I met my husband when he was on shore tour. We lived in a great city, had the perfect house (a five minute Uber ride to downtown), and were very much thriving in our community. But after nine months of marriage my husband announced we would be moving to Groton, CT. My first thought was “No thanks.”
First, I don’t do cold weather and second, what the actual heck is a Groton, CT? Honestly, I did not do much research because I was under the assumption we’d be here only for six months. And that was three years ago. I looked at rentals, couldn’t find anything appealing so we decided to just live on base. It was easy for just six months… My top priorities were #1 find a Crossfit gym #2 Find an OB (I was about five months pregnant) and #3 find a house. In that order… I did however research the heck out of Hawaii because that’s where we thought we were going after his school was over!
I did myself a disservice. I regret not getting excited about Groton. I never thought I’d say this, but I love it here. I don’t love it enough to ask my husband to request a shore tour here (y’all I’m pale and I need warmth) but I really love this area. So here’s my advice to you, whether you are only planning on being somewhere for three months or three years:
- Find a gym or yoga studio if you’re into that
- Look up restaurants (you’ll need take out while you’re awaiting delivery of your HHG)
- Search for museums/aquariums
- Check out the art scene
- Look for local festivals
- Research the area and make yourself a bucket list of activities you want to do before you move on to your next home
- Explore surrounding towns/ cities for day or weekend trips
- Find where you will shop
Our “Ultimate Guide to Groton” should be a good place to start. Be open minded. The next duty station will never be just like home but you can make it a home while you are there.
How do you get excited about your next duty station? Comment below!