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06-17-2012 at 6:15 PM
neddygobbl...
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Opinions on these bases...

Guam

Kaneohe, Hawaii

Tinker AFB in Oklahoma

We have no children and are not planning on having any children.

We have two larger dogs.

TIA!!!
 
06-17-2012 at 8:46 PM
hansonam44...
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Ok just a questions cuz I have to know...if you aren't planning on having any kids/don't have any why are you on the Bump? Had to ask,

 

Other than that I would pick Hawaii just because that's my dream. :) 
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06-17-2012 at 9:08 PM
neddygobbl...
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I am not looking for opinion on which one to choose.  I am looking for information and pros and cons of the bases from people that have been there. 

 I am on this board because not all the questions that people post on this miiltary board are always related to children.

It is a good place to get information regardless.

 
06-17-2012 at 9:49 PM
LeahCK
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There's a few Facebook sites that are loaded with more information, opinions, reviews of people who currently live and have lived there. You can always post on the nest part of this website.  

Good Luck. 
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06-17-2012 at 10:07 PM
hansonam44...
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LeahCK:

There's a few Facebook sites that are loaded with more information, opinions, reviews of people who currently live and have lived there. You can always post on the nest part of this website.  

Good Luck. 

 

Yep you might have better luck there. And I wasn't being snarky, just curious. 
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06-17-2012 at 10:16 PM
ladybugpjb
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We're in Hawaii, but not Kaneohe. That side of the island is beautiful - lush and green. It's definitely more expensive here. There are lots of awesome things to do, and lots of good military resources since there are so many military people here. I've heard there are mold/mildew issues on that side of the island because it's damp and rainy, but I have no experience with that since we have never lived over there. There are also huge bugs...it kind of stinks to be so far from family and friends...traffic can be really bad depending on where you live/work...living on an island can be frustrating... But you learn to work around those things. It took me awhile to get used to it, but it feels like home now.

I used to live in the OKC area and my in-laws live near there, but I don't know anything about Tinker.

ETA - If you do come to Hawaii, you'll need to start prepping your dogs at least 6 months ahead of time if you want to avoid quarantine. You have to get bloodwork done, have a couple of rabies shots a certain amount of time apart, and other stuff. It's a pain in the butt. At minimum, you'll pay around $350 just to get two dogs onto the island, not including airfare. Also, not all airlines will take pets to Hawaii (US Airways, specifically), so you have to be careful when planning your travel.
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06-18-2012 at 12:08 AM
Ilumine
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Just like any other base, there will be people who love and people who will hate it.  It all depends on the personalities. 

Can you live on an island?  Island fever is really real.  And for me, every single friend who has been stationed on either HI or Guam has hated it because they are stuck there and cannot leave.

But that is because all of my friends are like me, type A on the go, needs variety type people.  Which is not always a good thing, hence my happy dance at leaving Europe because it has been one big rain fest for the last 3 months and we have not been able to do anything.

 
 
06-18-2012 at 3:00 PM
kfdecarie
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Guam – DO NOT PICK GUAM! The crime rate for auto break ins is so high, when we were briefing to go here they told us just leave your windows down its easier and less glass to repair. There are no jobs for dependents. It’s the hardest place to find work. A lot of the beaches have currents so strong you can’t get in the water. The island is small and you can live anywhere and commute, but traffic is bad. There is not a lot of shopping only a BigK, and shipping to you in Guam costs an arm and a leg! Dogs have a 6week to 6 month quarantine, VERY PRICY!!!!

Kaneohe, Hawaii – Also very expensive! But easier to find work! And traffic sucks as well, but there are ways around that. Lots to see and do, and any beach is going to be ok to get in the water. There are 2 big malls, so plenty of shopping, and shipping is only marginally more than mainland shipping. Life on any island is SLOW, much slower than you will expect. Also your plane tickets home or for family to visit are much cheaper than with GUAM. Plus there are many interisland deals for residents. Dogs have a 6 week quarantine, also VERY PRICY! But you can visit and play with your dogs every day.

Tinker AFB in Oklahoma – Other than that its Oklahoma, you have all the perks of being mainland. Cheap airfare, shopping, and shipping is easy, you can drive to many other places, and cost of living is very LOW. No beaches though, so if that a big deal this will be not a fun place. Also life is going to be slower, and more laid back. But not to the extent of island life. No pet resprictions.

This is just my take on it of course, and you will have to look and see what will be bet for you and yours, but I hope my notes help a little.

