Unless things have hanged since 2004, you cannot go geo-bachelor. I was in the exact same situation, and it didn't fly. I was leaving my permanent duty station in SD to head to FL for flight school. I was also told I could stay in the Q while I continued to collect SD BAH so my wife could stay in our house and keep her job. After I had accepted the orders and started trying to figure out what I needed to do top keep the aforementioned BAH, I learned that I'd gotten bad info. Because SD is a critical housing area while Pensacola/Milton isn't, you can't continue to collect the larger BAH. They want you to move your family to the area with more readily available (read cheaper) housing. If you were in Milton, and needed to go geo-bachelor to SD, you could keep the Florida BAH and stay in the Q in SD, because the move to SD would put you into a critical housing area, and they'd rather you DIDN'T move your family there. In the long run, we figired it worked out just about the same for my wife to quit her job and move to Florida. The loss of income just about equaled the decrease in the FL cost of living, plus we didn't have long distance bills and plane tickets to worry about. As long as you are in A-pool or API, you can keep your SD BAH, but you may end up paying for your BOQ room. As soon as you PCS to Milton, the gravy train stops. As was said above, they don't really care if you are trying to maintain two households, the Navy is only required to keep you under one roof. It stinks, but that's the reality. Whatever you do, make sure the PSD people in Pensacola are willing to go along with your plan. Ultimately, they are the ones setting up your pay once you get there. I got all kinds of stories from the PSD personnel in SD, along with the SNA detailer, but what they said carried zero weight with the folks in Pensacola. The civilians who will be figuiring out your pay once you get there have been around for eons, and they've probably heard every story already. If it isn't in their little book, it won't happen. Good luck with your move, and PM me if you have any questions.