It is always so dirty and it drives me insane! If my walls get dirty (fingerprints, dogs) it is nearly impossible to get it cleaned because the paint is so old and cracking in some places so I end up scrubbing off chips of paint instead. The kitchen cabinets are nasty and weak from water leaks from previous tenants. It gets dusty within hours of me dusting. The kitchen flooring is so cheap and hard to keep spotless. It is just overall very tacky and dirty. They are tearing these down next year and are building new ones right now which gives you an idea of how old they are for base housing to tear then down (30+ years). I'm excited that we'll get new houses next year ( they also look to be about 400 sq. ft. bigger) but for now it's driving me crazy. All I want is a clean house. Spring cleaning just isn't going to happen this year.

By Cat on Monday, April 4, 2005 - 03:45 pm:

{{{{{Melissa}}}}} I SO understand where you're coming from. It's just wrong that when my kids were 1yo and were up for lead level tests they asked if we'd lived in base housing, because the paint could contain lead. WHAT??? Thankfully most (but I'm sure not all) base housing is beyond that. I'm so glad you're getting new housing next year!!! That will be great! Just one more year to put up with it. And more space! WW!!! We've lived in some great base housing, but also some not so great. We've been places were some of the housing was fabulous and just a couple streets over was awful! I have no clue what it's like here because I've never been in it. I've heard some is great and some isn't, but they are renovating here, too. How much longer should you be in CA? Is your dh planning on staying in for a while? Less than 2 months left for my dh, and he's retiring after 20 years. Just so you know, we've been married a little over 13 now and we just bought our first house not quite 3 years ago. We've lived in base housing the rest of the time (except when we were first married we lived in an apartment for a year). I feel your pain, Hon. Hang in there.

By Boxzgrl on Monday, April 4, 2005 - 04:04 pm:

DH is still deciding whether or not he wants to go career, he only has 5 years in so far. We don't want to buy while he's in the Marines because we don't want to hassle of selling. If he gets out in 2008, buying a house is 1st on our list. We're both from CA so we're hoping no to leave here anytime soon. We don't have lead worries anymore but there are so many problems with the water that we don't use it at all. Pendleton has the worst water in Ca.!

I'm just frustrated because i'm in the cleaning mood today and it's extremely hard to clean when nothing comes off! I've peeked into the new houses and they're looking good. The government actually put a good amount of money into them. Thicker carpeting, nicely designed kitchen tiles, dual pane windows and not 1 but *2* car garages, which we've needed for a while! I keep reminding myself that it's only another year.

By Bea on Monday, April 4, 2005 - 05:21 pm:

Oh boy do I remember the grungy green tiled floors and dirty gray colored walls. You have my complete sympathy. Our quarters at Fort Ord were solid concrete. We had to call Post Engineers to hang a picture. That's one part of service life I don't miss.

By Palmbchprincess on Monday, April 4, 2005 - 05:43 pm:

BTDT!! My old post housing had black mold from water damage, and was also about 50 years old. (It's being torn down this year) When the mold caused Shane to have breathing trouble we were told they wouldn't tear the walls down to fix it, so deal with it or clear quarters.

By Insaneusmcwife on Tuesday, April 5, 2005 - 11:11 am:

I'm right there with you Melissa. Our house was built in the early 1970's and god knows how many familys have stayed here. They have been saying for years that they are tearing down this housing area but nothing ever comes of it. Now they are talking about privatizing the houses, which means we might as well live out in town because we will be paying rent. So who knows if they will ever tear these down now. Hang in there you will be moving before you know it.

By Missmudd on Tuesday, April 5, 2005 - 12:01 pm:

I know that you are moving in a year and your unit will be torn down but maybe it would make you feel better if you painted the walls that are driving you bonkers. Usually paint is pretty cheap and a fresh coat of paint sure makes a big difference in how you look at a room. Just a suggestion.