After 5 years of trying to get pregnant, it finally happened!
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06-18-2012 at 3:40 PM
*HiS ChAmA...
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kfdecarie:

Guam – DO NOT PICK GUAM! The crime rate for auto break ins is so high, when we were briefing to go here they told us just leave your windows down its easier and less glass to repair. There are no jobs for dependents. It’s the hardest place to find work. A lot of the beaches have currents so strong you can’t get in the water. The island is small and you can live anywhere and commute, but traffic is bad. There is not a lot of shopping only a BigK, and shipping to you in Guam costs an arm and a leg! Dogs have a 6week to 6 month quarantine, VERY PRICY!!!!

Kaneohe, Hawaii – Also very expensive! But easier to find work! And traffic sucks as well, but there are ways around that. Lots to see and do, and any beach is going to be ok to get in the water. There are 2 big malls, so plenty of shopping, and shipping is only marginally more than mainland shipping. Life on any island is SLOW, much slower than you will expect. Also your plane tickets home or for family to visit are much cheaper than with GUAM. Plus there are many interisland deals for residents. Dogs have a 6 week quarantine, also VERY PRICY! But you can visit and play with your dogs every day.

Tinker AFB in Oklahoma – Other than that its Oklahoma, you have all the perks of being mainland. Cheap airfare, shopping, and shipping is easy, you can drive to many other places, and cost of living is very LOW. No beaches though, so if that a big deal this will be not a fun place. Also life is going to be slower, and more laid back. But not to the extent of island life. No pet resprictions.

This is just my take on it of course, and you will have to look and see what will be bet for you and yours, but I hope my notes help a little.

This is a very good sum up as far as I know. I have experience with both Guam and Hawaii. I would not choose Guam either even tho it is "home." I would love to go back to Hawaii. We would visit both california and Guam and never had a problem getting on the space a flights. Translation = free airfare. I wouldn't recommend either islands for their school systems but you mentioned no kids.
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06-18-2012 at 9:52 PM
TunaTown
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neddygobble:

Guam

Kaneohe, Hawaii

Tinker AFB in Oklahoma

We have no children and are not planning on having any children.

We have two larger dogs.

TIA!!!

Military Brat here.....

If you don't have kids, you should TOTALLY go to Hawaii. You may need to find a job for play money.

Otherwise, I'd pick Tinker. Dad was stationed in OKC back in the late 80s. Since then, they've built up the the downtown and it's pretty cool. There's also some cool history in that region.

Guam sounds scary to me. 
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06-19-2012 at 3:03 AM
ladybugpjb
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Not trying to start drama, but you do NOT have to quarantine your dogs for 6 weeks in Hawaii if you start planning far enough in advance. We picked my cat up directly from the airport, and there were other people there picking up their dogs.

The two main determining factors are the date of their last rabies shot and the date the lab gets their bloodwork. You have to wait 90 days after their last rabies shot and 120 days after you get their bloodwork done. If you arrive in Hawaii before either of those two time periods elapse, they must stay in quarantine until the full waiting period has elapsed. Like I said in my earier post, start working on it about 6 months ahead of time. It's an expensive and detailed process.

Here is the website with the quarantine information:

http://hawaii.gov/hdoa/ai/aqs/info

And I agree with the pp who said that living on an island can be rough. I hated it here for a long time because I didn't know many people and I felt trapped. But after my son was born, I went back to the mainland for a couple of months and couldn't wait to get back to Hawaii. Now I love it.
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06-19-2012 at 10:21 PM
inateapot
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We're currently stationed at Tinker AFB.  It's...well, it's Oklahoma. I was raised not far from here in the Dallas/Ft Worth area so I'm familiar with it, but after our last two assignments - a small detachment in Seattle & Germany before that, I find it a bit dull here. It's very flat. I mean that literally - it is the midwest and it's FLAT.  It's also hot & windy here a lot. 

PROS: Cost of living is fantastic - the downtown has been built up very nice with nice restaurants, a big arena for the basketball team (GO THUNDER!) - lots of new on base housing being built (expect a long wait list from what I hear, we rent off base in Moore for the school district) - all your good shopping is easily available... oh and unemployment for the state is something like 5%. Well below national average. So lots of jobs for spouses if you are looking. Casinos can be fun with lots of bands coming through to play at them, too. 

Personally, I'd choose Hawaii over this, but that's only because I can always come back to Texas/OK area once DH gets out in another 5-6 years. We plan to retire near family & there are lots of jobs here for DH to apply for in this area. But if you're concerned about your dogs, this is a good place for them. Most houses have good sized yards!  

good luck. with your PCS

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06-20-2012 at 6:50 PM
alkvoelker
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I know the area around Tinker. Lots of options for schools, jobs, housing, shopping, food, etc. There's lots to do there. I would definitely look up a Facebook group though.
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06-23-2012 at 8:46 PM
pazrana
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kfdecarie:

Guam – DO NOT PICK GUAM! The crime rate for auto break ins is so high, when we were briefing to go here they told us just leave your windows down its easier and less glass to repair. There are no jobs for dependents. It’s the hardest place to find work. A lot of the beaches have currents so strong you can’t get in the water. The island is small and you can live anywhere and commute, but traffic is bad. There is not a lot of shopping only a BigK, and shipping to you in Guam costs an arm and a leg! Dogs have a 6week to 6 month quarantine, VERY PRICY!!!!

