I have had a few people ask me why we made the decision to live on post versus renting off post, also how does it feel to go from owning a nice home to living on post. Now there are those people that like to disconnect themselves from the military life, they feel that it would be all work all the time. Which I understand to an extent, but here is a break down of our reasons:
*We like the security of being on post, yes sometimes there is a false sense of security but being in such a rural area it makes sense.
*We would be living above our BAH (basic allowance for housing), rent here is not extremely high but when you factor in utilities and gas for Kyle to get to post it does not make sense.
*Housing takes our BAH, which goes towards rent, utilities, 24 hour maintenance, lawn care and other amenities.
*We are 7 (yes 7) minutes from Kyle's work, I mean you can't get much better than that. We aren't sure what his schedule will be like so being close to home is beneficial.
*We have lived on post in other places, we have never had a bad experience.
*Now we loved our house in El Paso, owning was a great experience but it was absolutely terrifying and stressful when it came time to sell it. We have no desire to own again until Kyle retires.
*We already feel such a great sense of community with our neighbors, I wasn't sure how it would be off post here.
*We like feeling connected to the military community, we have never felt like it was too much all the time.
Of course everyone has their owns reasons for doing the things they do and these are ours.
Have a great Monday everyone!
I like this post! :) We are at our first base, but we chose to live off base to kind of broaden who we meet... I like it because we've made friends that are NOT military through church, but I do kind of wish we were closer to everyone. We'll be living on base next time around because my husband will have super duper early show times for pilot training, so we'll want to be much closer for that. I am excited to experience living in such a tight community too - we've been at our current house for nearly four months and haven't spoken to a single neighbor! :-/
ReplyDeleteGlad you are settling in very well.
ReplyDeleteThese are great reasons! I never wanted to live on post, we are definitely one of those families that separates work and home. But with that being said, when our rental house fell apart we had no choice but to live on post since it was the fasted house we could get into. And I have to say it is not too bad. There are some annoyances, but that is with everything. And you can't beat that Chris has just a couple minute drive to his office. And I am with you on the security of it all. I am glad you guys are getting so settled, and enjoying it already :)
ReplyDeleteWe live on base and are so glad that we do. It's 15 miles just to get off base to the nearest town so it would totally not be worth living off base for us. We are so close to our jobs and have everything here. There are times when I wish we had our own house, yard, etc. to do with as we please, but we are happy in our little home on base. :) I'm really glad to hear y'all are settling in and are comfortable.
ReplyDeleteI think for me if I were in your shoes, the sense of community would be it for me. I'd have to go on base. But you have done both and know what is best for you guys :)
ReplyDeleteWe normally love living on the installations too.
ReplyDeleteI think that living on or off post is something you have to decide almost every time you move. I think living on post is great, but we've never been able to get a house when we needed to move.
ReplyDeleteMy son and his wife live off base. It's nice where they are, but I bet they'd save more (which they are trying to do) if they lived on-base. I stay out of it though...they're grown, I support whatever they do. :) I'm glad your house sold for you. :)
ReplyDeleteI love hearing these reasons! Nate works about 7 minutes from our home too and we LOVE it so that's certainly a good thing to take into consideration!
ReplyDeleteThese all make perfect sense!
ReplyDeleteI love living on base, it's close to work and all the shops. Here in Hawaii, the commissary is the only grocery store I shop at so its nice to be super close.
ReplyDeleteWe never had the desire to own a home until we were firmly settled at a place we wanted to stay permanently. I definitely agree that selling your home under time pressure can be quite a burden. Our friend had a really bad experience living on post at Ft. Riley (like the windows freezing up on the inside despite heating, nasty neighbors, etc.), but her husband could almost walk to work while Richard had to drive 45 minutes to get there. Both scenarios definitely have pros and cons, and I'm glad that you found the right option for you!! Enjoy your day, my friend!
ReplyDeleteWe have been lucky so far (knock on wood lol). :)
DeleteWe have lived both on (Guam and Monterey) and off (VA and here) base, and have enjoyed both for different reasons. I think it is totally dependent on the area, the job, the rental/purchase market, and of course, base housing availability. We have always been happy with our choices and try not to second guess ourselves.
ReplyDeleteI think there are pros and cons for both sides of the coin but I do totally understand your reasoning for living on post. Especially after our luck with housing.
ReplyDeleteThere are definitely pros and cons to both sides, thankfully we had more experiences with pros of being on post. :)
DeleteI am glad you like living on post there! Like you said, it has its pros and cons. I am not against living on base again. In Corpus though, I felt like I was being robbed a bit on the house.
ReplyDeleteAll of your reasons are pretty much why we live on post here. We'll probably buy at future duty stations though and just keep renting them out like we're doing with our current place.
ReplyDeleteI enjoy reading all your reasons because I was 100% anti post living here. Your perspective is refreshing :)
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