By Andi on Tuesday, April 5, 2005 - 04:54 pm:

I don't want to make anyone mad so PLEASE don't take this the wrong way....But, don't you get free housing since you live on base? Can't you do stuff to fix up your house to make it nice with the money you save from not paying rent or a mortgage? I would say even if the house isn't in great shape at least you live for Free and you live close to the beach in San Diego.

By Cat on Tuesday, April 5, 2005 - 05:07 pm:

While it is true military people don't pay any out of pocket costs for base/post housing, we still pay for it. If a military member lives off base they receive a housing allowence to pay for rent/mortgage. Sometimes it covers the cost, sometimes (most times) it doesn't. If they chose to live on base/post, they don't get that money. People living in military housing are also limited to what they can do to "spruce up" their house. Usually, the most they can do is paint and put pictures on the walls. Even then, when they vacate the house all the walls need to be returned to their original color (off white) and the holes need to be spackled. In Melissa's case (which was our case when we lived in Panama) I doubt painting would help, because it's hard to paint walls where the existing paint is chipping and peeling. Usually there are SO many layers of paint (cheap paint, at that) on those walls, it's hard to do anything with them. I'm not kidding, our house in Panama had paint about 1/2 inch thick chipping off the walls. It was awful. I've seen base/post housing where the corners of tiles are coming up and instead of replacing or fixing them, maintance just nails the corners down. No joke. They are building newer housing and renovating lots of the existing housing, but they are still using cheap materials, so in 20 years those houses will probably have the same problems. They have also been rumors for years about privatizing the housing (paying the military member the housing allowance they'd get for living off base, but then making them pay equvialent rent). As far as I know, those are just rumors. I don't think they have any concrete plans to do that yet. Base/post housing definately has it's advantages (like all maintainance is taken care of--unless you damage something, most places have "stores" you can get things like paint and small things at no cost, and stuff like that), but there are disadvantages as well. As for it being "free", it really isn't.

By Palmbchprincess on Tuesday, April 5, 2005 - 06:06 pm:

If I remember correctly, Ft. Hood "privatized" their housing, but it's no different than before. You sign a "lease" of sorts, and if you stop you BAH from being sent to housing, you get kicked out. Also, Ft. Hood is apparently going to be a test post for making tenants pay electric in post housing, they are going to give an allowance to families, but they will have to pay an electric bill. The thought behind it is those who conserve energy will benefit, while energy hogs will pay. (Since I no longer live there, I'm not too sure on the specifics) And Cat is right, it certainly isn't "free". There are strict standards on almost every aspect, you can be fined if you don't comply.

By Boxzgrl on Tuesday, April 5, 2005 - 07:19 pm:

Cat described everything greatly. If we lived off base we would get $1166 that is "suppose" to cover the cost of living. Andi would know more than others (since she lives here) that $1166 a month for rent would get you a place in an area you'd rather not even have to drive through. But for that same cost we get the housing and utilities covered. I definitely wouldn't mind living off base but with 2 dogs it is nearly impossible to find a place that will accept pets and if they do, I usually find the rent near $2000. We lived in some pretty fixer-up type apartments before moving on base (since we were on a waiting list for base housing) and even those were $1250 a month not including utilities. DH and I saved $500/mo by moving on base. So, in that sense I thank base housing very much but it still sucks that we have to live below what the average Californian does.

By Conni on Wednesday, April 6, 2005 - 11:21 am:

Well I feel for you. If it makes you feel any better... it doesnt matter where you live after awhile it gets grungy and needs repairs (especially with little ones and animals! we have 3 boys and 4 pets plus dh and I. ewwwwww). I can relate to the dust issue- I can dust my home and the next day it is dusty again. That really irritates me. We change our filters. But I am considering having a crew come in and clean out my air ducts and see if that doesnt give me some relief on the dust problem.

I also find that because I am *at home* alot and dont go away to an office everyday that I am the one that notices the grunge and am frustrated by it. So getting out of the house as much as possible is a great idea if you can do it!