The Benefits of Family Life on Base

It's been three months since the housing rules for incoming military personnel and their families stopped allowing off-base housing at will here on Okinawa.  This new mandate has caused some disgruntled feelings among those hoping to live off-base; for many who wanted to experience the living away from their place of employment and the living among locals, this has been a huge sense of disappointment... and more.

My husband and I chose to live on-base when we PCS'd here.  For us it was a sense of not knowing what to expect in living somewhere foreign; we felt that for our soon-to-be in elementary school it would be easiest for her sake - and ours - to be within minutes of her school.  Though that particular line of thinking didn't end up being completely valid - had we lived off-base she would have been bused to school, but because we live on-base that's not an option for us; I have to bring her to school myself each day - we have found many unexpected pleasures in our new home.

 

The Sense of Family Community
This is our first time living in housing on a military installation.  In all our previous assignments we chose to live twenty to thirty minutes away from my husband's office, and in doing so we separated ourselves from others in his unit and the military community in general.  I certainly never thought I was missing out on anything; we never regretted any of those decisions.  Those homes worked well for us; we made a few acquaintances here and there in our neighborhoods.  But we never felt as though we were actually a part of a community.

Here I know all my neighbors.  I have their phone numbers; I know their kids' names and what schools they attend.  My husband and I have found that if we need something - whether it's the cliched borrowed egg or someone to watch one of our children for an hour at the last minute - there are many who are willing and able to do so.  Because we're all in the same boat of living far from family, we're all a little more willing to stretch ourselves out for others in need around us.  I've asked favors of my neighbors here that I never would have dreamed of asking of similarly situated people in the United States, and I've reciprocated for them as well.

photo by Brother O'Mara

The Sense of Kids' Community
Almost from the moment we moved into our home here, my daughter made friends.  Prior to this assignment her exposure to peers had been limited to preschool hours and playgroups.  Here, however, there are little girls her age surrounding us.  In our fairly small neighborhood alone are six little girls, ranging in age from six to nine.  There is hardly ever a lack of someone to play with at any given time; she spends much of her time playing between our house or at the houses of those around us.

I love that my daughter is learning the pleasures of playing outside with friends; I love knowing that if I can't watch her every single second there are other sets of moms' eyes on the kids.  I love that she has the pleasure of a little more freedom to be on her own than I would ever afford her had we lived off-base or even in our previous neighborhood at our last assignment.  In a world that grows evermore frightening in which to raise children, she has this small amount of luxury wrapped up in the safety of where we live.  We both would have missed that had we lived elsewhere.

The Convenience Factor
When we lived in Germany, we lived in a small Bavarian community with German neighbors and local grocery and convenience stores, about twenty minutes from post.  While it truly gave us that "We're living in a foreign country" feeling, it also imposed a significant burden on us; we had to be more on top of things.  Planning ahead was essential; if I ran out of milk on a Sunday I couldn't just make the quick trip down the street to grab some from the store.  Most businesses were closed on Sundays there; to complicate matters a bit further our Commissary was closed on Mondays and there were no other military installations around within an hour's drive.

Here I don't feel nearly as limited by store operating hours; if I lived off base I'm sure I'd utilize the MaxValue and Jusco grocery stores more often, but even with those available there are some American ingredients that I just can't find anywhere other than the Commissary.  It's nice to know that I can make a five minute trip to grab those forgotten-from-my-previous-shopping-excursion items and not spend an hour or more fighting traffic (and traffic lights) to grab one essential ingredient.  Could I get by without having such things at my easy disposal?  Certainly.  But it is really nice to know that everything's within easy reach for us here; with little kids in tow, sometimes it's the little things that make the difference between sanity and, well, the other options.

For those of you currently living on-base, what do you like about the experience?  If you've lived in military housing before - stateside or abroad - how do you find it here as compared to those other places?  Has living on base here in Okinawa made you consider doing so again at follow-on assignments?

Housing Policy Change in Okinawa: Expect Changes In Off-Base Housing Rules

HUGE thanks to Kandy for all of her writing over the last year.  From her very first post about sink drain gadgets, I've been fascinated by the way she has unraveled the secrets of Okinawa for us in To Live!  Information on things like cleaning your A/C as well as understanding how to run it, Furoshiki, getting your driver's license, poisonous plants, and of course, the dozens of examples of off-base and on-base housing available on island.  We will miss you, Kandy!!

