We were expecting east coast orders this summer, but were surprised with orders to 29 Palms - moving this month.

I've read up a bit, but I have some questions:

Everyone says stay on base because off-base is terrible out there, but is it really likely that we can get on base with a one-month notice?

If we CAN get on base, he is an E5 and we have two children. What are our best options?

Thank you so much in advance! I can use all the help I can get! 

Ok, that was me, but it apparently logged me out right as I was posting, sorry! 

We live on base bc in our opinion the homes in town that we could afford were run down and gross. We lived in a month-month for 6 weeks before we got our house on base. My spouse is an E-5 and we have two kids. We live in Joshua Heights and love it. 

Everything is WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY over priced out in town. All of the realtors know how much BAH everyone gets and charges exactly that. 

Everything is WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY over priced out in town. All of the realtors know how much BAH everyone gets and charges exactly that. 

That is very true. I was shocked at the rental prices. We have 2 kids and it took 8 months on the waiting list to get into Joshua Heights! They told us at first that the wait was 3-6 months and we hoped it would be closer to 3, but nope. We just moved on base 3 weeks ago and love it on base. You get more house for the price and don't have to worry about utilities. Plus, we love all the little playgrounds in walking distance and it is just more convenient for us.

While we waited for a house on base, we signed a 6 month lease in town and had a pretty decent place with a/c and a 2 car garage. It was a duplex, but not a bad place to be temporarily. There are definitely some sketchy areas (as with every city) but there are some good areas too. My husband looked at a lot of run down houses before he found the one we were in. For nicer houses, some people choose to live out in Yucca, which is a 30-40 minute drive to the base. You just have to make sure the extra cost in gas and time to travel is worth it.

Call the housing office to see what the wait times are and what areas you are likely to end up in. You don't get to choose your area because housing is so packed, but you can at least get an idea of the different areas ahead of time. The wait for the 801 off-base housing is usually a lot shorter. I don't know if you have to accept that if they offer it, or if you can choose to wait for a house on-base, but some people prefer 801.

If you end up needing a place off base, ahrn.com is how we found our house. You can search by month to month, or 6 month leases, furnished/ unfurnished or whatever you need. Zach Harris is the realtor we ended up with and he was great. 

but were surprised with orders to 29 Palms

Bet you were! So sorry to hear that... 

Everything is WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY over priced out in town. All of the realtors know how much BAH everyone gets and charges exactly that.

Negative. I live in a very nice two bedroom house with a garage and fenced front and backyard. Close to everything in 29 and only pay $675 and that's nowhere near what my BAH is...

I would do your homework...as a couple with no kids at the time (past tense) they said a 0-2 month wait for housing...we got a place and they called us to say we were 30 days out after being here for 6 months..depending on your husband's rank will depend on your base housing office experience 

Negative. I live in a very nice two bedroom house with a garage and fenced front and backyard. Close to everything in 29 and only pay $675 and that's nowhere near what my BAH is...



You were one of the lucky few.