my family is transitioning from military to civillian help! (apartments, to rent)

[Jme57]

Hello this is my first time posting. My husband and I are planning to move to COS between Oct-Dec. We also have a 14 month old daughter. I am prior military usaf worked as an aircraft armament specialist and also debriefing pilots with an honorable discharge and my dear husband is currently in the army and getting out honorably after 11 years been 11B and 37 f which is airborn infantry and now psyop currently doing an S3 job for the past couple months doing office work due to him getting out soon. Neither one of us have a degree although we do have some college. we both also have a secret clearence. We want to settle and find good paying jobs with good beneifts. My husband is wanting to find a government job to transfer his years for retirement. I'm scared to death about leaving my daughter in the hands of a baby sitter or daycare while we're at work but it's something that we have to do to make ends meet. Where in COS is the safest place to live especially while raising a precious little girl? We plan to rent for a year then find something permanent. Any good affordable 1 bedroom apartments that allows a large dog? Do you know any GOOD child care services that's affordable? Have you ever heard of USAA because I want to try to get a job there as well....and What do you think are the chances of us making it out there? We know at first it'll be rough but eventually it'll get smooth...and I just absolutely love the scenery and I hate humid and hot weather. Oh another thing i have no expierence in driving in the snow but I want to learn....

[Bideshi]

You will be shocked at how difficult it is to have the same pay and benefits package in the private sector that you now enjoy from the government. So often people leave the military assuming that civilian life will be great only to find that they were much better off being subsidised by the tax payer. For a family the benefits in the Armed Forces are generous and enviable. In the private sector it's a struggle for most people with limited higher education to pay the rent and put food on the table. Also, public schools are not comparable to DODDS schools. In a DODDS school you know that every child in class has at least one legal working parent, and the military can put some pressure on parents to control their kids and limit gang activity. In the outside world there are no Quality of Life Initiatives, MWR, Commissaries, spousal job preference, free health care or Tri-Care, free household shipments, free or subsidised rent etc. You should use your extremely valuable education benefits to finish a degree if at all possible! There is a lot more but I assume you have already considered all of this and are prepared to make the adjustments necessary. Good luck!

[Jme57]

thanks for the reply. Oh most definitely we have considered all that. One of the main reason is because Unfortunately my husband is not happy at all in the military and the deployments! it's not worth missing years that you can't take back with your family especially when you have young ones. We also want a stable lifestyle and not have to move around so much. I've spoken to a lot of my former co workers that were about to retire about deployments and they said it just isn't worth it when you have little ones and wish they could take back those years they missed.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by Jme57

Any good affordable 1 bedroom apartments that allows a large dog?

What is your rent budget?
What kind of work do you expect to do? Are you qualified for?
What did you find when you looked online for apartments?
Would you be willing to give up the dog in order to greatly increase your housing options?
How far away from a degree are both of you?

[sskkc]

We recently left the military and moved here. It's not easy - the most unnerving part for us is the end of TriCare. And I really miss the commissary prices.

That said, you won't have a problem finding a place that allows a large dog... things are REAL dog friendly here. I'm a sahm, so I have no idea regarding daycare issues.

USAA has insurance offices here. Contact them directly, they prefer to hire military spouses, vets and vet's spouses. Their offices are located in the area known as Briargate, just off 83.

Good luck!

[Jme57]

Originally Posted by Charles

What is your rent budget?
What kind of work do you expect to do? Are you qualified for?
What did you find when you looked online for apartments?
Would you be willing to give up the dog in order to greatly increase your housing options?
How far away from a degree are both of you?

Hello Charles!

Because of the situation with starting over...I'd like to keep it between 550-700. Definitely a clean environment and safety is definitely a big deal to us. As far as giving up our dog.... It crossed my mind for many reasons however my husband has his heart set on keeping him. We have two, we've decided to keep just 1 which is the "good" dog between the two.

Prior to joining the air force i worked as a waitress at a retirement home and at a local resturant. I also worked at a hotel as a reservationist/receptionist in Hawaii. I enjoy working in an office environment. If needed I wouldn't mind working with aircrafts considering that's what my last job consist of as long as it's inside a hanger. However, working day shifts is a must...for both of us preferrabley. I also planned on studying for the postal exams and perhaps get a job at the post office. They too have good benefits and also I wouldn't mind working for USAA. I love that company and the customer service I recieve when i call. I'm all about good customer service regardless the situation. I also hear they have a child care on site. I have yet to find out about their quality. My husband is wanting to do something that consist of security yet I feel that he can do much more than that. He's got more potential I suggest he try to apply for adt. My uncle works for them and he loves it.

The apartments that I've found online are pretty decent. I've read reviews on them but they just sound so unreal. We're planning to visit around Aug to start looking around for jobs and apartments.

as far as the degree goes. Far actually. We do have some college but that's through the courses that we've had to go through for our jobs. My husband is about to take a course for real estat home inspection and hopefully receives his certificate of training prior to getting out. And I am still undecided, something that would benefit me in an office job. Later down the road I want to pursue cosmetology and have found a few cosmetology schools out there.

[Amery523]

My husband worked for USAA briefly in their insurance (auto) department. This was back in 2003. He hated it. They are affiliated with the military and it was quite evident in the way they treated their employees. Even though we are USAA members ourselves he still felt this way. He was constantly required to try and upsell products, convincing elderly people on fixed incomes to keep their USAA insurance (which kept going up every year)when both he and USAA knew that they could get cheaper insurance elsewhere. They also monitored the length of his calls - he was required to upsell products, convince people to keep insurance, yet also to keep his call length time low (???? how ?? ) Anyways, he had a real problem with all that, which is why he quit after only 6 months. I know this is probably standard in insurance industries, to keep business, but he really didn't like it. They have a huge building right off the Briargate exit near I-25. He called it "THE COMPOUND". Just wanted to give perspective from someone who used to work there.

[Postal]

If you are both veterans then you will get a preference when applying for government civilian jobs. If you are a >30% disabled veteran you get an even larger preference. A secret clearance won't be as good as TS, but I'm sure there are some jobs that only require that. Having that clearance will give you a leg up on someone who doesn't have one.

College education will go a long way. I suggest that you work that into your plans somehow. I can't say this enough. You won't get it right away, but it is one of the best goals you can work toward in your life. Constantly strive to improve yourself.

I'm not sure how either of you can use your military experience in COS. Carson may have some civvie/contractor jobs for your husband. The only military aircraft in the area are at Peterson and are reserve planes. I'm not sure how easily that career field will translate to the civilian world, but Frontier is opening up a facility here in the near future (I believe that is still in the works). You may be able to translate that military experience to other military related jobs, though. Keep an eye on usajobs.gov and work any relationships you may have with military people in the area.