Kandy left us one last post that I'm guessing is going to introduce a BIT of controversy!!!  Might as well go out with a bang, Kandy!!

Military life is always full of changes.   That's no surprise.   But its still not easy being caught in the cross-wind.   When we do things the same way for so long, it can take some adjustment to follow a new set of rules.   Well, that is what seems to be happening with the Marine Corps stationed in Japan.  Right now, Japan-wide (including the mainland) there are changes in the wind regarding off-base housing.   American families stationed around Japan had the opportunity to live off-base.   That may change soon.

I heard through the grapevine, the opportunity to live off-base may go away.  So I visited the Housing Office to see what was rumor and what was reality. 

Right now, way up in the chain of Marine Corps Command, Japan-wide, there are talks and assessments over where Marines and their families will reside.  They are talking about making it mandatory to live on base first before just moving off base as soon as they arrive.  Also, there was a Pet Towers survey taken to learn from the residents how pets affect quality of life.  Also, for the Marine Camps that do not have any or adequate housing, exceptions to any new policies will be handled on a case-by-case basis.   After all of these factors are taken into consideration, there will be new rules.  

People with existing OHA benefits will be grandfathered in and allowed to remain off-base. As of right now, some commands may start making it mandatory for newcomers to live on-base.  Still, a couple of months remain before anything official comes out changing the existing housing policy for Marines Japan-wide.   And it doesn't affect the other branches, at least, right now.  If you have any questions regarding these new changes, it would be best to ask the housing office.  

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EDITOR'S NOTE: According to this Stars and Stripes article, "Starting Aug. 1 [2009], all inbound military personnel with families will be required to live in base housing [emphasis ours], the 18th Wing announced Tuesday. The Air Force manages all military housing on the island." 

For more information regarding this policy and any possible exceptions, please contact your chain of command for the most up-to-date word on this policy.

Central Island-Old Lester Family Housing, on Camp Lester

Living overseas has its challenges, and a commonly agreed upon one is finding that perfect place to live. To help those of us who are curious about the different options for living on Okinawa, readers have answered some of the most frequently asked questions about on-base housing.

Ryan and Amy have let us glimpse into their lovely home. Thank you so much!!

What military base is your home located on? Camp Lester (Between Kadena & Foster) Husband works at Futemma.

What area of the island is your home located on (i.e. North Island, Central Island, South Island)? Central

What is the name of your neighborhood in which your home is located? Old Lester Family Housing

Generally speaking, most on-base homes are approved for occupancy based on military or government rank.  If you would like, please provide the range of ranks that your home is approved for? Not sure, E-6 and up. Honestly I have no idea

What DODDS school district is your home attached to?  Is there a schoolbus system available? Lester Middle School and Kuwae pre-school are walking distance & EC Killin Elem. by Foster towers. Yes – bus /Killin

Please describe the “feel” of your neighborhood (i.e. pet-friendly, child-friendly, level of safety, friendly neighbors, spacious, etc.) pets friendly, lots of kids, safe

Please describe the style of your home (i.e. detached home, duplex, apartment, age of the home, etc.) Multiplex, we are in an end unit. Don’t know how old but mine has fake wood floors and ceiling fans..American style appliances

Please provide general information about your home such as square footage, number of bedrooms and baths, number of stories/levels, special amenities, etc.    sq.ft??, 4 bedrooms, 2 full baths (both upstairs -weird), 2 stories, central air, separate laundry room, storage under stairs and outside storage attached to house, nice size bedroom closets and top storage closets but no linen closets- weird (we just use one of the kids'closets)

What places of services are available near your home such as restaurants, shops, commissary, playgrounds, parks, etc.? Lester Hospital across the street (small Subway inside & barbershop), Lester Middle school (pool in summer), small shopette, cleaners, Kuwae pre-school, small gym, giftshop, kids cottage, lil playgrounds all over neighborhood. That is on Lester but we are close to Chatan (American village) and can walk right off base into town. Going to the comm or PX/BX is depending on which way I want to turn they are about equal the distance.

How is parking provided for your home? I have one parking space and there are visitor spots we use for 2nd car

Is there any yard space or outdoor spaces provided for your home? We have a front yard with sidewalks and a big backyard with patio. Fortunate to have an end unit but involves more grass cutting!

