I’ve had the pleasure of living on and off post and can say I have enjoyed both for different reasons. Last week I shared the “Top 10 Reasons To Live On Post” and today thanks to my lovely ladies on the AW101 FB Fan page I am sharing the Top 8 Reasons Some People Won’t Live On-Post.
I actually loved living on-post at Hunter Army Airfield and Schofield Barracks. I was one of the ones who always lucked up and got new housing, and let’s be honest the housing you get determines a lot. At least for me it did!
I do have to admit that when I got to Bragg we chose to live off post for various reasons. I must say I enjoy not having the Army thrown in my face on a hourly basis. It feels great to not feel like all eyes are on you, and while I used to roll my eyes at the girls on forums who would say their husbands wanted to be free-I think I understand now. Some people will say you save on BAH, but do you really? If you get a 2 bedroom home and the next person with the same amount of children (same ages) gets the new three bedroom home for the same BAH… is it saving?
Electricity wise you are saving to a degree, but many installations are now charging for lights and with budget cuts and the private companies that run housing-costs will go up. If you don’t believe people are paying for lights on post click here.
Then again my opinion has changed a lot in a year because on post used to be the ONLY way to go for me.
Here are 10 reasons as suggested by readers why they don’t like living or won’t live on post:
1. Dog Breed Regulations
Many people aren’t fans of the restrictions of the type of dog you can have on post. For a list of pets welcomed on military installations click here.
2. The Illusion of Safety
I admit I was one of the ones who loved the fact that I was surrounded by gates and guards. In fact, me and one of my best friends used to make a joke that “on post” was our estate and it was armed and guarded by the government. The truth is while I did tend to feel more comfortable on post, there were just as many break ins, physical attacks , unruly people, and other crazy incidents that happened on post. In all fairness compared to a town a base is smaller and word tends to pass along faster so it may be why more people hear about things that happen. That being said you should be just as cautious on post as you would be off. Just ask the folks about some of the stuff that goes on at Fort Bragg? Wonder why I chose to live off post lol?
3. Gate Checks
Quite honestly I didn’t mind this until one day I had to go to the bathroom REALLY REALLY bad and of all days they decided to do a car inspection. I could see my house from the gate, yet here I was two seconds from sh$%# on myself outside the gates at Hunter Army Airfield . I know TMI! The other issue with gates is that there are times a base can go on lock down and you may not be able to get on or off. This could be an issue if you have kids.
4. Living Knee Deep in the Hooah
Karen F. stated this perfectly. “I am patriotic and all that but sometimes the sea of green, the constant salutes or your soldier feeling like they are being watched at all times can be a bit much”.
5. Thin Walls
Many wives mentioned this and I am a witness to hearing “midnight or lunchtime ahem sessions” and being awoken or having to listen to someone else get “some” while my husband was deployed. Just Sayin! One reader said “she sneezed and the neighbor next door said “bless you” through the wall”.
6. Parents Who Let The Kiddies Roam and Not Respect Others Property
This can happen anywhere, but I have found on post many parents have what I call the “Oh it’s ok because we live on post syndrome. This meaning they let their kids run free, touch your property, and when confronted act as if you are not the normal one.
7. Nosey Neighbors
Nosey neighbors exist everywhere. I have found it (once again) to be more prevalent on post though. The truth is due to our lifestyle a lot of spouses are stay at home moms and nothing is wrong with that. The problem is many of them don’t have anything else to do. So what does one do when they are bored? They look for other people’s business to mind and with that comes, misinformation and sometimes drama. When I lived on post I always felt like I had to make friends or at least speak to my neighbors or else I would be looked at as weird. Where I am at now off post, my neighbors wave and we keep it moving. It’s quiet and no one minds anyone’s business and if they do they don’t make it known.
8. The Noise of Soldiers Training
Quite honestly I experience this even now off post, but it was worse at Schofield living down the road from the range. I don’t know exactly what they were blowing up, but I used to always say I feel bad for whoever has little babies. A few weeks ago right here near Bragg the cannon (or whatever it’s called) was so loud I thought my window was going to blow inward and explode. If you have little babies this can be a serious pain.
Do you have a reason that you wouldn’t live on post…share?
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Army Wife 101
Krystel is the mom of two and an Army Wife. In addition to Army Wife 101 she is the Co-Founder of SoFluential.com a digital media agency that connects brands with the military market. She has appeared on MSNBC ,FOX LA and formerly was a weekly contributor to HLN's "Raising America". She has written for various outlets including Sheknows and Lifetime and is a big fan of cupcakes and french fries.
Krystel is the mom of two and an Army Wife. In addition to Army Wife 101 she is the Co-Founder of SoFluential.com a digital media agency that connects brands with the military market.
She has appeared on MSNBC ,FOX LA and formerly was a weekly contributor to HLN's "Raising America". She has written for various outlets including Sheknows and Lifetime and is a big fan of cupcakes and french fries. 65 Comments on Top 8 Reasons Some Military Families Won’t Live Onpost
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We currently live on post (Fort Rucker), this is the second time we have chosen to live here and both times i’ve found myself asking WHY? I think my biggest problem is the fact that they take all your BAH. And even though they say they use for lawn care, bills, and all that…. my lawn hasn’t been cut in two months, my house is falling apart, and even though we conserve energy like crazy, they see it fit to charge us extra every once in a while… after our lease is up in december, we are moving into a 4 bedroom, 3 bathroom house and we won’t be paying anymore than $900 (includes utilities) a month. I’m done with on post housing.
