my husband just got orders to Mildenhall in may so i'm just trying to gather information on how to get my animals there and the best places to live any pros or cons. were coming from Mcchord AFB WA. and have never been out of the states. We are a family of three we have a 2 month old daughter any advice you can give us on making our transition easier would be great!
Thanks in advanced. 

Also how much is average BAH and COLA 

You can google AF overseas COLA calculator. Everyone gas different opinions about where to live. Areas close to mildenhall are Beck Row, West Row, Mildenhall, and Lakenheath. Some people like to live out further because you get a bigger house but you a longer commute. commute. The places further out are Red Lodge, Newmarket, Bury ST Edmunds, Brandon and Thetford. If you go to www.rightmove.com You can look around at houses to let. There are other smaller villages, I named the main ones. Buy the way my family is from the Pacific Northwest. My parents and brother's family live in Vancouver. The weather here in the UK is about the same as WA. 

Yes, you have to decide what you want - to live near to base near lots of other Americans possibly with a dual voltage house (there are several to rent near the bases) or to immerse yourself in the UK culture and live in a pretty village (the areas RIGHT near base are the prettiest places in the world lol) but like the previous poster said, you'll have a longer drive to work. 

Dawnmom took the words right out of my mouth...."The weather here in the UK is about the same as WA". Lol!

OP, did your DH get orders here for 3 years or extended long? We came from Moody AFB in GA and chose to come extended long (4 years) and regret it.

It had it's share of cool times, but we are beyond ready to PCS. We got orders too and will be gone just after the new year. :) 

I'm bringing my dog (black Lab) with me but some people say wait and send him after we find a place there what is your take on this? and I cannot find anything online that is pet friendly housing wise. Its such a task to make arrangements for our animals. 

I thought they had pet friendly TLF on Mildenhall. Make sure you make you reservations as far in advance as you can. I don't know much about bringing pets. I don't have any. 

Yes, they do have a pet friendly TLF on Mildenhall. It is the first TLF building you see before turning that bend that takes you to the normal TLF.

It is the one closest to both dorm barracks'. 

Thanks everyone for the information. After Jan. 2012 the uk pet travel law are changing to the same as the European laws so he won't have to be quarantined thank god because he is my baby. The United Kingdom is one of the only countries that your animals have to fly in as cargo most others they can go as checked baggage there for it is going to cost us about 5 thousand for everything to get our baby boy there. I called and talked to customs in London and there not for sure but when the laws change next month they may also change the cargo rule too if so that will save us a couple thousand. As far as his shot and blood work he already good to go on all counts for that just have to get him a pet passport (which I have never heard of) haha . We actually had two of our friends pcs there last Thursday is its kinda ironic that we got our orders on Friday. can you give me any information on what all we should and shouldn't bring like washer dryer couches my husband has a quad and dirt bike and vehicle we have a 2011 chrysler town and country is it a good Idea to try to get rid of it first or go ahead and bring it your opinions are greatly appreciated! 

also if anyone knows the customs cost to bring in an animal that would be great to know. And if you can the average cost of your utilities? do they have a mops group there? And if they Have an EFMP (Exceptional family member program)? 

Let's breakdown one at a time. This is all to the best of MY knowledge (we've lived here for 4 years this March).

Animals....I cannot help you there. We only have kids that we consider animals! But they wouldn't let us send them via cargo...DARN! :)

Washer/Dryer: You don't NEED to bring a Washer/Dryer/Fridge/Microwave because FMO will provide them for you whether you live on or off base (in British/American housing).

If you bring your own you may or may NOT be able to use them depending on the housing situation (some houses already have them)...in which case you'll end up having to sell or store.

Couches: This, again depends on where you end up living. Some British homes are sooooooooo small that you'll be lucky to fit anything "American" in them. So, I'd say bring your couches....but be prepared for the worst (them/it not fitting in your home). Also, when we finally moved onto base housing TMO gave us the option of sending big items back to the USA to be stored for the remainder of our tour.

We brought a couch over with us, but ended up buying a matching set....so we sent out other couch back to the states!

Quad/Dirt Bike: Well, it's really up to your hubby. I know Quads can be made STREET LEGAL over here (I own a Yamaha Banshee...although I opted to leave it back home). He could bring his and literally use it as transportation around the area. Not sure about Dirt Bikes though...

I will say that I know of no place to actually ride them off-road-wise. At least not locally/legally (if he decided to NOT get his quad taxed/MOT'd)

2011 Chrysler Town & Country: The roads here are NARROW. The parking spots are even narrower. Especially off base. Last night on the way to a friends house we literally drove down a back road that was ONE LANE for miles! There was even one lane bridges on completely BLIND corners. The roads here are very dangerous in places....very unlike the dangerous roads in the states.

