Am dispairing about our upcoming move

[Schnullerbacke]

Title says it all really. Just had our marching orders, from lovely Paderborn to Salisbury. From a house, with cellar, loft and garden to a, yes, wait for it:

Flat with no garage, no storage space, no playgrounds in the area, no communal gardens.

I am livid. Dont get me wrong, I dont really expect anything special. We didnt really accumulate much over here as we knew we had to move but find ourselves in a position where we have to let go of lots of our stuff. There is the garden furniture (just some wooden chairs, table, umbrella), roof box, pool and pump, cycles - the list is endless.

Can't refuse as waiting list is 3 months long and we wouldnt be able to stay here. What will I do with my two very lively and energetic children? If it had a communal area with perhaps a fence around it, fine, could live with it. But there is a metre of grass on the back of the house (bordering on street) and 3 metres in front of house, also bordering with street.

I am usually a very positive person but I cannot see anything good in it. How will we cope?

I just found this on the Salisbury tourism website:

Top ten things to do for FREE
We all know that holidays can be an expensive time - particularly if you are travelling as a family - so we have put together a list of fantastic things to see and do, all of which are completely without charge - sometimes the best things in life really are free!

Attend choral evensong at Salisbury Cathedral - this takes place every day and is a concert in itself, open to all

Visit Stonehenge's secret sister, Woodhenge - a late Neolithic or early bronze age monument situated between Larkhill and Amesbury

Walk from Salisbury to Old Sarum via the path along the river and enjoy the magnificent views from the outer bailey

Stroll around Salisbury's medieval city centre or Cathedral Close and admire the huge variety of architecture

Visit the Fovant badges - replicas of regimental cap badges carved into the hillside in memory of servicemen lost in World War 1

Spend the day bird watching at Wiltshire Wildlife Trust's Langford Lakes Nature Reserve

Enjoy the programme of live music which takes place in Queen Elizabeth Gardens from June to August each year

Get on your bike and follow one of the many cycle routes around the area's beautiful countryside

Take part in guided walks and visits as part of the annual Heritage Open Days programme each September

Visit Downton Moot - an 18th century landscape garden in a lovely setting beside the River Avon

For further information on these and many more things to see and do, telephone Salisbury Tourist Information Centre on +44 (0) 1722 334956 or email [email protected].

Can't believe you don't even get a storage shed/garage. That's a bit .

I didn't realise that we even had flats in the UK as MQs. Surely there's some communal space at the end of the road /somewhere on the estate.

If you pay for a garage, there should be a block of them somewhere nearby.

How big is the flat - it is quite a decent size?

Go back to HIC and ask for another allocation, with 2DC your minimum entitlement is a 2 bed property never heard of flats with no outdoor space attached! AFF are very good at getting results!
Salisbury is a beautiful posting lots of outdoor space for wee ones.

QM stores are available to store items than cannot be accommodated within your SFA.

@ anonymosity - thank you for posting this. I know its a nice area but what about day-to-day living? I know my kids are spoilt in the sense that they got to enjoy being outside in the garden everyday. Now it will take some serious effort / car driving to get anywhere.

@ vintage - no, no storage at all. From what we can see from above, there dont seem to be any garages nearby either.
Its a three bed flat, perhaps with some build in wardrobes but doesnt leave place for boxes to be stored.

I am just surprised that they wont hire any houses either. If there is such a shortage, surely a) dont move people into the area or b) hire some private housing.

Its just outrageous that you cannot even refuse the house as they threaten you with being homeless as you will be moved to a three-month waiting list.

Three months will fly by; take the flat and get on waiting list for a house. I assume they would have to pay for the 2nd removal?

Is the flat ssfa (a hiring) or a normal married quarter? I also didn't think we had flats in the UK.

I understand about the outside living. I do. We have a medium sized, square patio at the moment, and that's all - and they really need a garden to run off all the steam.

Can you put the children in one bedroom and make a sort of activity room of one of the bedrooms? space-hoppers, see-saw, crawl tunnels that kind of thing?

We lived in a really cold windy place where the winters never seemed to end but we had a good carpeted basement where we set up this kind of recreation space. It kept me vaguely sane.

There are Flats in the UK. We have been allocated a flat twice before but have always been lucky enough to reapply and get a house. I have to say that the 3 bed flats I have been into are alot bigger than most 3 bed houses. That said, it does not matter how big the rooms are if you have nowhere for your attic/garage/shed stuff (and yes I know that officially we should not even have attic stuff).

Can you ask HIC where the nearest garages are? There may be a waiting list, there may be a block somewhere nearby.

One of the squadrons from here has recently relocated to Salisbury and they all seem to love the area. That said, I do appreciate your nightmare re day to day living.

I would be inclined to phone HIC and speak to them voicing concerns about the Flat quite frankly being UNfamily friendly, due to lack of outdoor space. If you get no joy and they just threaten you with homelessness then try the AFF.

You have nothing to lose than trying now. Worse case, move but apply for a house, but be aware you will have to pay for your own removals which if you get the help of some good mates and hire a small lorry/large van need not be ridiculously expensive and could be worth it - depending on the length of your posting.

Good luck. Let us know what happens.

Well, we had accepted the flat initially, send fax via the internet and as luck would have it, it never arrived at the HIC office. DH has only changed his mind again but I guess it makes sense. We thought that we'd try and run after a year but his new assignment order is for 3 years so potentially could be stuck there forever and ever and ever. So we have taken the plunge and lets see what happens. Try not to think of the consequences if we have to vacate our current home. Also need to apply for schools so hopefully something will come off it soon.

Thank you for all the advice and best wishes. Now I just need a bit of luck.

So much for the acute housing shortage in the South. Neighbours of hours had declined their house in Winchester and got a new one allocated within a week. So that gave me room for hope. And guess what, the acute housing shortage doesnt seem to be that acute because today we were also allocated our new house. Yes, a house, with a garden. More than happy I have to say.

Fabulous news!!! Glad it all ended well for you.