Hi ladies! I'm new here (intro post to follow shortly) & new to the military life in general. My husband is in the delayed entry program right now, waiting to ship off to BMT in January. Our biggest concern right now is deciding on which bases to put on the "dream list" for the first duty station. We're from WI & neither of us have ever even really traveled out of the midwest so we want to go someplace completely different--probably the south or east coast. We're also considering overseas in either the UK or Germany. I know where we end up is a crap-shoot but any information would be very helpful. Even if you're not AF and you've lived in one of these states, that would be really helpful.
The bases we're considering are in the states of AZ, NM, TX, GA, FL, SC, NC, DE & NJ. And like I said, the UK & Germany. Any information, from the weather/climate to the people to attractions to base housing to the cost of living...ALL is appreciated. Thanks in advance! :)
We are Army, but I grew up around Dover AFB (Delaware) and have a friend currently stationed there (she posts on the MW boards sometimes). We also spent 6 months at Goodfellow AFB (Texas) before coming here.
Dover is a relatively small town and Delaware is a small state. If you are in Dover, you would be about an 1.5 hour drive from Baltimore, D.C., and Philadelphia (which have some great things to visit). Delaware has all four seasons when it comes to weather. In the winter, they usually get 2-3 snow storms, but they usually aren't to bad. In the spring it rains some (but not to much), summers do get hot and humid (with an occassional triple digit temperature), and the falls are nice, cool, with some nice breezes. Winters do get to be pretty cold, probably averaging in the 40s-50. From what my friend said about housing, they have redone a lot of the housing. She and her husband just recently moved into the post housing and they love it. There is a beach about an hour south of Dover (Rehobeth beach) and another one about 30 more minutes south (Ocean City, MD). The cost of living is pretty good, a lot lower than some places. There are a lot of restaraunts in the area. Delaware State Univerisity's campus is in Dover and the University of Delaware's campus is in Newark (about 30 minutes north of Dover). If there's anything else I can tell you about Delaware, don't hesitate to ask.
Goodfellow AFB is in San Angelo, TX. It's west Texas and is practically the desert. It's very hot and dry in the summer. In the spring and fall, the mornings start out chilly (like in the 40s) but the evenings end up warm (like in the 80s). The winter mornings start out cold and usually end up pretty mild in the evening. DH spent a whole year there, I only spent 6 months there. The actual AFB is pretty small and the town itself is quite small as well. There aren't a lot of things nearby. As far as attractions, there are some great things to see and do in San Antonio and Dallas, but both are about a 4 hour drive away (which isn't bad for a weekend trip). There wasn't a lot of rain and we didn't see any snow. They do get some tornado warnings and some strong winds from time to time though. Cost of living was pretty good there too.
I hoped that helped some and I'm sure other ladies will have more information for you. :)
Thanks for the quick reply! Dover is actually one DH's recruiter singled out as a good one; the info you gave is very much appreciated. I think we're leaning towards something bigger; we lived in Chicago for a year & I really miss the city since we're from a small town area. Texas was the state we were leaning towards; my cousin/best friend is moving to San Antonio shortly & we were hoping to go there. But the only base in TX we can go to right away would be Dyess AFB--still an option though.
Thanks again for the information! It really was very helpful! :)
Hi, I'm new to this board, but both DH and I are in the AF. I've been in 7 years, DH for 13. One of the advantages to being in the military is being able to change your state of residence. If you end up in one of the income tax-free states (Alaska, Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Texas, Washington, or Wyoming), you can change your state of residence and then you don't have to pay state income tax, even if you then move to another state with the military.
However, you don't often have a lot of choice about where you end up, its "needs of the AF" and the particular job that your DH gets--some jobs don't have a lot of choices. If you have the opportunity, i'd say go overseas. DH and I each spent a year in Korea (seperately, family assignments there are usually two years) and it was really great. Overseas assignments are also generally shorter, while you could possibly be in a US (CONUS) base much longer (again, depending on the career field). Base pay doesn't change on where you live, but the Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) does. And if you live in an expensive area, or overseas, you'll usually also get a Cost of Living Allowance (COLA). When you first start out, it's not generally a lot of money and it only increases with rank. Here's a link to the BAH calculator:
Have fun with it and go to places you would never think of going or somewhere you've always wanted to try. And try to make the best of wherever you end up. Best of luck to you!
I spent 6 years at Pope (in NC) and while I hated the base, I loved the area. I'm originally from Charleston (SC) and am very biased but love it. I spent 3 years at Maguire in (NJ) and hated every miserable second of it (but that was my own fault - your duty station is what you make of it, I still believe that.)
