Whether you have one year’s notice or one month’s, finding a safe neighborhood and school district are top priorities for many military families.

Most of us spend our active-duty years moving and setting up households in rental property or government quarters. Decorating these can be a challenge as we struggle to compensate for cookie-cutter designs, worn surfaces and dated fixtures. Housing restrictions and lease agreements can prevent us from committing to full-scale remodeling, not to mention the cost and daunting prospect of pulling up stakes in a couple of years’ time. But just because you don’t own your place doesn’t mean you can’t make it your home.

Scarlett O’Hara once declared that the only true certainties in life are death and taxes. Had any one of her three husbands been a career soldier in modern times, she would’ve added “moving” to her list.

Fortunately for military families, the housing industry knows about that third fact of life. And thanks to the Internet, there are all kinds of tools to make it easier to uproot.

It’s one of the first decisions you’ll face as a newly married military couple, and while it might not be the most critical choice you’ll ever make, there are many factors — some practical, some purely emotional — worth considering.

Ask yourself: “What is possible here? What can I do here? What is unique to this place that I can use in my dream development?”