Hello /trv/ this is less of a traveling question and more of

bro, I gotta tell you something that your sergeant should have told you, and it's a real fuckin shame that nobody tells you military guys this.

When I was in Korea as a teacher I saw GI's everywhere, with their families living on base, out with their kids and shit... They all looked like zombies. Dead men walking. Don't fucking fall for that bullshit, dude.

Do not put down roots in the military. You are a rolling stone, and you have a uniform that's a license to wreck pussy. Get a box of condoms, get a tattoo of an American flag or some shit on your bicep, fuck any girl that will let you, and do some stupid shit with your life while you still have the youth and the freedom to get away with it.

If you put down roots while you're in the service you'll get fucked. If you try to get a house somewhere, guess what, you're deploying somewhere else. If you try to get a QT, guess what now she's a military wife, and while you're out there in afghanistan getting blown up by cellphones and shit, she's at home, bored as fuck, living on base surrounded by another batch of hot sweaty 19 year old dudes that just signed up.

You don't need this shit in your life right now man. The only constant in your life right now is that Uncle Sam is gonna tell you to go somewhere, and then just when you think you're gonna stay somewhere for a minute, he's gonna tell you to go somewhere else.

Figure out where you wanna live and what kind of woman you want to have AFTER you get out and hit that GI Bill. But don't wife up or root down until you're done with the military.

Every military guy I've ever met when traveling looked like shit and wanted to die if he had roots while he was still in uniform. That shit is a recipe for disaster.

>>1278791
I really do appreciate the advise and this is really fucking solid advise I actually do give a similar talk to my soldiers.
I should of given more information about myself. I am in the reserve and currently deployed, I am not looking for a woman I am looking for a city that I can start my professional career. I am at the end of my 6 and I don't agree with the direction the current Army is going.

>>1278927
I'd recommend The Netherlands.

Not even Amsterdam has more than a million people, the Nightlife is solid in all of the cities and it's a perfect place to "plant your roots".

The only real con is the Language, but it's easy if you have some experience in German.

Good Luck Soldier...

>>1278656
>not too big
>not too small
>muh rock music
>wanna be family man

Kansas City, Ann Arbor, Charlotte is where you want to live. And yeah, wait till you get out.

>>1279237
I don't want to be a family man, I guess planting roots was not the correct phrase. I will be out soon after my deployment. Kansas City I have spent a lot of time there but, it isn't really that attractive to me. I will look into Ann Arbor and Charlotte. I do also like to Gamble but, that is not a hard point.

>>1279237
>>1279939

Nah, he never mentioned being a family man. That's something I projected onto him when I was going over the classic mistakes of the US serviceman, But servicebro sounds legit and he's avoided those traps.

Honestly man, I think your choices have a lot to do with what you did in the service.

If you've got some brass and your ass in a chair with top secret clearance, you can probably get a decent do-nothing job anywhere you want with some defense contractor.

If you're an enlisted pair of boots, then I would consider bouncing jobs at bars or strip clubs. I know that sounds kind of low-rent but at good clubs bouncers usually get tipped out fat by bartenders and strippers, so you end up just chilling all night, cracking a head or two, getting one last beer and a handful of cash from the bro tender on the way out the door at 2am. It's not bad.

I was considering a career in the Law Enforcement field myself and I figured that I'd do it for a couple years, live in a low rent apartment, save a shit ton of money, and then just retire early and use my LE experience to get a security job at some titty bar and do that as a retirement job.

My advice to you is to get a japanese truck because they go all the way to 300,000 miles with no problems, put a camper shell on it and throw a cheap foam mattress in the back.

Don't be a vagabond if you can avoid it, but be ready to take whatever opportunity comes your way.

>>1280108
I am Enlisted, I have a secret clearance and do work with government contracts and contractors to make sure people get paid. While the road tripping and bouncing for bars sounds fun me being 5'10" and 175 lbs soaking wet doesn't make me super imposing.

In all honesty I would love to get a job tending bar somewhere but, I have not done food service in a while and I have been doing mostly logistics and administrative jobs civilian side since i joined the military.

>>1279232
Netherlands looks awesome but, only knowing English i don't know if I could get a job to afford living there.

>>1280182
Hey anon quick question for ya. I started putting together a packet for Army OCS. I'm having reservations though. All my enlisted buddies told me just go Guard.

Also I' about to be 25 and I am a bit worried that I'm giving up the remainder of my 20's to something that won't pan out.

I have a plan to finish my masters while in the service, using post 9/11. Invest all my income through dollar cost averaging in a nice diversified index fund, get out and then just travel for a while.
I figure it would help me in the long run, also let me have some adventure here and there but equally so I keep hearing almost the same thing from everyone including you "They don't like the direction the (enter military branch here) is going". What gives?

Am I making a massive mistake? I always wanted to serve, was hoping to either fly choppers, or get into intel work.

>>1280216
I would not suggest going active duty. Everyone I have ever met has had major issues and ends up being stuck. If you go Guard or Reserve, especially as an Officer, you will be in more control of your life.