There is one road between RAFM/RAFL that seems to always have accidents on it on a regular basis.

That said, people have their trucks/vans/big American Redneck/Soccer Mom SUVs over here. They are drivable, but in many occasions not appreciated by the rest of the people in the area. Cause alot of times you have to move over for them on many roads...and when they park in parking lots you cannot see crap until you are nearly pulled all the way out. People seem to drive fast when they should be going slow....and slow when they should be going faster. This = danger.

We own a 2000 Ford Expedition (big Eddie Bauer model) that we opted to store at my cousins house back home. We bought a cheap British "Runabout". It's four door...and small.

Exceptional Family Member Program: Yes they do have that....interestingly I was on it! Only because I used to be on "Effexor" for insomnia no less! My wife says: "They'll screen your dependents as part of your out-processing...it's not part of the checklist...it's part of the medical out-processing. They check for things like Asthma, Early Intervention (Autism...etc), Speech Therapy, and any Mental Health Issues."

MOPs Group? You mean like "Mothers of Preschoolers" (Like little Lebowski Urban Achievers)??? Inner City Kids with Promise without the necessary means, necessary means for a HIGHER education! I actually cannot answer this question...I'm a Stay at Home Dad! None of the Mothers want me around. :(

Average cost of Utilities (Off base): There are lots of factors with this one. It's not like the USA at all. Lots of houses are heated via Oil (even some that use Wood!). This can get pricey. Plus, everything is priced in Pounds and with how often the exchange rate fluctuates this is never as constant....when translated to US Dollars.

In short I don't think anyone can give you a solid answer that will help you. Maybe someone currently living off base can chime in on this one. All I know is it can be pricey....especially when talking about Oil heating.

They bill things differently here. They often bill using an estimate of usage (Keep in mind this is BEFORE you actually use the utility...which could end up costing you MORE is they under-estimate), then they send you an actual bill quarterly (which is the actual usage bill). This is only ONE method of several options that you can choose from regarding billing (This is how Anglian Water used to bill us).

BT...the phone company basically owns ALL the lines so you'll likely end up paying them to use the line even if you use a different phone company. Lame. It is called "Line Rental". We use BT so we don't have to pay multiple companies...and it ends up costing about the same, even though we aren't happy with the situation. We pay for internet and local/international calls which is about 45-50 pounds a month.

Now, most companies require "direct debit" as payment. You'll HAVE to setup a pounds account at Community Bank in order to setup these direct debits with these British companies.

I know some of these aren't "utilities" but I want to give you a decent idea on the cost of things you may want such as: Cell phone, internet/telephone, TV etc...

When we first got here we got sucked into the "Digital Phone Company" on base. They carry Vodafone (In the BX/BXtra both on RAFM/RAFL). It cost us around 80 pounds a month for two lines, 700 minutes each line. They don't have "family plans" like we do back home. We didn't "share" minutes. We thought we were sharing 700 minutes so...350 minutes per line. Wrong. We ended up being locked into the plan for 18 MONTHS! Yikes! Then, when the contract was up they didn't even tell us! To top it off when we "downgraded" plans....it reset the contract! Avoid them (Vodafone).

We now use "Top up" plans through O2. We top up 10 pounds a month...it's like a pay as you go deal...no contract. It is more common over here than in the USA. You can get text plans, data plans, regular voice plans...all via top up. We love it. It is cheap and GOOD!

They tax TV Usage over here...."TV Licensing". They say it makes it so there are less commercials. Not true. It costs about 130 pounds a year (which is reimbursed...but a pain to deal with).

I don't want to give you "doom and gloom". I just want you to have what we didn't. Somebody to give you a real heads up on the situation here. The biggest thing you need to realize is that it is EXPENSIVE over here...so use your dislocation allowance over HERE. Save money for coming over here. Especially if you end up shucking out $5000 for your Lab.

Sorry for the book. :) 

We only have kids that we consider animals! But they wouldn't let us send them via cargo...DARN! :)

haha,and thank you so much for the book. Every bit of information helps! I was asking about the efmp because I currently provide respite care through Align Staffing and do it for a little autistic girl here on base. So I was hoping that I wouldn't have to switch career fields That is great though. With having to spend so much on our dog I wanted a good idea of how much other we need to save and you gave me a pretty good idea. Ideally i would like to live on base at least until we get to know the area. But I need to figure out what the wait is and when I can put our names on the list. But we have heard living off base can be a money making opportunity. If there is anything else you can think of that we might need to know feel free to tell me at this point I'm an information sponge. 