What do you feel is special about your home or neighborhood – what makes it feel like “home” here on Okinawa?  I guess how I decorate it, I’ll admit, it was so different..I cried. But compared to the places (in our paycap) they showed us out in town made base housing look like a palace! Whatever you get make the most of it! We can joke now and say it looks like the projects but with more trees..I think it’s the concrete building look…

What housing expenses are included with on-base housing (i.e. utilities, rent, appliances, etc.) none

Are there any expenses or fees associated with on-base housing? My MCB Cable/ internet combo..we got the biggest one w/o pay channels and its like 75.00 and a 26.00 phone bill through the base.

Are you satisfied with the maintenance services provided by your on-base housing organization? Yes, for me it has usually been the same day!

Finally, what advantages and disadvantages do you feel have been your experience living on a military base here on Okinawa? My children are happy we live on base and feel the connection with other military children. We do not come out of pocket and can run the air all year long if we want! Living on Lester we are only a few blocks away from the gate going out into town to explore is easy, we can walk across the street.

Please provide any COMMENTS that you feel would be helpful for others about living on-base.  We chose to live on base for a number of reasons. We have four kids and a dog. At the time we came there wasn’t a whole lot available in our paycap. We wanted to be close to work, have a yard and 4 bedrooms…coming up with finders fee, pet deposit and rent and security seemed like too much for us and we were ready to settle in. I highly suggest wherever you live make the most of this experience and explore the island!

Central Island-Kishaba Terrace on Camp Foster

Living overseas has its challenges, and a commonly agreed upon one is finding that perfect place to live. To help those of us who are curious about the different options for living on Okinawa, readers have answered some of the most frequently asked questions about on-base housing.

To volunteer to have your own place showcased, please use the appropriate template according to whether you live on a military base or off a military base and send it to toliveinokinawa@yahoo.com along with any pictures you may have. It's fun, easy, and so helpful to so many!

Charity has let us glimpse into her lovely home. Thank you so much Charity!

What military base is your home located on? Camp Foster

What area of the island is your home located on (i.e. North Island, Central Island, South Island)? Central (I think!  We haven't been here long.)

What is the name of your neighborhood in which your home is located? Kishaba Terrace; across the street from the West Pac Temp Lodging

Generally speaking, most on-base homes are approved for occupancy based on military or government rank.  If you would like, please provide the range of ranks that your home is approved for? As far as we can tell, E-7 to E-9 plus some government contractors

What DODDS school district is your home attached to?  Is there a schoolbus system available? We don't have children so I'm not sure about that.

Please describe the "feel" of your neighborhood (i.e. pet-friendly, child-friendly, level of safety, friendly neighbors, spacious, etc.) There are kids of all ages on the streets and many, many dogs!  It's definitely safe and we have the best neighbors.

Please describe the style of your home (i.e. detached home, duplex, apartment, age of the home, etc.) We have a detached home.

Please provide general information about your home such as square footage, number of bedrooms and baths, number of stories/levels, special amenities, etc. Our house is 3 bedroom, 2 bath.  We have a separate laundry room plus a den/office off the dining area.  The bedrooms are a little smaller than we are used to but we have plenty of room overall.

What places of services are available near your home such as restaurants, shops, commissary, playgrounds, parks, etc.? We can actually walk to the Macaroni Grill, the Foster exchange, movie theatre and post office.

How is parking provided for your home? We have a shared drive that will fit two cars.  Plus there is street parking.

Is there any yard space or outdoor spaces provided for your home? We have a nice sized yard, especially in the back.

What do you feel is special about your home or neighborhood – what makes it feel like "home" here on Okinawa? Our house backs up to 81 and we can see all the Japanese apartment buildings.  So we get the comfort of living on base with still knowing that there is another world right outside our gate!

What housing expenses are included with on-base housing (i.e. utilities, rent, appliances, etc.) All utilities except cable. Internet and phone are provided.

Are there any expenses or fees associated with on-base housing? No.

Are you satisfied with the maintenance services provided by your on-base housing organization? Yes.  I have only had to call once and they were here first thing the next morning.

Finally, what advantages and disadvantages do you feel have been your experience living on a military base here on Okinawa? When we first found out we were coming we knew we wanted to be on base at least for at first.  We both wanted to become comfortable with being in another country.  Since living here, we have decided to stay on base because we love the house, the area and our neighbors.  Plus we don't have to pay for utilities or garbage pick up.  

