As a military spouse, I have had experience with the ups and downs that come with each new duty station. There are exciting aspects, but the part that looms largest for me is selling one home and finding a new home.

Personally, I have gone through phases in which moves were welcome and not so welcome. Moving away from good friends and family have been the most difficult. However, now that we are going full-circle (moving back near family) there are new challenges. Simultaneously selling a home and buying another has been particularly challenging for our upcoming move due to the real estate market (more expensive and limited selection) and that I went solo to find our new home.

I went alone to save money on airfare and because my spouse and I agreed I was the best at picking out homes for our family. Ideally, it’s best to have everyone there when choosing  a new home, however, instead I use our computer to show the family maps of the area (Google Earth is useful) and pictures of homes we are considering (via www.trulia.com and www.zillow.com). I’m fairly certain I have spent more time researching homes with my family than I did looking at homes in person.

In addition to preparing for this summer’s move, I also started to work part time as a consultant while balancing household and child care duties (my children are 7 and 11). In fact, during my last house-hunting trip I taught a couple of workshops, attended a conference, and visited with family and friends! While I was traveling, my wife was busy trying to train the person who will be replacing her and dealing with our home being on the market. This required keeping the home in “showroom” condition and often meant having to leave the house, with children, dog and cat in tow, so potential buyers could view our home.

Thankfully, after I returned we were able to secure a buyer for our current home and continue to move forward with our future home. We also took our children to help select new carpet for their rooms in our future home, which has helped them begin to further process our upcoming move. I have even started to plan our route for the move and items we will take with us. Since we will be using a travel trailer, we have the added benefit of having a space the children can have their important toys and to some degree their own space.

This move will be momentous as we plan for it to be our last since my wife will be retiring after she completes this last set of orders. This also means I will be transitioning back into the workforce on a full-time basis to support our transition from military to civilian life. One final item we haven’t figured out yet is just how long we will decide to stay in one place once we no longer have to follow Uncle Sam’s plan. We know we certainly have the expertise for more moves if needed!

About the Author

Aaron Brodniak owns ATB Consulting, LLC., a company that helps clients determine if a startup brewery is right for them. He also teaches workshops and courses on starting cidery and brewery businesses for Oregon State University. He earned his Master’s in Management at American Public University. Aaron enjoys making his own beer, bicycling, and spending time with his family.

 

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