That last day in the military is coming on fast and furious. And some of you don’t have a job. Or a place to live.

You don’t need to shack up with your in-laws or pick a hotel to call home. Retirees have 11 months from their last day in service to move out of government housing.

Say it with me, yeehaw!

For a large family like mine choosing a place to live takes a certain mixture of savvy, great planning and perfect timing. Since neither my husband nor I have found full-time jobs yet, picking a place to settle is a moot point.

We’re stuck in a loop: if we move without a job, we may have to move again in short order once we find a job. Who really wants to change over bills, official documents and explain the short turnover to their landlord? I don’t even want to think about how much we may lose in security deposits since, as retirees, our last minute moves will no longer be nicely covered under a military clause in the rental contract.

Turns out, you can hole up in government quarters and avoid the real world for a little longer - 11 months to be exact. Now, your time there isn’t free. You have to continue paying rent after your military pay stops arriving.

And once you receive retirement orders, if you decide government housing is the place for you, you can be placed on the waiting list to receive housing on base after your 11 months have passed.

The amount of time you are allowed to remain on base as a retiree once you secure a house depends on the location. In Hawaii, once you move up the very long waiting list and are placed in a house you can essentially live out your days there.

At other bases, retirees sign one-year leases and are awarded spots only if the influx of active duty members that year is low, meaning you could be moving in and out pretty often.

 So, for now, we will remain in our snug military house until we see what the outside world has waiting for us, at least until 11 months from now.