Living on base?

annie830

So in a few months my fiance and I are getting married and he wants me on base with him. I'll still be pregnant when i move there. What is it like on base especially as a mother? Any advice and which is better on base housing or off base. What's the process to getting the housing?

 

He's in the AF btw but any experience from any military group would be appreciated.

annie830

quartermisses:

Living on or off seems to be a preference. We prefer not to live on post because we we can usually rent a much bigger house for much less than our BAH/BAQ (if we were to live on post, we would have, at most, an 1800 sq ft house, whereas we are paying $400 under our BAH for a 2300 sq ft house). Some bases are in locations that I would prefer not to live in the community (Fort Sill, OK, for example), Living on post does usually offer some activities and community amenities that you might not necessarily get off post (though, that isn't always true), and there is the bonus of usually being closer to the unit, so you might see your spouse more often throughout the day (home for breakfast and/or lunch) We're not far from the gate where we live, so my husband is usually able to come home.

I think it's always a good idea to give it a try. If you hate it, you can always move off post (at your own expense) later. If there is a house available, go for it!

I can only speak for how the Army works, but once you are married (and you're registered with DEERS), your husband will go to housing to be put on the waitlist. If they have houses available, they'll give you your options. Most bases have a webpage that will tell you what you will be eligible for based on rank and number of dependents, and there is a FB page called Moving House for the Military Spouse that has pictures of a lot of floorplans at various bases.

 

 

Thanks. What's DEERS btw

Carnation77

DEERS = Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System.  He has to register you in DEERS in order for the military to recognize you as a dependent, pay him dependent housing allowance, give you medical insurance, give you an ID card, etc. 

If you and your husband are young and/or lower enlisted I say live on base.  It will be a good way for you to learn about the military and will make life easier.

If you're older and/or higher ranking and want to maintain a life away from the military then live off base.  It can mean a longer commute and a bit more hassle but depending on your preference and his job, it might be totally worth it.

Emilia0101

We have lived on base and off base so here is both perspectives. 

On Base: Everything is included. Water, electric, trash, etc. No commute so you save money on gas, you get to know your community, you will be more likely to utilize services such as commissary, BX/PX, etc. You have a better security (front gates are armed, you have your own police force.) Housing management often times has programs for deployed members that include lawn assistance, etc. Being a new mom is also lonely and can be isolated. Most of your neighbors will have children as well and it is easy to network, get involved with MOPS, community center events, etc.

 Off Base: At some locations you can get a nicer house for your money. For my family we qualify for a 2 bedroom, but my husband is an E6. So it can be frustrating knowing we pay 200-600 more per month for the same house an E2 is living in. If we live off base we can rent a larger home. Living off base you have a separation from military and civilian life. When we lived in CO all of my friends were civilian so it was nice not having to meet anyone at the gate to get signed in. If you are in a community that has lots of amenities living away from the bx/px, etc isn't a big deal. Also a lot depends on your personality. Do you like having ready made friends right across the street or do you feel confident joining a church or rec center and putting yourself out there to meet new people?

Either choice a lot comes down to location and what you make of it. I would get your name on the list if possible ASAP. Living on base especially in some locations can takes months or even a year to come available.  

Lissa832

We live on base for the first 2.5 years of our marriage. For the last 6 years, we've lived off base.i wholeheartedly prefer living out in town. 

ehnasto

I prefer to live off base right now. That may change when we move next year, depending on the location.

The reason we chose to live off base is because I like to have a lot of social events at the house and not everyone we know can get on base easily. The way my base is set up, if you want to get someone on base it can be a lenghtly process. Sometimes it takes 5 minutes to get them on base and other times it can take an hour +. We also decided that since we could find a place that was less expensive then the housing alotment, it finanically made sense for us for right now.

sweetpea2003

It depends.

DH has been in for 11 years and we have been married for almost 10.  Until this past January we had never lived on base.  Right now we are currently living on base while he attends a one-year school.  Because it was only 12 months and because he wanted to be close to the school building/library and because this particular base has a lot of nice housing we just decided it was easier to live in housing as opposed to getting a lease.

It really just depends on where you are and what the cost of living is.  We have spent the majority of DH's career on the east coast near bases that either didn't have much housing (officer housing in the Norfolk area is extremely limited) or where we owned homes for investment purposes. 

I like both.  Off base I loved my communities and houses.  This year on base I am really liking the cohesiveness of my neighborhood.  That being said, we are in a unique situation as ALL of the people in my neighborhood are here for this one-year school and ALL Of the people in my neighborhood are the same rank (O-4) so we are all the same age and in the same place in life (30s, young kids, etc).  So I don't know if that is the norm but from stories I have heard I doubt it.

Whether it is "cheaper" or not really depends.  When in Hampton Roads we spent more than our BAH on rent/utilities.  Right now, we could probably get something bigger/nicer off-post (we are at Fort Leavenworth, KS) than what we have on-post but the convenience and location (walking distance to school) was worth it to just live on base for the year.

Anyway.  rambling... Just look at the big picture (availability, COL off post, etc) and see what works best for your family .

 

annie830

Thanks so much. All the advice is super helpful. So I'll be pregnant while on base so any thing i Should look out for.

amandoza23

It depends on the base. My husband is stationed at MCAS Yuma so we decided to stay on base. The summers here reach highs of 120 degrees quite frequently so that bumps electricity to about 300 a month on average which isn't covered by BAH after you add in rent and such. We don't pay utilities on this base so that was our deciding factor. There is a very strong mom community here and with the unemployment rate being so high for this particular town, there are a lot of SAHM as well. 

To get on the base housing waiting list your husband would have to fill out the application. I don't think he can do it until you are married though. There is a wait list here for newly married Marines. They give homes to families PCSing to the base versus Marines that already have a home. You might be able to call the housing office to ask them questions if you would like. It all depends on a lot of things. Base housing here is regulated by a third party so we had to sign a contract with them as well. GL 

NikiP81

I think for a new military spouse it is worth it to live on base at least once in the first few years as you figure things out. We lived off post when we first got married and I never felt compelled to try to meet other spouses or get involved. When we moved on post at our next location it seemed a lot easier to meet people and go to events that I was interested in.

darjeeling

We love living on base.  Where we live there's no way we could have as nice a place off base, cost of living is high here.  Our neighbors are super friendly and helpful, and I feel safe and supported when DH is gone. Plus there are lots of new and experienced moms that give me good tips.  

helak

Your husband signs you on base I believe. At least that's what my husband did. Personally I think that on base housing is awesome because you aren't stressed about a lot of bills. The only weird thing is that I have met some couples that are beyond loony. Some advice I would love to have had when I moved on base, don't try to be everybody's friend. If anybody seems weird... just stay far far away, there's a reason you feel that way... and stay away from the gossipy ones.