This is a guest post written by Lori Tuite, Director of Scouts | MILLIE
I have PCS’ed 11 times.
Yes, I have relocated with the military 11 times in my 21 years of marriage. Two of those Permanent Changes of Station (PCS) have been overseas, and we’ve added three daughters and a dog along the way. Every move is met with the same feelings of excitement, anticipation, anxiety, and a little bit of dread.
The feeling of dread comes from worrying about making choices. Military families don’t just want to make a decent choice—or even a good one—about where to live, we want to make the RIGHT choice for our family. We all feel it. And if the move goes well, the feeling of dread dissipates and excitement and joy take over.
As soon as orders are in hand (and sometimes before), we start furiously researching our new duty station.
Uncertainty is always there.
Will we make friends?
Will our family have work + life balance?
Will I like it there?
Many of the answers to these questions correlate to the one big choice: Where to live.
Housing is the top stressor in a PCS. Over the years, there have been countless times that I have longed for someone to help me with that one crucial decision. Someone on the ground, ready to help with any task – large or small. Someone I don’t feel like I’m imposing on and that I’ll receive objective information from. Is that too much to ask!? It’s not.
Let me introduce you MILLIE Scouts.
There are over 110 Scouts stationed across the the United States, at duty stations of all branches. Scouts are your “person.” They are the help that you need wherever you are headed, or where you’ve been.
They are military spouses.
They are friends.
They are parents and real estate enthusiasts.
And, most of all, they are supporters of the military community.
Every time I talk to a Scout on behalf of MILLIE, I find something in common with her. We always wind up chatting about kids, or where we’ve lived, or books we’ve read.
This is because all spouses have lived this shared military experience and we can relate to each other—whether it’s your first PCS or 11th! They have experienced the ups and downs of a PCS, except, when you need help they’re not riding the emotional roller coaster like you are! Plus, they aren’t presently sleeping on air mattresses, eating pizza every night, and pacifying cranky children…
Ok, but if I’m PAYING a Scout, how is that SAVING me money??
If you are a military property owner self-managing a property, a Scout can help you by doing many different tasks for you while you are no longer local. Our Scouts have opened the doors for cleaners, picked up and delivered keys to new tenants and showed properties to prospective clients.
Scouts really are the boots on the ground for military property owners. They can save the property owner hundreds of dollars in travel and also the overall savings of self-managing a property.
Many clients hire Scouts to “recon” rental properties for them. This is one of the most requested listings on our site! A Scout can give you unbiased information on a rental property that, in the long run, can save you thousands.
They are familiar with traffic commute times, neighborhoods, schools and safety. They can save you hundreds, if not thousands of dollars in potentially renting the wrong property, or a property that is misrepresented online or dysfunctional for your family.
On top of the financial savings, Scouts can also help eliminate stress.
They can help you with that nagging feeling of dread and assist you as needed. They provide you the information you need when you need it. And they can give you much needed peace of mind about your new home, or one you own and rent out. Scouts lift the weight of finding a home, or owning one, off your shoulders.
The most important value in hiring a Scout comes from making the RIGHT choices. And good choices always save you money.
Lori Tuite is the Director of Scouts at MILLIE, a company committed to alleviating the stress of PCS’ing. She has navigated 11 PCS moves in 21 years and has three teenage daughters. She’s a self-proclaimed foodie and National Parks enthusiast who loves cooking good food, hiking, and coffee.
MILLIE is an online community and digital marketplace that connects members of the military and their families with specialized knowledge and trusted resource providers to remove the stress and anxiety of PCSing. Check out MILLIE’s Installation and Neighborhood Guides, our network of Veteran and military spouse Realtors, and Scout, our on-demand task service composed of military spouses. Find out more at: www.gomillie.com | MILLIE Journal | Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest | Twitter
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