Moving

Hey 👋🏻 my husband is RAF and we got posted to lossiemouth in August. This is our first posting as he only qualified in June 2023 so RAF life is still relatively new for us too and I'm due our little boy in just under 3 weeks. Our families/ friends live about 2 1/2 - 3 hours away (I don't drive either), it definitely took me a while to stop feeling so sad about it (still do from time to time) but you will slowly start to feel more settled as time goes on. Try local Facebook groups for mum/baby meet ups/activities or other mums on here in the area and definitely get your depends pass sorted on base as soon as you can so you can access things there. Unfortunately we haven't experienced this "RAF community" so much that they always talk about, from our experience so far I'd say you have to go looking for things yourself but that could just be our experience of this base. You might find it different on that base 😊 Try to focus on the positives for, you get to live with your partner again and meet your baby 🩵

I live 3.5 hour away from my family due to my husbands posting. I had my baby 10 weeks ago here and some of my family and friends haven’t met him yet. It is hard but I think those who want to see him will visit and we are planning on travelling back at some point later this month. You can also meet some amazing people at your posting and get involved in the community. We have started going to baby groups too which are good for meeting people. I think it is always what you make of it, so I would recommend getting out there as much as you can to meet people when you feel able to after your baby is born 😊

@Laura we moved to Lossie in February so let’s meet up!

👋🏻 My husband is in the RAF, We moved to Odiham in March and we are living in marriage quarters attached to base. We were previously up in Lincoln at Coningsby. We've been in the RAF life for about 5 years. It definitely can be lonely and isolating at times especially when moving to a new area. I've been here 2 months with my 9month old and we are slowly exploring more. Definitely feels more of a family base and a bit more social than our previous place, I think there's more support due to RAF personnel going away a lot more. I drive luckily as my family is 2hrs away but I can imagine that being more difficult without driving. We have to think positively and we are so lucky nowadays with all the technology we have to keep in touch with family. But still it's not the same. Feel free to message me if you want someone to talk to or meet up for coffee with once you're settled in 😊

Odiham as a base is quite small and I've not been on base as there's not really much for civilians. Without having to go through the gate, there's a shop that has all the essentials which I've found useful. There's also a swimming pool and gym but we're yet to explore those. There's a nice walk through the houses and across a farmers field that gets you into Odiham town which has a coop and some places to eat. There's not a ton to access without driving but even just walking around the houses is nice as it's so green. There's also a families bar that do little events and we still need to check that out.

Also (spamming with info lol sorry) there's a nursery on base RAFA Kidz it's walking distance and it is subsidized for RAF kids but you need to get on the waiting list, we are on the waiting list and won't get a space until next year, so even if your not sure it's worth putting your name down so the wait isn't months!