Which is Better: Off-Base Housing or Base Housing?

Looking for a place to live is equally exciting and nerve wracking. Looking for that place when PCSing can often be a little more nerve wracking though. Not only is there a time crunch to find a house, it’s a little difficult to buy or rent one when you’re so many miles away. But unlike most families moving far distances, military couples have more than one option of where to live: off-base housing or base housing. The last couple years as a military wife has definitely taught me which direction to turn regarding housing, as well as a third “best of both worlds” option. 

But before I jump into sharing what I’ve learned so far as an attempt to help you, I want to point out the importance of prayer in this situation of finding a house. It’s easy to get caught up in the stress of trying to find a house from far away in a short amount of time. And it’s even easier to instantly struggle to take steps to get it all figured out right this moment. So I want to encourage you and your husband to take time – together – to pray about it. Carve out some time between the packing and the cleaning to go before the Lord and boldly ask for guidance, for wisdom, and for the house your family needs. God will provide!

Off-base housing or base housing…which one!?

Pros and Cons

Both options have pros and cons, as does most everything in life. Later, we’ll look at some factors to take into consideration when deciding which one would be best for your family. 

Off base housing

Pros:

-more housing options

-freedom in how you take care of your house (if you buy rather than rent)

-chance to get to know others outside of the military community

-freedom to choose location of house

Cons:

-can be more expensive than base housing

-often farther distance from base

-difficult to buy/rent when unfamiliar with the area

-potential lack of housing availability in your budget

Base housing

Pros:

-chance to get to know other families in the military community who know what you’re going through

-often a better deal depending on your housing allowance 

-housing office usually aware of military life 

-less hassle and cheaper when something goes wrong with the house, appliances, etc.

Cons:

-only renting, meaning the house is not yours

-many rules/guidelines to follow based on rental agreement 

-live and work in relatively the same area

-you get what you get…you don’t have the option to choose a house, one is given to you

-potential waitlists 

Both sides have plenty of benefits and drawbacks. But how are you and your hubby supposed to decide which pros and cons are going to give you the best house? When my husband and I were looking at whether to live in off-base housing or base housing, we had to look at a few different factors to figure out where God wanted us and what would be the wisest option. Below are a few things that we took into account when deciding, in a short span of time, where to live.

Factors to consider

-Rank

Your husbands rank is a huge factor in deciding to live off-base or in base housing because his rank determines how much housing allowance he will get. The higher the rank the higher the allowance. Look in the area where the base is located to see what the housing prices are like. Compare it to your husbands housing allowance to see which option would be better in terms of housing size, utilities cost, location, etc. There’s a fine line between when your housing allowance is worth base housing or not. Sometimes you’ll get a better base house for the same price of your housing allowance than if choosing to live off base. Other times, it’s better to live off base at a good price and potentially pocket some of the leftover housing allowance. 

Many bases determine what house you’ll get based on rank as well. The lower the rank, typically the smaller the house. The higher ranks often get the better housing for base housing.

-How far from base you and your husband are willing to live

Something to think about is how close to the base you and your husband want to live. Living on base means an easy commute, but living off base means putting some nice distance between where your hubby works and where he lives. For my husband, living and working right next to each other was not an option. Even if it meant living in a smaller house.

-Kids and pets

Do you have kids or pets? Base housing usually has strict rules when it comes to pets, so depending on how many and what kinds of pets may determine where you’ll want to live. Kids play a huge part in what size house you’ll want as well. Depending on your husbands rank may depend on what size house you’ll get on base housing, as mentioned earlier.

-Budget

You and your husband may have two incomes or just the one. Quick tidbit of wisdom, it’s better to live mostly off one income if you both are working in the case one of you loses your source of income. This way it’s less of a shock to your lifestyle and spending habits as well as having some savings to fall back on if need be. Regardless, choosing where to live depends largely on what you and your husband are wanting to spend. A lot of military families with a higher housing allowance choose to live off base in a cheaper house in order to put some of the housing allowance into savings each month.

Based on your budget for a house, you may be considering getting a job in your new area in order to buy a house, rent a house off base, or simply to have a little extra in savings. I encourage you to check out this post before deciding whether getting a job outside of the house is right for you and your family.

Best of both worlds

Maybe you definitely want the better housing option for the cost but your husband wants to live a considerable distance from work. There is another option that many bases have: off-base base housing. It’s housing that falls under base housing, yet is off base, in a neighborhood where civilians can live as well, and takes into account housing allowance. For lower ranked service members, this is the best of both worlds. We enjoy living in off-base base housing because we’re getting a better house for our housing allowance than we would if we lived off base, my husband can actually have the satisfaction of leaving base to go home, and we don’t have to worry about paying a monthly rent check or mortgage as the housing office works with the government through allotments. One day, we would like to have a house that we can call our own, but in this season of life, this is the best we could find and we’re thankful for what God has provided for us.

Further things to do to help your decision:

-call the local police department/county offices to get inside information on the best places to live and the places to avoid living

-use online real estate finders like Zillow or Trulia

-check out the base housing website where you’ll be moving to

-visit the base website to find housing options as they often have recommendations for housing

-look at militarybyowner.com or AHRN.com for house options in military communities

-check out the reviews of the base housing (note: take it all with a grain of salt)

-again…PRAY PRAY PRAY

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Moving is never an easy process, and neither is finding a home. As a military wife, you may quickly be finding out that finding a place to live isn’t anything like your experience in college or that first place you and your husband moved into before the military life. While I can’t promise that this move will go amazingly smooth, I can help you take steps to narrow down your options, making things a little easier. Do some research, look around on the internet, talk things out with your husband, and most importantly, pray about it. God will lead you to the exact house that you and your family are supposed to live in for His glory!

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