Im English and have lived here (obviously) and in the states (we were in AZ for 3 years) so, anyway - I have Vodafone and love them. I pay $20.50 a month and get 700'free' minutes, unlimited texts and a huge amount of download Mb. Its cheaper than it was for us in terms of cell phone usage than we paid in the States.

Tv Licensing is due to the BBC - they operate a number of channels - BBC 1,2,3, a couple of kids channels, BBC news etc etc and these channels do not play commercials. Must be what you're used to but the commercials in the states drove me INSANE to the point where I stopped watching TV! lol


I know living here IS more expensive but some how we manage to save a huge amount with each pay check. Our COLA etc allows us to easily pay all of our bills and some. Our water is on a meter so they just come and read it, same with electricity too. 

Mildenhall Mops 

thank you MrsAmy. 

I know living here IS more expensive but some how we manage to save a huge amount with each pay check. Our COLA etc [i]allows us to easily pay all of our bills and some.[/i]

This may not hold true for others. (Not trying to put words in your mouth). we have two kids, I don't work and my wife is a SSgt. We have a vehicle we pay on back in the US as well as other debt we have been slowly paying down over the years.

COLA doesn't help us bank very much. Luckily we moved on base so we finally don't have to worry about utilities.

Some people are fortunate enough to be able to bank lots of money....unfortunately we aren't among them yet. COLA isn't that great here though.

Our water/electricity was on a meter too. All electricity is on a meter, and most water is (unless you have a well). 

I don't think anyone mentioned a GPS. Get one!!! You will need it. We had to fork out 500 bucks at BX a couple days after we got here for one. It was impossible without it. 

You may want to check with the travel office on base and make sure there aren't any airline restrictions...as in you can only fly on a specific airline. That was the case with us and many airlines won't take animals into the UK. That may change in January, but you'll want to start finding out who will and won't bring pets into England. We had to book our cat on a different airline entirely, which required having to book an extended layover between flights so I could jump in a cab and get her to Continental Cargo two miles up the road, get her checked in, paperwork sorted, back in the cab to the airport and back through security. Hectic. But Continental got her here safe and sound. They have a good reputation for shipping pets and were recommended by the quarantine facility our kitty is in now. Their cargo hold is climate controlled and if the flight is going to be too long, they'll require the pet to be in a holding kennel between flights for a certain amount of time. Pretty much so they can eat and stretch and move around before getting stuffed back into their carrier for the flight. The quarantine facility took care of customs and pick up for us, but the amount that I was quoted(by Continental)for customs was between $500-$700, depending on what day and time the pet arrives.

We didn't bring our washer and dryer, couch or vehicle. (I kind of wish we had brought my Jeep.) Our couch never would have fit through the door in our house. The base issued us UK spec appliances (fridge, washer, dryer, microwave) when we moved into our house off base.

A GPS is a must, but we also got ours at the BX here and it was only like $200. Save up as much as you can. We saved quite a bit and have still collected a lot of debt with the move. They're not terribly quick with reimbursements. 

Good point on the GPS. Make sure if you get one in the states that you also get the European maps! We too ended up buying one here and had to spend close to $500!

They are much cheaper in the states. AAFES price gouges like crazy here because they literally don't have any competitors.

Also, take advantage of buying things online while you are IN the states. If I had to take a wild guess I'd say around 75% of the sellers online DO NOT ship APO. I don't know how many times I've seen a great item for sale on eBay only for the listing to basically say "APO? Then get LOST! I won't ship to ya!".

I saw this one ad that says this and I quote "SHIPPING TO THE LOWER 48 ONLY. DO NOT BID UNLESS YOU INTEND TO PAY.
IF YOU HAVE LESS THAN 5 FEEDBACK PLEASE CONTACT ME PRIOR TO BIDDING.
(NO OVERSEAS SHIPPING (USA ONLY) NO SHIPPING TO APO FPO DPO MYPO YOURPO NOPO
I DON'T CARE IF ITS AMERICAN SOIL ON PLANET JUPITER I WILL NOT SHIP TO IT)"

This guy says he ships to "Lower 48" yet will NOT ship to an APO which IS "Lower 48". I have even had people tell me that they consider it too much of a bother to ship APO because it means they "have to go to the Post Office". WTF?! Heed my advice on this one....buy as much online as you can NOW. That is, if you buy online to begin with. I do heavily because the eBay "Daily Deals" are often too awesome to pass up....and lots of those aren't available to me here simply because of the dread APO and the lack of peoples understanding of it.

