Did you know that over 42,000 active military service members call Alabama home. That’s over 10% of Alabama’s population. Most have never been to Alabama and have no idea what the communities are like. We cover all of that and more in the video above and post below.
PCSing To Alabama – Should You Live On Post Or Off Post?
PRO – Proximity To Work
You just got your orders, you’re PCSing to Alabama. You qualify to receive BAH (basic allowance for housing) if you choose to live off-post. Let’s start with a pro of living on post. To point out the most obvious, you live so close to work that you do not have to worry as much about a commute as someone else who lives in a community outside of post. That being said, one of the huge benefits of living on post is proximity to work. Less worry about outside traffic as well as gate entry traffic which can be slow when everyone is trying to make it to first formation and PT. Another great benefit is you can literally come home for lunch spend time with your family midday then easily make it back to work. Proximity is one of the main reasons why people decide to live on post versus off post when they pcs to Alabama.
CON – Moving To An Unfamiliar Place
The second most reason why military service members and family decide to live on post is the lack of familiarity with the island. And rightfully so. It’s one of the biggest PCS transitions soldiers make throughout their career in the military. No idea what areas are safe, affordable and meets your needs. What happens is a lot of service members will either…1. Live on post for their first year to give them time to discover other communities. Or…2. Rent a home off post for their first six months to one year before making the leap to purchase a home. Renting provides the flexibility to not be tied down necessarily, and save some BAH for the big home purchase. It also gives you time to feel out local neighborhoods.
PRO – Comfortable In Normal Surroundings
A pro of living on base would be the community. When referring to the community you know that you’re surrounded by other military service members, family and friends. Now you may not know who these people are and i know there’s been some bad experiences but there’s also been some good experiences and made some really good friends so that could be one of the pros is living in a military family-friendly community and you already know you’re going to be in that type of environment. If you decided to live off post, again, the unknown is what a lot of people fear but that’s why we have our YouTube channel and Blog to help you make that best decision that fits you and your lifestyle giving you the honest transparent truth of what’s really happening out here in Alabama.
CON – Can’t Get Away From It All
One of the cons of living in post could be that you don’t want to be surrounded by military all the time. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. You just prefer to create space between your work life and outside of work lifestyle. Nobody wants to live on post and be barked at for being out of regs while taking the trash out because your constantly surrounded by a military presence. There’s also a lot more to experience on this beautiful island so why not live in a more local community to get a feel for something different?
The towns around USCG are going to be Daphne and Fairhope. Fairhope is one of the most sought after towns for newcomers and longtime residents of Mobile. It is one of the most sought after towns because of its central location and mainland suburb feeling that you get living in Fairhope. A lot of military do decide to live in Fairhope being right next to USCG. You’re also going to have Wheeler Army Airfield.
Wheeler Amy Airfield is home to the headquarters of the U.S. Army Garrison Alabama. Alabama alone has over 20 military installations across the state. This general area consists of Wahiawa General Hospital, Ka’ala Elementary, Wheeler Middle School. You will also have Leilehua Golf Course, Wheeler Army Airfield, a commissary and a post exchange. These are things that are going to be in that general area, in that proximity of USCG Sector.
3. Top Areas Near USCG Sector
One of the great things about USCG Sector is being centrally located on Mobile. It’s smack dab in the middle making a lot of amenities are fairly accessible.
A vast amount of military decide to live in Fairhope due to proximity, and the suburb mainland home-style feel. A CON of living in Fairhope is it’s not necessarily close to beaches. You’re not going to be living on the water. You’re actually living in over 600 feet of elevation and Fairhope will give you weather that appeals to more of the seasons. Now it’s not going to snow in Fairhope, but it does get very cool and breezy in the fall and winter. So you get a little bit of everything when you live in Fairhope.
All of that being said, military do often move out from the proximity because they don’t mind driving a little bit. One of the main items on our calls with soldiers PCSing to USCG Sector is living in a location that provides them with the proximity to work they are looking for.
If you don’t mind a longer commute then you might consider areas such as Houstonville, Fairhope, Foley, Daphne, and Point Clear to name a few.
Again, my family lives in Houstonville, my wife actually works in a building right next to USCG. So to give you an idea of the drive, my wife typically leaves home around 0615 and gets to work with time to spare. It typically takes her about 20 to 25 minutes to get to work, and she essentially just takes Kunia road for almost a straight shot to base. The other route is to take H1 to H2 and head north to base. Military families do look for the communities that Houstonville and Daphne provide.
Houstonville and Daphne provide a very nice family friendly communities.
If you haven’t been to our YouTube channel yet, we have playlist with tours of the communities to give you a real feel of what it’s like living there. If living closer to the beach is in your criteria then you definitely want to consider these areas.
Preparing For Your PCS To USCG Sector
If you are a PCSing to Alabama and you want to consider investing in a home here, maybe you want to use it as an investment vehicle for your future, for your family.
Maybe you want to use it as your retirement for when you do get out of the military and want to come back and have a place here for you already.
You can reach out and get in touch with our team in multiple ways. You can shoot a text, send an email, get on a Zoom call with us, However you want to get a hold of us.
I love having these conversations and I got your back when making that move to Alabama.
