At the start of your Air Force career, you’ll be required to live on base in the dorms (barracks) unless you have dependents who live with you. Once you get married or reach a high enough rank in the Air Force, you can choose between living on base or off base. Deciding between these two options can be challenging, especially since there are plenty of benefits. In our guide, we’ll talk about the factors to consider when choosing where to live and the benefits and drawbacks between on-base and off-base housing.

Important Considerations When Choosing Where to Live

As an Airman, you’ll have access to a Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH), which gives you extra funds outside your salary to pay for housing. The amount of BAH you’ll receive will vary on a few factors, with the most important being:

●Location

●Marital status

●Rank

●Children

Even Airmen who are stationed overseas receive the same benefit under the name Overseas Housing Allowance (OHA). If you take advantage of on-base housing, your BAH or OHA will go directly to your company, but living off-base means the allowance will go into your account and you will be responsible for using it for housing. When choosing where to live, you will want to consider how far your BAH or OHA can get you in your specific area.

Advantages and Drawbacks of On-Base Housing

Living on base can be easier for many Airmen and their families, especially if you’re PCSing frequently in your career. On-base housing is convenient and you don’t have to worry about selling a home or getting out of a lease when you live on base. When deciding between on-base housing, it’s important to consider the specific pros and cons of this type of housing.

Advantages

If you decide to live on base with your family, there are plenty of benefits when making this choice, with some of the most notable being:

●Stability: Choosing on-base housing means you don’t have to go through the tedious process of trying to find the perfect home for you and your family. You don’t need to worry about trying to find a real estate agent, making costly deposits, filling out apartment applications, or trying to secure a mortgage. The housing that’s the right size for your family will be available to you on base.

●Convenience: One of the perks of living on base is that you are close to everything, including your work, on-base shopping, healthcare amenities, and more. Being close to these things can make commutes easier and more convenient to access what you need.

●Savings: When you stay on base, it’s often more affordable than living off-base. Many areas have a high cost of living off base, but your housing costs will be completely covered by living on base. The savings you generate can be put into your family’s future, whether you’re trying to save up for college for your kids or a down payment for your future home.

●Community: If you live on base, you’ll be in a community filled with other service members and their families. Living close to others who understand the Air Force experience and can offer support to you and your family can have significant benefits you might not find if you live off-base.

Drawbacks

On-base housing has many unique benefits, but there are some disadvantages to consider before you make your final decision. Some of these drawbacks include:

●Lack of control: The Air Force is particular about how things look, from their Airmen to their buildings. If you have a home on base, you won’t have much, if any, control over how the exterior of the home looks, and you’ll be limited to what alterations you can make inside.

●Limited privacy: While community is one of the benefits of on-base housing, it can also create such a close community that it’s hard to get as much privacy as you want. In fact, some of the members of your command may even live in the same neighborhood as you.

●Fewer options: If you live on base, you’re assigned a home rather than allowed to shop around like you would in off-base housing. If you’re looking for something specific for your home, you might not get a home on base that meets these standards.

●Quality issues: One of the challenges of on-base housing is that some bases struggle with maintaining the quality of these homes. While many bases are working to remedy these problems, you might end up in one of the homes needing improvements and will have to wait until these improvements are made while living there with your family.

Advantages and Drawbacks of Off-Base Housing

Airmen may choose to live off-base with their families for many reasons. Just like living on base, living off base has some advantages and drawbacks to consider before making a final decision.

Advantages

If you want to live off-base with your family, there are reasons to do so, including:

●Plentiful options: In many places, you’ll have a wide variety of options when you choose to live off-base. You can shop around to find a home that’s the perfect size for your family with your preferred style, location, and neighborhood.

●Potential savings: Sometimes, living off base can be more cost-effective than living on base. Depending on where you’re stationed, housing in the areas surrounding base can cost less than what you would get for BAH. In this case, you would be able to save the remaining BAH, using it for other expenses or putting it in a savings account for a rainy day.

●More control: If you buy a home off-base, you’ll have significantly more control over what happens in the home, including renovations, maintenance, and repairs. You could achieve your dream home without being restricted to the confines of Air Force regulations. Buying a home will also give you an opportunity to invest and build equity, which you couldn’t do if you were living on base.

●Diverse community: Living off base allows you to engage with a diverse community. You’ll be connected with the Air Force community through your work, but you’ll also be connected to the civilian community in the surrounding area, giving you the chance to meet people with different backgrounds and life experiences.

Drawbacks

There are plenty of reasons to choose to live off base, but to make a good decision, it’s important to be aware of the potential drawbacks. Some disadvantages to consider include:

●Expensive options: In some places, the cost of housing can exceed what you’ll receive for BAH, which means you would need to pay some of your rent or mortgage from your monthly salary. Higher rental or mortgage costs combined with utility expenses can make living off-base a financial burden for some Airmen and their families.

●Moving stress: Moving off-base can be stressful, especially because you will need to arrange for transportation, set up your utilities, and more. If you’re PCSing every few years, you will need to repeat this process several times with the added stress of having to sell your home or get out of a lease agreement.

●Limited security: On base, you can trust that your housing is protected. However, living off base doesn’t come with the same security, and you may have to deal with landlords who decide not to end your lease. If this happens, you will be forced to find a new home for you and your family.

●Limited housing: At some duty stations, off-base housing might be limited and lack the quality you need for your family. In most cases, Air Force bases will have enough space to accommodate your family so you don’t have to worry about limited housing problems.

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