PCSing to RAF Lakenheath WOOHOO!

[NCrews]

Hey All! I am new here so I figured I would post and tell everyone hi My husband, my girls and I are currently stationed at Whiteman AFB, Missouri. But, we will soon be PCSing to RAF Lakenheath no later than April 2010. We are super excited about the big move since we have never been overseas before, let alone live there. I have read a lot about what to expect, but I'm sure we will have to experience it ourselves to get the full picture. I'm just not looking forward to the flight over there. Dealing with a 2 year old and 11 month old is going to be challenging. Don't even get me started on jet lag . It is going to be an adventure, but we are always up for a change. Anyways, I just wanted to drop a few lines to introduce myself. I am looking forward to meeting you ladies/gents that are around the area, have been, or will be. Oh, and if you want to send a few tips my way, that will be great and very much appreciated. Thanks and Happy Halloween!!!

[mrsgalloway]

Hello!!! Yay for the orders to England, thats awesome!
One little tip for you. Are you planning on living on or off base? If you are planning off base, make sure you have a few thousands dollars handy for a deposit and first month rent. But I do know that the government can help you with that if you can't do this as that's what we did and paid it back.

I am British, was born here have yet to leave we PCS in 2012. Anything you wanna know let me know.

[USAF_Gal]

Congrats on the awesome orders and welcome to MSOS! DH and I have been stationed at Lakenheath for 4.5 years and only have 1.5 years left to go and I am NOT anywhere near ready to leave. The biggest tip I have it travel, travel, travel!!! There are so many people that don't take advantage of being here in England. The exchange rate might look a bit scary and things might seem a bit expensive when you first get over here but the Military Member gets COLA for a reason.

[NCrews]

Well the hubby doesn't really want to live on base because of the noise factor. But, I am not opposed to living on base...or off base actually. I am just worried about the safety issues. If/when the hubby gets deployed I don't want to be alone with two girls in an un-safe neighborhood. That is my biggest fear. Someone breaking into the house or car. I have heard not to live in Brandon or Thetford but I have also heard good things about those places. So I guess to each their own.
We are from a small town in Oklahoma, so we are used to having just petty crime. And living on base we don't have to worry about locking your doors or vehicles(you don't here anyways). But, I know we will have to start remembering to do that on base or where ever we live when we get there. If we live off base I think I would rather live in military housing. We want to get the full experience, just in a safe enviroment. That is our first concern.
We aren't really worried about the money difference. I guess it is because we are expecting a shortage. But, we will manage. We are just glad we are able to experience this together with the girls.
So how is the weather in April? Should we bring light or heavy jackets? Has anyone stayed at the TLF? What was your experience? Any helpful tips to cope with the jet lag better, including info for young children would be a plus? Are there swimming beaches(I know the water will probably be cold, but we love the beach!)?
We are just super excited to experience the culture. It is a once in a life time opportunity. Well thank you for the response. It is greatly appreciated! I look forward to hearing from you all. Take Care!

[NCrews]

Oh and I thought of a few other questions. Should I take our double stroller on the plane? The girls will be in carseats as well...so I am guessing I should bring those too. Will a US approved car seat be legal on the streets, or do we have to buy new UK approved car seats when we get there? Thanks for all the help guys!

[ashleykaymay]

Brandon really isn't the best place to live at all. But I've never heard anything about Thetford. We live in Thetford. We got a NICE house that was actually 100 pounds below the rent cap (it blew the other stuff we saw closer to the base out of the water. 4 br, 2 bath, and a nice backyard) and there is military everywhere. I give Thetford a .


I'll be back with other answers in just a bit.

[mrsgalloway]

Weather in April can be ok, but it has been known to snow. I would wear your heavy jacket for April just incase. There are swimming beaches, only for the summer I might add too cold! But most beaches are about an hour drive from Lakenheath.

I'm not sure about the double stroller on the plane you will have to ask them, but I do know that most people use their strollers through security and then before you get on the plane, they will put the sticker on the stroller and take it downstairs to be put with all the luggage, but that's just guessing from what I have seen done, when on the planes myself lol.
And yes, you will need to get UK approved car seats when you get here.


I will also add that I have heard many things about Thetford and I personally would not live there. But I do have one friend who live on the outskirts of Thetford and they have never had a problem. I live in Mildenhall and love it where I am. But you do get your crimes everywhere. About a year ago a house down the road had their caravan (mobile home) stolen right from their driveway. Your gonna get crime everywhere really.

[NCrews]

Well we don't mind if we are living by locals. We actually want to. But, it would be nice to have a few fellow military people to be around...just for the fact that they have an idea on what you are going through. And as for Thetford...I heard people call it "Theftford". So I don't know. I know you can't escape crime, but I would like it to be contained to a degree where I am jumping up in the middle of the night to noises in the house lol! I am a very light sleeper. You would think you would have to be with two little ones in the house

I told the hubby we need to buy heavy coats anyways, so I guess they will come in handy. We have to be prepared for a winter in Missouri, so it's not like we will be buying new winter coats for nothing.

[USAF_Gal]

Brandon and Thetford are just like any other towns, they have their bad and good sections. The base housing area in Thetford has it's fair share of crime as do a few other neighbourhoods. Arlington Way in Thetford is one of the "safest" areas. Basee housing isn't 100% safe, no matter where you go. DH and I lived on base, behind a gate, for our first 3 years here in England and there were cars that were broken into, houses that got broken into, etc. Right now, in Lakenheath base housing there are houses being broken into. The people doing it are probably bored military kids but there is still "crime".

DH and I live anywhere from 20-35 minutes from Lakenheath, in the opposite direction of where Americans seem to flock to and we feel completely safe in our village. When we started looking for houses off base we purposely looked where we live now because there aren't many Americans that live out our way. In face, in our village there are only 2 other American families and one just moved in a couple of months ago.

Even if you live on base you can still get the full England experience, I hate when people say "if you live in base housing you don't get to experience England". It all depends on the type of person you are. Even when DH and I lived in base housing we shopped off base, we went to the movies off base, we travelled A LOT, etc. The only thing that has changed since we moved off base is that the commute to work is longer.

The weather in April, like the weather throughout the year, is hit or miss. It can be cold in April, it can be hot, it can be sunny, it can be rainy. I would bring a light jacket and some sweatshirts/sweaters in your suitcase. We got here in May 05 and one day I was in jeans and a sweatshirt and 2 days later I was in shorts.

It has been 4.5 years since we stayed in TLF and all I remember is the room being wicked small. It is just DH and I so we got a 1 bedroom TLF. There is new TLF rooms on Lakenheath and they are wicked awesome and are like apartments.

As for jet lag the best thing to do when you get here is to NOT go to sleep. Try to stay up all day, or as long as you can, and sleep at night. It takes a day to get over jet lag for every 2 times zones you cross. As for tips for kids with jet lag I have none, my kids are cats so they don't suffer from jet lag.

The Norfolk and Suffolk coasts are beautiful but I personally wouldn't swim in them. The beaches are rocky and the water is COLD! There are some beautiful swimming beaches in North Wales and Cornwall.

I hope that helped some!

[BKat]

! DH and I just got to Lakenheath on Sunday. We aren't staying in a TLF unit though, we're staying in regular VAQ right now. But in our building the only major complain it that it is SO hot in here and I cannot figure out how to turn the heater off. We've turned the knob every which way and called the front desk and did what they said and nothing works.