Please provide any COMMENTS that you feel would be helpful for others about living on-base.  Living on base on Okinawa is great.  I know some people worry that if you live on base you won't get the "full effect" of living in another country.  But we get out in town a lot so that is all based on the family.  If you live on base and never get out to explore, you have no one to blame but yourself!  All kidding aside, any tour overseas or stateside, is what you make of it.  And we choose to love it!

Housing on Okinawa, contributions anyone?

This week's "To Live" post is a request from all of you loyal readers to fill out the off base housing template if you haven't already.  I've received several emails from readers who have orders to Okinawa who need to know more about off base housing. Take a few pictures, and fill out template and send them to toliveinokinawa@yahoo.com.  You'll be famous!  Okay, maybe not famous but at least you'll have an altruistic afterglow. If you want examples of filled out templates and pictures, check out the previous contributions. The pictures on this post are from my balconies.

Daytime

Sunrise

 

                                                                           

Sunset- other side of building

On-Base Housing, Kadena: Sebille Manor

Living overseas has its challenges, and a commonly agreed upon one is finding that perfect place to live. To help those of us who are curious about the different options for living on Okinawa, readers have answered some of the most frequently asked questions about on-base housing.

Thanks to our lovely new editor, Heather, we get a fresh perspective of on-base housing.

 

What military base is your home located on? Kadena, AFB

What area of the island is your home located on (i.e. North Island, Central Island, South Island)? Central

What is the name of your neighborhood in which your home is located? Sebille Manor

Generally speaking, most on-base homes are approved for occupancy based on military or government rank.  If you would like, please provide the range of ranks that your home is approved for? Up to E-6 with at least 2 children

What DODDS school district is your home attached to?  Is there a school bus system available? Kadena Elementary is only a half block away from our home so the school bus does not apply.

Please describe the "feel" of your neighborhood (i.e. pet-friendly, child-friendly, level of safety, friendly neighbors, spacious, etc.) We are at the end of a cul-de-sac with a few other buildings. There is lots of grass and the area is very pet and child friendly. We are back off the main road a bit so the kids are safe to run around.

Please describe the style of your home (i.e. detached home, duplex, apartment, age of the home, etc.) It is a Duplex

Please provide general information about your home such as square footage, number of bedrooms and baths, number of stories/levels, special amenities, etc. We are in some of the oldest housing on Kadena. Our house is a 2 level duplex with 3 bedrooms and a full bathroom upstairs. A half bathroom, the kitchen, laundry room and living room/dinning room downstairs. There is a good amount of closets and storage in the house. The kitchen is small but the laundry room is large enough to add a shelf to accommodate the extra kitchen items. I am not sure about the square footage but here are the main room measurements which are approximate.

The living room/dinning room is 12 feet wide and 20 feet long

Bedroom #1 (the Girl's bedroom) is 9 feet by 9 feet

Bedroom #2 (the Office) 12 feet by 9 feet

Bedroom #3 (the Master bedroom) 12 feet by 10 ½ feet

What places of services are available near your home such as restaurants, shops, commissary, playgrounds, parks, etc.? We are near Kadena Elementary and their playgrounds. There are several other playgrounds spread out between the houses that are within walking distance. We are close to the shopette also.

How is parking provided for your home? There is one space per home and then everyone else shares the extra spaces. There is more than enough parking for all of us.

Is there any yard space or outdoor spaces provided for your home? Yes we are fortunate to have a very large yard and a good amount of space between us and the next duplex.

What do you feel is special about your home or neighborhood – what makes it feel like "home" here on Okinawa? We love that we are so close to the school and that we have such wonderful neighbors.

What housing expenses are included with on-base housing (i.e. utilities, rent, appliances, etc?) Basic utilities such as water, gas, electricity, garbage etc,

Are there any expenses or fees associated with on-base housing? We do pay for our home phone, internet and cable.

Are you satisfied with the maintenance services provided by your on-base housing organization? Yes they have been wonderful. My dishwasher broke the day after we moved in and they were out to fix it the next day. When they couldn't fix it they decided to replace it the following day with a brand new one,

Finally, what advantages and disadvantages do you feel have been your experience living on a military base here on Okinawa? We had a very hard time deciding where to live when we first arrived. We decided to look at the on base housing first and if it was decent and close to the school we would take it. We did have a hard time with how old the housing was when we first moved in but now that we are settled we love it. The house has a lot of storage and surprisingly seems to be the perfect size for us. We love that our neighbors are American and that the girl's have so many children to play with. We are very happy living on base especially now that it is getting hot and we don't have to worry about running our AC!

