im not sure. But we are definitely doing NO FEE govt passports! We'll be at Camp Humphreys. I wonder how far that is from Casey.

JENNIFER - posted on 08/07/2012

Bria, no you wont be able to take them they will put them in storage for you. and the washer is also a dryer here its one thing combined, but it also doesnt dry ur clothes very well in my apts they have this rack thing up top that lowers and u can hang ur clothes there and it has a fan on it to dry so its like hanging ur clothes out to dry just takes longer

JENNIFER - posted on 08/07/2012

Miranda, it took my husband 6 months to get his CS done in Korea we had it approved while we were still at Bliss but he didnt have much time left on his contract so he had to reenlist or extend in order for us to get on orders, but wasnt able to do anything till March and he got to Korea in Jan. All u need to do for the passports is go to where they have port call and passports on post get the paper work and go to a website fill out an application for each person getting one and u will need there birth certificate to turn in too and they wont give anything back till u get on orders, the only thing that sucked for us was waiting for the trasportation of hhg to get picked up since there was a big wait.. as long as u do it through the military u dont have to pay for ur passports

JENNIFER - posted on 08/07/2012

Nyke, its ok so far havent been able to go yet because i have smaller kids that dont listen, im waiting for the dycare to open in my building. im at camp casey, as long as u turn in ur passport application to the passport office on post u dont have to pay anything just ignore it u dont have to pay anything..

Miranda Jade - posted on 08/06/2012

My husband just got his aip paperwork done and is now waiting on it to be approved how long does that usually take? He said he is debating on applying for cs is this a good or bad thing? What all do we need in order to get our passports? and will the children be on mine? do we have to pay for them? I think we are moving there in January im not sure yet its up to him. im way clueless to any of this.

Maricka - posted on 08/04/2012

Hey Nyke its good to know that yours got approved, i guess positive thinkings helps a whole lot more than we give it credit for. I am surprised though that you guys are doing you passports on your own. We had some one do it for us on post....we had to make and appointment with them ...then she applied for it for us. so look into that alil more. Hey Jennifer i will be joining you in a couple of weeks.....we are suppose to have concurrent travel wit the hubby... so i hope that works out.....I have a 1yr old and a 5 yr old so i will be needing his extra 2 hands.

Nyke - posted on 08/02/2012

Jennifer, how do you like it so far? What Camp are you at? My girls are older but none of them have ever flown. Im glad to learn that we'll doing a lot of waiting. So I also have a passport question; when I did my application, it said to just select book only for govt passport, and so I did.. but it still gave me a fee for $135. When is that waived?

JENNIFER - posted on 08/02/2012

I just got to Korea 3 wks ago and it was really rough with 2 kids by myself in the airports. riding in the plane was fine no problems there. But when you get to seattle be prepared to sleep in the airport for a few hours we got seattle sat night at 2300hrs and didnt leave there till 0830. we then made a stop at Misaw Japan for about 2in half hours so you will be stuck in a holding area for that long too. just bring enough snacks and things for them to do and capri suns since there easy to deal with. it will be hectic but you will get through it.

Bria - posted on 07/31/2012

Is everybody going to SK??? Me and my family are headed that way to and right now I completely terrified I've never been outside the country and these are some of the same questions that I have being that I also have 2 small children under the age of 2. I have done some research on it and I do know that they won't allow you to take your washer and dryer they told me that they loan those to the families when they get there and you have to take a new drivers test to drive over there. At least I know Im not alone cause thats how it feels. Good Luck

Nyke - posted on 07/30/2012

Hey again, first I'll say best of luck with the CS & the travel with 2 kids alone, sincerely! What I do know is that when you are approved, they will come to move you. Some stuff will have to stay in storage in the states, so they will make two packing dates. One to pack stuff that you want to get there quicker (linens, towels, and things) and the other for your household items both going with you & staying in storage stateside. I would suggest going to your local ACS office or Travel office to get more info since your hubby is already there. I mean I know what they told me, but there is an exact pound that you are allowed, and I know this is major, so no room for guessing! We'll be there in Dec. also. You can inbox me if you like.