What would your choice be when it comes to living at one of these places and why?

Question

You can chose between these locations...
-- Fort Bragg, North Carolina
-- Fort Campbell, Kentucky
-- Fort Carson, Colorado
-- Fort Lewis, Washington

In your answer, tell me which one and why? The best answer gets 10 points!!!!! I want good reasons why... I might be going to one of those places and would like others opinions on the locations, the area, the things to do, the schools, etc.

Answer 1

Fort Carson and Fort Lewis would be at the top of my wish list as a spouse.

I wouldn't be terribly disappointed with Fort Campbell if the alternative was Fort Bragg.

I know a lot of people LOVE Bragg, and I'm sure they have their reasons. However, Bragg is the only army post that I've absolutely hated. (None are great, but they have their positives.... Bragg, was scary.)

1. Fayetteville is a crime ridden town. It's amazing how much violent crime there is for such a small "city". Even worse, the cases don't get solved. For example... when we were there, a man stabbed his wife to death in a busy grocery store parking lot in the middle of a Sunday afternoon. (In the middle of Fayetteville... not in a "bad" section.) They didn't catch the guy until two months later. Where was he "hiding"? At home.

While we were there, I can't even tell you how many STRANGER on STRANGER rapes and murders there were. It was frightening. I never felt safe there. (Esp. after the house got broken into while I was home alone! Needless to say, I took shooting lessons, got proficient enough to shoot a .45 safely and accurately, and I kept it handy while my husband was gone. No one should HAVE TO live like that.)

2. Our house was broken into twice in a year (once while I was home) despite the fact we installed a burglar alarm. We purposely rented a house that was "beyond our means" while waiting to get housing so we could live in a "safer" neighborhood.

3. In said neighborhood, there were two shootings on my street, and several stolen cars. (This was in Fayetteville, but on the Hope Mills border.)

4. The driving. I've never seen anything like it. Really... I've lived all over the world, but have never seen anything like it. My husband compares it to Baghdad.... everyone just does whatever the hell they want.

5. The people. I'll get some thumbs down for this one, and that's o.k. That means people have had a different experience than I did and I hope they did! I'm a very calm person and typically don't let things bother me. However, I've never encountered so many nasty people who are just rude and difficult for the sake of it as I did when we were at Bragg. (At the age of 29, I had to be put on blood pressure meds while living at Bragg. As soon as we left... nothing else changed.. not my weight, my diet, nothing except location and my blood pressure went down to a healthy 118/80... definitely because of the people. I'll never get over how mean they were there.)

6. Oye... good luck getting anything done. There seems to be a serious lack of work ethic in the Fayetteville area. Again, if I get thumbs down that means others don't agree... and that's GOOD! I've also never seen so many healthy able bodied male adults just sauntering around town in the middle of a work day (clearly unemployed). As long as I'm on the lazy kick... I've also never seen so many able bodied young(ish) people with handicapped parking tags. Someone should really look into why there are so many handicapped in Fayetteville. It's a real problem! ;)

7. The schools. The off post schools are not only not good, but don't have the most well behaved students in the world. If you have a high school age student and live on post, your high schooler will literally have to go to school in the ghetto. (E.E. Smith)

8. Beggars. They're everywhere.. in every grocery store parking lot. They're not the stereotypical bums... they look and dress like normal people. However, they always have the same spiel... "I need money for my medication." Ugh, whatever. You just get sick of it. Get a job!

9. Some people like it because the beach is a few hours away.... BUT- you'll want to drive even further to get to a nice beach. The Jacksonville area is really seedy and definitely not a place for families (or people who aren't comfortable with that kind of atmosphere).

I really don't like saying anything negative, since as an army spouse that's all you ever hear. Despite this post, I truly am one of those who prefers to focus on the positive. However, our time at Fort Bragg just had nothing going for it. It's the only duty station I PRAY we never get again... I'll gladly go to Fort Irwin or Fort Polk before going there again and THAT'S saying something!

Good luck to you! I hope you get something you like.

Answer 2

Ft. Lewis Washington is usually the most requested post in the country. I was there for a total of four years. I liked Ft. Lewis a lot. You can live there reasonably on the economy. BUT, they are moving 15,000 more soldiers there over the next couple of years. That means a lot more families and overcrowding, problems getting services etc. They are really pouring a lot of money into the post right now.

