Army Housing

[AmericanHero]

I have a question regarding housing and changing bases after completing and 1year-AEGD
1) How did you go about finding a place to live? I was told that as an officer you are not allowed to live on base. I live in a totally different state than my future AEGD program. I have to go to BOLC before that. How did you guys go about finding a place to live? Did you stay in a hotel while looking for an apartment, did the base provide some sort of a temporary housing, etc?
2) If living on base is allowed, is the loss of housing allowance worth the housing they provide? It seems like the housing allowance is almost 50% of the salary.
3) Do dentist usually get transfered to another base after 1 year aegd? I know regular stations are 3 year term minimum. If I know that I will stay for 2 more years in the aegd base than I might be more inclined to buy nicer furniture, etc for th house. If I'm getting a new station than there is no point. Also, any tips on leasing a car for 1 year? I have never seen a dealership do a 1 year lease.
4) This is a question about buying things on the exchange website. There is a number of combat boots, uniforms, etc that they claim is army approved to wear. Is it safe to purchase those things through them or a my not going to be allowed to wear those things during BOLC and future army endeavors?

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[gatorfan99]

1) You can absolutely live on post if you want to. By living on post you will be not receiving your BAH (basic allowance for housing) which can vary depending in your location, but you have the perks of not worrying about utilities (minus cable/internet) and being close to work. Most of my locations I chose to live off post because I found (much) better housing off post that had rent around the BAH value of that location. My suggestion is to find out your BAH and then do a Zillow (or whatever) search of rental properties in that area. I always try to get my housing situation figured out at least 3-4 months before I go somewhere, but if you need to stay in a hotel for an extended period of time, then save yourself some money and stay in whatever IHG hotel your installation has (usually around $80-90/day for military on orders, includes breakfast)

2) housing allowance is usually nowhere near 50% of your salary (where are you getting your info from?) - that depends on location, some places have very low BAHs and other places have very high BAHs. Do a Zillow search for rentals around that areas BAH and then go into that post housing website and compare the two and see which one you like.

3) You will PCS at the end of your 1yr AEGD, absolutely. Not sure about leasing cars for a year - I always just bought my cars, and then drive them from post to post.

4) Check with your recruiter with regards to uniform (one of the few things they can answer you correctly) - yes, usually the stuff on the exchange is correct.

 

[dnt0711]

I just found out where I'll be going after graduation (Fort Campbell, KY), and I was wondering if most people in the Army typically make a trip out to the base before moving to secure housing and sign a lease, or if it is generally easy to find a nice place if you just show up a few days before your orders require? I'm currently living in a big city that requires signing leases months beforehand so I"m a little new to this rural housing search.

 

[vellnueve]

It's the same as living in a city...

 

[dnt0711]

It's the same as living in a city...

It seems like most places listed right now are available for lease right away, not starting in August when I plan on moving in...

 

[vellnueve]

That's the same in most places I've lived.

 

[gatorfan99]

I just found out where I'll be going after graduation (Fort Campbell, KY), and I was wondering if most people in the Army typically make a trip out to the base before moving to secure housing and sign a lease, or if it is generally easy to find a nice place if you just show up a few days before your orders require? I'm currently living in a big city that requires signing leases months beforehand so I"m a little new to this rural housing search.

My suggestion would be to:
1) figure what you are looking for buy vs rent / apt vs house (if you are going there for the 1yr AEGD, I would highly encourage to rent because you will leave after that year)
2) find a few places by searching online, when I was stationed there I lived in this really nice (new) apt complex in Clarksville. I narrowed my search down to 3 places and then I went to visit them a few months before had everything finalized by the time I got there - by the way, unlike in the big city there is usually much more flexibility in dealing with rentals out in rural areas, plus its cheaper and (IMHO) better living
- Only go out and visit if you can afford it, obviously. You are usually better off having everything done and ready to go ahead of time.
- Also check out AHRN.com (automated housing referral network) for some deals

Good luck!