Who's stationed in europe?

[Dusten]

Im up for orders in little less than a year. I am debating on trying to go to europe as this is my final shore duty, after that i will do 1 more tour at sea and retire(am i really this ****ing old?)
Anyways, for those of you with families, how did they like it?
anyone with a wife with a career(not just a job)? If so, did she stop working while there, or find similiar work? My wife is an accountant currently, and has been for almost 4 years since graduating college.

 

[mustangjunkie]

This won't help very much, but I a PCS'ing to Ramstein at the beginning of next year. I have heard nothin but good things about it.

My wife has her own business, and she is probably going to put it on hold and go to school to finish out her degree while we are there.

Where are you looking at going?

 

[Dusten]

Where is the problem for me, being navy, most of our stuff is in italy and spain. But as a sonar tech, the ability to go to Stutgart(sp?) is out there, along with England. I don't have anything in site yet, just trying to lay the brickwork now to make it possible.
the last about 6 years of my career have been very stressful and Im trying to make my last shore tour enjoyable and relaxing.

 

[Tom's_03SVT]

what branch of service are you in? Im asking because there are different stardards of living for each branch that could make all the difference when it comes to choosing an overseas assignment.

 

[DocButters]

I know this doesn't help either lol, I just submitted my orders for Spain, or Italy. my father in-law was in the service for 21 years and he told me that his stations in Europe were the most fun.

 

[Dusten]

what branch of service are you in? Im asking because there are different stardards of living for each branch that could make all the difference when it comes to choosing an overseas assignment.

Navy, will have been in for 13 years when i get over seas, if i do.

 

[myersusaf]

I am stationed at a small base in Belgium. This is my second Tour here and a total of 5 years. I have been TDY to Ramstein numerous times and also to Spangdahlem AB. We love it over here and it is pretty awesome being located where we are. It is worth it to get stationed here on uncle Sam's dollar. You can use the years you are over here to slowly travel around and see all of the sites, rather than having to jam it all in a 2 week vacation. I am 3 hours from Paris, 2 from Amsterdam, 1.5 to Dusseldorf, 1 to Brussels. The Train system is pretty awesome here also, it makes it easy to jump on locally and go virtually anywhere in europe in a relativley short time.

 

[Tom's_03SVT]

Navy, will have been in for 13 years when i get over seas, if i do.

I was stationed in La Maddalena Italy from 1998-2000 best tour of my career. I would tell you going to Italy or Spain from a travel stand point is your best option.

 

[nitemarestang]

Europe's been the best times for me other than deployments. :beer:

 

[john3883]

I have been in Germany for 2 year and now in england for 1 and half with another 1 and half to go. I would try for either germany or UK. I enjoyed germany except for the language barrier which is overcome in England. I would say try to make it to Europe. There are the positives and negatives that you got to deal with but I am sure you will survive once settled in. Look if you hate it then you retire anyways to go back to the States. If i was a gambling man I would bet you and your wife would love your time spent over here.

 

[Dusten]

I have no doubt i'd enjoy it, its just a matter of getting used to 1 income, and that sort of thing. Which is why i was asking about housing and spousal stuff.

 

[DaleM]

I have spent about 4 years plus in Germany. I loved it and if there were some currency stabilization it would be a nice place to retire. A dollar can go far 1 year then mean nothing the next.

Public trans in Germany is just incredible. It is one more experience feather to put in your life's cap.

 

[Root1022]

I'm stationed in Vilseck/Grafenvoeher. Stuggart is a pretty nice place, good thing about being stationed in Germany is everything is right there around you. I didnt get to spend much time there (2 months) before I deployed but I plan on traveling as much as I can when I get home! One thing though, the beer is ****ing amazing in Bavaria lol!

 

[john3883]

I have no doubt i'd enjoy it, its just a matter of getting used to 1 income, and that sort of thing. Which is why i was asking about housing and spousal stuff.

Well in that case the spouses being naturally from the States a lot of spouses hate it, well half do and half thinks its cool being over here.(Lot of people with Germany, Japanese, British etc spouses love being back overseas.) So its a 50/50 depending on your wife's outlook on the grass is greener on the other side. Kids offcourse will be hesitant but once in school they end up liking it a lot most the time and don't want to leave when the DEROS is up.

As for finding a job in your wife specialty she would have to overcome and become somewhat fluent in the local language. Even then she prob will be met with some prejudice once she speaks and they know she is American. I know few people who have had issues finding simple gigs such as tattoo artist to DJs to nurses. Most friends and people i knew had some real issues for offbase jobs. Some were sucessful but not many. Best bet is a GS pay position on base. Not sure if its an option for her or where you are going though.

Housing sucks compared to the states thats obvious. In the UK houses are tiny I couldn't even fit my box springs up stairs and had to look at 10 houses before finding one to my liking for a decent garage (because only double garages can fit a 03 cobra, unless you own a metro geo you aren't gonna get your car in your single car garage).

Think about what your bringing over here. To fit my "american" furniture. My box springs are in the garage bc i couldn't get them upstairs only the flexiable mattress. Also my house selection had to include a big living area with double doors to the outside to fit my couch. Most people end up selling a lot of stuff(or pay for storage) bc they can't even get in their door once they get here and pick a house without measuring it out. So good luck on that aspect. Germany is similar housing wise but not as near as bad as the UK.

Good luck and enjoy the expierence.

 

[Dusten]

John, appreciate the outlook. Other than my couches, most of my furniture is small.
The car parked outside i can get used to and the L sits outside anyways(to many other cars in my garage that are more special that would get put up in storage while i was gone). Your input pretty much seals the deal on her not working unless she finds a GS job, which is an option and something shes looked at before.