Base Housing Open to Military Retirees
 

Just saw that Barksdale AFB has opened their base housing to retired military. It is on a one year lease and the cost covers all utilities plus renters insurance plus the usual maintenance support. I was told this was due to their low occupancy rate. Of course, the catch is, at the end of your lease, you could be out if the occupancy is back up.
This would be great for someone who is about to retire and hasn't landed a new job or is not sure where they want to relocate.
Any other bases doing this?

Never heard of it before. I wonder why retirees before drilling reserves? But they'll probably have more takers on the retired side.

NAS JRB New Orleans base housing is open to retired and civilian contract workers. First JRB I have heard of with housing.

Buckley AFB in Denver is doing the same.

Aberdeen has opened up their housing area as well to retirees.

I hated base housing when I was in...I can't imagine "renting yearly" now that I'm retired. Good luck with that! :p

Not sure when you got out, but much of the PPV housing is greatly improved.
On top of that - maintenance and utilities included.
Plus a safe environment if you have kids. Other neighborhood *amenities* that might include such things like a movie theater, parks, biking/running trails, pools, etc....
I don't like the yearly renting idea with the possibility of being booted out, but I see certain advantages.

USMCFLYR

Well...just remember that rent comes with the lawn police, watering police, and living in a fishbowl environment. Maintenance will be done when C.E. can get around to it (and that's a military when we can get to it). The real kicker is they will not be paying for the move in or out of said yearly lease and the storage of all those things you have that won't fit in the "little" house they will rent you will be paid for out of your pocket too. Been there...done that (retired in '99)...got the Tshirt. No thanks. Besides...my neighborhood already has all of those other *amenities*.

HA! :D Sounds like most suburban neighborhoods.

Maintenance wasn't a problem. Matter of fact - it was MUCH more timely than I am finding 'civilian' counterparts (it is contracted out in any manner. I'm off today waiting for the plumber to call me. Waiting since 0800. It is past 1400. Still have at least 2 hours of work to do. Timely? I think not.

Yep - moving expenses into and out of based on a yearly lease if you were forced to move would be a bad thing which is why I mentioned that part in my first post.

Little house? Maybe not grandiose, but they were comparable in size to what people in Lemoore CA were paying for in the $300k range. A good friend of mine fit his 5 kids in the house just fine and even had room for his toys. I guess if you are set on a 4-5,000 sq ft house then you could look elsewhere, but my experience living on base seems to have differed from yours in some ways. I'm sorry that you had such a bad experience living on base. I can see a retired couple with the kids gone being attracted to the idea. My parents looked at retirement type communities for all the reasons that you pointed out.

USMCFLYR

I actually had a pleasant enough experience when I was forced to live on base. Close to work, great neighbors/neighborhood, I personally didn't have to worry about the yard police since I kept my lawn appearance up and I knew it was temporary. My biggest gripe was getting shoehorned into a 1260 sq ft 4 bedroom 50 year old house (field grade housing) after having lived in a minimum of 2300 sq ft for the past 10 years. Holy storage batman! Had to put a my night stand in storage because the master bedroom was too small to fit a queen bed and a night stand on each side of the bed. Only 1 person at a time in the master bath because that's all that would fit. Also hated having to put in my own carpet only to have to rip it out and sell it when I left. If you paint your walls anything other than the original off white, YOU had to paint it back before you left so CE could come in and repaint it anyway. That 1260 sq ft house may have cost $300K in CA but it was less than I could rent in MS for half my BAQ. Way too much "rent" for a 1940s built shoebox. I could go on, but you get the point. I think it would be a good deal if one was already living there and wanted to rent after retiring while waiting to move on, but for the money, I think in most base communities (CA being a likely exception) anyone retiring from the military that has a job can do way better for the money. YMMV. ;):):cool:

Base housing is not for everyone. The base housing at Barksdale AFB is huge. You have easy access to the commissary, BX, movie theater, bowling alley, etc. Great security. If you have just retired, don't know where you want to live and are looking for a job this could be a really great deal. The rent (once you factor in all of the utilities, renter's insurance and the maintenance) is a way better deal than trying to live off base. Plus, as a recent retiree you would still have your military move package. When I retired you could apply for an extension and have up to 2 years to use the move. The extension was pretty much automatic.
Again, not for everybody, but a new option available for some.

Which is why I said....
"I think it would be a good deal if one was already living there and wanted to rent after retiring while waiting to move on..." I agree with you.
FYI...when I retired I applied for the extension to continue living on base after retiring while I waited for my next job and final move to get settled. It was approved and then after I made decisions based on that availability, they turned around after 60 days and said I had to move out. :mad: Had to move into town and then again 4 months later for that final move. Uncle giveth and Uncle taketh away. :eek: I admit that still leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

I was on base when I retired and was not given an option of extension. OUT!

USMCFLYR

I currently live in Navy base housing with my wife as a civilian, and aside from feeling like I'm active duty, it isn't bad at all. As mentioned, utilities are paid, although they now are implementing a program where if you exceed "average" energy usage you cover the difference. But if you come in below the average they will reimburse you, I think up to $20/month or so. Mx is fantastic, fixing everything promptly and when they say they will (civilian contract, not CE), and the lawn is mowed every week with the bushes, sidewalks and curbs, etc., kept trimmed. I believe we are only responsible for snow removal. Of course the wife has full privileges to the commisary and NEX 2 blocks away, and the neighborhood mini-nex, as well as the base gym, which is really nice. The only thing that could make it better is if the base was in a more desirable area.

Not many bases are in desirable areas. Quite a few are way out in the sticks. At least with the Navy, you get housing on the water right ;)

I would live in a crack house trailer in hell before I moved back to put up with CE, yard Nazis, and the jealous/noisy/resentful neighbors. I also really loved the 2 striper aggressively checking my breath anytime I went through the gates between 10 pm and 6 am.

You give up the best part of the end of the day or retirement when you live on base--driving OFF base at the end of the day. Its one long episode of the Truman show with a crappier house.