The biggest problem that most people have with Ft. Lewis is the weather. It rains all the time. It is always overcast. I will recommend it. If you live off post, and you probably will with the housing crunch, go south to the Lacey, Olympia, tumwater area. Cheaper, far less traffic and nicer than Tacoma.

I have never been stationed at any of the other places so I can't help you there. I can only tell you what I know about.

Answer 3

If you are already from a Southern state you may not mind NC or KY, but if you're not, you won't like the weather or the culture. If you are from a place like CA you will like CO or WA because these are regular places to live. These are not military towns only. Fort Carson is near enough to Denver and Colorado Springs, both great places to live. Fort Lewis is also great, but if you don't like rain, pick one of the other places. The schools on both CO and WA are top rate. You can do just about every outdoor sport in CO or WA and shopping and eating are also top rate.

Answer 4

I have been to each of the forts you mention except Bragg...but I was a young single officer at the time. I can only say that for outdoor recreation and changes of seasons I would go with Lewis 1st and Carson 2nd.

Answer 5

Ft Bragg is an airborne mindset. Families have a hard time with all of the Housing Area Romeos. The divorce rate is high.

Ft Campbell is laid back country living. For excitement you watch the grass grow.

Ft Carson is a good mix of activities. You are close to the USAFA (Butter Bar U) and nestled between the mountains and the corn.

Ft Lewis is great for ducks. Plenty of rain and close to some big cities.

Answer 6

I spent two years at bragg and the whole town of fayetteville is just trashy. Bragg Blvd is full of hookers (some are shim's) and strip clubs, walmarts have beggers coming up to you for money, and they all use the same excuse. Driving is absolutely horrible, plus NC has the highest taxes on the coastal states in the east. if you have kids or plan to, the school systems out there are S*** too. My wife and i were in a car wreck within 6 months of living there, neither was our fault. plus there have even been shooting at the sports bar on bragg. alot of spousal beatings. and you can never get treated at Womack hospital because whenever there is a bad jump (which is ALOT) the jumpers go straight to the front of the ER line. plus from bragg to the closest beach, it's about 2 hours, but atlantic beach is filled with marines that are looking for a fight and drunk, myrtle beach is about 3.5 hours or so, but full of marines drunk and fighting. mountains aren't bad. raleigh is close, but i'm not a fan of the area, alot of rich snotty people(i hated it there) --I visited Ft Carson, nice area. high elevation but nice mountain view. can get quit cold and alot of snow, but that would be my choice, lots of skying. bars aren't bad, didn't seem to have the ignorance of fayetteville. peterson AFB is there as well as the AF acadamy. -- i know Ft Campbell is gone ALOT. don't know anything about Ft lewis. My choice Ft Carson................. hope this helps.

Answer 7

I would have to say Fort Carson, CO. CO sees all 4 seasons, the air is cleaner and easier to breathe. CO is beautiful. There is plenty to do where-ever you go. Denver is about an hour and a half to 2 hours away. The mountains are pretty much in your back yard (so are the casinos). The people are really nice. If you married and not dual military, your spouse can get a really good paying job at most restaurants, hotels, retail stores. The economy is really good in CO. It's a little bit pricey yet WELL WORTH IT! I have been trying to convince my husband to get us to Carson!!

Answer 8

I spent a couple years at Fort Carson and it was the best duty station I had out of my ten years in the Army plenty of stuff to do there. Especially if you like outdoor activities. I was never stationed at the others so I cant speak for them.

Answer 9

Well, considering that most Army bases I've been TDY to are holes, no offense, I'd say none of them. But since I like McChord AFB and Seattle, I'd say Fort Lewis, Washington.

I should also add, that the North West is really pretty, even if it does rain allot. The Puget sound is really nice. It's also really green, unlike my current location...where there is nothing but sand and mortar rounds.

Answer 10

I would choose Ft. Bragg. Near the mountains and the ocean. Warmer than the other choices. Do a search on each location. I can tell you that the least favorite place for me would be Ft. Campbell.