I know people have had success with online stores at times, but I mostly buy good used items online (I'm currently building up another BMX bike for myself!) and most of them I have to have sent to my In-Laws house...which means there are items there I bought years ago, that I haven't even seen yet!

When we get back to the USA I will not hesitate to sell items to a Military Member stationed overseas! There isn't anything difficult about it. 

We are PCSing there in May as well! :) I will have a 19 month old with us as well as 2 pets driving from Germany! 

I don't know about England but I know we bought our GPS off base in Germany to avoide Aafes ridiculous prices on GPS, it was a lot cheaper. 

How much are GPS thingies on base? I got mine for 90pounds from Tesco! 

We bought a fancy, top of the line TomTom from AAFES on RAFM and we paid close to $500 for it. That was in 2009. 

Lauren B maybe once we all get there we can set up a play date. :D And I'm also wondering if anyone knows what would be our best idea to get our dog from the airport to the base like we cant take the bus and he is 115lbs so I'm trying to find the most inexpensive way without paying ANOTHER kenneling service. I'm hoping that we get a good sponsor that will pick us up but from what I hear everyone says they just take public transit. And does anyone drive a big American vehicle there? we are considering trading our van for a small car to make traveling easier there but we also love our van and don't want to part with it and does anyone live in base housing if so do they have a pet deposit is it nice what communities are better to they have American electric outlets. and should I bring my American furniture (king size bed) 2 couches recliner huge 6 setter table and appliances like microwave coffee pot or will they provide it? 

we live off base but in housing that's only for service personnel. It is dual voltage. we have both kinds of outlets. All of our appliances (fridge/freezer, microwave, oven, washer, dryer) have been provided by FMO at Feltwell base. I brought with me a few small appliances (coffee pot, toasted sandwich maker etc) and since we have both outlets I can use them if I need them. We live in Beck Row (just outside of Mildenhall base) interms of furniture...you might be pushing it with two couches. Houses ARE smaller generally speaking. We have a Queen size bed that easily fits (probably could have fitted a King size in our room pretty easily!) and we have a large corner couch that fits ok...but I couldnt fit much more. We're e5 (FYI). 

We are E4 waiting to sew on E5 in August :D. Do most of the houses have garages / fenced yards? 

We are E4 waiting to sew on E5 in August :D. Do most of the houses have garages / fenced yards? 

It really depends on what type of house you get. A couple of friends and myself were talking about the British "garages" a couple days ago. An English garage is really nothing more than an American sized shed....maybe a tad bigger. You could comfortably fit a cub cadet riding lawn mower in one, a British Austin Mini (car) fit nicely in them....but honestly ANY American/German car (basically anything not British) is gonna be a squeeze in a British garage.

When we came over in '08 we brought our 2004 Pontiac Vibe (which has since been totaled! Be careful driving over here!). It was a squeeze getting it into our British garage...my wife accidentally ripped off the passenger mirror backing out!

I need to clarify, even base housing that has a garage is also British sized. There is NO normal sized garages over here like you are used to seeing in the states. Our Liberty Village garage is MUCH bigger than any garage off base but even it is small compared to any I've been in back home.

So in short, yes a good many houses have garages....but when you see it you'll be completely disappointed. Fenced yards are quite common too...."Fenced rear gardens" (here a "yard" is what we would call a junkyard....because they call their junkyards "scrapyards")

On the subject of garages again....someone is likely to read this post and tell you "It isn't THAT bad over here!" (regarding garages) but I'm a guy....a garage is like my territory! I know garages...my Dad's garage was bigger than most every house you'll see over here. My wife & I both looked at each other when we saw our first English garage...we were confused on what we would honestly do with it.

After she ripped the mirror off our small US spec car we decided we should no longer use the garage. It was a completely pointless part of our home. We could store bicycles in there...but to try parking our car meant everyone had to get out of the car so it could be parked. Nobody else would be able to open their doors!

We have a King size bed and it fits in our Liberty Village house but it is a squeeze too. It's tight fitting because of our two dressers and two night stands. The fit was about the same here as it was at our first British sized home. The base housing is a little bigger but not much. When we moved into housing we actually had to have one of our couches shipped back home.

Our second British home was a M-A-S-S-I-V-E barn conversion. That place was actually great! But it was heated via oil/wood and as such cost a fortune to heat. The last winter we were there we all lived in the living room next to the wood stove. We actually ran out of oil because it is so pricey and our tank had a leak. That was a VERY cold winter.