If you want to travel the world, Join the Navy.
If you want a good military career, Join the Air Force.
If you want to serve just to serve, Join the Army.
Fuck the Marines, I mean they do kill shit dead but, once you go in you are no longer the same.

Going Guard depends on the State you are in. If you live in a State that has funding issues i.e. Kansas, Michigan, Oklahoma... don't.
Reserve is the best bet because you are still under Federal control, you can deploy as an individual instead of a whole unit, if you get the right unit you will never have to worry about not having funding for military schools.

If you can I would suggest Air Guard/Reserve for intel. It is in high demand and as long as you have a GT over 110 you are good.

>>1280219
GT 128.

I live in MA. I was actually approached by Navy first when I started looking into it after college, they said they need pilots, but the recruiter was a slimy dick head and kept lying to me. I obviously went in having done some research.

My buddy said Air Guard is fucking dope.

>>1280222
Most of my friends stateside are in the Air Guard doing intel and they love their jobs. They can go on orders whenever they want and deployments are 6 months at most. I got fucked by the recruiter but, luckily I was able to fight back and avoid going active. I have a 121GT and they tried to make me a fucking Fuel Truck Driver.

Air force has harsh standards about any prior injuries. Hell was told I had to wait 6 months by an AF recruiter because I had glasses. Then the Army got me.

>>1280225
Actually part of the waiting process has also been that I'm getting waivers. But once I do I don't see why they would have an issue.
I can score 230-250 on a PT as of now.

My waivers are not for injuries but a heart murmur as a kid and cancer as a baby.

Long gone now, but still need to get the doctor to sign off.

Is traveling abroad a hassle in the Guard?

Also if you want to keep living in the states Worcester MA is up and coming, it's still kind of shit but it's making huge strides, or if you want something a bit bigger go Boston. Worcester is 200k with students, lots of job opportunities, great school, nice place to raise a family.

There's lots I hate about it, but it's still better than most places I've been to here in the states for small cities.

If you want to go international, I wouldn't suggest you settle roots in Asia or the ME. Europe is your best bet.

>>1280227
Traveling abroad in my experience has not been an issue. There are NOGO countries and you have to let your command know if you are going of the the country.

Someone had mentioned Worcester to me before but, Mass cost of living is high. I am going to do some traveling when i get home. Use Airbnb and visit a bunch of cities. If I find one I like I will stay for a week, then a month, then move into an apartment.

What makes Worcester bad? I would much rather hear it from someone who lives there than just googling it. Plus finding the good is pretty simple the bad is usually very objective.

>>1280232
Well it's transitioning right now.

Worcester used to be home to major weapons manufacturers, factories for textiles and all sorts of shit back in the 60's through 80's. All that shit shut down and 90's Worcester was a ghetto no go zone.

Now during the 2000's it got flooded with Balkan immigrants, mostly Albanians, I'm one of them.
The Puerto Rican and Black gangs assumed it was just "white boys". They were wrong. Gang wars broke out heavy.

By late 2000's it was pretty much over though.

Now the city has undertaken a massive gentrification approach, they have been basically giving the universities land for free downtown to build more dorms and they have been buying out properties to renovate the ghetto's.

It's working. Every shithead is basically being funneled into the neighboring town, and some major finance firms and more medical labs have opened up so we are expecting like another 1000 white collar workers to be involved in the hustle and bustle of downtown.
Worcester was a place you passed by and now "townies" are looking for apartments.

Rent isn't actually all that bad here depending on where you get a place. It's not the cheapest but considering it's in MA and it's the second biggest city in New England it's pretty much a steal.

Worcester has been considered bad for being a place that had no real prospects, shit tons of blue collar workers and some white collars here and there.
City is still filled with blue collar but our universities are making huge strides to keep graduating students and it's making a real difference.
I've been here for 20 years, Just very recently I noticed downtown filled with young, vibrant people who walked around aimlessly and didn't worry about their surroundings.
It struck me.
I think gentrification is a good thing.
Also this place is a great place for work man, and not that far away from Boston.
Also if the high speed rails get approved and built commute will basically be 30 minutes.

>>1280253
>>1280227
There's alot to do here btw.

Food wise, I would give this place like a 2.9. Lots of small family operated eateries with amazing cuisine, but also way too many pizza and sandwich shops.

Arts are big around here.
Worcester Art Museum, Hanover Theater, Mechanics hall, DCU center just to name a few. Pro Hockey is making a comeback here as well.
Next year Worcester Airport opens up to NYC which makes pretty much everywhere accessible and I'm actually pumped about that.
No more driving out to Logan.
It's a clean city. Lots of Green.

We have over 40,000 students a year and it's growing, also some of the best schools in the country, Holy Cross, UMass Medical, WPI just to name a few. I think we have a total of 9 universities here.

MA, and Worcester in particular has charm and it has community. Something I've had a hard time finding in alot of places I've gone in the states. Community that is.

Even in a city of 200k people everyone kind of knows eachother.

Shit ton of decent bars.

