When? Hmmmm...I don't know. I think that this is also a very personal decision; however, I will tell you how I did it (and of course, this is just my personal experience and not a Tink's law of any sort
).
1. I began therapy. At this time I also began electrolysis at the rate of ten hours per month.
2. Started hormone therapy three months after the first visit with my therapist and began finishing out my wardrobe with some basics that wouldn't be effected by change in body shape over the following year or two.
3. After tolerating hormones well for three months; I started "coming out" to the important people in my life who weren't already aware of what I was embarking on. My youngest sister was the first person I told, then my parents and so on.
4. After six months on electrolysis, I couldn't pass as a guy anymore. The hormones had been working quite well (slowly so but the physical changes were pretty obvious). This is when I decided to change my name legally. I changed my DMV and Social Security records; I also changed my name on my bank accounts, credit cards and credit reporting agencies, college records, etc. I live in California, and I am aware that it was simpler for me to do all these things here as opposed to doing them in other states.
5. I began my real life test. I resigned to my job, moved, took a three month vacation and basically settled in a new apartment, found a new job and my new life started.
For me this approach worked really well. I know girls that have done all the groundwork, electrolysis, tracheal shave, FFS before hand and scheduled their breast augmentation to coincide with starting the RLT and that worked well for them. I've also known girls that did it bit by bit on more limited finances as they had money available during the RLT because the thought of waiting until all the groundwork was laid to start was just too much for them.
I guess that there isn't any "rule" on "when" to start the RLT; it all depends on your finances, needs, and timetable.
tink
