Nesties from AZ, CA, CO, FL, ID, IL, NC, NJ, NY, TX, VA

Makinroom4baby · November 2008

HAHA! That's a long list, sorry...

My DH is active duty air force and is scheduled to either retire or re enlist on Dec of next year, so we have to turn in a list of choices for his next assignment today. We will find out in a few months which assignment he was able to get and from there we decide if he wants to stay in or retire. At first I thought retirement was a sure thing for us, but my DH seems very nervous about it now, understandbly so b/c he's had job security for 19 yrs now, and with the economy the way it is now, I'd be worried also. So I want to help him make the best decision for our family, although I know I would LOVE to be closer to family (there are no locations near my family on the list provided to us). So here is the list we are being offered and I'd appreciate it if you could let me know which locations are good, and which ones we should completely avoid! We can choose as many or as little as we like, but we'd rather send in at least 3 just in case we can't get our first choice.

GOODYEAR	AZ	LUKE AFB
TUCSON	AZ	DAVIS MONTHAN AFB
LAKEWOOD	CA	LOS ANGELES AFS
LOMPOC	CA	VANDENBERG AFB
AURORA	CO	BUCKLEY
LARGO	FL
RAMSTEIN AB	GERMANY	RAMSTEIN AB
BOISE	ID	MOUNTAIN HOME AFB
SPRINGFIELD	IL
GREENSBORO	NC
FREEHOLD	NJ	MCGUIRE/FT DIX
UNION	NJ
SYRACUSE	NY
TYLER	TX
UNIVERSAL CITY	TX	LACKLAND/RANDOLPH/BROOKS
WACO	TX
Roanoke, VA Right now, we are really leaning towards Universal City, TX as our first choice, mainly b/c it is near a huge air force base and they have awesome Drs, including a great IVF program that we've been trying to get into since 2005. It's also near my DH's brother. But it's 8 hours away from my family and 15 hours away from the ILs. I think at this point though, we have to stop worrying about how near or far we are from them and make the decision that's best for us. Sorry for the way the list messed up this post! Thanks for any advice you can offer

AnneUCSB · November 2008

Well, the Lompoc base is in the MIDDLE OF NOWHERE, although only about 45 minutes from Santa Barbara, CA- which is my favorite place in the entire world. ?Lakewood would be closer to more stuff and you'd have the benefit of living in California which comes with beautiful weather and so many things to do. ?That's my CA input for you

EliseB0323 · November 2008

I used to live near Roanoke. It's nice. Decent schools, decent cost-of-living -- a very liveable city.

Aurora Colorado is nice too, as is Syracuse.

My first choice would be Ramstein, but living overseas isn't everyone's cup of tea. I lived in Germany, and Ramstein is one of the nicest bases over there.

Personally, I'd pick anywhere BUT Texas, but just because I hate Texas.

Good luck with your choice.

xbrooklyngrl · November 2008

ohh I like Freehold NJ, you'd be close to me and close to the city!

kjlrs · November 2008

I'm from AZ and live very close to Luke. One of my best friends is actually in the AF and works there. She and her coworkers seem generally happy except for normal work complaints. One of the guys made a comment while back that it felt different to him being at an AFB in a relatively big city (Goodyear being in the greater Phoenix area) because I guess people hung out outside of the AFB more.

I love Phoenix. If you can bear some heat in the summer, you really can't beat the weather. The COL is good IMO, having come from the DC area. Schools aren't wonderful and that's the biggest thing on my mind in terms of where we live... depending on how long you'd be here that may or may not be an issue for you. DH and I plan on looking into moving (within the Phoenix area) in the next 4-5 years or so depending on where we feel is the best school for DD.

veloelle · November 2008

Lakewood isn't all that great. It is smack dab in the middle of the LA 'burbs-nothing pretty about it. And houses are still expensive here, so you'll probably be looking at a serious downgrade in housing. It's near Long Beach which has some really cool older areas that are on the rise. If you are doing CA, I guess Lakewood is better than Lompoc because it is close to LA, the beach and 1.5 hours from the mountains.

breezee_bean · November 2008

Lompoc is out in the boonies, if I remember correctly. Lakewood would be nice bc you are in driving distance of alot!

Syracuse would be my choice. My only reason being that I have always want to live on the east coast for once.

FeatherFire · November 2008

Germany doesn't seem to be on your radar, but since it's on the list I thought I'd make a pitch for it - when I was 5 my father got the opportunity to post in England, we spent 4 years there.?

?

