I'm wondering what its like being a married DLI student. Will I be able to help my wife move out to monterey after I get out of basic? Also, my wife is interested in learning whatever language I have to learn. Are spouses able to take DLI classes or would she have to find some other way to study the language?
Being a married student at DLI can be tough. Jobs can be scarce and tend to be limited to basic retail or food services. The Monterey area is also an expensive area to live, and (relatively) affordable off-base housing tends to be in less-than-completely-safe areas. Live on-base if you can.
Will you be able to get time off to help your wife move? All things are possible, but I certainly would not count on it.
DLI is NOT a college, it is a military institution. As such, unless your wife is a uniformed member of the armed forces with orders to DLI, she will not be allowed to attend ths school. There is a wild rumor that spouses are able to attend clases at DLI on a space available basis....this is partially true, as in VERY SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES, ie for the spouses of senior diplomats, senior US officials, and senior Defense attache officers, it is possible for a spouse to attend DLI (there are 2 campuses actually), but unless you fall into one of those categories your spouse cannot attend.
concur with Squidling.. she is on her own as far as learning the language. there are many communtiy colleges in the area.
and yes, Jobs are hard to come by unless you are willing to work in the Hotels or the wine tasting rooms. there are PLENTY of both in the area.
whiel we were there( little under 2 years ago now) there was zero waiting list for housing..for a reason. while off base is expensive and like was already said the affordable stuff was in Gangland Central.. there were many issues with the People running PPV housing. I won't say any more, but all of our experiences were not pleasant with that office.
Well, my info is well over a decade old, but there were 3 phases in my day. Phase 1 was essentially like boot camp--no civilain clothing, and you were not allowed to leave the base, and you attended 'general military training'. Phase 2 you have a curfew, but you are allowed of post and you are allowed to wear civies. This phase lasted until you started class. Phase 3 you still had the basic travel restrictions, but generally nobody will interfere with you if you are married. The phase system applied to everybody, including the married folks.
Alright, there is a lot of incorrect information on this website that needs to be addressed. I was at DLI 2 years ago for Korean and I will be going back in 100 days for Arabic. That place is heaven. Not only is a great place to spend time with your family, but the language is very challenging and exciting. Like I said, I went there for Korean so I can only speak on what happened in my class. Our teachers encouraged spouses to learn the language along with the service member. The phase system has changed a little since I was there. When I was there incoming Army personnel went to Bravo Co. for Drill Sergeants and military training. Depending on when you get your class, you will not be messed with while you are there. If you are not in class, you will have to deal with more crap. While I was there, Bravo Co was an 8 weeks stent unless you screwed up. It wasn’t painful for me and I was out in 8 weeks. I brought my wife to Monterey while I was in Bravo Co. They do not waste your time while you are there mainly because the language is so expensive in the first place. They don’t want you to flunk.
Ft. Ord is old and not operational as a legitimate base, but it has a commissary and a PX and a gas station as well. It is about 8 miles from DLI and you can usually find a ride with someone going to the base. I cannot speak about the apartments in Monterey because I lived in the housing. I did have friends that lived on the economy and made a dollar or two. Your wife will like the area, because there is a lot to do, things to see and places to go. It is seriously a beautiful area. If your wife wants a job, she will probably get one. My wife had three job offers in the first two weeks we were there. She took a job at a dentist office as a receptionist and enjoyed her time there. The military will allow you to take leave to bring your wife to DLI as long as it doesn’t interfere with your language. Don’t worry, the military will take care of her if you can’t go get her.
The language is difficult, but if you try you will succeed. I will be willing to provide you with any information you want. I am currently stationed in South Korea, but I can provide info to your wife through myself or my wife or through you. Contact if you need anything else.
SGT Shawn King
This message has been edited. Last edited by: catherine0830,
you are talking Army experiences.. the Navy does things differently.. Phase system as well as getting Family members up there.
I had several friends who were spouses of DLI students( my next door neighbor in fact) both officer and enlisted.. NONE of th espouses wer epermitted, in any language, to take classes on base with their spouses. Save one.. because her DH was going to Moscow and the billet required her to participate in various and sundry social niceties, so she got a VERY basic crash course in how to discuss the finer points of Siberian weather patterns.
im prior service myself, (usmc) but my wife just joined the navy and she graduates basic january 30th. she flys to monterey after grad weekend, i was just wondering how long it would take before i could join her down there. i hardly check this so it would be easier if someone had an answer for me to shoot me an email. Rbgreenly@gmail.com thank you.
I'm also curious about this. I'm going to be CTI with the Navy and my wife wants to know if and when she'll be able to join me at DLI. I was under the impression that for school over a certain period of time the Navy will move her out there (and considering what I'm reading about some of the languages taking over a year I would imagine that would be long enough).
