Mac and I (and every military couple / family) have to decide our housing situation every time we move. The Army provides Mac with a basic allowance for housing (BAH) if he lives off post. This does not totally cover that cost, but it can help offset it.
Buy
A lot of military families decide to buy a house when they move to a new post. Having a reliable income will basically guarantee you some sort of (good or bad) housing financing. Most military towns have healthy real estate markets that can easily sell or rent houses after you move. We’re not buying in Augusta since we’re only going to be there six months. The property values are low enough that we could afford one, but it doesn’t make sense for such a short amount of time.
Rent
Renting is the obvious option for short term housing. In Augusta, rental houses are several hundred dollars cheaper a month than apartments. And the apartments don’t even include all utilities. We’ve been looking for a house to rent, but the rental market is quite brisk. If all else fails, we’ll probably wind up in an apartment.
On post
To me, living on post is always a viable option. Granted, I grew up in Air Force housing which has a reputation for being nicer than Army. Some downsides include losing BAH, the quality of the housing, and potential availability. Fort Gordon’s housing list is a complete pain in the ass. They won’t put us on the housing waiting list until Mac signs out of Fort Bragg, and they won’t give us a house if he has started the course (because it’s only six months). So we essentially have three weeks to get on the waiting list and get assigned a house.
How did y’all decide where to live?
I hope you find something that fits you well. My family isn’t active duty and so I haven’t really experience the whole moving to a different state/country yet. But I know you will find something that works well.
-wHiT
Oh gosh, this is not something I’m looking forward to once my boyfriend commissions as a 2LT and we’re living together. It seems like the exact opposite of how I’d go about doing things (I plan everything WAY too far in advance). I wish you guys the best of luck in whatever you end up doing! 🙂
Denise
postgreekgrad.blogspot.com
It’s very interesting as someone not in the military life to read about your options. What have you done in the past? I think I would rent just to make my life easier if on post is being difficult!
We rent off post so that my hubby gets a break away from work and feels like he can relax more on weekends! The good ones definitely go quick though so we have worked out that if you find one you love you write a deposit check that day!
We have lived on and off and we love on way better. Granted, we had to live off while we were on the waiting list, but driving 5 minutes to work and then home for breakfast and lunch is a huge advantage that we thought was worth waiting for. I hope it’s a quick and easy process for you!!
John never wants to live on. For one, he says there are too many rules when you live on. And secondly, it’s nice to be able to actually get away from work. When we first moved to GA, we rented for a year. We had no idea what we wanted so it was the best option. We got to know the area, and then we built a house in a good neighborhood. Since we’re only in MO for 6 months, renting is the only option we considered. Too much of a hassle to buy and then try to rent in 6 Months. After buying our first house though, we definitely want to buy at the next place we go. The only hard part will be choosing the best area for us without knowing the town in advance.
Good luck – whatever you decide!
Kate x
Kate at Home
You will do what’s right for you guys. We have always lived on post until we got to Bliss because the housing market was amazing.
We are going through the same exact thing! My husband and I are moving to Fort Lewis in just over two weeks! We found a brand new townhouse off base, which will be a 10 minute commute for my husband from our place to the hospital where he’ll be working. Fort Gordon was our other favorite base (Hubby is doing residency so he did audition rotations at both bases). I never really thought about on base housing. I just wanted to have an address and not be on a waiting list.
Diana
http://www.picturesand1000words.blogspot.com