The great housing debate

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?