Government Furniture Part II (w/ links about housing)

Sofas and Tables and Dressers OH MY!  Thanks to Tara, Aviva, Nikki and Lori, all of the lovely pictures of government furniture are available for your voyeuristic pleasure!

 

So how much furniture should I bring or ask for if I don't know how many rooms I'll be authorized?  Here's a start.

I just got off of the phone with the housing office.  The rules for number of bedrooms is determined by the number, the age and sex of the children.   

If a family has four children, they automatically get a four bedroom. 

If they have three children, the number of bedrooms is dependent on the ages and sexes of those children.  If they are all the same sex, the oldest must be at least 10 years of age to get a four bedroom.  If the youngest two of the three children are opposite sex, then the oldest of those two must be six years of age to get a four bedroom. 

And if a family has two children, they will receive a three bedroom. 

And if you have one or no children, you will be receiving a two bedroom. 

(I was trying to comprehend this information while typing.  I asked the poor woman to repeat herself at least three times!)  If you have any more questions please call Kadena's housing office at 634-0582. 

Previous posts have useful information and comments at these links:

To Live On Base or Off Base in Okinawa, That is the Question

On Base Housing

Off Base Housing

Should it Have Stayed or Should It Have Come?

PACAF drops weight limit entitlements for accompanied personnel PCSing to Kadena

An excellent thread of comments about housing!

Housing Link for Marines

If anyone has anything to add, or has any more questions, please comment and we'll try to find an answer! 

 

 

Central Island - Stearley Heights near KAB Gate 3

Living overseas has its challenges, and a commonly agreed upon one is finding that perfect place to live. To help those of us who are curious about the different options for living on Okinawa, readers have answered some of the most frequently asked questions about on-base housing.

This week, Janine, has graciously volunteered to share her home with us.  Her home is located near Kadena Gate 2 where kids are abundant and is within walking distance of the Kadena Youth Center where lots of classes are offered from gymnastics to karate.  Thanks for sharing, Janine!

1.  What military base and nearest accompanying entrance (aka Gate) is your home located on?  Kadena near Gate 2

2.  What area of the island is your home located on (i.e. North Island, Central Island, etc.)?  Central

3.  What is the name of the neighborhood in which your home is located?  Stearley Heights

4.  Generally speaking, most on-base homes are approved for occupancy based on government or military rank.  If you would like, please provided the range of ranks that your home is approved for?  Not sure, but my husband is 0-4.

5.  What DODDS school district is your home attached to?  Is there a school bus system available?  We are located two blocks away from Kadena Elementary and three blocks away from Stearley Heights Middle School.  All the kids walk to school since there is no bus system for the homes in this area.

6.  Please describe the "feel" of your neighborhood (i.e. pet-friendly, child-friendly, level of safety, spacious, etc.).  We are extremely fortunate to live in this area.  It is the closest thing to the suburbs back in the states.  This may even be nicer since there are no fences (you must install your own chain link fence if necessary for children/pets).  There are several pets in the neighborhood and most people drive slower because of all the children.  I feel safer here than I do in the states!  Again, we are very fortunate to have such a spacious home and lawn.  We often host the parties since most people don’t have as much space as we do here in Okinawa.

7.  Please describe the style of your home (i.e. detached home, townhome, apartment, duplex, etc.).  Detached home

8.  Please give general information about your home such as age, square footage, number of bedrooms and baths, number of stories/levels, special amenities, etc.).  I’m guessing the house is 40 years old?  It’s definitely old, but the Kadena base has recently made some very nice upgrades.  We have brand new carpeting in the bedrooms and new wood (looking) floors in the dining/living area.  Plus, they’ve just installed new countertops in the kitchen.  The homes in this neighborhood generally have 3-4 bedrooms.  Our three bedroom, 2 full bath home has very spacious bedrooms, where most of the four bedroom homes typically have smaller bedrooms.  Most of the homes are one story; however, I’ve noticed a few with basements that were built into the steep hills here.  Perhaps those are for larger families?  I should also mention that we have individual HVAC units.  I think other bases are set on a large system, so they aren’t able to turn their AC on until the Public Works station allows.  This may be something to consider when house hunting.

