Army Life on Base?

Question

How is army life on a base? For a family? My husband is thinking about joining and we have a 9 month old little boy. I am wondering what life is like on a base. How are the people, what activities are there, the housing, the stores? Anyone with details or pics(if allowed) please answer. Thanks.

Answer 1

I've never lived on a base, but I've visited a few. My father is in the army reserves, so occasionally I've visited him when he's deployed in Germany and the United States.

The conditions depend somewhat on where you are stationed. All the bases I've visited have lots of amenities, though. There is always a post exchange, a grocery store, a drug store, some restaurants, a movie theater, a bowling alley... all kinds of things. The only problem is that some bases are located in really nice places, where you only have to drive five minutes to be in a major town or city. Others are more remote, and you have to drive for hours to get anywhere interesting. So it's possible to get quite bored, I would imagine.

If you are stationed abroad, they make a big effort to bring you the comforts of home. There is usually a Burger King and the post exchange sells American products that you can't get in your host country. When I visited my dad at Ramstein, Germany, there was a Cinnabon, a Dunkin' Donuts, a Chili's and a Taco Bell. They took euros or American dollars.

The bases I've visited seem like rather pleasant places. The people in the surrounding communities have always been very friendly and accomodating of their military neighbors.

So all in all, I would say that life on base is not a hardship. At worst, it might be a little boring. But you will be surrounded by other families who are in the same situation, so whatever happens you won't be alone.

Hope that helps.

Answer 2

My husband switched from the Marines to the Army and we moved from San Diego CA to up state New York to Fort Drum. At first it was pretty scary because I was pregnant and I have an 8 year old an we were so afraid to not be around family, but now we love it. We live on post it took about a week to get our 2 bedroom and we are on a list for a 3 bedroom. Our base is kind of in the middle of nowhere but the army provide a lot of activities for families. Search for Army one stop on the net I'm not sure of the exact website and you can see where the bases are and look at pics of the houses (keep in mind some pics might be a little older) and you can view the waiting list. Good Luck Maybe we'll run in to each other one day!

Answer 3

For starters the Army has posts. The Air Force and Navy have bases. Be he could join the Army and be assigned to an Air Force or Navy Base. I was in the Air Force and most places we were at had a long waiting list for base housing, so most of the time we lived in apartments near the base. When I did live on base, the housing was often nicer than the off base apartments in my price range. Most bases are like little towns. We had churches, movie theaters, recreation centers, swimming pools, bowling alleys, gyms, child care centers and even k-12 schools. We had a gas station and a shopette in the housing area which was like a 7-11 and bigger stores on the main base. Neighbors were just like anyplace else, some good and some bad; but if there were any conflicts the base would handle them. We felt very safe to take kids trick or treating and non military families often asked for special permission to bring their kids on base for special things like that. You'll probably enjoy that part of Army life. Unfortunately, these days, there's no telling where they might send your husband.

Answer 4

After having served 5 years active duty and doing a tour in Kosovo and Iraq, I can safely say this depends on where you are stationed. Large bases stateside will have all the amenities (PX...(military department store), grocery store, hospital/clinic, post office, restaurants, etc.) Overseas, Germany for instance this normally stays the same. If he goes to Korea he is doing it without you or the kid for a year or more. Housing for a married servicemember with child on post is free. Keep in mind the quality reflects the price. Sometimes you will luck out, other times you will need to call in a handyman everyday. The people are generally a carbon-copy of the civilian ones you will run into just not very many old people on post. The healthcare and education for everyone is free so take advantage. Once the hubby puts on more rank some more doors will open up for you in the way of housing and quality of life.

Remember the golden rule for military families: the military is what you make of it. The life can be filled with unlimited opportunities or unlimited nightmares.

Answer 5

We live on post, but I will warn you that many times there is a waiting list for post housing. Be prepared to look for an apartment with a short-term lease if you want to live on post. If you have no preference, BAH will often cover cost of living off post. Getting back to the Army community itself-We have met some awesome people while in the Army! Our children have enjoyed a safe neighborhood to play in, and during deployments many of their friends at school have parents who are deployed as well, so this makes them feel not quite so alone. The commissary (grocery store) is great!! A little crowded at times-but the prices are the best! The PX is convenient as well. Living on post is like living in your own neighborhood-you really never have to leave! There are parks, restaurants, gas stations, post offices-pretty much everything you need is on post. Depending on which post you are going to-usually they have community activities planned throughout the year. If your husband's unit has an FRG(Family Readiness Group) I would suggest trying to go to a few meetings. You will meet other spouses within his unit and it's a good way to meet friends! Best of luck on your decision!

Answer 6

Life on an army base is great. They have the best teachers for their school system. the only bad thing is that every two years you have to move. Which makes it difficult to maintain childhood friends. But now with the Internet and cell phones that allow you to call anywhere, that may not be so much of an issue. One advantage is that there are always a whole family unit. Not to many single spouse families. The housing is like any lower income housing development but very little crime.

Answer 7

Every base has a family support office. Every base is different. In Washington DC base housing is scarce, so you may end up getting an allowance to live in the regular community. In which case, it would be like any other place with schools and shops.

If you live on a smaller base in a more remote place, the base may have its own school. At a minimum they have a grocery store and a small mall called the PX. Some places have PX's that are like middle sized malls with different stores and a food court.

Answer 8

Being part of a retired navy family i can answer reliably. You will enjoy living on base, the commissary (grocery store) does not tax purchases, you pay a flat surcharge (covers the facility's expenses), housing is a wonderful thing, if anything breaks, you call housing maintenance and they come fix it....garbage disposal, dishwasher a/c, you don't pay electricity, so you can run your a/c all thru the warm weather...and the heat thru the cold, usually there will be a base movie theater, post exchange (like a department store) medical facilities, bowling alley, usually there is a group of community players (if you like plays) overseas there will be schools thru high school on the base, if you are on the water there will be a marina on the base, mwr (morale welfare and rec) with have activities/trips you can take, it isn't hard to find a qualified baby sitter, the are enlisted and officers clubs on the base, there are usually several restaurants on base, usually a golf course....and best of all, you have so much in common with your neighbors...i think you will love it, i have lived on the base in Guam, keyport WA, San Diego ca, Philadelphia pa, Bermuda, Orlando fl, Roosevelt roads pr, and Charleston SC. see if I'm not right and i hope this helps :)

Answer 9

It is not bad. It just depends on the base you get sent to and your attitude. There is usually plenty to do on base. The housing is not that bad depending on the base. The military is in the process of privatizing housing so it is getting much better. The stores are alright, there is no tax at aafes stores. The commissary charges a small tax (5%), but it is cheaper than grocery stores off base. You can find some pictures on the Web sites for each base.

The people on base are a bit different than those off base, but only because we have become accustomed to the military life, I don't mean that in a bad way. We have schools, hospitals, pools, youth centers, and more.

Like I said, it depends on your attitude. If you come in thinking it is going to be all bad, it will be.

Answer 10

Base housing isnt as bad as some people perceive it to be. Usually the housing is free, along with electrical, plumbing, etc. Groceries at the BX are incredibly cheap. Gas on base is loathingly cheap. You never have to worry about your 9 month old not being safe. I grew up at base housing and i would walk home from preschool. It was incredibly safe. And the people on base are so kind and chivalrous. They really set an example for the rest.

Theres different activities on every base. Beale AFB, the one closest to me, has a golf course (18 hole), bowling alley, arcade, restuarant, and a few other things. Dry cleaning, video rental, etc.

Your not gonna find everything you'll ever need on base but living will be SO MUCH cheaper. Its a great decision financially. Hope it works out for you. Any questions just ask!