Kaneohe, Hawaii – Also very expensive! But easier to find work! And traffic sucks as well, but there are ways around that. Lots to see and do, and any beach is going to be ok to get in the water. There are 2 big malls, so plenty of shopping, and shipping is only marginally more than mainland shipping. Life on any island is SLOW, much slower than you will expect. Also your plane tickets home or for family to visit are much cheaper than with GUAM. Plus there are many interisland deals for residents. Dogs have a 6 week quarantine, also VERY PRICY! But you can visit and play with your dogs every day.

Tinker AFB in Oklahoma – Other than that its Oklahoma, you have all the perks of being mainland. Cheap airfare, shopping, and shipping is easy, you can drive to many other places, and cost of living is very LOW. No beaches though, so if that a big deal this will be not a fun place. Also life is going to be slower, and more laid back. But not to the extent of island life. No pet resprictions.

This is just my take on it of course, and you will have to look and see what will be bet for you and yours, but I hope my notes help a little.

 

Guam isn't really that bad, I lived there for 3 years.  If you live in military housing (there are several different areas) then safety isn't so much of a concern.  Not sure what she meant by no stores.  No Walmart or Target for sure, but the NEX and AFES (?) has all that kind of stuff.  I left 3 years ago and I know there are a lot more stores and restaurants now than there were even then.  Downtown Tumon has more expensive duty free shops but there is a mall and an outlet mall too.  I worked at the Navy school but also had friends who worked at the gym, banks, restaurants etc.  There is lots of outdoorsy stuff to do. SCUBA is awesome on Guam, also kayaking, hiking, mountain biking etc.  Tons of 5ks (I was in great shape when we lived there!) The beaches on the south side tend to have strong currents, but both bases have safe swimming areas. Oh and as for shipping pets.  If you have your animals given the FAVN (rabies antibody) test stateside you can do an in-home quarentine for 120 days (also stateside).  After that and a flight safety check they can fly over.  They will have to go into a quarentine for 3-5 days once they arrive.  My cat stayed at the one on the airforce base.  I got him the 2nd day after he arrived. She was correct about traffic being a pain and the island being really small.  Overall, we enjoyed our time there and will probably end up back there at some point.  Good luck with your decision!
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06-23-2012 at 9:05 PM
mummyofsix
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kfdecarie:

Kaneohe, Hawaii – Also very expensive! But easier to find work! And traffic sucks as well, but there are ways around that. Lots to see and do, and any beach is going to be ok to get in the water. There are 2 big malls, so plenty of shopping, and shipping is only marginally more than mainland shipping. Life on any island is SLOW, much slower than you will expect. Also your plane tickets home or for family to visit are much cheaper than with GUAM. Plus there are many interisland deals for residents. Dogs have a 6 week quarantine, also VERY PRICY! But you can visit and play with your dogs every day.

 

Have you actually been stationed in HI? Just wondering.....

 Hawaii is more expensive than the mainland, but the COLA more than makes up for it. We have never had more play money than we did in Hawaii, we were doing very well (and I am a SAHM). Traffic isn't as bad as its made out, and living in KBay you will miss all the normal rush hour of Honolulu.

Of course it's a very beach lifestyle, very flip flops and sundresses. Depending on what kind of shopping you like you might find on island shopping great or terrible. "Marginally higher" shipping is total BS. If being abe to visit family often is important to you, definitely click on over to a travel site and price out some tickets from HNL to your home for different points during the year. Sometimes we could get tickets back to Chicago for $600, sometimes each was $1500. 

Never really found Hawaii "slow" either, and we moved from (and back to) the Washington DC area.  
 
07-01-2012 at 4:59 PM
Cjeansonne...
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I am a born and raised Okie and we are currently stationed at Tinker. The base is quite large. Oklahoma housing market is good and you can get a nice sized house for reasonable price. Base housing is great!  They even mow your yard!  The base is close to a nice shopping area and is 20 mins away from downtown. Downtown has a river walk and great places to eat!  We currently have the Thunder basketball team which has been great going to and watching the games. Oklahoma has several great compianies to work for: Chesapeake, Devon, Sonic, and Hobby Lobby just to name a few. By know means is it Hawaii but it is a great place live. I hope we get to stay here the rest of my hubbies career. If you have any questions let me know!
 
07-02-2012 at 2:39 AM
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Are you AF or Navy because you asked for Navy reviews earlier, and I can't imagine being Navy and stationed at Tinker.

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