9.  What places of services are available near your home such as restaurants, parks, shops, commissary, playgrounds, etc.?  We are within easy driving distance of the commissary, exchange, Chili’s and Burger King on base.  We are within walking distance of the school parks.  We have to drive to anything off base such as the beach.

10.  How is parking provided for your home?  We share an uncovered driveway with our neighbor that is able to hold at least four cars total (2 wide by 2 deep).

11.  Are there any outdoor spaces or yards provided for your home?  Yes, we have a huge front yard and back yard.  Our home is the only one that I’ve seen that has come with built in concrete tables in the back.

12.  What do you feel is special about your home or neighborhood - what makes it feel like "home" here on Okinawa?  Again, we are the minority to have an individual home with such a nice yard.

13.  Generally speaking, on-base housing provides for the costs of rent, utilities, and appliances.  Have there been any fees or special expenses that you have had to pay for while living on a military base?  We pay for our own monthly phone, cable, and internet.  The only other expense to consider would be purchasing a lawnmower/weeder or hiring a lawncare service.  (It’s difficult to know if you should bring your lawncare equipment because you don’t know if you’ll have a yard until you get here and housing tells you what is available.)

14.  Are you satisfied with the maintenance that is provided for on-base housing?  Kadena has always been great about maintenance calls.  They seem to come within a day or two assuming it wasn’t an emergency.  Oh, I should mention that most of these homes do have problems with leaks in the roof due to their age.  Maintenance has just redone several roofs and installed new HVAC units in some of the homes.

15.  And finally, please provide any thoughts on the advantages and disadvantages of living on a military base here in Okinawa?  Also, please feel free to add any COMMENTS that you feel would be helpful to others about living off-base.  I am so happy that we were offered a home on Kadena.  This base has so much to offer and it’s located nicely with regards to the rest of the island.  I recommend base living if you have children (since it’s difficult to know if you’ll have English speaking kids or parks near you out in town).  Although, you have to be diligent about getting out in town in order to experience the local culture (you tend to stay on base since everything you need is here).  However, if we didn’t have kids I’d love have a smaller apartment to be within walking distance of the ocean with possibly a view.  I think I’d also learn more about the culture if we were submerged in the town more.  So, it just depends on your priorities!

Floor Plans, Camp Futenma, and such

Ok, I think that we all know at this point that with perserverance, there's an off-base house out there to fit your lifestyle here on Okinawa.  But despite the benefits of living off-base, there's also tremendous benefits to living on-base.  If you're curious about the various pros and cons of living off-base vs. on-base, there's quite a lively discussion here at: http://www.okinawahai.com/my_weblog/2007/03/to-live-on-or-o.html. 

As Okinawa Hai! reader, Carrie, was researching on-base housing options, she was unable to access the link that posts floor plans due to some nefarious computer glitch that I'm not able to understand or explain.  So, for those with the same problems accessing these floorplans, at the end of this post are the images that I was able to find on-line.  Hope this'll help Carrie and others with their housing research.

Another Okinawa Hai! reader by the name of Rochelle sent in the following question with this adorable picture of her dog, Bentley .  It seems that Bentley, Rochelle, and her family are due to arrive on-island very soon, so let's give them a big helping hand about the Camp Futenma area, shall we?

Hi, my name is Rochelle.  I live on Camp Pendleton in California.  I just recently found out that my husband has orders to MCAS Futenma for April, it was originally planned for August. I have a couple of questions, and if anyone could help me, that would be great.  I am not sure I want to live on base- living off base has been said to give you more of an experience and the housing is nicer (depending on where you go). So my first question, where to live that is close to MCAS Futenma- what areas should I look into? Also, what are some housing agencies in those areas?  The biggest thing for me is getting a nice place to live. We are going to be there for 3-4 years and we need a place that will give us room to grow, in the next year we would like to add another member to our family.  So, if anyone knows of an area or of a certain house even, I am open to all possibilities. Also, if anyone has any advice, I would love to hear it. Thank you.

   

North/East - Camp McTureous

Living overseas has its challenges, and a commonly agreed upon one is finding that perfect place to live. To help those of us who are curious about the different options for living on Okinawa, readers have answered some of the most frequently asked questions about on-base housing.

Hallelujah!  A much-needed post came in from the north side of the island.  Kudos to Bambi for giving us an inside look at living on "Camp McT." (which, BTW, is just a hop, skip, and jump to Camp Courtney).

