I am married to a Lcpl in the marine corps and we are currently living off base (he is at camp lejeune.) I think we want to move on base but I need to know how long it takes after you put ur name on the list. He deploys very soon. Also, is it really that bad? Ive heard stories. thanks!
2007-08-03 05:52:00 · 11 answers · asked by Anonymous in Politics & Government ➔ Military
We were at LeJeune and lived off-base the whole time. We just never decided to mess with living on base. He was stationed there for over two years. It would be convenient to live on base so you can easily shop at the commissary and everything. Since it's such a huge base and it takes a while just to drive anywhere on base it also would be easier for you and your husband from that aspect. It is a long waiting list though (up to 6 months). Since your husband deploys soon, I would recommend staying where you are at. There is no point to moving if you decide that you want to go back home to your family while he is gone. Best of luck to you and your husband! Feel free to email me if you have more Q's or just need another Marine wife to talk to.
2007-08-03 06:04:02 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
It does depend on the base. Most of them will tell you 3-5 months. I got mine in a week. I've been living in on-base housing for about 3 years, and I love it. For starters I have a 3 bedroom 2.5 bath home. If you look around at the local area, a house this size would run you around 1500 a month. We only get allotted 800 or so. Not to mention I don't have to worry about utilities, trash, or appliances. And if something breaks I call field services and they come fix it..normally that day. You save a lot of money living in base housing. I am extremely happy with my home. The only thing I would change would be the lighting. It's mostly fluorescent lights. I would definitely put your name on the list, and if he's deploying soon that may give you an edge. Good luck
2007-08-03 06:10:59 · answer #2 · answered by Matt 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The quality of military housing depends on the base that you are stationed at. Also there are variations in quality amongst the services. I've lived in military housing for 21 years and I can tell you that the Air Force has the best housing.
All-in-all, military housing is not bad at all. And hell, it's virtually free.
As far as the wait, you'll have to stay in temporary military housing until they find you a place to stay. Some bases, like where I live, have several different housing communities to choose from. Your wait could range from a week or two up to a couple of monhs. I never lived on a Marine Corps or Naval installation but I personally did not like the housing that I've seen from those two services and I've heard they're not as good as the Air Force housing, neither is the Army. But like I said earlier, it's almost free living and for the most part the housing is pretty good.
BTW, I've lived in really crappy military housing. And I've lived in ver y very nice military housing. Some of the housing was roomy, so of the houses were sort of cramped. It really depends on the locale.
2007-08-03 06:43:05 · answer #3 · answered by Warrior-Scholar 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's about a 6 week wait here at LeJeune. But you're going to have to buy a lawn mower and take damn good care of everything. They'll cite you for not raking your leaves up. Also when you move out, be prepared to hire someone to come in and do some stuff for you. A friend of mine just moved out of Midway Park and though she passed the inspection inside, she had to pay someone $180 to come in and edge her lawn one inch from her driveway and trim her bushes into perfect squares. She also had to go out and spend $30 on pine needles that have to be 3" thick in your flower beds.
But I've also heard that the housing here is going to become privatized soon, and you'll be getting BAH anyways and have to pay rent and all that stuff. They'll have someone come in and do the lawns. I don't really know much about that, just that that's what they told my friend when she moved out. She's coming back in 6 months when her husband gets back. Most of the wives down here leave when their husbands deploy and put all their stuff in storage. It's good because it's very difficult being alone (I've done it both ways), but it's also hard because no one outside the military community understands what you're going through. You get tired of people telling you it's going to be okay when you know it's really not. Good Luck.
Also, you know that most of the housing in the area is new. Misway park is fairly new, though the older houses are very smaller, and there aren't too many of the newer house (which have been built in the last two years.) All the new housing on TT1 and TT2 have been built in the last 2 years. But the old housing is crappy. And you can't pick and choose. That's what sucks.
2007-08-03 06:45:54 · answer #4 · answered by hollybear1280 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
To find out how long the list is, you need to call your base housing and ask. Housing is what you make it. Don't expect the Hilton, but it certainly isn't the projects. The housing we've had the bedrooms were about 10 x 10, kitchens had one that was smaller than our king size bed another about 10 x 12 or so. Bathroom were extremely small in all, weird 3 door bathrooms upstairs. Hardfloors for the most part. You can go to any carpet store or home depot and just get some carpet to lay down with out attaching it if you don't like the flooring. Of course things don't always work, but you can call in a work order and it's usuallying fixed within 48 hours, much better than trying to get a landlord to fix anything.
Some things you might want to think about...
Are you staying there during the deployment? Lots of wives decide to go home and be near family and friends for support.
How long do to think you will staying there? Might be a better idea to buy if your soldier is going to be stationed there awhile.
Some people like living on base others hate it. Many wives feel safer living on base with other wives understanding what you are going through. Of course there are always wives that cause problems to get attention and drive the rest of us crazy. One thing nice about living on base, if you don't like your neighbors you won't have to deal with them long, one or both of you will ETS or PCS eventually. Average time staying in one house has been usually about 2 years for us.
2007-08-03 06:30:51 · answer #5 · answered by cynthia2002 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I am in the Army and was stationed at FT Hood, TX when I got married. My wife thought that living in base housing would be a good idea because it is "free". So I took her for a little drive on base and showed her the base housing and she quickly decided it would be better to live off base. There have been a lot of improvements to on base family housing since then but if you arent used to military lifestyle you probably wont like living there.
2007-08-03 06:23:12 · answer #6 · answered by jimmy s 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
well as a LCPL, he will more than likely get housing on Tarawa I or II and those houses were built in the 50's, they are run down, and the housing is very strict about the rules there, if you don't keep it the way they want it,, they will give you citations, and if you get 3 of them they will kick you out of housing,, even if you have a very small child. i was stationed there 5yrs ago, and i went through this with one of my JR corpsman. he deployed and his wife could not keep up with the lawn care,, (I.E. could not cut the grass every week,, she would ask one of us to come by every 2 weeks,and she got 3 citations) we had to convince the housing people to let her stay and we took care of the grass every week. i stayed off post for this reason,, nd it worked out better
2007-08-03 07:03:42 · answer #7 · answered by redneckmp28 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Depends on the base your at.
I spent 2 years at Ft. Stewart and the week I was ETS'ing I got a call that housing was available for me. I was a E-4 at the time.
In Germany I waited about a week for housing I was a E-1 then.
2007-08-03 05:55:27 · answer #8 · answered by Bill 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Housing is grouped by rank and the size of living quarters you're entitled to. How long it will take depends on how long the waiting list is when you add your name to it. The housing office can give you a rough estimate.
Your husband should know someone who lives in housing -- he can ask them if you can visit to take a look at what it's like inside.
2007-08-03 05:58:21 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
Pick up the phone and call the housing office and ask how long the wait is.
How bad is it? Well, just look at all the BS active duty people have to deal with. Now, imagine the people putting out the BS are your landlord.
2007-08-03 05:57:30 · answer #10 · answered by Yak Rider 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