Favorite place to live...

I was wondering if any fellow army mommies/wives would be willing to share their favorite and/or least favorite places to be stationed? We haven't gone anywhere yet but I was looking at the potential spots and they all seem so different.

Thanks,
Anne

[DCJenn]

I can tell you our experiences have been only in San Antonio and DC.

First, I'm a city girl through and through so in both places we lived downtown and cultivated a 'small town in the big city' feel. COL in SA is MUCH lower than DC but DC has cultural amenities offered no where else in the world.

I have heard from people who have gone to Ft. Lewis that they end up loving Seattle/Tacoma. Everyone that I know who has gone to Hawaii love it for the first year and hate it the rest. Germany- mosts people end up loving it because it becomes a way station to all of Europe and parts of the Middle East and Africa. If you don't ever leave post, people hate Germany. If you're not afraid to travel, people love it.

Japan- mixed bag- I had a friend go as an AF GMO and he hated every single moment of it. Not that he didn't go out and play but he was pretty miserable. Another friend is married to a Thai woman and they were thrilled to be sent to Japan.

There's a new post being set up in the Czech Republic and another few in Africa so I would love to hear about docs being sent to those.

I'm all in favor of going anywhere and everywhere but the Army won't cooperate since my husband is a subspecialist. (except Iraq- they obviously don't have a problem sending him there. and actually I'd LOVE to go to the Middle East but maybe not right this second.)

Matt's in FL and Claudia is in MS so they can tell you about their experiences.

Jenn

[mommax3]

Loved San Antonio.

Hated (with a passion) Wichita Falls, TX, but since the hospital there is closed now, I don't think you are in danger of ending up there. I would also think that Ft. Sill and Altus AFB would suck big-time. ( Both in Oklahoma, but same area of the country as Wichita Falls.)

I have heard good things about Scott AFB and also Wright-Patterson AFB as far as stateside assignments go, and ditto to what Jenn said about loving Germany. I knew some people who went to England, too, and it was a good experience, and Japan is a mixed bag based on what I have heard.

Sally

What bases in particular are you looking at? We are AF so the bases are different but what I can offer is that the "best" place to live for us ended up being #18 on our list (and, of course, where they chose to send us). New Mexico is amazing. . .incredible weather and landscape, so much to do outdoors. It was like a 2 year vacation. Mississippi pretty much sucks but you can do anything for a year, right? As Jenn shared, Texas is great, too. We went to San Antonio for a military-related trip and it was beautiful (I was having a hard time with the heat, though!)

Just try to look at these few years as an adventure/vacation and keep a good sense of humor. There are going to be some things that just royally SUCK about the next 4 years (or more?) just because the military owns you. . .issues with pay (can they EVER get it right?!), deployment, paperwork, and living somewhere that you never in a million years imagined you would be living. The great things are you . . . hmm . . . I'm thinking. . .Jenn? Matt? Sally? Anyone? The schedule is nice compared to the real world. In New Mexico, DH was usually home by 4:30-5p!! We were very spoiled.

Anyway, that is more than you wanted to know. Hang in there. . .I know that you have got to be stressed waiting for your orders. I go to the mailbox every afternoon hoping that just maybe they did things early this year.

[Meenah]

OMG Claudia are you at Keesler? I grew up in Jackson and went to college in Hattiesburg and I really feel no need to ever go back. Most of my family is now in Atlanta.