 

1. What military base is your home located on? Camp McTureous

2. What area of the island is your home located on (i.e. North Island, Central Island, South Island)? North

3. What is the name of your neighborhood in which your home is located? McT

4. Generally speaking, most on-base homes are approved for occupancy based on military or government rank. If you would like, please provide the range of ranks that your home is approved for? Ours is for NCOs. Air Force considers E-6 NCO and not a SNCO so that is where we are living. It works though because most our neighbors have lived here long enough that they are also SNCO.

5. What DoDDS school district is your home attached to? Is there a schoolbus system available? We go to Bechtel Elementary School and do not get bussed because it is on the same base and all houses on McT are under a mile from the school.

6. Please describe the "feel" of your neighborhood (i.e. pet-friendly, child-friendly, level of safety, friendly neighbors, spacious, etc.) Our neighborhood is unique. There is only housing, the school, the pool, youth center, fire station, and Shoppette on it. So it feels like living in a gated community. It is pet-friendly as all the houses on McT can have pets and almost everyone has children. It is very safe as PMO patrols at least 2 times a day. There is also plenty of grass space with all the houses so there is room to play!

7. Please describe the style of your home (i.e. detached home, duplex, apartment, age of the home, etc.) We have a Multiplex and don’t know the age of it

8. Please provide general information about your home such as square footage, number of bedrooms and baths, number of stories/levels, special amenities, etc. The square footage was a little over 1100. It’s a 2 story house and we have 3 bedrooms, 1 full bathroom, 1 bathroom that also has a shower, and a ½ bath downstairs. My one complaint is the lack of cabinets in the bathroom.

9. What places of services are available near your home such as restaurants, shops, commissary, playgrounds, parks, etc.? Playgrounds are out our back door so that is nice. There is the one by us, the one that with the Youth Center (that you can use if the Youth Center is closed), the Officer playground (has swings!), and the Elementary school (again you can use if the school is closed). There are no restaurants on our base, but there is plenty just a little ways away (we usually walk to them. Takes 10 min. and you don’t have to worry about parking spaces!). The commissary is about a 10 min. drive, but is in the same place as where you get the mail so you can do it in one stop. The PX is really small and doesn’t usually have what you want. A couple blocks farther is the movie theater and bowling alley (closed for renovations) and the base clubs. Out in town has flower shops, book stores, and various other stores

10. How is parking provided for your home? You have 1 designated spot and then there are a handful of visitors. Most people usually park on the road where there is plenty of parking because there isn’t enough parking.

11. Is there any yard space or outdoor spaces provided for your home? We have a front and back yard. The front yard has a patio that you can buy a cover for (we did so it is usable year round). The front yard is about 10 feet of grass then the patio area. The back yard is fairly large and nice to be able to go out and let the kids run.

12. What do you feel is special about your home or neighborhood – what makes it feel like "home" here on Okinawa? What makes it feel like home is our personal items we brought with us. If I knew then what I know now it would have all came and I wouldn’t have left anything behind. The government furniture doesn’t help it feel like home. The thing that I like the most is the kids wall clings that we bought at Lowes and Walmart. They are re-usable so we took them off our walls in our old house and brought them with us. The day we moved in we put them up and the kids knew that was their room. It helped them transition really well!

13. What housing expenses are included with on-base housing (i.e. utilities, rent, appliances, etc. Living on base the power, water, rent is all covered.

14. Are there any expenses or fees associated with on-base housing?  We have to pay for our phone and cable

15. Are you satisfied with the maintenance services provided by your on-base housing organization?  The little things we have needed done they have been out to take care of that day or first thing the next day (depending on what time you call). They have been very quick at fixing it and not taking up a lot of your time.

16.  Finally, what advantages and disadvantages do you feel have been your experience living on a military base here on Okinawa? For us it is the size of the house as a disadvantage. We downsized to move from our house in the states to our house here on base, but weren’t sure about expenses were like living out in town. I do love the closeness to the school and that our kids don’t have to get on a bus. They are right there and easy to get in an emergency (which hasn’t happened yet). I also love all the cupboards in the kitchen and the fact that there is a pantry!! There is plenty of space for storing all my kitchen gadgets!! The shape could be better though as it is L shaped and unless someone is in the kitchen with you, you don’t know what is going on in the living room.