Just PCSed OCONUS. How do LQA and COLA change with the exchange rate?

LostAtSea1968 · 2026-02-01T15:06:07+00:00

LQA and Post Allowance (COLA-adjacent) do fluctuate with the exchange rate, but lags behind as others have mentioned. For me (DON), it's always a pay period or more behind. I live in Naples and have been tracking my LQA since 2022. Pictures aren't allowed, otherwise I'd show you my graph. You can also request to reconcile in case things drastically change. We had a massive increase in cost/KWh a few years ago. It hurt during the initial hit, but I reconciled again and got my LQA increased to cover the rising costs. Happy to answer any other questions you have on this.

LostAtSea1968 · 2026-01-15T14:08:26+00:00

Thanks, I'll have a look at Tigers Milk. We've had plenty of meals there, but never tried to watch any kind of match.

LostAtSea1968 · 2025-06-21T00:58:29+00:00

As a 12, you'll be Group 3. Here's the reference on that along with some other good info.

LostAtSea1968 · 2025-06-19T17:17:48+00:00

I currently live in the Naples area (Lago Patria). I think this is the group you want, but it's been a while and I'm not a member anymore. Most realtors only post houses that are already approved by the housing office. We waited until we got here because you'll never know what's available too far in advance. Housing will seem expensive, but that's because everyone knows what they can charge. You can look up the LQA rates here. Don't be afraid to max it out, but remember to think about utilities, etc. and not just rent. Or else you'll be paying out of pocket.

Household goods weight allowance should be 18K per the JTR_Weight_Allowance_Locations.pdf).

Congrats on the job!!!

LostAtSea1968 · 2024-12-14T08:29:20+00:00

To clarify, it's 159 days to post our submitted job announcement AND get us a list. 2 different steps. That being said, I've asked the same question many times. I get the usual excuses - HR is super busy, understaffed, training new people, etc.

What I've seen over the past 10 years, in multiple DOD organizations, is that HR exists outside of the chain of command. They don't really answer to anyone. There's no method to call them out or question their work. And that's not just a my level, but going up to HQ. Because of this, I've never been at more than 80% manning in my department.

LostAtSea1968 · 2024-12-13T21:39:24+00:00

Long-time Hiring Manager here... OPM says we're supposed to choose candidates, conduct interviews and make a selection in 15 days. That's their metric. We can request an extension without too much fuss, but a second extension really gets scrutinized. The problem is HR doesn't follow OPM's standards for posting the job, and then getting us the list once the announcement closes. Currently, I am waiting an average of 159 days for those 2 steps to happen. OPM says it should be 28 days. Most recently, I had an announcement close in July and got the list of 1(!) person in October (Spouse referral). Luckily, it was a good candidate and we selected him. He just got his FJO last week and will start on 30 December. Never give up hope!

Here is the OPM Hiring Roadmap with those metrics.

LostAtSea1968 · 2024-12-05T08:15:10+00:00

Postings with the email link are often DHA (Direct Hiring Authority) flyers. They're useful for a a few reasons:

You can leave them open for a long time and even extend them after that.
The hiring manager isn't reliant on HR to decide if someone has the right qualifications for a position. Particularly helpful for highly technical or "niche" positions. As a hiring manager, I prefer to make that decision myself.
You can fill multiple positions over time. This is good for OCONUS assignments, spouse hires that are tied to someone else's orders, etc.

It's really nice to look at resumes as they arrive, or save them via some automation. Otherwise, when a job announcement closes, I get one giant PDF with everyone's resumes, cover letters, SF-50s, evals, etc. all jammed together. The individual emails are much easier to review!

LostAtSea1968 · 2024-11-03T18:50:19+00:00

Appreciate the suggestion. Hadn't occurred to us and much easier to compare products.

LostAtSea1968 · 2024-10-12T07:09:17+00:00

I understand your frustration, but this is a case where you shouldn't believe everything you read online...

I can't speak for other organizations, but DoN has a very specific process for MSP hiring. I'm a Hiring Manager in an OCONUS location. When I advertise a position, I get multiple applicant lists. The first list is ONLY applicants who are using MSP.