It was hard for my family to be so far away, especially before the internet but it was also one of the coolest, best opportunities we ever had as a family. Everything in Europe is so close together, and it's very inexpensive to travel over there - my parents took me and my brothers all over England, Germany, France, Holland.

?

Anyway, this is my long winded pitch for taking an oversees assignment.

?

Barring that, Tucson is a really great city, I have a bunch of friends out there and they all love living there.?

dnagal · November 2008

I think that the area around MacGuire AFB is nice. The area is pinelands, so lots of pine woods and small farms nearby, but commercial/suburban development is running wild, so there's lots of conveniences, malls, etc. It's kind of in central New Jersey, so easily accessible to the whole state, including NYC and Philly-finding top notch fertility Drs would be a piece of cake. There's also a Six Flags there (for what it's worth) And you could easily get to the beach-Long Beach Island is lovely! As well as an easy day trip to go hiking in North Jersey. Plus, you are within 1 1/2 hrs of both Philly and Newark airports.

springmom · November 2008

I second Germany! If you're not going to be close to family anyway, why not! That's where I would push for :-) Plus the military gives you more money when you go over, right?

TxGal · November 2008

Tyler Texas is a small east Texas town not far from where I grew up (Texarkana). I guess it is okay if you don't mind small towns. I wouldn't recommend Waco at all. I don't know anything about Union City Texas.

Freehold NJ is a great area. My DH is from NJ.

Amanda&Chris · November 2008

I grew up near Springfield, IL, about 45 min away. It is a nice enough place, not too big, but not a small town either. You would be about 2 hours from St. Louis and about 3-4 hours from Chicago so you would have bigger cities within driving distance. There is an aiport there as well, but it is small.

KrisBriMcBunny · November 2008

oh for the love of god what ever you do dont go to syracuse....LOTS of snow measured in feet not inches and very cold!

JellymanKelly · November 2008

I live just outside of Greensboro, NC and LOVE IT. I've lived here my whole life and think it's an amazing place to raise a family.

If fertility specialists are important in making your decision, look up NCCRM.com (NC Center for Reproductive Medicine).

mrsterry · November 2008

Largo would've been my choice, hands down....you know that

Now I say either Greensboro or Roanoke. Equal distance from me with either one. ;-)

ak071401 · November 2008

If he was stationed at LAAFB why would you have to live in Lakewood? I live in Redondo Beach (which is way closer to the base than Lakewood) and know a ton of people stationed there live in this area. Other nice towns to look at near LAAFB would be El Sedundo (which is the town the borders the base), the Hollyglen area of Hawthorne (Hawthorne isn't great, but Hollyglen is nice and they have their own school district seperate from Hawthorne), Torrance, Redondo Beach.

I grew up in Redondo Beach as my dad was stationed at LAAFB for about 15 years of his career in the Air Force, so I am a bit biased about loving this area. My dh, however, did not grow up here and he says now that he lives here he never wants to move. We are less than a mile from the beach, beautiful weather year round, less than 2 hour drive to the mountains if you ski, about 30 minutes from downtown if you want to see the theater or a concert. The other great thing about all the South Bay Beach Cities is they each have their own unique feel complete with hometown fairs, great parks, wonderful and affordable recreation classes for the kids.

jtbmommy · November 2008

Freehold is very nice. It is about 30-40 min from maquire afb. But is is close to the beach, philly and nyc and great adventure. I think the schools are good- I teach in freehold- The only bad thing is the taxes!!!

mags2041 · November 2008

I have lived both near Davis Monthan in Tucson and am somewhat close to Luke AFB here in Glendale, AZ. I love Tucson, but most transplants hate it because it can be dirty/dusty and the traffic is horrible (the freeway goes around town, not through it which kills me). Luke is nice, but its way out west and is on the other side of town from Scottsdale. But you'd be near the Phoenix Cardinals and a bunch of spring training complexes for baseball. Phoenix is great, but the summers are really really hot. I do love it here.

Makinroom4baby · November 2008

Thanks ladies! This is going to be so hard, but you've helped out alot

VivaAmore · November 2008

I'm late but would support Freehold, NJ. It is pretty central to NY/Philly, the Jersey Shore, shopping, etc. Located in the 'pine barrons' area so very quiet, not too crowded.

The Union, NJ location is more north and a much more crowded area. It's very close to NYC, but still has the Watchung Reservation (a big park/hiking/lake area). It is close to Newark, NJ though which is a not so nice area.

LanaM · November 2008

I am late too, and I'd say freehold, nj.

Union is about 20-30 minutes from NYC, right near Short Hills (and the Short HIlls mall)

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