General Army post housing question?

Anna

Well this is our first assignment and we are stationed at Schofield Barracks in Hawaii. It is just my husband and I. He is an O2. Here they are redoing all of the housing. The new housing is really nice and are all 3 bedroom 2 1/2 bathroom town homes or bigger. Unfortunately there is limited new officer housing. Before my husband was deployed we lived on post in a disgusting 2 bedroom apartment (even know we qualify for a 3 bedroom). When he got back from deployment we made the decision to live off post. We now live in a 5 bedroom single family home with a huge fenced in backyard. Our BAH is close to $2500 dollars (since we are in Hawaii it is pretty high) so it didn't make sense for us to use all of that on a 2 bedroom apartment. Also if you decide to live off post and your rent is less than your BAH you get to pocket the remainder of the money. So if our rent was only $1800 we could keep the extra $700. I think it just depends on where you are and what is available on post. .

I also agree with the statement that there is more drama on post however you will have an easier time making friends living on post. There are more people in your situation there. Where as off post people aren't always so happy that the military is there (i.e. Hawaii).

BAH is Basic Housing Allowance. If you live on Post they take all of it where as if you live off post they just give you the money. Your rank, dependents, and location determine how much you get. You can look it up on this calculator: http://www.defensetravel.dod.mil/perdiem/bah.html

NWIP

It will depend on the post he is stationed at, it could be anywhere from an apartment to a townhouse to a duplex. You will qualify for a 2 bedroom, the only way you would get 3 bedrooms is if no 2 bedrooms are available or you are pregnant past a certain month. Figure around 900 sq ft and up it will vary as well. Some places are nice and have everything right there for you so you do save on gas and time, while others it is better to find a larger place off post and still put some BAH away. You will pay for internet, cable and telephone if you live in post housing, that is never provided for you for free.

USMC_Killer

housing on base is free. if you choose to live off base you will recieve money in the form of BAH (base and housing allowance) the dollar amount varries from state to state but is usually enough to cover nice rental properties in that area.
As to the size and condition of the base housing you would get....roll the dice. None of it is really bad but some is really nice. most likely it will be a free standing house or condo, there arent alot of apts left on bases. Base housing is the cheaper alternative generally, however I chose to live off base. the one down fall of base housing is the drama, theres alot of it, any where you go no matter the service base housing and drama go hand in hand.
all in all dont be concerned with the living conditions, the house will be fine, most cases nice and most cases better than the house the BAH will pay for off base

Just watch out for the army wife drama

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