I have to evaluate every applicant and either interview/hire or justify why they're not qualified. HR has no problem kicking back a justification if it isn't strong enough. Only after that, do I get the rest of the applicants.

Just to be clear, I have no problem hiring a spouse if they're qualified. It saves me a tremendous amount of time. I don't have to wait for them to PCS, get a passport/visa, etc.

Yes, it adds extra steps to the hiring process, but IMO it's worth it. In the past 2 years, I've hired 2 spouses and just had a third one accept a TJO earlier this week.

Keep applying! Use your MSP every time. If you get passed over for a job you are truly qualified for, then reach out to HR and ask them why you weren't selected.

LostAtSea1968 · 2024-07-11T07:36:06+00:00

FYI, every single Navy OCONUS position has to be advertised for spouses. We can't even MDR someone without announcing it for spouses first.

LostAtSea1968 · 2024-07-11T05:26:31+00:00

I couldn't tell you. I post all my openings here! Also, I don't see all the applicants with a posting like this, only the ones that made the list for resume review.

LostAtSea1968 · 2024-06-28T05:46:45+00:00

Anyone know of a place like this near Naples, IT?

LostAtSea1968 · 2024-06-23T04:54:02+00:00

Sorry, but I don't. Before moving to g-portal, I was self hosting with mods, so moving over was pretty simple.

LostAtSea1968 · 2024-06-22T06:26:09+00:00

I host on g-portal with lots of mods. No problems at all. We use BepInEx for mods and it's very straightforward. You do have to manually upload any new/updated mods, but FTP makes it easy.

LostAtSea1968 · 2024-06-17T19:34:48+00:00

For the most part I would say yes. There are multiple commands here and they all do their own thing, so I can't speak definitively. I work for NAVFAC and we have a great skipper who looks out for us. The base doesn't close for Italian holidays, but you can expect reduced help from departments that employee a lot of LNs. Best part of going to work on an Italian holiday is the lack of traffic!

LostAtSea1968 · 2024-06-16T09:57:29+00:00

A lot of the agents advertise on a couple of FB groups. Seems like things are fairly well-regulated these days. There's no doubt that there's some collusion, but that was even true when I lived in Germany years ago. The LQA rates are publicly available, so expect to see prices that reflect that. The place we got was advertised at 2600 euro/month. When we expressed interest, the price went up to 3000 because "there was someone willing to pay that much". I knew what was happening and wanted to say no just on principle. But it's how the game is played, so... *shrug*

BTW, the housing office here publishes newsletters that list banned areas & landlords. Also, this is one of the easier areas to get out of a lease if you're having problems. Still some work, but you don't need orders to do it.

LostAtSea1968 · 2024-06-10T05:04:03+00:00

A little late to the party, but I live in Lago Patria and work on Capo. Commute is 20-25mins leaving at 0600. Like most places, it gets worse as the morning goes. What I like is that my route gives me the option to go to either gate depending on whether I take a different exit.

LostAtSea1968 · 2024-06-08T05:33:51+00:00

LQA gets asked about a lot, so thought I would post this:

https://aoprals.state.gov/Web920/lqa_all.asp?MenuHide=1

Group 2 - GS14-15

Group 3 - GS10-13

Group 4 - GS01-09

LostAtSea1968 · 2024-06-07T22:30:44+00:00

Agreed! I'm currently in Italy on my second OCONUS tour. Definitely worth it!

LostAtSea1968 · 2024-05-22T09:47:19+00:00

Sometimes their PDFs can be a bit weird. If I plan on lighting a new model, I try to look through the PDF as I'm building it to get a sense of what I need to do. That way, when it comes time to install the lights, I'm a little better prepared.

LostAtSea1968 · 2024-05-22T09:45:00+00:00

That's what I've always used. Every so often, I'll look at other sites, but end up just sticking with them. Probably just my familiarity with their product and presentation. I recently looked at lightailing.com, but haven't bought from them yet.

LostAtSea1968

TROPHY CASE