Housing and Moving

The paperwork is completed - at least on our side. We've finished our physicals, mailed in the bills, and submitted the names and addresses of every family member and foreign friend. These were each monumental tasks, but once completed they seem simple. And now we just sit and wait. We wait for Dave's Security Interview, where someone from the Embassy talks to him about what kind of security risk he may be. That's when they'll plan to talk to his employer. We wait for the staff nurses to review our medical forms, and come back to us with an All-Clear or a Few-More-Questions. We expect the All-Clear, as we all seem to be in perfect physical condition.

So now, we just wait. We don't bite our nails, as it seems the hard part is done. I'm quite confident that Dave will pass all of his clearances. So we just sit at home, wondering how long each step will take, and when we'll get the call telling us to move. And so, as we wait, we read and research and foresee and plan. I thought you might enjoy some of what we know.

Timing
We know that the clearance process has sped up considerably over the last few months, for people living stateside. We know that the process has probably also sped up for people abroad, but that it still takes quite a long time. Our best guess is that Security Clearance will take about 5 months, putting Dave on the register in February. We're betting that he'll be pulled off the register within a month, and have 1-2 months to move. That places us in the states around May, just in time for Dave's family reunion.

Moving
Thankfully, the State Department will pay to move us from here to the DC area. They will do this in 3 steps: 1 - plane tickets for the family; 2 - a sea shipment for household effects (HHE); 3 - an air shipment. The catch is that HHE goes straight into a storage facility in the DC area, ready to be shipped onto post as soon as we know when and where. The air shipment goes directly to our temporary home in DC. But restrictions on air shipment are vast, including a low weight limit and a restriction on furniture. Also thankfully, State will pack up a secondary location for us. So all of the items sitting in storage in St. Louis or taking up space in our family member's homes will move to DC on the government's dime. Prepare your homes, folks - we'll be taking back most of our things.

Housing
This is the part of most interest to me. State provides a per diem for housing while employees and their families live temporarily in the DC area. This per diem should cover decent housing in the area, and many landlords know how to work with the state per diem and charge accordingly. But the simplest option will be to move into Oakwood, a serviced apartment company which contracts directly with the State Department. They have a location near the training site which is dedicated almost exclusively to Foreign Service members. Its got a playground, a swimming pool, a good school district, a shuttle to the training site, and plenty of people in the same situation. They furnish each apartment and they provide the dishes and appliances that they know we'll need, as everyone there will have most of their possessions sitting in storage a few miles away.

As we've moved every year for the past few, I've come to the conclusion that temporary housing is no good. Wherever you live, that is your home. And especially as a mother, its my first job to make sure that a house feels like our home as quickly as possible. This housing situation will provide a real challenge, in deciding what to air ship and what to send to storage, how much to invest in such a short term house and wondering how long we will live there.

Initial training for Foreign Service Officers is an intense 5-week program, where everyone wears suits to class every day. The last week of training features Flag Day, where each graduating officer is handed the flag of their new post by way of announcing where they're going. Each trainee then moves on to language, which can be a few weeks or 10 more months, depending on the language and your level of skill.

It all gives us a lot to think about, a lot to get excited about, and only a little bit to worry about. For the most part, our decisions will be made for us and worry will not make things any better or worse.