Music scene is meh, depending on what you are into. Hardcore and metal? Fucking mini Mecca.
Classical? Also pretty good.
Alternative, jazz bands and shit? Not really.

>>1280256
>>1280253
>>1280232
Of course you will have to put up with New England winter. For me, I fucking hate it. Snow makes me a miserable angry piece of shit.
But lots of people around here fucking love driving up to Vermont and snowboarding/skiing, ice skating here in Worcester.

Also our police force is pretty fuck top notch. I have a dozen buddies in the force and our city for the last like 15 years and pretty much indefinitely has a Big City budget and keep hiring. Cops around here make really good money, they are well liked, well respected.

Even with all our Univerisites, PC culture isn't big around here. Even with a school like Clark (which is a great school btw but loaded with lefties) No one really gives a shit about PC bologna.

There's still large swath of the city that need revitalizing. But it's being done.

Starting a business here is pretty easy too.

>>1280258
>>1280256
>>1280253
Heroine and pill popping is a problem here though. It's being addressed but I've buried 9 friends to that garbage.
Of course it's not pushed on you or anything, you won't find people just dishing out to kids or anything.

What's bad right now in the city is a couple key areas. Grafton Hill, Kelly Square, end of Chandler street, and parts of Main South.
Particularly because as mentioned before the drabs are being funneled out and this is the direction they are taking. So along the way, and as they move closer to each other they cause more problems, but mostly for each other.
There are certainly better places to live. But It's an option.

I wouldn't mind living in Southern France personally.

>>1280182
if you got top secret clearance and you're a desk jockey you probably need to try googling something like "Top secret clearance after military jobs" or something like that. I wouldn't be surprised if you hit that search and ran into some headhunter that would suck your dick for a resume. So good on you for having that career potential.

also, in regards to being 5'10 175 and not looking intimidating, I wouldn't worry so much about that shit. I'd just fill out an application or lookup bouncer jobs on craigslist and show up, the worst thing that can happen is that they don't call you back.

I'm an inch taller than you and about the same weight, and I intimidate the shit out of people because I'm bald and tatted up. My coworkers all thought I was a military vet because I always said "yes ma'am no ma'am" to my supervisor and I was like... wtf? that's not a military thing, that's just a respect thing. What fuckin shitshow job did you have where you didn't call your boss sir or ma'am?

anyway, there are really 2 kinds of bouncers.

Intimidating huge knuckle dragger fuckers that are intimidating and it's the only thing they're good at because they're scum of the earth fringe of society fuckers and bouncing is the straightest job they'll ever have.

Then there's cool heads. You've been trained, you've had a sergeant yelling at you, something has probably exploded near you at least in boot camp... You can probably handle talking down a drunk.

Most people in most decent places never actually fight the bouncers because the first thing the bouncer does is tell the bartender to call the cops. All the drunk fratboy morons that wanna pick fights and show off to the coeds sober up really quick once they realize that they're gonna go to jail whether they knock you out or not.

cont...

>>1280380
...cont

my dad wasn't any bigger than you or I at your age but he was a cool head and he used to bounce for a hip restaurant/bar. At 2am he'd grab the margarita blender and a handful of chips from the bin under the heat lamp, and just walk out on the dance floor and shout people out of the club while he double fisted nachos and the pitcher, and had just enough buzz left at the end of the night to walk home.

I'm not trying to sell you mega hard on the job, just trying to impress upon you that you probably got more options than you thought about. Fill out some apps, the worst thing that can happen is you lose 20 minutes of your life on paperwork and they never call back.

>>1280219
born and raised beach trash here and I gotta tell you man, fuckin coast guard.

if you live in a state that has an ocean, go coast guard. If you don't live in a state that has an ocean, pick one that has a nice beach and go coast guard.

my little brother is a county life guard and I had a neighbor that was a coastie, and everyone I've ever met that was a coastie or knew coasties said that it was the most bullshit badass do nothing military job in existence.

It's like being in the Navy except you never have to leave port and you never have to be stuck on a boat for months at a time, and all you do is go up and down the coast and arrest cartel fuckers and sink their drug boats.

Every military guy I've ever known that was a party animal, a druggie, a thrill seeker, or anyone who was just having way too much fun was a coastie.

>>1280382
The only reason I didn't mention Coast Guards is they are almost completely separate from the rest of the Armed Forces. You have to be Top fucking Notch, start at 16 for the summer camps, or know someone important to get in the Coast Guard. I did hear some rumblings about them upping recruitment though but, most of the Coast Guard office are vacant because they don't need to actively recruit, people are brought to them.

>>1280381
I think I will try it out for a bit when I get back. I have 5 more months of fun in the sun and basically unlimited Gym time. Plus I will have almost 30k so if I bomb I don't even have to sweat it.

>>1280261
I think I will go spend some time in Worcester you have sold me on checking it out.

>>1280467
Sure thing dude, start a thread when you plan on swinging through. I'll meet you out for a drink.

>>1280644
Sure, also some advice for going to a recruiter. Bring someone, preferably a service member or prior service. Just having a second pair of ears who is working for your best interest will do wonders.