Military Housing in Germany | Wiesbaden

Hello, it’s Jasper!

When we were first informed that we would be PCSing to Germany, we were ecstatic! Christmas markets, European cuisine, and quaint cobbled streets awaited us. It was a dream come true. As we delved into our research, however, one topic came up short: military housing.

No matter how hard we dug or who we reached out to, we could never find the answers we wanted. None of the information online seemed to cater to our circumstances (E5, no kids, and 1 fur baby). The housing paw-sibilities were endless, but my hoomans were drawing a blank and our pack needed more information. Would we have a house with a yard (like in Texas)? How many rooms would we have? Was living off post even an option? We never dug up our answers online. Instead, we learned from experience. We decided, why not save everyone in our situation the stress and provide them with a reference guide from our point-of-view (Don’t worry hoomans, we’ll throw you a bone).

Our Timeline

One aspect of our move that we were curious about was the timeline. When would we ship everything? How long would we wait to receive these items in Germany? Overall, we just had tons of questions.

The general consensus online was that it would take about three to six months for our household goods to arrive (aka our stuff). We didn’t know, however, if it would be three months after we shipped our items or if it would be three months after we arrived in Germany. Being a type A family, we needed details and by we, I really mean Dog Mom (if we’re being honest here).

Below is what Dog Mom wished she had when researching our move: a timeline.

• Household goods packing + ship dates: October 22-24th
• Car drop off + ship date: October 21st
• Flight to Germany: November 20th
• Flight Arrival + Hotel Check in: November 21st
• Received Keys to look at housing options: November 26th
• Turned in Keys + chose housing: November 26th
• Housing Inspection + Move in Day: December 2nd
• Temporary Furniture delivery (Free rental): December 2nd
• Household Goods Delivery (partial): December 10th
• Car available for pick up: December 12th
• Household Goods Delivery (Final): December 20th

This is just our personal timeline and that doesn’t mean yours will look the same. Where you are moving from, how many boxes you ship and what base you are going to can affect your timeline. For example, we arrived near Thanksgiving. As a result, our move in dates were pushed back due to the offices being closed for the holidays. In addition, we were originally supposed to PCS to Baumholder, however, our base was changed to Wiesbaden on the day of our flight.

The Paw-cess

After settling in at the hotel, the military member will start in-processing. For us, everyone new to Wiesbaden went to the same in-processing classes together. Week one of in-processing was when our first appointment with housing took place. During your appointment, you will submit your housing application and then wait on approval (generally within three days we were told). This appointment is also where you will discuss your preferences for on or off post housing (if available at your base). Wiesbaden has four housing areas, some of which are off post. Our personal preference was on post housing. For our family size, we were informed we would be living on Hainerberg. Generally, this housing area is for families with less than three children. Larger families often choose to live in Clay Kaserne (if housing is available). The two off post housing areas are Aukamm and Crestview, but we are not well vested in these areas.

After you are approved for housing, you will go to your designated housing office. Here, you will receive keys that provide you access to view your potential housing options. Our family received keys to view five apartments on Hainerberg, but the number of keys you receive is based solely on housing availability (as well as what you qualify for). All of the homes we viewed had similar layouts with two bedrooms, 1 bath, a storage area, and a laundry room.

We were given one week to choose from the homes we viewed. If you are unhappy with the options provided to you, you can turn in all of the keys to housing. Once you refuse the housing that was offered to you, however, your family is put to the back of the housing list. At that point, you are not guaranteed housing of the same quality that you viewed. Once it is your turn to receive more keys, you will be able to view what housing is available. Most individuals opt to choose a home from their first set of keys for this reason.

We fell in love with the first home we viewed. We reassured ourselves by browsing the other four options we were given, but we still loved number one. At that point, we returned to the housing office and informed them of our choice. Due to the holidays, we did have to wait a little longer than normal to move in.

On our move in day, we had to complete an inspection and sign some paperwork (as expected with any apartment). Shortly after moving in, our temporary furniture was delivered. This furniture is rented by contacting family housing to set up a delivery date and time. Some of the homes you view may already have the temporary furniture. If this is the case for the home you choose, then you do not have to call and rent the furniture. You do, however, have to schedule for the furniture to be picked up once your household goods arrive.

Our Pack House

As previously stated, we are stationed in Wiesbaden and our housing is located on Hainerberg. Below is our housing set up:

• 2 Bed
• 1 Bath
• 1 Storage area
• Laundry (Washer + Dryer included)
• 1 Parking Spot

The master bedroom fits our California king bed and it’s frame comfortably. This was a major concern for us before moving to Germany. We worried that only a Queen bed or smaller would fit in the bedroom. For our housing, this has not been an issue. The second bedroom of the home is similarly sized, but possibly a bit smaller. Our living room is spacious and flows into a small dining nook near the kitchen. Additionally, we have a storage area in the basement of our apartment building. When viewing housing options, the size of this space did vary. The storage area we have fits our moving boxes and laundry appliances easily (we were not expecting to have a washer and dryer included with the apartment).

Our home has both German (Type F) and American (Type B) plugs for charging items. So far, we have had no issues using any of our items from America. When moving in, a modem had already been installed for internet. To activate our internet and television, we met with TKS at the Exchange on Hainerberg.

For a full tour of the home, be sure to watch our YouTube video below. It includes details and tips not found on this blog post.

If you have any questions or concerns, howl at us below!