I agree I believe many are under the false pretense of saving money while on post. I have seen people spend more money while on post vs out in the community. I enjoy living off post here in Hawaii because I love the schools, I don’t have to worry about someone assigning me some crappy place and then saying, by the way I’m going to take half of your husband’s income…..we enjoy the privacy and flexibility of living off post. Then again it depends on where he pcs to on whether or not we will continue to live off post.
I think you about summed up all the reasons I wouldn’t want to live on base (sorry, we are Navy and have bases ;P). But…. I am kinda tired of everyone knowing my business. Sick of the kids knocking on my door for everything from asking about my kids to wanting to walk my dog to whatever fundraiser is going on (don’t they know my kids go the school, too…hehe). We have lived on base for six years and after this tour we are done unless it is overseas. I need to feel like I can be in my house and not have my neighbors breathing down my neck. With all that said, I have enjoyed being in housing for many reasons but I am DONE!
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I think you about summed up a lot of reasons for not living on post here at Bragg especially. On top of that for me is the whole 82nd and Airborne thing, and I’m apologizing preemptively for whoever is gonna be offended by this, but Bragg is one of those posts where depending on your MOS you could serve your entire career here and never move, which is fine. But, if you’ve had the privilege of traveling with the Army either in childhood or in your marriage(both for me) you’ve seen the way other installations do things, how other chains of command are run, and generally how harmonious things can be. Sometimes things are so “steeped in tradition” here that it takes an outside eye to go, “That is not how you’re supposed to be doing that!” For example, for somewhere that’s so proud of it’s historical heritage I’ve never been more shocked to see people, not only not stop and get out of their cars, but completely ignore the afternoon bugle call. Another reason, I like living off post is that I’m a spouse with no kids, no offense to kids. I love kids. Most programs and incentives are for nuclear families though, and I am often left out. Also, I’m not gonna pay the same BAH for a 600 square foot house because of my small family, that someone with three kids and four bedrooms does at the same rank for living in a much bigger house. I also have a pit bull who is the sweetest thing and loves kids too. So like the above commenter stated haters are gonna hate.
My husband is at a small clinic. Anytime anything goes wrong with the fridge temperatures in the lab on the weekend guess who gets called? Despite being the lowest rank in the lab he gets called first. I might be a stay at home mom but I don’t want other people’s business and they certainly don’t need to know mine! I also hate that if my house isn’t perfectly clean and the housing company comes in they tell us all about the military standards. Great… I have 3 year old who is doing pre-school at home. What do you think my house is going to look like if we’re in the middle of our day? I can’t wait to live off post again. This is the first time and we’ve been miserable. We moved houses after 1 year because of mold and spent the past 3 years dealing the various b.s. (excuse the expression) with this one. NEVER and I mean NEVER will we live on post again!
Great insight. I definitely agree that it depends widely on where you are stationed and your individual situation. It is a better “deal” if you have more children as well. I think that some people also enjoy living on base when they need to not have to worry about finding housing, setting up utilities, trying to figure out how to get back and forth reliably, etc but after a while some people just grow tired of it. At some point maybe you just want a little bit of independence from the military, and there is not much to be had, so take it where you can get it!
This is our first time living on base (Hawaii) and I totally agree with #6, its so annoying at times!
Love the part about the training noise! We just PCS’d from Bragg, where we lived off post (just off Reilly Rd.), and nearly every day I could hear the noise from the ranges. At least a few times a week I would be startled by a loud Kaboom! It would rattle the entire house, and my nerves. One time i swear i saw the wall of my house sorta flex against the concussion!
We are now in Hawaii at Schofield, where we opted to live on post, well kinda on post, we are actually in Helemano (HMR). I have mixed feelings so far, but we’ve only been in our place for a month. On the plus side is the feeling of safety (the walls ARE thin so i’m pretty sure my neighbors would hear my screams…lol), and I know bad things do happen on post too, so I’m always careful to use good sense about safety. But I agree with Brittani’s comment, we don’t have children either (not from a lack of trying), and so we are only able to qualify for a smallish 2 bedroom and it isn’t one of the nicer, newer places. I’m pretty sure that most of the newer housing here is 3-4 bedrooms. I just wish our BAH of 2399 went further on post. I was dead set on being off post here too, but since we have a pooch it was difficult to find a place that accepted pets, that also had a fenced yard, and wasn’t an arm and a leg, or a long drive in traffic for my husband. BTW the fences here at HMR are a joke, falling down and the slats so wide that my collie can squeeze thru; and the BUGS (roaches and ants), only a month in the place and i have to schedule an extermination!
We live @ Schofield Barracks out at HMR. There are two things I hate and why I will not live on post again; first of all, I don’t like having the Army in my face all the time. Seeing nothing but ACU’s, salutes and nothing but Army memorabilia everywhere is a bit much. The second reason I hate living on post is because of the gate guards. I’m not sure about other bases but the guards here can be quite nasty at times and I’m sick of having to flash my ID a thousand and one times per day. We are getting ready to PCS soon and we will NOT be living in military housing again.
Thank you for sharing, this is very helpful for me. My husband and i are discussing living off base because he wants to get a small house so we can start a family. His MDS is at fort stewart right now, but when i move down there we will live in Savannah because it’s only an hour away from base.
Your welcome Casondra. Glad it could be helpful. I lived in Savannah because we were stationed at Hunter Army Airfield. We lived in a part called Georgetown. You will love it!
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