TLF Living

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In the military we like to joke about all of the TLAs (three letter acronyms) we use. They literally made an acronym to describe all of the acronyms!

PCS season (permanent change of station) usually has military families living in the TLF (temporary living facility. They vary across bases in terms of size and type. But regardless they are a step up from traditional hotel living and because they are on base they are close to services we need while we are in transition and in-processing. 

Moving in the military isn’t quite like moving across town. We have the added benefit of packers who come to pack the house. But they come when they are available and often we have to schedule them at inconvenient times. Peter still had 3 classes going on when ours came in December. Our pack out took four days (this one was particularly strange) and we started on a Monday. That left Friday for final outprocessing (the out processing can take a couple weeks depending on the availability of services on base). 

The military tells you how many days you have to get to your next assignment. If you take more than that allotted time you have to apply for leave en route. We chose to take a few days of leave for this move so we weren’t stuck in the TLF for Christmas. We enjoyed a few days at a YMCA ranch in the mountains and then checked into our TLF. (2 weeks since the packers started if you are keeping track)

When you arrive at a new duty station you can either live on the base, rent or purchase a house. Often military families will opt to rent or purchase a house without ever seeing it, relying on friends in the area or a realtor to help them. Work, school, lack of childcare or money are all reasons that can keep a family from being able to travel to the area first to check out houses. 

Families are given a little over a week to choose a home in the area. If you are buying or renting that usually means driving around for days looking at homes and trying to get a feel for an area. Thankfully today you can research schools, sports, churches and other considerations more easily than in the past. But it is still very difficult to make a housing decision when you aren’t familiar with an area. 

If you are planning to live on base you have to wait until a house is available. This could be a couple days, weeks or months. When we returned from Italy it took us 6 weeks to find a house. There was another couple living in the TLF who were there longer while they waited for base housing to open. 

In the meantime TLF living it is. Sometimes the TLF is a standalone house. Other times it’s more like an apartment or even a hotel. This time around ours is a fourplex. It has a living/dining//kitchen area, 2 bedrooms, a full bath and a small washer and dryer. Housekeeping is provided on a daily basis. This particular unit has a playground right outside the door which is amazing! 

Other considerations a moving family have to consider is what to pack. TLF living is great but what happens if you rent or buy a house and you are now paying monthly for it? Well you move in. For us that was 6 weeks in Philadelphia with no furniture. Because we were moving from overseas we had to buy pillows, linens, and kitchen items. Eventually we had a small shipment of household goods that came (bikes, a card table and 2 beanbag chairs along with a few kitchen essentials). And thankfully we had friends who loaned us air mattresses. Otherwise these are all expenses out of your pocket when you move. Or you pack it with you. 

This time we had a lot of extras to bring. Snow gear. School items. Our printer. Christmas items.  A drying rack for clothes. Usually special items like your wedding photos although somehow I neglected to put those aside this time. Medical records. Small toys to keep the kids occupied when when the sun goes down. 

3 weeks today since we started the process! Hopefully we will have an address soon (That’s another thing you give up….no mail or packages to your temporary address!) but until then I’m enjoying the housekeeping and view from our door!